TECHNICAL SUMMARY

RISPO
Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options

APEIS-RISPO Web sites :http://www.iges.or.jp/APEIS/RISPO

June 2004

APEIS-RISPO Technical Summary
1. What is APEIS-RISPO?
Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (RISPO) is one of the three sub-projects of the Asia–Pacific
Environmental Innovation Strategy Project (APEIS). APEIS is an Asia–Pacific region-wide research project registered asa Type 2 partnership/initiative at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)1 in 2002.2 RISPO, together
with the other sub-projects of APEIS, aims to contribute to policy dialogue on sustainable development in the region by
providing knowledge-based tools.
1.1 Objectives
RISPO is a region-wide research project
to be conducted in collaboration withvarious research institutes and key
international organizations working in thefields of environment and development in
the Asia–Pacific region. RISPO aims tojointly develop two knowledge-basedreference tools, namely a Good Practices
Inventory and packages of Strategic
Policy Options, which can be of use topolicy makers seeking better solutions tothe sustainable development challenges
they face. The two tools will be madeavailable as a common regional asset by
March 2005. RISPO considers policy
makers to be the primary users of thesetools, but intends to invite a wider
audience in order to further promoteinternational dialogue among a wide
variety of stakeholders and to enhance
informed decision-making so as to leadour society along a sustainable path.

Focus

Sub-theme
Innovative financing for renewableenergy development
Creation of inter-boundary markets
for recyclable materials

Economic
Instruments

Improving environmental
performance of small andmedium-sized enterprises(SMEs)
Facilitating community-based
tourism in protected areas
Promoting environmental
education by NGOs

SocialInstruments

Promoting local/indigenous
knowledge-based sustainable
resource management
Development of environmentally
sustainable transport systems inurban areas

PhysicalInstruments

The lack of means of implementation is
Promotion of biomass energy
one of the most serious obstacles forpromoting environmentally sound policies,
Table 1 Instruments and sub-themes
especially in many developing countries.
Therefore, RISPO focuses on innovative and critical instruments to overcome these obstacles and to develop andimplement effective policies for sustainable development. RISPO specifically focuses on three kinds of instrument:
economic instruments, social instruments, and physical instruments. Under this framework, research in the eight themes
listed in Table 1 is being conducted by international teams of researchers in the Asia–Pacific region.
1

APEIS was proposed by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan in collaboration with a number of governments, research
institutes, and key international organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.
2 The duration of RISPO is from April 2002 to March 2005.

1

RISPO’s approach focuses on ground-based field studies of successful
examples of sustainable development practices. By taking a field-based
approach, RISPO intends to complement the other two sub-projects of
APEIS and to develop a sound understanding of factors that promote orhinder sustainable development in various settings and to describe lessons
thus learned.
Example of field studies:Interviewing villagers about local perceptions on
adaptation to climate change in Chingra Kheli, Bangladesh© Takashi Otsuka, IGES

1.2. Expected Outcomes and Their Dissemination
The Good Practices Inventory (GPI) and the packages of Strategic Policy Options (SPO) are two major expected
outcomes of RISPO. The preliminary version of GPI is available on the RISPO website. The SPO database will become
available on the web by March 2005.

Figure 1

Steps to develop Good Practices Inventory and Strategic Policy Options

Interactions with Policy Makers
RISPO recognizes the importance of interaction with policy makers. RISPO researchers have had interactions with policy
makers through such opportunities as local workshops, international conferences, and the Research Coordination
Committee meetings. In the final year of the project, it is planned to hold several workshops with policy makers. In
November 2004, the RISPO Workshop is planned to be held in conjunction with the Workshop of the National
Performance Assessment and Subregional Strategic Environment Framework for the Greater Mekong Subregion withsequential meetings with policy makers to disseminate outcomes and to receive feedback.
© AIT

© AIT

Local workshop on sustainabletransport, held with policy
makers in Thailand,
Bangkok, March 2003

