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Publications
Environment, Religion and Culture in the context of 2030 SD Agenda
A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: 1998-2013
Guidance on Direct Access Lessons from the UNEP Asia-Pacific NIE Accreditation Support Programme
The State of Biodiversity in Asia and the Pacific
GEO-6: Global Environment Outlook: Regional assessment for Asia and the Pacific
ROAP Events / Publications Slides
To provide you the background, the second International Seminar on Environment, Religion, and Culture, entitled: “Environment, Culture and Religion – Promoting Inter-cultural Dialogue for Sustainable Development”, held on 23-24 April 2016, in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The 2016 Seminar builds on the first international seminar in 2001 by examining the nexus of environment, religion and culture, as a direct response to the “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, the declaration adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Summit in New York in September 2015.
Since 1998, Beijing has prioritized air pollution control and moved aggressively to control emissions from all sources. The city’s efforts in this endeavour over the past 15 years is comprised of several elements — scientific research (emission inventories, monitoring and modelling), coordination (multiple pollutants, all sectors, and join efforts with neighbouring provinces), and the development and implementation of cost-effective control measures.
The aim of the report is to assess the effectiveness of the air pollution control measures and to summarize the city’s experience in air pollution control. Chapter 1 is a background and introduction to the report. Chapter 2reviews the historical trend of ambient air quality in Beijing from 1998 to 2013. Chapter 3 discusses the various air pollution control and prevention measures implemented in Beijing. Chapter 4 assesses the effectiveness of air pollution control measures implemented in Beijing by evaluating the emission reduction benefits. Chapter 5 looks at achieving air quality goal during special events. Chapter 6 summarizes the city’s experience in air pollution control and outlines its direction on air pollution control.
Direct Access to funding, including National Implementing Entity (NIE) accreditation and its processes, is a relatively new concept for many countries. The role and responsibilities of an accredited NIE are also relatively new. Given current fiduciary capacities in most of the Asia-Pacific countries, the process of accreditation can be demanding, often requiring capacity enhancement. External technical support can help enhance national capacities in most countries. This manual has been developed mainly to share lessons from UNEP support to Asia-Pacific countries to meet the demands of a growing number of international climate funds requiring stringent fiduciary standards for Direct Access.
The modules range from an introduction to the concepts of direct access, fiduciary standards and the accreditation process for the Adaptation Fund, to identification of suitable projects. The manual draws upon the rich and robust knowledge and experience of the team of experts and advisers involved in the project, international frameworks, publications, research material and case studies, among others to illustrate key messages in each module.
The reports’ key findings are that all regions are making good progress on Target 11 (protected areas), Target 16 (ratifying the Nagoya Protocol), Target 17 (the adoption of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) as policy instruments) and on Targets 18 and 19 (traditional knowledge respected, and knowledge shared, improved and applied). However, no region is making progress on Target 6 sustainable management of marine resources), Target 8 (reduction of pollution), Target 10 (reduction of pressures on vulnerable ecosystems) and Target 14 (ecosystem and essential services safeguarded).
In Asia and the Pacific, the report highlights the pressures caused by unsustainable wildlife trade due to growth in demand and the devastating impact that invasive alien species can have on oceanic islands. Nonetheless, protected area networks have grown and voluntary certification schemes are showing modest growth. Although 13 out of 20 Targets show ‘no significant progress’ or movement away towards achievement, six are ‘on track’ or progressing towards achievement.
The assessment provides the firstintegrative baseline in light of global and regional megatrendssupported by open access to data and information. This isa great success not only of science informing policy, but ofnations at the regional level acting together on the basis ofscience to achieve an authoritative assessment of the state,trends and outlook of the their regional environment.
