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Activity Report (2004)

IETC celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2004. During the year, IETC reviewed its area of work to ensure that its programme reflects current global environmental priorities and is closely linked to the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). To implement its refocused programme, IETC is basing its approach to environmental management on the following three pillars, and on Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs): water and sanitation; implementation of sustainable production and consumption in Asia, with a special focus on waste management; and disaster prevention and management.

Water and sanitation

IETC's water and sanitation initiatives aim to improve sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, thereby contributing to achieving the Millennium Development Goal and WSSD targets of halving the proportion of people lacking such access. Specifically, in 2004, IETC focused on identifying suitable EST options; raising technical and institutional capacity to assess, introduce, and manage such options; and supporting on-the-ground implementation on a pilot basis. Information on the implementation of ESTs for water and sanitation was disseminated, using electronic and other means.

Iraqi Marshlands Project

In August, IETC launched the Support for Environmental Management of the Iraqi Marshlands project, within the framework of the United Nations Trust Fund for Iraqi Reconstruction. The project, funded by the Government of Japan, supports sustainable management of the Iraqi Marshlands through monitoring and assessment of current conditions; dissemination of information and assessment tools; building of capacity for technical and policy management; and implementation of EST options on a pilot basis for drinking water, sanitation, and wetland and water quality management. The project also facilitates policy and strategy formulation and coordination.

The project began training of Iraqi officials and stakeholders in December. The first three courses, organized in Japan and Egypt, covered water quality management, sustainable sanitation, and phytotechnologies for wetland management. Preparatory tasks for assessing the feasibility of pilot implementation also started in 2004. The pilot implementation phase plans to provide water,sanitation, and wetland management ESTs in a dozen settlements in 2005.

The project also prepared the launch of the Marshland Information Network (MIN), an internet-based information system using ESTIS (see below), to share satellite images of reflooding conditions and other data, tools for assessment, and project information in both English and Arabic.

Freshwater issues
While the Iraqi Marshland Project has become the core activity in the area of water and sanitation, IETC maintained its original mandate on freshwater issues such as water augmentation and sanitation.

Sustainable consumption and production

IETC has associated closely with UNEP DTIE's P&C Branch and is continuing coordination with P&C for project implementation, with a main focus on integrated waste management, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the 3R initiative, Eco-towns and Green Procurement.

Integrated waste management
IETC, in close collaboration with DTIE's Production and Consumption Branch, finalized the publication Waste Management Planning - An Environmentally Sound Approach for Sustainable Urban Waste Management - An Introductory Guide for Decision Makers. It also worked on this issue to develop programmes at the city and national levels.

ASEAN
A Programme of Action on Integrated Waste Management was proposed to the ASEAN member countries and was accepted for implementation by the ASEAN Secretariat. IETC has been assisting the secretariat (under the Secretariat's Clean Land Initiative) as a key resource organization focusing on waste management issues. This work is being carried out with the support and guidance of the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC).

3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) initiative
Taking advantage of the progress that Japan has achieved in implementing a comprehensive life-cycle based economy using the 3R principle, IETC worked closely with the Japanese Ministry of Environment in documenting the process and drawing lessons for replication in developing countries. UNEP has been invited to provide substantial input to the 2005 G8 Summit. 3R policies will be a central theme of the summit, which will be hosted by Japan.

Eco-towns
DTIE has created a partnership with the city of Kawasaki to assist in developing its Eco-town programme. IETC has also been involved with Kawasaki City in setting up the Asia-Pacific Eco-Business Forum to foster business linkages on environmental issues.

IETC has developed an urban programme based on the lessons learned from Eco-towns in Japan, focusing on the roles of different stakeholders: national/local governments, business and industry, and civil society. IETC has also started to identify and collate information on eco-towns and eco-industrial parks in China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Green procurement
DTIE requested IETC to present its activities in Asia. In response, IETC:

• delivered a keynote address on Green Supply Chains for Sustainable Production and Consumption: Issues and Challenges, at the International Conference on Green Supply Chains - Towards Sustainable Production and Consumption, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in September;
• gave a presentation on UNEP and Green Procurement at the 1st International Conference on Green Purchasing, held in Sendai, Japan, in October. IETC also participated in the panel discussion on Towards International Collaboration of Green Purchasing, highlighting the work done by DTIE's Production and Consumption (P&C) Branch.

Disaster prevention and management

Preparations are under way to showcase UNEP's commitment to comprehensive disaster management, focusing on environmental aspects, at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) to be held in Kobe, Japan, in January 2005.

ESTIS (Environmentally Sound Technologies Information System)

IETC pursued development of its Environmentally Sound Technologies Information System (ESTIS). Users have found ESTIS useful for creation and management of information on the Internet, sharing and searching for information across multiple ESTIS websites, and for decentralized dissemination of information. In 2004, new themes and contexts were added to ESTIS to support activities on the three pillars of IETC’s programme. For more information, visit:
www.estis.net.

ESTIS was presented to a sub-regional meeting organized by UNDESA for Southeast Asia, in Bangkok, in November.

For full report of UNEP DTIE activity, please visit at: http://www.unep.fr/en/about/activity_report.htm

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