2

2. What are the Expected Products, Scientific Contributions and Current Progress?
2.1. Technical Framework
The most important objective of RISPO is to identify SPOs that promote sustainable development in the region. Since theoverall focus of APEIS, the umbrella project of RISPO, is innovation, SPOs proposed under RISPO are expected to beinnovative in some way. What are the key elements of innovation regarding policies promoting sustainability indeveloping countries in the Asia–Pacific? Although the answer to this fundamental question is not easy, the structure andmajor components of each SPO included in the package (Please refer to Figure 4 in section 2.2. of this summary) aredeveloped on the basis of certain assumptions that may lead to identifying innovative policies.
First, an SPO contains information to prove that each SPO therein has generated an impact. Although this criterion may
sound a matter of course, in reality it may not be easy to prove. There is always a certain time lag between the actual
action and the intended impacts. Thus, to prove with objective evidence that an SPO is effective sometimes turns out tobe impossible. Furthermore, there are almost always some external factors that affect the effectiveness of any SPO.
External factors are those that cannot be controlled by the SPO in question. There is always a possibility that suchexternal factors may have influenced the effectiveness of a proposed SPO.
Second, an SPO allocates the biggest space to describing the instruments (economic, social, and physical) adopted byeach SPO. This is a clear indication that the choice of policy instruments is likely to be an important element for
innovation in policy. Examples of economic instruments are taxes, fees, charges, subsidies, and other financial incentives
to promote sustainable activities and to discourage unsustainable practices; social instruments include voluntarycommitments, environment auditing, eco-labeling, environmental rating, environmental education, and awareness raising,which use some kind of social pressure to promote sustainable practices; and physical instruments are basicallydevelopment and provision of infrastructure and technologies that physically alter the behavior of those concerned, i.e. in
the form of environmentally sound infrastructure or making available environmentally sound technologies. Thus, the eight
sub-projects under RISPO are categorized according to these three types of instrument.
Third, the importance of implementability of SPOs is recognized. In the developing countries’ context, implementation isindeed the biggest challenge. Implementation challenges could include lack of funding, equipment, capable staff, andpublic awareness. Thus, checking whether a proposed SPO has encountered significant problems with implementation isessential.
Categories of Innovative Policies
In the end, those policy options that have met all the above innovation criteria will be proposed as SPOs. What kinds ofpolicy will be finally selected is a matter for future analysis. However, the RISPO workshop held in February 2003 in
Japan tentatively listed some broad categories of innovative policies. They are policies: (i) with appropriate policy mix,(ii) that have used strong tools for implementation, (iii) that have addressed essential needs of developing countries, suchas poverty and employment, and (iv) that have encouraged increased stakeholder participation.
Reasons for their selection were as follows. First, in many cases, policy mix has become important, because impending
environmental problems have to do with more than one stakeholder. Only a good combination of policies can send out
the right signal to the different stakeholders. Second, most developing countries have no resources to waste on fancy but
costly environmental policies. Thus, the use of an already strong implementation arm of a country always makes sense.
Third, the most important policy for many developing countries in the region is poverty alleviation. Therefore,
environmental policies that synergistically address poverty and related social issues merit special consideration. Lastly, it
is important to realize that policies that have been developed with transparency and extensive participation of
stakeholders are more likely to be implemented than top-down policies. Such policies are less susceptible to corruption,
and are more likely to be supported by voluntary actions.

32.2. Expected Products
Good Practices Inventory (GPI)The GPI is an easily searchable database on the RISPO website,
consisting of a number of good practice examples that are rich inlessons and potential for replication or application. Good (orunsuccessful) practices identified and analyzed by each researchteam are compiled in the GPI. Information on each good practiceincludes critical and innovative instruments that make the practice
successful, lessons learned, and potential for application.
Approximately 100 cases have been collected during the first two
years and are being uploaded into the GPI.

Figure 2 Preliminary version of theGood Practices Inventory
U.K.
1

34

18 Nepal

15

Republicof Korea

China

1
Japan

1

Colombia

1
Bangladesh
India

6

2

2
1
EcuadorViet Nam 4
Philippines
ThailandBrazil
1

Malaysia 1

1
Singapore

14
1
Argentina

Indonesia

Figure 3 Distribution of cases being compiled into the Good Practices Inventory
Strategic Policy Options (SPOs)
SPOs are packages of policy options
for sustainable development inselected sub-themes. Strategies
have been developed for eight
sub-themes to recommend directions
policy makers can take forsustainable development in eacharea. Policies to promote developed
strategies are identified as SPOs.
Each SPO highlights critical
instruments, expected and observed
impacts, evaluation, implementation
issues, applicability, and limitations.

Policy Area (e.g. Environmentally Sustainable Transport)
Introduction
Strategies and Strategic Policy Options
Strategy 1 (e.g. Reducing Transport Demand)-SPO1 (e.g. High density urban planning)-SPO2 (e.g. Telecommuting)
Strategy 2 (e.g. Share of Public Transport)
Strategy 3 (e.g. Reducing Vehicle Emission)

Analytical Background Paper(s)Analyses of GP; Political implications derived fromGP and other empirical data

Figure 44

SPO
Brief description
Background
Critical instruments
Impacts
Evaluation
Implementation issues
Applicability & limitation
GPI
GP
GP
GP

Structure of Strategic Policy Options package

2.3. Current Progress on Sub-Themes
2.3.1. Innovative Financing for Renewable Energy Development
Meeting the challenge of large-scale commercialization of renewable energy (RE) products and services requires
1) breaking down the high initial costs of RE systems; 2) increasing competitiveness against traditional fossil fuels suchas by removing or redirecting subsidies; 3) ensuring access to affordable consumer financing; 4) enhancing access tocredit by the RE industry; and 5) ensuring sustainability without public aid or subsidies. This research has exploredinnovative modes of delivery in four areas of financing which are likely to be primary sources for financing thedevelopment and commercialization of RE in the mid to long term: government finance, international funding
mechanisms (including clean climate initiatives), private sector finance (including financing through energy service
companies), and micro-credit and community-based financing.
Good Practices© Gueye Kamal, IGES

