Press Release

February 17, 2023
  • Global Environment
  • Waste & Recycling

Results of 11th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific

  1. Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan, together with Ministry of Environment, Kingdom of Cambodia and United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), co-organized the 11th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from February 8 to 10, 2023. State Minister Kobayashi and others from MOE Japan attended the meeting.
  2. The purpose of the forum was to promote high-level policy dialogue on the 3Rs and Circular Economy, to establish a sound material cycle society in the Asia and Pacific region, to share information on systems and technologies that contribute to the promotion of the 3Rs and Circular Economy and to network with other relevant parties. The forum was attended by approximately 400 participants from governments, international organizations, private companies, research institutions, and NGOs from about 40 countries in the Asia and the Pacific region.
  3. The Chair's Summary of the results of the discussions was adopted on the final day.

Date

February 8 - 10, 2023

Place

Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Organizers

Ministry of the Environment, Japan
Ministry of Environment, Kingdom of Cambodia
United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD)

Participants

Around 400 participants

Theme

"Integrating Circular Economy in Major Development Sectors towards Achieving Zero Waste Societies and the SDGs"

Topics

  1. Creating Synergies in Achieving SDGs and Paris Agreement on Climate Change through Circular Economy
  2. Circular Economy towards Sustainable Tourism
  3. Circular Economy towards Sustaining Tonle-Sap Ecosystem
  4. Circular Economy and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
  5. Bridging 3R Infrastructure Gap towards Circular and Zero Waste Societies
  6. Eco-friendly alternatives to single-use plastics
  7. New 3R and Circular Economy Declaration (2024-2034)
  8. Second State of the 3Rs in Asia and the Pacific
  9. Discussion and adoption of a comprehensive forum summary

Results of Forum

  • The circular economy is at the heart of solutions to deal with the triple planetary crisis -climate, bio-diversity loss, and pollution. The circular economy provides a vital interface between the SDGs and the climate change agenda. There is an intrinsic link between the circular economy and climate change mitigation, and transitioning to the circular economy can mitigate CO2 emissions that emerge from extractive industries, SMEs, manufacturing, construction, transportation, etc.
  • Guidelines for further development of national 3R and circular economy programs and plans include: (1) improving availability of data on materials extraction, waste generation, recycling and the reuse of secondary materials in economic activities; (2) reviewing suitability and availability of technologies that can support the circular economy and reduce waste and emissions, according to national and local conditions; and (3) investments in building policy capacity and enhancing existing capacity to address environmental changes in such a way that adds benefit to the economy in terms of added value and employment.
  • The draft skeleton framework of the new 3R and Circular Economy Declaration (2024-2034) as the successor of the existing Ha Noi 3R Declaration (2013-2023) was introduced and discussed. The new 3R and circular economy declaration would aim to be a catalyst on transformational changes in the resource and waste management sector in the region, including enabling changes to policies, institutional frameworks, financing models, data management approaches and application of various 3R and circular economy technologies. It would also aim to be at the forefront of joint approaches and cooperation to strengthen actions to achieve the SDGs and other international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, and will be prepared for presentation at the next forum.
  • The Second State of the 3Rs is to assess the progress made by countries on the Ha Noi 3R Declaration. It also aims to contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, with the aim of realizing a low-carbon and resource-efficient society. The pre-final version was reviewed at the forum and the final version will be officially launched at the next forum.