Cooperation for Realizing EST in the Asian Region

As a result of the progress of motorization due to rapid economic development and increasing urbanization, various traffic and environmental issues have arisen such that immediate implementation of effective policies is crucial. The Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan, together with United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), established the “Regional EST (Environmentally Sustainable Transport) Forum in Asia” in 2005. While taking into account the specific characteristics of the Asian region, the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan has been actively contributing to realize environmentally sustainable transport in the Asian region through policy dialogues among participating countries.

photophoto
Both photos above: photo courtesy of “Environmentally Sustainable Transport for Asian Cities: A Sourcebook” (UNCRD, 2007)

[ Regional EST Forum in Asia ]

<Major Objectives>

The major objectives of the Regional EST Forum in Asia are as follows:

  1. Facilitate policy dialogue and provide a strategy for sharing best practices, policy instruments, tools, and technologies in relation to various aspects of EST among Asian countries.
  2. In consultation with the subsidiary expert groups, facilitate and provide necessary advisory support for the formulation of national EST strategies and action plans on EST for selected countries.
  3. Support the implementation of action plans into practice through the participation of international organizations and international development and donor agencies.
  4. Help establish linkages with other ongoing regional and international activities/initiatives in promoting EST.
~ Integrated EST Strategy ~
1 Public Health
2 Road Safety and Maintenance
3 Traffic Noise Management
4 Social Equity and Gender Perspectives
5 Public Transport Planning and Transport Demand Management(TDM)
6 Non-motorized Transport
7 Environment and People Friendly Urban Infrastructures
8 Cleaner Fuels
9 Strengthening Road Side Air Quality Monitoring and Assessment
10 Vehicle Emission Control, Standards, and Inspection and Maintenance(I/M)
11 Land Use Planning
12 Strengthening Knowledge Base, Public Participation and Awareness

<Participating Countries>

22 Asian countries:

<Participating Members of the Forum>

photoThe Sixth Regional EST Forum in Asia

< Progress >

As the first conference to assemble governmental officials and delegates of transport and environment ministries in Asian countries, the “International Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Transport in Nagoya” was held in March 2003. At the conference, a document aiming to deepen the mutual understanding and advance policy dialogues among Asian countries: Nagoya Statement on Environmentally Sustainable Transport in the Asian Region was drawn up and adopted.

In January 2004, the “Manila Policy Dialogue on Environment and Transport in the Asian Region” was held, and the resulting statement which agreed to establish the regional forum, the Manila Statement, was adopted.

The Regional EST Forum in Asia has been held five times since the first forum held in Nagoya, Japan, in August 2005. As major outcomes of the past Forums, the Aichi Statement (2005), the Kyoto Declaration [PDF 21KB](2007), Seoul Statement (2009) , and the Bangkok Declaration for 2020 (2010) have been adopted for the promotion of EST in Asia. At the Sixth Regional EST Forum in Asia held in New Delhi, India on December4-6, 2011, around 160 participants including senior government officials (representatives of Transport and Environment Ministries) from 21 Asian countries, representatives from international organizations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), research organizations, and sustainable transport experts were in attendance. The major achievements of the Forum are as follows:

(1) Representatives from 21 Asian countries (9 ASEAN countries, 8 SACEP countries, China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia) participated in the Meeting to share the policies and advanced efforts regarding EST.

(2) Discussions were exchanged on the role and efforts of EST towards the realization of a green economy and confirmed its importance.

(3) Based on these discussions, further promotion of EST in Asia was agreed in order to achieve the goals under the Bangkok Declaration for 2020.

Moreover, it is expected that a synergetic effect will result from the involvement of agencies at both national and city levels. The "Asian Mayors' Policy Dialogue for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport in Cities" was held on April 23-24, 2007 in Kyoto, Japan. During the dialogue, city mayors from 23 cities in 14 Asian countries (Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Japan) shared best practices and lessons learned, and adopted the Kyoto Declaration [PDF 21KB] with the intention of committing to further promote EST in Asia. To this date, 44 cities have signed the statement during the Special Event of Asian Mayors on the Signing of the Kyoto Declaration held twice in 2008 and 2010.

The Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan will continue its effort to cooperate with related parties to pursue full realization of EST in the Asian region

<Efforts toward EST in Asia>

Mar. 2003 International Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Transport in the Asian Region (Nagoya, Japan)
Jan. 2004 Manila Policy Dialogue on Environment and Transport in the Asian Region (Manila, the Philippines) Adopted Manila Statement
Aug. 2005 First Meeting of the Regional EST Forum in Asia (Nagoya, Japan) Adopted Aichi Statement
Dec. 2006 Second Meeting of the Regional EST Forum in Asia (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Apr. 2007 Asian Mayors' Policy Dialogue for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Cities (Kyoto, Japan) Adopted Kyoto Declaration
Mar. 2008 Third Meeting of the Regional EST Forum in Asia (Singapore)
Nov. 2008 Special Event of Asian Mayors for the Signing of the Kyoto Declaration for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (Bangkok, Thailand)
Feb. 2009 Fourth Meeting of the Regional EST Forum in Asia (Seoul, Republic of Korea) Adopted Seoul Statement
Mar. 2010 Special Event of Asian Mayors for the Signing of the Kyoto Declaration for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (Seoul, Republic of Korea)
Aug. 2010 Fifth Meeting of the Regional EST Forum in Asia (Bangkok, Thailand) Adopted Bangkok Declaration for 2020
Dec.
2011		 Sixth Meeting of the Regional EST Forum in Asia (New Delhi, India)

<Progress of the Regional EST Forum in Asia>

Inaugural Forum Second Forum Third Forum Forth Forum Fifth Forum Sixth Forum
Number of Participating Countries 13 countries 14 countries 22 countries 22 countries 22 countries 21 countries
Number of Participants approx. 80 participants approx. 100 participants approx. 120 participants approx.150 participants approx. 200 participants approx.160 participants
Number of Participants over Deputy Ministers Level 3 5 8 18 22 16
Number of Supporting Organization 3 5 7 17 14 16
Number of Participating Organization 32 27 35 42 49 45
Venue Nagoya, Japan Yogyakarta, Indonesia Singapore Seoul, Korea Bangkok, Thailand New Delhi, India

Ministry of the Environment Press Release