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ESCAP Newsletter September 2019
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Disaster Resilience Week confronts intensifying disaster risks in Asia-Pacific
Against exacerbated disaster risk and climate change in the Asia-Pacific region, ESCAP convened the second Disaster Resilience Week from 26 to 30 August, during which the sixth Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction met. The Week was a platform for dialogue and peer learning to strengthen resilience and disaster risk reduction in the region. In her interventions, Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Alisjahbana said, “The vicious circle between poverty, inequalities and disasters can be broken, but it will require transformative changes in social policies and disaster resilience. These can no longer be treated as separate policy domains and governments need to implement targeted interventions to strengthen the capacities of the poorest and most vulnerable groups.”
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New ‘climate reality’ reveals growing disaster risk in Asia-Pacific, ESCAP study finds
The Asia-Pacific region has entered a new environmental era with increasing and intensified disaster risks, according to the recent Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019. For the first time, the report includes the costs of slow-onset disasters in estimates of annual economic losses from disaster in the region, which now stand at $675 billion, or around 2.4 per cent of the region’s GDP. At the report launch on 22 August, ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana said, “Countries across the region have committed themselves to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030 — to ensure that no one is left behind. But they cannot achieve many of the SDG targets if their people are not protected from disasters that threaten to reverse hard-won development gains.”
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Executive Secretary underscores economic resilience and connectivity in mission to Mongolia
ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana traveled to Mongolia on 19 and 20 August to participate in the Boao Forum for Asia Ulaanbataar Conference and meet with government representatives. In her remarks, she emphasized that deepening economic integration in the region can lead to better development outcomes in Mongolia and the Asia-Pacific region. “Mongolia has also been a key driving force in advancing clean energy, especially towards power interconnection in North-East Asia, leveraging the country’s abundant renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind. We must seize this opportunity and enhance further cooperation among member States,” she said. On the sidelines of the Forum, she held bilateral meetings with key government representatives, including Prime Minister H.E. Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and Foreign Minister H.E. Tsogtbaatar Damdin.
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ASEAN mayors galvanize action toward inclusive, future-oriented societies
More than 100 mayors and municipal leaders across the ASEAN region gathered at the Fifth ASEAN Mayors Forum from 26 to 28 August. The delegates brought insights on how cities and local governments, with citizens and stakeholders in their constituencies, can support ASEAN in implementing the SDGs and address urbanization challenges. Opening the Forum, ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana affirmed the necessity of tackling environmental challenges simultaneously with urban development, remarking “Climate change is now the most defining factor in the ASEAN region. Putting economic growth first, and then addressing costs of environmental sustainability is no longer an option for ASEAN cities and beyond.”
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ESCAP commemorates International Day Against Nuclear Tests
On 29 August, ESCAP in collaboration with the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Thailand commemorated International Day Against Nuclear Tests, a day to reflect on the grim legacy of nuclear testing and the victims it has claimed. The event was also an opportunity to renew efforts to end nuclear testing and advocate for multilateral cooperation for peaceful, stable societies. Diplomatic representatives from Kazakhstan, Japan, Nigeria, Thailand and Austria as well as ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana presented remarks at the commemoration, urging the international community to facilitate a breakthrough on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which has yet to enter into force, and bring a world free of nuclear weapons testing.
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ESCAP shares regional data expertise at World Statistics Congress
At the International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress in Malaysia, ESCAP presented regional experiences in integrating data to achieve the SDGs, leveraging technology and promoting civil registration and vital statistics to leave no one behind. In conjunction with the Congress, ESCAP engaged in the Symposium on Data Science and Official Statistics from 15 to 17 August as a member of the UN Global Working Group on Big Data. Speakers from China, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea shared their experiences on modernizing official statistics in Asia and the Pacific.
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Maritime connectivity advanced at regional workshop
ESCAP, the International Maritime Organization and the Ministry of Transport, Thailand organized a regional workshop to mainstream the maritime sector from 19 to 20 August. The workshop introduced the basic concept of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF) system and sensitized maritime administrations to the development of UNSDCF in raising awareness on ways to include maritime and inland waterways as an important component of sustainable economic development. The value and importance of safe waterborne transport is critical to achieve the SDGs, especially for maritime nations where people and goods are transported by shipping, inland waterways or inter-island waterways.
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Workshop tackles the heart of road traffic crashes in South-East Asia
The Capacity Development Workshop on Road Safety for South-East Asia was held on 27 and 28 August in Manila. Based on current ESCAP studies of two major causes of road crashes—speeding and drunk-driving—the workshop enhanced the capacity of the participating countries to prioritize and formulate national policy and implementation plans based on the recommendations of the draft study reports.