Seventeen good practices have been collected from China and India, incollaboration with the Energy Research Institute of China and the Energy
and Resources Institute of India. The practices cover various innovative
financing mechanisms, including mechanisms of combined government andcommunity financing (India); developing a market-oriented institutional andfinancial model for decentralized solar systems (India); wind-power
development through a combination of the Clean Development Mechanism(CDM) and public sector financing (India); scaling-up of renewable village
Solar water pumping in Chandigarh, India
power through governmental finance and bidding based on market regulation(China); experience of the first CDM project in renewable energy financing in China (China); financing the utilization oflandfill gas through economic incentives (China); commercialization of solar hot water systems through a ‘financial
intermediary’ (FI) scheme (India); market development for solar lanterns in a post-subsidy regime (India); and developing
a sustainable financial model for solar pumping systems (India). Economic instruments, awareness raising, partnerships,
technologies, design, planning, and management were among the critical instruments in those successful practices.
Strategic Policy Options
Reviewing
severalsuccessful
Strategies and Strategic Policy Options
practices
indicates
theStrategies
Strategic Policy Options
interdependence
betweentheTo
supporttechnology- Optimal use of government funds
deployment of RE products andand product deployment - Attracting international development funding mechanisms
technologies, and their market(research, development, and- Increasing financing by public/private financing institutions
demand. The availability of financing
demonstration stage)- Promoting private sector financefor research and development and for- Optimal use of government funds
To improve
manufacturing is crucial for reducing- Attracting international funding mechanisms
competitiveness ofthe high costs of the systems.
- Increasing financing by private/public financial institutions
renewable energy markets- Leveraging consumer financing
Similarly, adequate consumer finance(commercialization stage)- Enhancing private sector financing
enhances affordability and stimulates
demand, which in turn leads to further development of the RE industry. Given this inter-linkage between industry andmarket growth on the one hand and price reduction on the other, strategies identified aim at supporting technology andproduct deployment and improving competitiveness of RE markets. Based on these strategies, SPOs have beendeveloped that focus on innovative modes of delivery in the four areas of financing addressed.

52.3.2. Creation of an Inter-Boundary Market for Recyclable Materials
Trade of recyclable materials, such as paper waste, plastic waste, glass waste, and metal scrap, is actually taking placein Asia. For example, Japan exports recovered paper or paperboard (waste and scrap) and plastics (waste, parings, andscrap) mainly to neighboring countries in Asia, such as China, Taiwan, and South Korea, and also imports them fromother regions, such as the USA and Canada as well as other Asian countries. Thailand, the Philippines, and othercountries in Asia export and import recyclable materials, too. There appears to be an increasing demand for and supplyof recyclable materials in Asia as a global manufacturing center. However, market-led trading of recyclable materials
might cause environmentally undesirable consequences, because the characteristics of recyclable materials are different
from those of ordinary commodities (recyclable materials are by-products). The research in this theme aims to develop
SPOs for creating an environmentally and economically viable inter-boundary market for recyclable materials thatmaximizes the environmental and economic benefits from inter-boundary trade of recyclable materials while minimizing
the negative environmental consequences.
Good Practices© Philippine Business for the Environment

Recyclable materials collection event

About twenty good practices of domestic efforts for promoting
recycling, as well as inter-boundary trade of recyclable materials,
have been collected from Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia,
Singapore, Vietnam, and India in collaboration with the Thailand
Environment Institute (TEI) and the Management Association of
the Philippines (MAP). Although the research targets four typesof recyclable material (in other words, recyclable waste)—paper
waste, plastic waste, glass waste, and metal scrap—the goodpractices collected cover not only these four types, but also othertypes of waste, such as scrapped electrical appliances and usedtires. In addition, these good practices cover the activities by
various stakeholders, such as communities, business,governments, and NGOs.

Strategic Policy Options
The domestic market and the inter-boundary market for recyclable materials are complementary in the sense that aninter-boundary market can provide countries with access to cheaper materials than virgin materials when they are notavailable domestically. At the same time, the development of a domestic market and that of an inter-boundary market forrecyclable materials are complementary in the sense that an increase in the recovery of recyclable materials at home
could increase the potential for countries to export them, while an increase in the use of recyclable materials at home
could increase the potential for countries to import them. In this way, a domestic market and an inter-boundary market forrecyclable materials interact closely.
Strategies for creating an environmentally and economically viable domestic market for recyclable materials are likely tocontribute to creating an environmentally and economically viable inter-boundary market. There are three strategies. The
first strategy focuses on the demand side of the market to increase the use of recyclable materials. The second strategy
focuses on the supply side of the market to increase the recovery of potentially recyclable materials. The third strategy
puts the focus on both the demand and supply sides of the market. In addition to these three strategies, there is a
strategy focused on removing barriers against trading of recyclables. The eight SPOs under four strategies are
considered as a single package of policies.

