ACECC Tokyo Declaration 2019
April 16, 2019
Signed by the following ACECC Members:
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering (CICHE)Engineers Australia (EA)
Indonesian Society of Civil and Structural Engineers (HAKI)
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE India)
Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB)
Institution of Engineers, Pakistan (IEP)
Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE)
Korean Society of Civil Engineers (KSCE)
Mongolian Association of Civil Engineers (MACE)
Nepal Engineers' Association (NEA)
Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE)
Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations (VFCEA)- Preamble The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council, (ACECC) was established on September 27,
1999 in Tokyo, with five (5) civil engineering societies/institutes present, the American Societyof Civil Engineers, (ASCE), the Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, (CICHE),
the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, (JSCE), the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, (KSCE),
and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, (PICE), to promote the acquisition and transferof civil engineering knowledge for advancing the design and construction practices that
ultimately improve the quality of life of all citizens from these ACECC member countries.
In addition to the five members at the time ACECC was established, eight new members, theVietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations, (VFCEA), the Engineers Australia, (EA),
the Mongolian Association of Civil Engineers, (MACE), the Indonesian Society of Civil and
Structural Engineers, (HAKI), the Institution of Civil Engineers, (ICE India), the Institution ofEngineers, Bangladesh (IEB), the Institution of Engineers, Pakistan, (IEP), the Nepal Engineers'
Association, (NEA), have joined, and the cooperation between ACECC members has
strengthened. As the variety of challenges, technology levels and economic development faces
each individual member country is different, so ACECC has developed its mutual understandingof these issues.
The development of Asia has been remarkable, and the total GDP of the 13 ACECC member
countries has almost doubled over the 20 years since the establishment of ACECC.
Furthermore, for emerging countries, GDP has increased more than fourfold over the last 20years. The increase in national income per capita has also been remarkable, and people’s lives
have improved dramatically.
Infrastructure facilities are indispensable for the improvement in people’s lives, and civilengineering technology and civil engineers who have been at the forefront of thesedevelopments have made great contributions to the construction of diverse infrastructure
facilities such as roads, railroads, ports, airports, logistics and energy. The development ofsocial infrastructure and advances in its related technologies have improved all aspects oflogistics along with enhancing people-to-people networking and cultural exchanges andreducing regional disparities. ACECC will continue to conduct activities to promote thesustainable development of infrastructure facilities in order to contribute to the improvement of
the quality of people’s lives.
Since the establishment of the ACECC, the world population has increased 25 % from 6 billion
to 7.5 billion. Along with the improvement in the quality of life, efforts to deal with problems suchas environmental, health, and urban problems such as traffic have become even more
important and place additional concerns on rural and peri-urban areas of large cities.
Furthermore, disparities among Asian countries and between cities and regions in one country
need to be addressed. The details of the specific problem and progress level towards solutions
are different in each country, especially within the Asian region. ACECC will contribute to thesolutions recognizing the uniqueness and specificity of each country.
Over the 20 years, the ACECC member countries, have experienced an unprecedented numberof natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunami, floods, storm surges, volcanic eruptions,typhoons and torrential downpours. These include: the Gujarat Earthquake in 2001, theSumatra Offshore Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, thePakistan Earthquake in 2005, Taiwan’s Typhoon Morakot in 2009, the Great East Japan
Earthquake in 2011, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013, the Mount Ontake Eruption in 2014,the Nepal Earthquake in 2015, the Kumamoto Earthquake in 2016, the Kilauea Volcano
Eruption in 2018, the Western Japan Torrential Rain in 2018, Typhoon Jebi in 2018, theHokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake in 2018, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi Earthquake andTsunami Disaster in 2018. Elsewhere in the world disasters have also occurred on an
unprecedented scale - the China's Sichuan Earthquake in 2008 and the Haiti Earthquake in2010. ACECC must develop responses to expected disasters in the Asian Region to mitigate
the impact of these disasters as well as plan and design infrastructure resilient to disasters.
Coupled with the impact of climate change on a global level, the scale of natural disasters
surpasses past experiences and it is becoming increasingly difficult to solve the problems
arising from these disasters. Climate change has the potential to increase the severity of many
natural disaster impacts. ACECC will always recognize and contribute to the solution of theseproblems regarding disaster countermeasures and disaster prevention and reduction as acommon and urgent challenge within Asia as well as in countries beyond Asia.
The United Nations adopted 17 “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” in 2015. ACECC
acknowledges that civil engineering is directly or indirectly involved in these 17 goals and makesa commitment to the realization of the SDGs with a broad cross-sectoral perspective and a wide
range of experts.
Civil engineering technology builds civilizations, helping to make people's dreams come true andenriching their lives and society as a whole. Recognizing that our present standard of living isbased on civil engineering and civil engineering technology that has developed over time,
ACECC will increase its efforts to properly disseminate the role and the importance of civilengineering to society to support the continuing development of civil engineering. ACECC willcontinue to encourage young civil engineers to take pride in civil engineering, sharing their ideas
for the future of the civil engineering profession and encourage more youth to become civilengineers.
In consensus, ACECC considers the “ACECC Tokyo Declaration 2019” consisting of the 16
initiatives shown below to define the basic activities and policy of the future, through various
activities, such as the Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR), the ACECCTechnical Committees and others. The ACECC objectives of sharing knowledge and utilizing
knowledge management will be realized. ACECC will widely disseminate the results obtained
to society and contribute to the realization of a safe, secure and sustainable society.

