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  • July 31, 2017
    ADB

    Catalyzing Green Finance: A Concept for Leveraging Blended Finance for Green Development

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    This publication describes an innovative financing solution for enhancing both financially bankable as well as environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects. A large financing need challenges climate-adjusted infrastructure in developing Asia, estimated at $26 trillion till 2030. This necessitates crowding-in private sources to meet financing, efficiency, and technology gaps. However, a lack of bankable projects is a major hurdle. This publication suggests one possible innovative financing approach. The Green Finance Catalyzing Facility (GFCF) proposes a blended finance framework for governments and development entities to better leverage development funds for risk mitigation, generate a pipeline of bankable green infrastructure projects, and directly catalyze private finance. The GFCF provides useful inputs for the current debate on mainstreaming green finance into country financial systems.

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    catalyzing​-green​-finance.pdf (9 MB)
  • July 31, 2017
    ADB

    Climate Change Operational Framework 2017–2030: Enhanced Actions for Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate-Resilient Development

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    This framework provides direction for enhancing resilience and supporting climate adaptation and mitigation actions in ADB operations and business processes.

    The Climate Change Operational Framework 2017–2030 positions ADB to facilitate, collaboratively and proactively, a regional shift toward a low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development path. The operational framework provides guidance across all ADB sector and thematic groups to strengthen climate actions, operationalizing ADB’s commitment to provide at least $6 billion per year in climate change financing from its own resources by 2020. It outlines actions and the institutional measures to be implemented to enable ADB to meet the climate needs of its developing members.

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    ccof​-2017​-2030.pdf (527 KB)
  • July 31, 2017
    RECOFTC

    Moving from information dissemination to community participation in forest landscapes: How development organizations in Asia and the Pacific are using participatory development communication approaches

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    Traditionally, in the context of environment and natural resources management, many communication efforts have focused on the dissemination of technical information to end-users who were expected to adopt them. Development practitioners were trying to ‘push’ their products on communities in order to receive community commitment to their development initiatives. Further, when planning communication strategies, many projects tend to take a very broad problem as a starting point (a declining forest, for example) and then move right into planning communication activities (for example, information sessions, awareness campaigns). The result is that the target is often missed and despite all the activities undertaken the problem remains unaddressed. Participatory development communication (PDC) takes a different approach. It suggests a shift in focus from informing people with a view to changing their behaviours or attitudes to facilitating exchanges between various stakeholders. These exchanges help the stakeholders to address a common problem or implement a joint development initiative. PDC is a systematic process using participatory techniques and communication media (such as radio, newspapers, TV, social media) to empower communities to participate in the development process, enable them to take the lead on its activities and use the learning generated to improve their livelihoods. The purpose of PDC is to seek sustainable social change by engaging and empowering relevant stakeholders (FAO, 2014). At the heart of PDC and other participatory research and development approaches is people’s meaningful participation and empowerment. This paper offers a brief overview of the basic and practical steps involved in the PDC process to assist sustainable forest practitioners and communication officers to adopt a PDC approach in their work. The paper then reviews the PDC components of six case studies promoting sustainable forest management in Asia and the Pacific. Each project was conducted in 2015–16 and included a primary objective of influencing ‘community awareness and attitudes’ towards sustainable forest management. While the case studies do not offer examples of the complete PDC approach, they highlight how sustainable forest management projects in the Asia-Pacific region are moving away from one-way information dissemination toward using two-way communication approaches and tools to promote community participation in forest decision-making. The case studies were developed following a joint RECOFTC and FAO workshop on 12–15 May 2015 to improve the capacities of forestry communication officers from governments and NGOs to plan, develop and facilitate participatory development processes in building and implementing more effective communication strategies. Workshop participants are members of the Asia-Pacific Forest Communication Network (APFCN).

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    participatory​_development​_communcation​_case​_studies​_08​_2017​_en.pdf (5 MB)
  • July 25, 2017
    UNESCAP

    Regional Road Map for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

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    At the global level in 2015 countries set in motion the most far reaching and ambitious development agenda of our time, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In Asia and the Pacific, countries have already begun translating this ambitious agenda into action and many have already set up the national architecture for coordinating and promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the policy transformations required to put countries on track to achieve the SDGs have yet to take shape across this or any other region. Business as usual policies and investments are locking countries into unsustainable pathways that will create a gap between ambition and action.

