Asia and the Pacific: The region is home to more than half the world population – 3.7 billion out of 6.4 billion. The region accounts for over 36% of the global economy (GDP PPP) and has the challenges of estimated 70% of the global poor. Geographically it ranges from the fragile Small Island Developing States of the Pacific to the populous and vast coastal and deltaic plains of South and Southeast Asia and the mountainous, landlocked countries of Central Asia. Rapidly growing populations and dynamic economies are exerting considerable pressures on the environmental resources and services of the region. According to UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO):
More than half of Asia’s dry-lands are affected by desertification;
Of the 15 cities in the world with the highest levels of particulates, 12 are in Asia;
The Region has the lowest per capita availability of freshwater, with about half its population living with severe water stress;
UNEP in the region: Coordinated by the Division of Regional Cooperation (DRC), UNEP delivers its programmes through six regional offices. The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) is located in Bangkok, Thailand. The office comprises core staff working alongside specialist officers. Specialist officers are outposted from the Divisions of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA), Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE), Global Environment Facility (DGEF), Regional Seas Programme - the East Asian Seas Action Plan and its Secretariat. ROAP is provided substantive directions by relevant HQ Divisions, and regional delivery following agreed UNEP strategies and policies.
Subregions: In a region as large and as diverse (46 sovereign states), UNEP recognizes the value of working at the subregional level where the commonalities of social, economic and the environment factors are strongest. There are five distinct sub-regions: Central Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
Subregional Policy Forum: UNEP has established the Subregional Environmental Policy Dialogue (SEPD), with membership comprising of five Ministerial chairs and five civil society leaders. This forum meets on an annual basis to discuss emerging issues and provide guidance to UNEP’s programmes at the global and regional levels.
Strategic directions: New directions in environmental paradigm are:
from growth to sustained growth, and towards well-being and happiness;
from traditional environmental management (reactive) to proactive and prevention based approaches;
from primarily global focus to regional, sub-regional, bilateral cooperation.
To implement the regional strategy, SEPD has identified four strategic directions for the Asia Pacific. These strategic directions ensure decisions of the UNEP Governing Council are effectively implemented in the region, while taking into account regional concerns/priorities:
Promote Regional Cooperation;
Strengthen the Environment Community;
Identify and Respond to Emerging issues; and
Leadership by Example through Demonstration Projects.
Priorities: SEPD has endorsed four priority areas at the regional level, which are elaborated in the next sections of this strategy document. The environment Knowledge Hub (ekH) cuts across the priority areas:
Climate Change;
Mainstreaming Environment into national development plans;
Urbanization as the “mega issue” across the region; and
Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC) as an emerging scientific issue.