ACECC TOKYO DECLARATION 2019
➢ Initiatives to address the challenges facing Asia1) Initiatives related to disaster preparedness, countermeasures, prevention andmitigation
Within the Asian region, we face an array of natural disasters. Efforts to deal with naturaldisasters are an important issue that ACECC needs to address. In line with the “The Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030” adopted by the United Nations in 2015,
it is important to formulate disaster preparedness plans, invest in disaster prevention, andconsider disaster mitigation at the planning stage of structures. ACECC will mobilize
technology, information and knowledge possessed by each member country, sharing thisknowledge thereby contributing to the mitigation of damage caused by natural disasters andensuring resilience against future events, through activities centered on the ACECCTechnical Committees. Best practices in disaster mitigation shall also be disseminated withan objective of enabling the other stakeholders to benefit from them. Furthermore, in theevent of a large-scale natural disaster, we, ACCEC, will establish a rapid cooperation system
to provide technical assistance to the country where the disaster occurred.
2) Initiatives related to urban, population growth and traffic problems
In Asia, where economic development is significant, infrastructure development is often notsustainable and fails to keep up with rapid urbanization. As a result of rapid urbanization withexpanding urban areas, traffic problems and the like are widespread. In addition,
infrastructure development for an aging society is an urgent issue for some countries.
Affordable, environmentally viable and culturally acceptable mobility options will be identified
for upscaling and replication in Asian contexts. Through activities centered on the TechnicalCommittees, ACECC will encourage not only those countries that have these problems, butalso the countries that have already developed and entered the maturity stage to share theirexperience, information and technology throughout the ACECC organization and work on
problem solving reciprocally.
3) Initiatives related to environmental problems
Infrastructure development occasionally conflicts with protection and conservation of thenatural environment. In addition to working to promote restoration of already deteriorating
environments from air pollution, water pollution, and soil contamination, we must also
promote the establishment of technologies and systems to mitigate these problems. Solving
environmental problems on a global scale, such as global warming and the destruction ofecosystems, are urgent challenges. Social and physical changes such as mass population
dislocations from rural to urban shall be examined for their environmental impacts onsettlements. ACECC will work on information sharing and potential solutions for these issues
through activities centered on the Technical Committees.
4) Initiatives related to human health
Disasters, urban crowding and sprawl, and environmental pollution negatively affect humanhealth. On the other hand, infrastructure for water and sanitation, waste management, andair pollution control is necessary to protect human health, support human wellbeing, andminimize negative environmental impacts. ACECC will work on information sharing andpotential solutions for these issues through activities centered on the Technical Committees.
5) Initiatives related to Climate Change Issues
Climate change is an established reality and Asian countries have suffered tremendously

from climate change impacts during the recent past. Unpredictability in weather patterns
across the globe is occurring due to a variety of human and natural interventions. The
impacts on the infrastructure, habitat and resources in the different Asian regions areenormous. Droughts, famines, loss of habitable human settlements and many similar
impacts are common evidence of this. There is a strong need for research, knowledge
generation and consequent implementation into engineering practices to address thewidespread problems being caused by climate change. ACECC will undertake appropriate
responses to these and related factors through its relevant Technical Committees.
6) Initiatives related to water problems
Access to safe and affordable water at all times is a critical element in maintain or improving
the quality of people's lives and protecting human health. Ensuring that water resources areproperly managed in a sustainable manner that considers environmental and ecologicalconservation is fundamental to this outcome. Furthermore, problems related to water
resource utilization in rivers that flow through or border multiple countries, including flood
control, contamination and water use need to be solved not only by countries in thewatersheds but also with the assistance of engineers around the worldwide through mutual
cooperation. Issues of waste water management and recycling also need to be included.
ACECC will work on potential solutions for these water issues through activities centered on
the Technical Committees and its cooperative partnerships.
7) Activities to build, maintain and develop high-quality sustainable and resilient
infrastructure facilities
In order to build a more sustainable society, we need to significantly enhance theperformance and value of infrastructure projects. To reach this goal, ACECC will encourage
its members to influence major policy changes and infrastructure funding levels, whilechallenging civil engineers to focus on innovation, rethink overall life cycle costs, ensurecommunity participation and support, and drive the necessary change from planning anddesign, through construction, operations and maintenance, closure and post-closure.
Through activities centered on the Technical Committees, ACECC will focus on ensuring thequality sustainability and resilience of infrastructure.
➢ Human resource development for civil engineering and technology transfer8) Diversity in the civil engineering profession
ACECC members will support and encourage equal opportunities for all people to participate
in the civil engineering profession without regard to gender, race, national origin,ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, or family, marital, or economic status.
ACECC will encourage its members to disseminate and implement programs to advance theprofession by promoting an inclusive climate in the profession. Furthermore, ACECC
members will promote the participation of young people, women and underrepresented
minorities in ACECC events and strengthen their networks. In addition to promoting the workof senior engineers, a technology-friendly working environment will be promoted to reducethe burden on the elderly.
9)

