1.

What is APEIS-RISPO?

sub-theme.

Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options(RISPO) is one of the three sub-projects of the Asia-Pacific
Environmental Innovation Strategy Project (APEIS), an
Asia-Pacific region-wide research project initiated as a
Type 2 partnership/initiative of World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD) 1 in 2002 2 . RISPO,
together with other sub-projects of APEIS, aims tocontribute to the policy dialogue on sustainable
development in the region by providing scientificknowledge-based tools for sustainable development.

One of the unique characteristics of RISPO is its approach.
Environmental innovation is the overarching theme for three
sub-projects of APEIS, and the sub-projects address
sustainable development issues of urgent priority in the
Asia-Pacific region, taking different approaches thatcomplement each other. Although the Integrated
Environmental Monitoring sub-project (IEM) and theIntegrated Environmental Assessment sub-project (IEA)
take bird’s-eye-view approaches, adopting researchmethodologies such as satellite monitoring and computermodeling, RISPO emphasizes the importance ofground-based field-studies. By these practices, RISPO
intends to develop a sound understanding of the factors
promoting or hindering sustainable development in various
settings and share the lessons learned among
policy-makers and wider audiences.

1.1. Objectives and Scope
RISPO is a region-wide research project to be conducted incollaboration with various research institutes and key
international organizations working in the fields ofenvironment and development in the Asia-Pacific region.
RISPO aims to jointly develop two knowledge-basedreference tools, namely Good Practices Inventory andStrategic Policy Options, which can help policy-makers whoseek better solutions for the sustainable development
challenges they face. These two items will become
available as common regional assets by March 2005.
RISPO considers policy-makers to be the primary
audience/users of these tools, but intends to invite wider
audiences to further promote international discourse amonga wide variety of stakeholders and enhance informed
decision-making to lead our society toward sustainable
development.

1.2. Expected Outcomes
Good Practices Inventory3 and Strategic Policy Options are
two major expected outcomes of RISPO. Draft outcomesare planned to be available to the public by March 2004
(Preliminary Proposal). Refined versions will be ready by
the end of the RISPO research phase, i.e. March 2005.
Good Practices Inventory (GPI)
Good Practices Inventory is an easily searchable databaseon the RISPO website, consisting of a number of goodpractice examples that are rich in lessons and potential for
replication or application. Good (or unsuccessful) practices
identified and analyzed by each research team arecompiled into Good Practices Inventory. Information oneach good practice includes the critical and innovative
instruments that make the practice successful, lessons
learned, and potential for application.

RISPO has the following four research themes:• Promoting Eco-Markets and Eco-Industry• Developing Innovative Urban Systems• Appropriately Using Community Resources• Networking Stakeholders for Action.
These themes are identified as key research areas for
RISPO, considering their great potential to ignite andaccelerate the process of environmental innovation in the
Asia-Pacific region. Under these four themes, there areeight sub-themes with further specific focal points.
International research teams are organized to collect goodpractice examples and explore policy options for each

The general criteria for selecting good practices include
such rules as:• leads to an actual change that contributes positively
to improvement in the specific area considered, or
breaking new ground in unconventional approaches
to the issue• involves indicators of some visible or measurable
change in the area of concern, with improvement in
the environmental situation and at least no

1 APEIS was proposed by the Ministry of the Environment ofJapan in collaboration with a number of governments,
research institutes, and key international organizations in the
Asia-Pacific region.
2 Duration of RISPO is April 2002 – March 2005.

3 A prototype Good Practices Inventory, containing about 50

good practice examples with potential for replication/
application, is now available.

1

Steps to Develop GPI & SPO
Good practices are collected,
analyzed, and compiled into Good
Practices Inventory.

Good Practices Inventory
Good
Innovative
Practices
Instruments

Innovative instruments extracted fromgood practices and their applicability
are highlighted

Applicability Analysis

Strategic Policy Options areformulated based on the analyses on
information accumulated in Good
Practices Inventory.