62.3.3. Improving Environmental Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for a substantial part of the economy in Asia and the Pacific. Theireconomic activities greatly affect domestic manufacturing and foreign trade through their export products, as does thefluctuation of employment rates. At the same time, along with their dynamics in the economy, the environmental impacts
they make have become increasingly serious. Yet the environmental performance of SMEs is far from satisfactory in mostcases because of financial constraints and poor access to relevant information and technologies. It is in this regard that
identification of relevant policies for improving the environmental performances of SMEs is one of the priorities incountries of this region.
Good Practices
Twelve cases were identified as good practices and were analyzed to delineate
elements for success. They include “Environmental Management System for
SMEs Project,” “Application of Good Housekeeping in a Small Foundry,”“Accelerating Information Dissemination in Small-Scale Brick Kiln Units throughLocal Support and Local NGOs,” and “Utilization of Recycled PET Bottles as a
Raw Material in the Production of Tufted Carpet.” All collected cases show thatawareness and capacity building has been instrumental in their success,suggesting the importance of support in that area.
© Taeko Takahashi, IGES

Strategic Policy Options

ISO 14001 Certificate

In recognition that policies are formulated in response to social issues, this SME
study pays attention to major problems with which SMEs are confronted, as well as the underlying causes of those
problems, such as financial constraints, limited access to relevant information and technologies, lack of self capacity to
attract financial sources, poor communications with public authorities, and weak business operations.
In accordance with the identified problems, policy goals,
strategies, and SPOs are derived after examination of thecollected good practices.
Some examples of SPOs are “Relocating SMEs to anindustrial estate and applying shared waste treatment
facilities at a cluster level,” “Strengthening roles of industry
associations,” and “Facilitating consultancy services forbetter understanding of business management andlong-term benefits through improved environmental
performance.”© Taeko Takahashi, IGES

Recycling bins coded by color for good management72.3.4. Facilitating Community-Based Tourism in Protected Areas
Tourism, which is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world, has both positive and negative impacts ondestinations. Although nature-based tourism, such as ecotourism, has received much international attention in recent
years, managing tourism in ecologically fragile areas, such as protected areas, is a difficult task when taking into accountits implications for biodiversity conservation. Historically, in Asia and around the world, the relationship between parks
and people has been a strained one. Numerous problems exist in securing local community participation in protectedarea management, in particular as it pertains to managing its use in the form of tourism. Against this background, thisstrategic research endeavors to address two challenges: (a) developing sustainable community-based tourism, and (b)securing local community participation in protected area management.
© Lisa HIwasaki, IGES

Volunteer interpreters receiving training at
BCEC, Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park

Good Practices
Thirteen good practices have been collected from Thailand, Indonesia,
India, and Japan in collaboration with participating researchorganizations. The practices show various challenges for developing
sustainable communities through incorporating community-based
tourism, including the social capacity for tourism business, theempowerment of communities for sustainable development, and themechanism of conservation of resources.

Strategic Policy Options
Based on a wide range of good practices, objectives of community-based tourism were identified. Community-based
tourism aims at gaining local economic development,
Strategies and Strategic Policy Options
reaching some form of participation, giving visitors aStrategies
Strategic Policy Optionssocially and environmentally responsible experience,
1. Support establishment of effective local
and positively contributing to conservation of natural ororganizations and regulations that allow
cultural resources. In other words, these objectives arecommunities to design and manage
Empowerment/
community-based tourism (CBT)
critical factors for community-based tourism in protected
Ownership2.
Promote communication, dialogue andareas. Thus, four strategies for realizing
partnership between community members
community-based tourism are set along with theand between communities and government
objectives. “Empowerment/Ownership” is a strategy for
3. Promote participatory monitoring of tourism
establishing effective local unity and linkages.
impacts“Conservation of resources” is a strategy for Conservation of 4. Raise awareness and capacity building ofresources
all stakeholders by building upon existing
participatory management for conservation of resources.
skills and resources in and around protected“Social and economic development” is a strategy forareas (PAs)equitable distribution of the benefits from
5. Ensure fair distribution of PA tourism
community-based tourism and for protection fromSocial andbenefits to all community entities
negative impacts arising from community-based tourism.
economic
6. Build local capacity in CBT business skills“Quality visitor experience” is a strategy for developing
development
7. Support participatory monitoring of social
an attractive service and experience to encourage
and economic impacts from tourism
8. Support participatory development ofvisitors to visit again.
Quality visitor
experience

For each strategy, SPOs are identified as listed in thetable.

appropriate codes of conduct for visitors
and for CBT products/services
9.

