Catalog

The World Summit

The global commitment to sustainable development was strengthened by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held from 26 August to 4 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. More than 20,000 participants from 191 governments attended. ADB’s delegation was led by President Tadao Chino.

The WSSD identified poverty reduction as the highest priority for sustainable development, and recognized the need to tackle environment and natural resource degradation as prerequisites for reducing poverty. The Summit also reaffirmed political commitment to the Millennium Development Goals on poverty reduction, water supply, and health, and extended the targets to include sanitation. The WSSD provided a clear focus on the need for regional implementation, coordination, and delivery mechanisms; and placed special emphasis on partnership initiatives with the private sector and civil society, including nongovernment organizations.

The themes addressed by the WSSD are contained in ADB’s Medium-Term Strategy, and in ADB’s country strategies and programs. It is expected that the out- come of the WSSD will be reflected in the national development planning priorities defined by ADB’s developing member countries.

Environment Projects that Reduce Poverty

In 2002, several projects were designed with the dual objectives of environmental protection and poverty reduction.

In Bangladesh, a clean fuel project was approved to increase the sustainable use and supply of domestic natural gas resources in place of imported liquid fuels for the transport sector. The project will improve ambient air quality in Dhaka and reduce respiratory diseases, especially among the urban poor who are the most vulnerable.

An ADB/Global Environment Facility (GEF) project in the Tonle Sap basin in Cambodia will develop natural resource management coordination and planning, as well as community-based natural resource management and bio-diversity conservation.

A project in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will improve the environment and promote economic growth in the rural areas of Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Shanxi provinces. Funds will be provided to small household farms to develop an integrated farm production system; expand livestock, vegetable, fruit, and other crop production systems; and establish on-farm biogas digesters and biomass gasification plants.

A project in Indonesia will enhance the national and local capacity to manage the country’s coral reef resources and rehabilitate and effectively manage priority coral reef ecosystems, thereby raising income levels and improving the living standards of the poorer coastal communities. Another project in Indonesia will expand renewable energy use by about 82 megawatts. This will displace energy generated by fossil fuels (about 480 gigawatts annually) and limit the emission of greenhouse gases.

A project in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic will help the Government develop the potential of the Nam Ngum River basin, one of the country’s most vital river basins, by adopting integrated water resource management in the Government’s mainstream process. Investment activities in relatively degraded watersheds of the basin will provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the poor.

Also in 2002, ADB funded projects that would protect the vulnerable poor from the onslaught of natural disasters. A project in Bangladesh will establish cost-effective and sustainable riverbank erosion mitigation measures for the Jamuna and Meghna rivers, as well as support institutions to protect the livelihood of 2 million people living in the vicinity of two flood protection and irrigation schemes. A project in the PRC will help reduce flood damage through integrated river basin management and is expected to improve flood protection in the PRC’s third largest river basin, the Songhua River basin.

Accessing GEF Resources

In October 2002, the Council and Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved ADB’s direct access to GEF project resources, which enables ADB to

• identify, prepare, appraise, and implement GEF projects on behalf of GEF;
• submit project proposals for financing to GEF rather than indirectly through an implementing agency; and
• receive project grants directly from the GEF trustee and be accountable for their use.

Recently replenished at a level of $2.9 billion, the GEF provides grants and concessional resources for projects that address global environmental issues related to climate change, biodiversity, international waters, ozone depletion, land degradation, and persistent organic pollutants.

Partnerships for the Environment in South Asia

South Asia’s coastal seas have some of the richest, most diverse marine and coastal habitats and species in Asia. These seas also provide an important resource for coastal communities, especially where a substantial proportion of the population is either vulnerable or living in poverty. Coastal zones and watersheds in the region are increasingly being converted for agricultural and urban development, which has led to elevated nutrient levels, sediment loads, and changes in coastal configurations. Many marine species are now threatened.

ADB; the World Conservation Union (IUCN); and the governments of India, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have taken initiatives to address these problems through an 18-month regional technical assistance project. The Coastal and Marine Resources and Poverty Reduction program in South Asia will promote regional cooperation to strengthen the management of environmentally sensitive coastal and marine resources through assistance in policy, regulation, institutions, methodologies, and information management. IUCN is implementing the project.

Participating countries are using integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) as a planning and development tool. By systematically categorizing issues and threats in each country, and developing a compendium of high-priority areas, ICZM plans are being targeted to coastal areas with a concentration of poorer communities. This work will lead to an analysis of institutional and policy barriers and constraints to effective ICZM, study of the interrelationships between poverty and the environment, and, ultimately, a South Asian Regional Strategic Plan of Action.