News and Events

3R Workshop on Effective Waste Management and Resource Use Efficiency in East and Southeast Asia

Organized by ADB, UNEP/ROAP, UNCRD and IGES

• Resource-Inefficient Economic Expansion and Resource - Intensive Consumer Behaviour are Generating Unprecedented Levels of Waste in Asia. Rapid economic development has brought greatly expanded economic production and even further changes in consumption patterns across Asia and the Pacific. The efficiency of materials use in resource extraction and manufacturing remains low by global standards and is resulting in very high levels of wastes. There also is an accelerated adoption of resource-intensive consumer behaviour driven by rising incomes and an emulation of Western consumption patterns – at the expense of more environmentally benign traditional lifestyles.



• Economic and Environmental Implications. These new production and consumption patterns have radically altered both the quantity and the nature of wastes – of all media, solid, liquid and gaseous/aerosol – that need to be managed, especially in urban areas. Rapidly expanding cities are being overwhelmed by the growing volume and toxicity of wastes disposed of on land and into the air and waterways. Their proper recovery, treatment or disposal is increasingly beyond the financial resources or political will of many national and municipal governments. Inefficiency of resource use and the often hidden costs of waste management directly affect the international competitiveness of Asian firms. Regional and global economic integration also is accelerating cross-border trade in solid and liquid waste materials for reuse, recycling and disposal in the region, raising sensitive issues that mix ethical, economic and national sovereignty considerations.



• Current Responses. While most national and municipal governments of the region struggle to cope with the waste by-products of rapidly rising economic production and consumption, several international efforts have arisen to help deal with these challenges. In particular, the countries of the G8 established in 2004, at the behest of the Japanese Government, the global “3R Initiative” to encourage application of the principles of “reduce, reuse and recycle” in waste management. This initiative was launched at a 3R Ministerial Conference held in Tokyo, 2005 where invited experts and officials from around the world discussed the application of 3R principles in the context of sustainable development and agreed on technical, policy and institutional measures to promote the 3Rs within their countries and at the regional and global levels. At that meeting, ADB agreed to prepare a review of these issues in the region as an input to improved decision making. This review will be published in 2007 with a title of "Toward Resource-efficient Economies for Asia and the Pacific – Reduce Reuse, and Recycle". A follow-up 3Rs Senior Officials Meeting continued this process and endorsed the idea of holding two subregional consultation meetings in collaboration with international organizations such as UNEP. The first of these meetings focused on South Asia and was held in Kathmandu from 30 August to 1 September 2006. The current workshop is the second in this series and will focus on the situation in East and Southeast Asia.

Top

The workshop has two principal objectives:

1) To review and share experiences with key issues relating to resource efficiency and effective waste management in East and Southeast Asia, including:

• Urban and post-consumer waste management
• Rural and agricultural waste management
• Waste management in industry
• Investment opportunities for improved waste management
• International trade in waste products
• Local, national and international responses
• National strategic planning for achieving the 3Rs

2) ADB is preparing a review paper entitled "Toward Resource-efficient Economies for Asia and the Pacific – Reduce Reuse, and Recycle", and the gathering will provide an important opportunity to obtain feedback for its further refinement.

Top

• Countries: a range of government and private sector representatives will be invited from East and Southeast Asia countries
• International, regional and sub-regional Organizations: UNEP/IETC, UNEP/ROAP, UNCRD, UNIDO, ADB, IGES, 3R Knowledge Hub and other partners will attend
• NGO Representatives: APRSCP, ASEAN, and others will participate
• ADB: Staff concerned with public or private sector investment in water, energy and municipal infrastructure will participate
• Philippine stakeholders: Given the venue, special efforts will be made to invite interested parties from the Philippines to take part

Country representatives are expected to be drawn from agencies or organizations concerned with some aspect of production efficiency or waste management tied to one or more of the key topics to be discussed. Some participants will make specific presentations and all will be encouraged to engage actively in the discussions. The language of discourse will be English.