Improve and diversify interpretation
programs for CBT in PAs

8

2.3.5. Promoting Environmental Education by NGOs
Environmental education (EE) by NGOs has increased in importance in the Asia–Pacific region. While EE is an essential
part in building a sustainable society, the resources available for formal education are insufficient. To provide adequate
EE to the citizens in the region, the effective mobilization, promotion, and use of non-governmental resources is crucial.
The recent growth of NGOs in Asia has enhanced the rationale for initiatives to promote EE by making the most of
non-governmental resources, especially that of NGOs. This research tries to provide policy options that promote EE by
NGOs, as well as good practices that can be shared among concerned parties to improve their programs. This research
is focused on Indonesian cases for the moment, considering the limit of time and resources, the richness in number ofgood practices in Indonesia, and their applicability in other countries.
Good Practices
Eight good practices have been collected in collaboration with RMI - the Indonesian Institute for Forest and Environment,
which is an NGO in Bogor, Indonesia. The practices cover NGO activities in formal, non-formal, and informal education
settings. They include practices to provide primary and secondary school students with education ‘in the field’(environment) and experimental learning. These practices have proved that NGOs with field experience can be goodenvironmental educators who can supplement the knowledge-based classroom© Prigi Arisandi, ECOTON
learning. Radio programs provided by NGOs are also included as a goodpractice in raising public environmental awareness and providing
environmental knowledge. These good practices show that the radio is a useful
medium to reach a variety of people in developing countries. NGO networking
at a national level in Indonesia is identified as another good practice, whichbrings about capacity building of member organizations. The network has also
acted as a facilitator among various parties in the field of EE, synergisticallycombining their various practices. Each good practice shows how EE isChildren’s fieldwork,
Surabaya, Indonesia
promoted by the ideas and ingenuity of NGOs, and many lessons can belearned from these practices.
Strategic Policy Options
Strategies and Strategic Policy Options
Based on the good practices, three strategies
Strategies
Strategic Policy Options
have been identified to promote EE: one is for*Primary/Secondary Education
formal education; another is for non-formal(a) SPO for supporting extracurricular activities
education; and the third is for informal learning.
Enhancing formal (b) SPO for enhancing curricular teachingeducation with
*Tertiary Education
In the formal education sector, two major(a)
SPO for enhancing environmental expertise at
non-governmental
actors are identified: primary/secondary
universities
resources
schools and tertiary schools. NGOs and the(b) SPO for promoting universities’ environmental
media are identified as key actors incontributions to local society
non-formal and in informal education,(a) SPO for strengthening the capacity of NGOs to
respectively. Two to four SPOs are to be made Promoting non-formal
promote EE
in each strategy (see the table at right). The education by NGOs (b) SPO for facilitating the delivery of EE by NGOs
SPOs itemized (a) are the ones to address the Promoting informal (a) SPO for increasing opportunities for EE in themedia
learning (of the
weakness(es) in each sector; SPOs itemized(b)
SPO
for using traditional arts to raise
generalpublic)(b) are the ones to promote its strengths.
environmental awareness through the media
through the media
Qualitative research has been conducted in
making these SPOs in addition to fundamental numerical data.

92.3.6. Promoting Local/Indigenous Knowledge-Based Sustainable Resource Management
For a long time in human history, people maintained theirlivelihoods by utilizing their immediate natural resourcesin a largely sustainable manner. The local/indigenous
knowledge (LINK) observed in such sectors as agriculture,
forestry, and fisheries was developed and tested overtime, providing rich lessons for sustainable resource
management. Such practices, once commonly observedin many parts of the world, are now rapidly vanishing;
however, they are still maintained in some locations. This
research aims to illustrate the importance and potential
for application of LINK in a modern context in bothdeveloping and developed countries, and to develop
SPOs to promote LINK-based sustainable resource
management.

© Tuong-Vi Pham , CRES &Lo Quang Chieu , SFDPCL

Firewood Collection in Banh Village, Northwestern Vietnam.
Community rule allows each household to collectfive shoulder-loads of firewood per month

Good Practices
Various LINK-based agricultural, aquacultural, and forest management practices in Bangladesh, China, India, Japan,
Vietnam, and Thailand have been closely examined. Cases such as “Custom-Based Regulations in Managing
Community Forests in Vietnam” and “Coastal Marine Resources and Security for the Poor and Landless in Thailand”
underline the advantages of LINK-based practices in maintaining sustainable local livelihoods in each locality, while "GeiWai—Traditional Method of Coastal Resource Management (Shrimp Harvesting Practice) at Mai Po and the Inner Deep
Bay Ramsar Site in Hong Kong, China” and “Building Partnerships between NGOs and Local People: Sustainable Forest
Management in Suburban Areas in Japan” indicate the potential of LINK-based practices for such purposes asenvironmental
educationandbiodiversity
Strategies and Strategic Policy Options
conservation. In most cases, strong leadership by
Strategies
Strategic Policy Options
civil societies has played a key role in maintaining
Build & strengthen national institutions
Building LINK-focused
and preserving LINK-based practices.
Enable collection and dissemination of LINK
institutional framework
information

Strategic Policy Options
Major challenges identified include: i) institutionalarrangement for LINK conservation inadequately set;ii) LINK marginalized; iii) LINK rapidly vanishing; iv)
value of LINK not fully recognized; and v) LINK
under-utilised. The five strategies shown in thetable correspond to each challenge identified. SPOs
under each strategy that enhance the promotion of
LINK-based sustainable resource management are
currently in preparation.

