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APEIS |
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Background and Objectives |
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Environmental innovation, including technological,
social and policy innovation, is vital to breaking through
the vicious cycles of environmental degradation and poverty,
and to consequently achieving sustainable development in the
Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation
Strategy Project (APEIS) seeks to develop and promote practical,
science-based tools and policy options for enhancing environmental
innovation, and thus sustainable development, in the region.
In particular, these tools and options are directed to improving
the ability of policy-makers to make informed decisions on
challenges related to the environment and development. In
addition, APEIS aims to promote capacity building and international
cooperation in the region.
The first phase of APEIS runs for three years from April 2002
to March 2005. It is primarily funded by the Ministry of the
Environment of Japan, augmented with contributions from participating
research institutions. |
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APEIS is an Asia-Pacific
initiative to help realize the Plan of Implementation
of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD),
which urges to:
Assist developing countries, through international
cooperation, to enhance their capacity in their efforts
to address issues pertaining to environmental protection
including in their formulation and implementation of policies
for environmental management and protection, including
through urgent actions at all levels to:
(a) Improve their use of science and technology for environmental
monitoring, assessment models, accurate database and integrated
information systems;
(b) Promote and, where appropriate, improve their use
of satellite technologies for quality data collection,
verification and updating and further improvement of aerial
and groundbased observations, in support of their efforts
to collect quality, accurate, long-term, consistent and
reliable data. [WSSD Implementation Document]
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Framework and Target Audience |
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APEIS is composed of three
sub-projects:
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Integrated Environmental Monitoring (IEM) |
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Integrated Environmental Assessment (IEA) |
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Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy
Options (RISPO) |
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Each sub-project is designed to provide a scientific
basis for decision-making and to establish on-going communication
between scientists and policy-makers. Thus, the target audience
of APEIS is policy-makers in the Asia- Pacific region; however,
the project will also convey its products to other stakeholders
and the general public. |
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| Table1:Structure of APEIS |
| Supervisory bodies (Meetings) |
| ECO
ASIA |
Ministerial
Meeting for policy discussion based on outcomes
of scientific activities and provision of policy
guidance |
| ECO
ASIA Panel |
Expert
meeting to review, endorse and coordinate the overall
project and to coordinate between scientific activities
and policy makers |
| Research
Coordination Committee (RCC) |
Meeting
of scientists to coordinate between each sub-project
and to develop a draft overall research plan |
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| Sub-projects |
| Integrated
Environmental Monitoring (IEM) |
| Integrated
Environmental Assessment (IEA) |
| Research
on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (RISPO) |
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| Support functions |
| Networking & Capacity Building |
| Information Sharing and Outreach |
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Expected Outcomes and Products |
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APEIS will produce two types of products:
1) knowledge-based tools and 2) policy options.
Each type is explained below. |
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APEIS will develop a set of scientific knowledge-based
tools to assist decision-making process,
in particular to assist in analyzing and
understanding present conditions and future
trends related to the Asia-Pacific economy
and environment. These tools include: |
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An integrated monitoring system for early
warning of environmental disasters (such as dust storms,
floods, forest fires and oil spills) and for long-term
tracking of environmental degradation (such as desertification,
salinization and deforestation). |
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Integrated assessment computer models to
evaluate the complex interaction between socio-economic
activities, environmental policies, and the natural environment. |
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A strategic database containing information
and indicators related to economic and environmental activities. |
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A “good practices” inventory of cases that
illustrate innovative and successful use of environmental-friendly
approaches and instruments. |
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As its second type of product, APEIS will also
develop a set of innovative policy options in selected areas.
Such options may advocate use of advanced technologies; they
may combine existing and already tested instruments; or they
may integrate traditional and emerging knowledge in novel ways.
The areas where options will initially be developed are: |
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Eco-Markets and Eco-Industry: specifically,
innovative financing for renewable energy, international
markets for recyclable materials, and improved environmental
performance of small and medium-sized enterprises; |
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Urban Systems: specifically, environmentally
sustainable transport systems; |
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Community Resources: specifically, use of
local biomass energy, and community-based tourism; |
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Stakeholder Networking: specifically, environmental
education by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
local/indigenous knowledge-based resource management systems. |
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Capacity Building and Information |
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Capacity building lies at the core of APEIS. Capacity
building activities will focus on enhancing the use by developing
countries of scientific tools and their application to policy.
Besides capacity building, APEIS also places high priority on
information sharing and outreach to raise stakeholder awareness,
transparency and accountability. A wide range of information
will be made available to targeted audiences through websites,
CD-ROMs and printed materials. |
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Commitments and Partnership |
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APEIS is committed to working with a wide variety
of individuals and organizations in the Asia-Pacific region
and beyond. The project has registered its activities as a Type
II Partnership Initiative in the WSSD, as well as an ‘action'
under the Portfolio of Water Actions of the Third World Water
Forum. Close links are being forged with other projects at the
regional and global levels such as the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment (MA), the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change
Research (APN), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF)'s
“National Performance Assessment and Subregional Strategic Environment
Framework in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).” APEIS will
also seek opportunities to cooperate with other relevant regional
and global activities. |
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Application of APEIS Products to Policy-making |
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APEIS products contribute to key aspects
of the policy-making process.The environmental
monitoring data of IEM can provide early
warning of environmental disasters such as
dust storms and forest fires, as well as
detection of slowly worsening environmental
degradation such as desertification, salinization
and other ecosystem changes due to human
pressures. Such data can also help develop
preparedness policies for both environmental
disasters and degradations. To ensure sustainable
water supply, watershed ecosystems must be
protected as a whole because they naturally
capture, filter, store and release water.
The IEM integrated model offers a scientific
tool for exploring policy options related
to sustainable watershed management, which
may include the efficient and recycled use
of water and nutrients, and adaptation to
climate change impacts.
(Box
1). |
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The environmental assessments of IEA can
provide
policy-makers with the
ability to visualize the consequences
of environmental policies
and the benefits of environmental
innovations such as changes
in consumption patterns, development
of the eco-industries,
and deployment of advanced technologies.
Sophisticated models help
policy-makers understand the complicated
relationships between economic
growth and environmental protection,
as well as understand the
power of innovation to steer human
activities in a sustainable
direction. For example, the IEA
models can help policy-makers
visualize the Earth's climate
a hundred years into the
future
(Box
2). |
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The IEA models can provide the basis for
understanding
the consequences of different
policy options and can facilitate
open and transparent discussion
among stakeholders
(Box
3). |
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RISPO products provide policy-makers with
tested
ideas and strategic policy
options for achieving sustainable
development. When developing
policy to address an environmental
problem, one of the best
approaches is to consult past experience.
The Good Practices Inventory
offers a list of lessons identified
and categorized from various
past practices in the Asia-Pacific
region. The Strategic Policy
Options, which are a combination
of good practices validated
with pilot studies, offers practical
solutions in selected area
that can serve as models for actual
policy development
(Box.4). |
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APEIS (IEM) proposes to work with some of the Chinese governmental
agencies in providing scientific data and information for exploring
the sustainable management of the Changjiang River basin,in
particular, under the framework of the Task Force on Integrated
River Basin Management of the China Council for International
Cooperation on Environment and Development. The State Environmental
Protection Administration and the Changjiang Water Resources
Commission might be partners in this project. Another proposed
area is the development of IEM regional information system for
the dissemination of IEM monitoring data and products. Collaboration
with policy-makers, a main user of this system, in its development
will help make it user-friendly.