Education and human resource development and compliance with ethicalstandards

We will strengthen formal education in all its forms and continue to offer Continuing
Education for both new graduates and experienced civil engineers to support their careeradvancement as they gain professional and technical expertise. Complying with ethicalstandards, combating corruption, and applying leadership skills are important ways theACECC community will help improve the welfare and quality of life for people around theglobe. ACECC members will host seminars and workshops on diverse topics in which awide range of engineers can participate. Strategic training input will also be acquired fromallied disciplines and professional specializations.
10) Technology development, its transfer, and standardization
Technological advancement varies from country to country, and expectations for ACECC
activities are different. Civil engineers must respect these differences, share civilengineering technology and standards, and match the level of technology with the needs
and abilities of the user, while developing new techniques. For that purpose, ACECC willcontinue activities centered on the Technical Committees, by holding seminars andpromoting information sharing, standardization of design standards, and developing newmethodologies.
➢ Collaboration with other fields and related organizations11) Collaboration with international organizations
ACECC, as an association of learned societies collaborating within the Asian region, will
strengthen cooperation with other similar international organizations with the global civilengineering profession in mind. To that end, ACECC will participate in major conferences
hosted by international organizations and encourage their participation in ACECC
sponsored events.
12) Integration of interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge
Breakthroughs in ICT and AI technologies have greatly influenced construction, academic
fields involving civil engineering are becoming more diverse, and collaboration with experts
in ICT and AI is indispensable. For that purpose, civil engineers will gain extensive
knowledge without restricting their areas of activity, collaborate with experts from different
fields, comprehending new techniques, and thereby improve the quality of life for the generalpublic.
➢ Dissemination of the role and contribution of civil engineering to society13) Activities to disseminate the role and contribution of civil engineering to society
The role of civil engineering and civil engineers in improving the quality of life for humanbeings is immeasurable. However, society does not always recognize these contributionsof engineers. Ensuring accountability to citizens as well as civil engineers, ACECC will work
to increase recognition of civil engineers through enhancement of the ACECC Newsletterand the expansion of its distribution destination, websites and other means, to enhance theoverall visibility of the civil engineering community. Furthermore, ACECC will widely
disseminate the results produced by the Technical Committee activities beyond its
membership. When appropriate, dissemination will be through regional and local languages
to widen the scope of knowledge delivery and sharing.
➢ Operation of ACECC14) Participation in ACECC activities by decision-makers of industry, government
and academia
Problems involving civil engineering cannot be solved by academics or practitioners’ alone
but must involve collaboration across industry-government-academia including practicing

engineers and government policy-makers. For that purpose, we will carefully arrange
activities such that engineers from industry, government and academia can participate in allACECC activities and policy decisions without bias. Participation by leaders from industry,
government and academia in the Civil Engineering Conference in the Asia Region (CECAR)
held on a triennial basis, will be encouraged in order to advance mutual discussions andcontribute to the development of civil engineering as well as improvement of the quality ofpeople's lives.
15) Enhancement of the efficiency of ACECC activities
As the number of ACECC member countries increases, we need to enhance the efficiencyof processes from planning to implementation of activities, and work on improving theefficiency of the ACECC organization and its activities, so that a wide variety of these canbe performed in parallel. Furthermore, we will also work with the recognition of thegenerational changes going on in the working environment, to ensure that the objectives
and philosophy of ACECC are properly conveyed to future generations.
16) Fulfillment and follow-up of ACECC Tokyo Declaration 2019
Each ACECC member society/institution will energetically work under the leadership of theirpresidents, to promote each initiative in the Tokyo Declaration by its own country's activities.
Each society/institution will report on the progress they have made on an agreed to regularbasis.