Mainstreaming
LINK

Incorporate LINK into education curricula
Build LINK into cross-sectoral policy
development
Empowering LINK communities

Preserving/reviving
LINK

Rediscovering LINK values
Preserving cultural heritage as a basis for LINK
preservation

Promoting/enhancing
LINK

Network stakeholders & develop partnerships
Recognise “market” value of LINK-based goods
and services
Enhance adaptation to climate change

Applying LINK tosectoral programmes

Integrate LINK in agricultural policy
Integrate LINK in forest policy
Embody LINK in coastal resource management
policy10

2.3.7. Development of Environmentally Sustainable Transport Systems in Urban Areas
The transport sector provides vital services in urban areas. At the same time, however, road transport creates serious
urban problems, including accidents, traffic congestion, air pollution, and noise; and it consumes energy and land andother natural resources in the production of vehicles and infrastructure. In addition, urban transport systems are among
the largest emission sources of CO2, which causes climate change. These negative effects persist and will worsen in
many urban areas in the Asia–Pacific region under the current trend of urbanization. This research aims to develop SPOs
for environmentally sustainable transport (EST) in cities the Asia–Pacific region.
Good Practices
Twenty-two good practices have been collected from cities in Asia and Latin
America: Beijing, Shanghai (China), Kathmandu (Nepal), Singapore (Singapore),
Bangkok (Thailand), Seoul (Korea), Sapporo, Fukuoka (Japan), Curitiba (Brazil),
Bogotá (Colombia), and Quito (Ecuador) in collaboration with participating
research organizations. The practices cover various areas of sustainabletransport, including integrated land-use planning, public transport, bicycle lanes,
traffic demand management such as road-pricing, car-free days, car sharing,© Naoko Matsumoto, IGES
environmental education on car use, regulation of emissions from gasoline
Car-sharing in Fukuoka, Japan
vehicles, and alternative-fuel vehicles. Crucial to those practices are economic
instruments, awareness raising, partnerships, technologies, design, planning, and management.
Strategies and Strategic Policy Options

Strategic Policy Options
Based on a wide range of good practices,
strategies were identified to tackle major
factors of transport that cause environmental
problems. Transport leads to environmental
degradation because: (1) people need totravel longer distances or more frequently
owing to urban sprawl; (2) people use
automobiles to meet their travel demands
because the supply of alternatives toautomobile use such as public transport is
not sufficient or people prefer automobiles topublic transport; and (3) each vehicle emits
significant amounts of air pollutants and CO2.
To address these factors, three strategies
were chosen: reducing transport need,increasing public transport share, andreducing emissions from vehicles. For eachstrategy, SPOs were identified as listed in thetable. Scenario analyses are being conducted
to develop packages of SPOs reflecting thereal situations of cities and to assess the
SPOs and instruments as applicable in
Bangkok, Beijing, and Taiyuan (China).

Strategies
Reducing Transport
Demand(Objectives: avoiding urban
sprawl; reducing frequencyof trips)

Strategic Policy Options
Regulation and taxation on suburban development,
high-density urban planning, regional system ofcities, telecommuting, on-line shopping, videoconferences, on-line services
Light rail transit, bus rapid transit, metros,

Enhancing Public
Transport Share(Objectives: improving
public transport andnon-motorized transport;
reducing ownership anduse of automobiles)

improvement of bus routes and services, community
vehicles, environmentally friendly use of informal
public transport, effective networks among public
transportsystems,

park

and

ride

facilities,

environmental commuting passes, bicycle lanes,
automobile tax, ownership regulation, entrance
regulation to the city center, road pricing, parking
policy, car sharing, wise use of automobiles, car-freedays, high occupancy vehicle lanes