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Pacific Islands Forum calls for greater climate action
The Pacific Islands Forum was held in Funafuti, Tuvalu from 13 to 16 August with an emphasis on tackling the climate emergency facing the Pacific and its global repercussions. Head of ESCAP Pacific Office Iosefa Maiava participated in the Forum, presenting ways to forge stronger partnerships for the ocean among member States. During the plenary session, Forum leaders held dialogue sessions with civil society and the private sector to strengthen action at all levels for shared environmental stewardship. On the final day of the Forum, leaders met with all Forum Dialogue Partners with a focus on greater global action on protecting the environment and the ocean.
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North and Central Asia accelerates achievement of the 2030 Agenda
The annual North and Central Asia Multi-stakeholder Forum on Implementation of the SDGs convened in Issyk Kyul, Kyrgzstan on 21 and 22 July. Delegates reflected upon implementation of the SDGs in the subregion and recent Voluntary National Reviews presented at the High-level Political Forum in July. Discussions also focused on mobilizing financing support for the 2030 Agenda and collaboration at the subregional level to address transboundary issues. Based on the deliberations, the Forum produced an outcome report to be submitted to the Asia-Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development (APFSD) next year.
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National women’s entrepreneurship project launched in Nepal
ESCAP, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada and the Government of Nepal, co-organized a national consultation to support the growth of women entrepreneurs. The event convened government and civil society to create an environment allowing women entrepreneurs to flourish through increased access to capital, innovative financing mechanisms and uptake of ICT. Two winning business models from Nepal were announced as part of the Women’s Fintech Innovation Fund, proposing solutions from green energy to mobile wallets.
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Forum strengthens entrepreneurial landscape for inclusive business in Cambodia
The inaugural Inclusive Business Forum met in Phnom Penh on 7 August. Discussions from the Forum will inform the preliminary results of a joint landscape study by ESCAP and the Inclusive Business Action Network on inclusive business recently conducted in Cambodia. The study finds that Cambodia has about 20 real and potential inclusive businesses, mostly in agribusiness, insurance, microfinance and energy services. Based on the study and discussions with key stakeholders, a strategy for an Inclusive Business Enabling Environment for Cambodia was also presented at the Forum. At the meeting, delegates highlighted that an enabling business environment is crucial to accelerate structural transformation needed to transition Cambodia to an upper-middle income country.
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Infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships streamlined to achieve the SDGs
Leveraging the region’s government and business leaders, the Second Meeting of the Infrastructure Financing and Public Private Partnership Network of Asia and the Pacific met in Manila, Philippines to enhance knowledge and capacity of PPP mechanisms and financing strategies to advance sustainable infrastructure development. Delegates, including ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary Hongjoo Hahm, also discussed the establishment of a web portal and project pipeline. The website is expected to contain the country-level information on PPP regulatory frameworks as well as a list of ongoing and planned PPP projects.
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Sri Lanka: a case study on SDG mainstreaming
Sri Lanka has begun its transformation towards a sustainable and resilient society by incorporating the SDGs into its national policy framework. However, the country still faces major challenges. Improving the quality of education, providing adequate health care for the ageing population and fighting climate disasters call for further policy support, financial mobilization and partnership strengthening. Our latest ESCAP blog outlines what the region can learn from Sri Lanka’s efforts and how it is moving forward to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
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Mongolia on the rise: Scaling up support for sustainable development
In conjunction with her mission to Mongolia, Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana published an op-ed outlining Mongolia’s story of economic development despite the challenges posed by its small, landlocked economy, including transport connectivity and access to markets. Ms. Alisjahbana noted that Mongolia’s rich policy experiences in economic diversification and good governance have not only fostered development at the national level but have also allowed Mongolia to emerge as a leader in connectivity and regional cooperation.
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Disaster risk resilience: Key to protecting vulnerable communities
The past five years have been the hottest on record in Asia and the Pacific. Unprecedented heatwaves have swept across our region, cascading into slow onset disasters such as drought. Yet heat is only part of the picture. Tropical cyclones have struck new, unprepared parts of our region and devastatingly frequent floods have ensued. In a new op-ed, ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana highlights the sobering impacts of a new climate reality and how inclusive investments as well as the use of technological innovations such as big data and mobile apps can help protect vulnerable communities from disaster risk.
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Risk-informed strategies break link between the poor and disasters
Extreme temperatures, disaster “hotspots” and the increasing severity of disasters are becoming all too familiar in the Asia-Pacific region, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. Disaster risk impedes efforts for poverty reduction and threatens to leave behind as many as 119 million people. Facing this new reality, what can governments do to break the link between poverty, disasters and inequality? Watch our new video that lays out critical strategies, from social protection to big data.
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