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    Final SDG Roadmap​_Updated Logo.pdf (631 KB)
  • July 09, 2017
    UNESCAP

    Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2016: SDG Baseline Report

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    The report presents the SDG baseline for the Asia and the Pacific both at the regional and sub-regional levels for selected targets of each SDG. The main objective of the Report is to highlight critical gaps and challenges of the region in achieving the SDGs and inform inter-governmental and inter-agency regional decision making in support of implementing the 2030 development agenda in the region.

    The report is organized in three parts:

    • Part I provides a regional snapshot of progress since 2000 (starting of the MDGs) and acceleration that is required in order for the region to achieve the 16 goals by 2030. This is further elaborated in a dashboard across the target areas, highlighting the size of the gaps between a “business-as-usual” scenario and the required pace of progress by 2030.
    • Part II then sets out a more detailed, goal by goal baseline for the region for selected targets, drawing on the latest data available on the proposed global indicators as well as supplementary statistical information.
    • Part III concludes by highlighting key findings of the baseline report and the regional vision for transforming official statistics to tackle challenges in meeting the statistics and data requirements for the follow-up and review of the 2030 agenda. It also emphasize critical role of data disaggregation for achieving the leave-no-one-behind ambition of the SDGs.

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    ESCAP​_SYB2016​_SDG​_baseline​_report.pdf (28 MB)
  • June 30, 2017
    ADB

    A Region at Risk: The Human Dimensions of Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific

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    Recent regional climate change projections have consequences for human systems, particularly for developing countries in Asia and the Pacific.

    Asia and the Pacific continues to be exposed to climate change impacts. Home to the majority of the world’s poor, the population of the region is particularly vulnerable to those impacts. Unabated warming could largely diminish previous achievements of economic development and improvements, putting the future of the region at risk.

    The report discusses the most recent projections pertaining to climate change and climate change impacts in Asia and the Pacific, and the consequences of these changes to human systems, particularly for developing countries. It also highlights gaps in the existing knowledge and identifies avenues for continued research.

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    region​-risk​-climate​-change.pdf (4 MB)
  • June 30, 2017
    UNEP

    Green Finance Progress Report 2017

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    The G20 Green Finance Synthesis Report adopted at the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou in September 2016 set out seven options identified by the G20 Green Finance Study Group (GFSG) to accelerate the mobilization of green finance. This paper highlights some of the progress made against these seven options in G20 members and internationally since June 2016. Progress described is illustrative and non-exhaustive, drawing on voluntary contributions from GFSG members and a broader review of global trends. While not comprehensive, it provides a useful summary of many of the key developments and the overall progress made to mobilize private capital for green investment.

    Progress observed and reported in this paper indicates that momentum is growing in mainstreaming green finance into the architecture and practice of financial and capital markets. This momentum has directly resulted in an increased mobilization of green finance. UN Environment tracks a range of green finance measures including, for example, green financing mobilized, policies, regulations, standards, guidelines, principles and fiscal incentives. This report shows that more measures related to green finance have been introduced since June 2016 compared with any other one-year period since 2000.

    Green Finance Progress Report 2017.pdf (2 MB)
  • June 29, 2017
    the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia

    Mekong Power Shift: Emerging Trends in the GMS Power Sector

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  • May 31, 2017
    IUCN

    Guidelines for tourism partnerships and concessions for protected areas: Generating sustainable revenues for conservation and development

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    Many Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) underutilise tourism as a means to contribute towards the financial sustainability of protected areas. The development of the present guidelines on tourism partnerships and concessions for protected areas is a response to this under-utilized potential and to recent decisions of the CBD on tourism.

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    2017​-044.pdf (4 MB)
  • May 31, 2017
    ADB

    Lessons from ADB Transport Projects: Moving Goods, Connecting People, and Disseminating Knowledge

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    From in-country to cross-country connections, whether by land, air, or water, transport is a key ingredient that enables nations to achieve economic and social development goals.

    ADB has been working with developing member countries to improve roads, airports, waterways, and other transport infrastructures to provide people with better access to economic opportunities, public services, domestic and international markets. This publication shares 20 case stories bearing practical knowledge and lessons for transport projects across Asia and the Pacific region under different socioeconomic and political situations.

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    lessons​-transport​-projects.pdf (8 MB)