Reducing Emissions fromEmission standards, inspection/maintenance, fuelVehiclesstandards, greening fuel tax, tax breaks for lower(Objectives: reducing
emission vehicles, reduction in initial cost ofemissions fromintroducing low-emission vehicles, favorable priceconventional-fuel vehicles,
settings, infrastructure for alternative fuels, reduction
introducing alternative-fuelin initial cost of introducing alternative-fuel vehicles,
vehicles, reducing energyIntelligent Transportation Systems, area-wide signal
loss due to congestion,
coordination, public awareness raising on
reducing energy loss due toenvironmentally friendly driving
poor driving practices)112.3.8. Promotion of Biomass Energy
This research, focusing on biomass energy, is important from three perspectives: those of climate change, energy
efficiency, and a recycling-based society. In rural areas of Asian countries, there is still an excessive demand for anddependence upon traditional biomass energy. This is because the storage and delivery of biomass energy is far easierthan that of commercial fossil fuels or other renewable energy sources. However, biomass resources, commonly burnedfor cooking and heating, are used in an inefficient manner, partly due to the lack of infrastructure and of local markets forsupporting delivery, financing, operation, and maintenance of more efficient technologies. Developing appropriatetechnologies to efficiently extract energy from biomass resources and to use and store the produced energy in more
efficient ways could introduce a sense of recycling into these countries. Promoting efficient supply and use of biomassenergy has significant potential to mitigate climate change, offer a sustainable energy supply, achieve a sustainable andrecycling-based social system, and simultaneously support local economic activities. This project aims to develop SPOs
to transform energy use in Asian countries from traditional biomass that is currently in use to innovative use of biomassenergy, without excessive shifting to fossil fuel.
Good Practices©PDTI/KMUTT

Fluidized-bed boiler for superheated steam production,
ThailandSix cases gathered from India and Thailand during the first andsecond years include: 1) Biogas Plants Based on Night Soil, 2) Use
of Rice Husks as Fuel in Process Steam Boilers, 3) Satisfying
Heating Needs in Rural Cottage Industries through a Cluster- andApplication-Based Approach to Biomass Gasification, 4) Biogas
Technology for Carbohydrate-Based Wastewater from a Starch
Factory, 5) Fluidized Bed Combustion of Biomass, and 6) Biogas
Technology for Pig Farm Wastes. These cases imply that regulatory
instruments, appropriate technologies for local resources, andfinancial support play key roles in their success, suggesting theimportance of support in those areas.

Strategic Policy Options

Strategies and Strategic Policy Options
Recognizing that innovative policies should be
Strategies
Strategic Policy Options
formulated with attention to the wide range ofDevelop a reliable and accessible database system forbarriers that Asian countries face with
Development ofbiomass resources at a local and national levelpromotion of efficient supply and use of sustainable availability Establish an appropriate resource management systembiomass energy, this project focuses on of biomass resources to ensure sustainable use of biomass resources
prevailing barriers such as unsustainable
Develop an efficient and cost-effective delivery system
supply of biomass resources, limited access toappropriate information and technologies, lack Market development Raise awareness of prospective users and investors
Strengthen competitiveness of bioenergyof capacity to develop an institutional
Develop policies to continuously promote biomass
framework, and weak market incentives.
technology in terms of supply and demand
Based on the identified four barriers, four
Improvement ofDevelop innovative information dissemination methods
strategies and aggregated SPOs for eachfor capacity building
availability ofstrategy have been derived from examination appropriate technology Promote capacity building for technicians
Introduce and support appropriate technologies for localof the collected good practices, as listed in the
resources
table. In addition, taking into account specificPromote capacity building for local stakeholders
biomass energy developments in target areas, Capacity building for Introduce an efficient policy-making system inpolicy-making
collaboration with competent authorities
these policy options are being developed to
identify reasonable policy scenarios and to assess the impacts of the policies at the national level.

123. How Can the APEIS-RISPO Products be Applied for Policy Formulation/Implementation Work?
APEIS-RISPO products provide policy makers with a database of past experiences and policy guidelines as
knowledge-based tools for policymaking. The Good Practices Inventory helps policy makers to learn from pastexperiences. The packages of Strategic Policy Options guide the policy makers to examine strategies for sustainable
development and offer options for creating policies to move towards those strategies.
RISPO is starting collaboration with the “National Performance Assessment and Subregional Strategic Environment
Framework in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)” to have GMS policy makers follow the Good Practices Inventory
and Strategic Policy Options when implementing projects.
Example of cases in the Good Practices Inventory
Coastal Marine Resources and Security of the Poor and Landless in Lower Central Thailand
Summary of the Practice: Bang Khunsai Coastal Resource Conservation Association (BKCRCA) is a community-based
inter-village organization that was established in 1991 among 11 villages and hamlets in Lower Central Thailand to ensure
appropriate utilization of local coastal resources. As local livelihoods are highly dependent on coastal resources such asshells and crabs, which are threatened by outsiders’ illegal and destructive fishing operations, community membersorganized themselves to fight against such operations and self-regulated themselves to strictly follow a community rule
under which only traditional and sustainable harvesting methods—toboggan boards and hand-picking—are allowed.
Outsiders who follow the community rule may also use the local common, as their tradition allows.
Critical Instruments: Strong leadership by community leaders enabled the successful organization of BKCRCA. It took
initiatives of collecting and exchanging information, raising awareness among villagers, and transparently developing acommunity rule to enable appropriate utilization of the local common, through, for example, holding monthly village forums
and conducting patrols.
Impacts: The coastal ecosystem in the Bang Khunsai area sustains its productivity and biodiversity, while that of Ban
Laem—not a member of BKCRCA—has severely declined. The average household income in the Bang Khunsai area isaround 200–400 THB per day, which is much more than local daily wages. Equity among villagers in terms of equal
access to the local common and opportunities for being involved in decision making is also well addressed.
Lessons Learned: Under the given circumstances, maintaining traditional harvesting methods proved to be effective.
Community-based organizations can play a key role in developing unique and in-situ community rules to attain local
sustainability and equity; thus, such activities should be further encouraged and strengthened through appropriate legal
and financial support. It should be also noted that small
fishing communities are threatened by those who do notrespect national, local, and/or community rules; thus, there
is an urgent need for strengthening legal controls oversuch violations.
Potential for Application: Advantages of local/indigenous
practices for sustainable utilization of natural resources
can be found not only in coastal resource management,
but also in fishing, forestry, and agricultural practices.
Community-based organizations, such as seen in thiscase, have a great potential to play key roles in different
settings.

13© Opart Panya & Surachai Raksachart, Mahidol University

Example of Strategic Policy Options
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Sub-theme: Development of Environmentally Sustainable Transport
Systems in Urban Areas
Strategy: Enhancing Public Transport Share
Background: BRT is a system that emphasizes priority for and rapid
movement of buses by securing segregated busways. BRTs are
becoming widespread in Latin American cities such as Curitiba, Bogotá,
and Quito, and have started to be introduced in Asia.
Critical instruments: Critical instruments for BRT include a network of © Karl Fjellstrom, GTZ
busways; a single-fare pricing system; payment to bus operators by the kilometer; a relationship between the public andprivate sectors; high-occupancy vehicles; and segregated busways and modern bus “stations”
Impacts of the policy option: Curitiba’s BRT system replaced 41 000 car trips from 1991 to 1999. A 40% reduction insome air pollutants and a 32% reduction in travel time for users are reported in Bogotá after five months of operation.
Evaluation of the policy option
Sustainability: Compared to other modes of mass rapid transit, BRTs have higher rates of self-sustainable operation.
Efficiency: Construction of a BRT requires US$1–8 million/km, which is less than that for a light rail transit system (LRT)or metro. A BRT can carry 15 000 to 35 000 passengers per hour per direction per lane, even more than an LRT.
Applicability and limitations: Requires a high population density, broad streets (existing or potential) where existing
demand exceeds 5000 passengers per hour per direction, and the strong political will of local government.
Related Good Practices: (1) Integration of land use and bus system in Curitiba, Brazil; (2) the electric trolleybus system of
Quito, Ecuador; (3) the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system of Bogotá, Colombia.
Collaboration with National Performance Assessment and Subregional Strategic Environment Frameworkin the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)—Global Environment Facility (GEF) / SEF II project
Development of environmental performance assessment systems at national and subregional levels is the primaryobjective of the GEF/SEF II project, in consideration of the great need to have such an arrangement in the GMS. In manycases, however, policies that lead to positive environmental performance are not yet in place. Thus, the comprehensive
ideas for policy development based on RISPO’s research outputs and offered to the countries participating in the projectwill be extremely valuable. For example, RISPO’s studies for “Development of environmentally sustainable transportsystems in urban areas” could be of great value to policy makers in the GMS countries, offering arguments by which toaddress air pollution issues and improve air quality through policy implementation suitable to their socio-economic
conditions.

At the 2nd Plenary Workshop for RISPO.
Dr. Ivan Ruzicka, international consultant of the
GEF/SEF II, discusses the collaboration withRISPO
IGES Headquarters, Japan
10-12 February 2004
© IGES

14

Participating Organizations(as of April 2004)

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan
Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), Bangladesh
Energy Research Institute (ERI), China
The University of Hong Kong, China
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India
Indonesian Ecotourism Network (INDECON), Indonesia
RMI – The Indonesian Institute for Forest and Environment, Indonesia
National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan
Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Philippines
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand
Kasetsart University (KU), Thailand
Mahidol University, Thailand
Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), Thailand
Vietnam National University, Vietnam
The UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development (URC)© IGES

Websites
Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (RISPO)
http://www.iges.or.jp/APEIS/RISPO/
Asia–Pacific Environmental Strategy Project (APEIS)
http://www.ecoasia.org/APEIS/
Integrated Environmental Monitoring (IEM)
http://www.nies.go.jp/basin/index-e.html
Integrated Environmental Assessment (IEA)
http://www.nies.go.jp/social/aim/apeis/

15

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

RISPO
Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options

APEIS-RISPO Web sites :http://www.iges.or.jp/APEIS/RISPO

June 2004