•

Strategic Policy Options
Policy Proposals and Action Plans

deterioration in the socio-economic situation, or viceversa
demonstrates an innovative (uniqueness of either
the product or process) and replicable approach.

components:• technology measures (development, transfer,diffusion)• financial measures• governance (regulatory measures, institutionalarrangements, capacity building)• awareness raising and partnership

Strategic Policy Options (SPO)
Strategic Policy Options is a set of proposals – clues formaturing sustainable development policy – primarily
targeting policy-makers at local, national, and/or regional orinternational levels. Proposals will be developed for each
sub-theme of the RISPO research areas. Through a close
look at the critical and innovative instruments extracted
from good practices, the political implications of further
promoting actions toward sustainable development will be
examined. Taking the diverse social, cultural and economic
backgrounds in the Asia-Pacific region into account, thepolicy measures necessary to put each strategy into
practice will be described.

Capacity Building and Pilot Projects
It is important to put significant efforts into making active
use of RISPO research outcomes instead of just leaving
them as the simple database and proposals. RISPO
recognizes the importance of providing policy-makers with
the necessary capacity-building opportunities, as well as
examining the feasibility of its proposals through pilot
projects.
Although most of the capacity-building activities will be
activated after March 2004 along with the preliminary
proposals of Good Practices Inventory and Strategic Policy
Options, some of the RISPO research sub-themes involve
pilot project development in research activities.

Strategic Policy Options may include proposals on
strategic approaches to the issues of concern, policy
options, and action plans focusing on the following

Themes and Sub-themes of APEIS/RISPO
ThemesSub-themes
Innovative financing for renewable energy development

Promoting Eco-Markets and Eco-Industry

Creation of inter-boundary market for recyclable materials
Improving environmental performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Developing Innovative Urban Systems
Appropriately Using Community Resources
Networking Stakeholders for Action

Development of environmentally sustainable transport systems in urban areas
Promotion of biomass energy
Facilitating community-based tourism in protected areas
Promoting environmental education by NGOs
Promoting local/indigenous knowledge-based sustainable resource management22.

Performance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. In
consideration of the critical roles that SMEs play insocio-economy, it is imperative to make policies that guidesociety in a sustainable manner and give SMEs theappropriate means of implementing environmental
practices.

What are the Expected Products, ScientificContributions and Current Progress?

2.1. Themes and Sub-themes of RISPORISPO aims to develop policy proposals to be used as thereference for policy-makers in the Asia-Pacific region who
face challenges to lead our region, nations, and local areas
toward sustainable development. The region contains
diversity in geography, eco-systems and stage ofsocio-economic development, as well as in culture, values
and beliefs. Therefore, the demands of the people who livein the region are diverse. Taking such diversity into
consideration, RISPO selected the following four research
themes that were common to the needs of many countries
in the region. They are considered to constitute theessential approach to the promotion of environmental
innovation in the Asia-Pacific region. The sub-themes ineach of them address further specific issues of urgent andcommon concern.
Promoting Eco-Markets and Eco-Industry
The future of the environment in the Asia-Pacific region will
be determined in significant part by the pace and quality ofindustrialization. The average annual growth of industry for
East Asia and the Pacific between 1990 and 1999 reached
9.8 percent, far exceeding that of other regions. Asia’s
industrialization is highly energy intensive and involves highcosts to the environment. As part of this growth, industrial
wastes are growing in quantity and becoming more difficult
to dispose of or degrade. Moreover, small- and medium
sized enterprises (SMEs) play a critical role in the processof industrialization, and are responsible for most industrial
pollution in certain countries. Many of the challenges facing
the region will therefore depend on how the growth ofmarkets and industry can be shaped in an environmentally
sustainable fashion.

Developing Innovative Urban Systems
Urbanization is one of the most significant issues facing the
Asia-Pacific region. In 2000, one in three people in thisregion lived in an urban area, compared with one in five in
1960. Urbanization in the Asia-Pacific region is predicted tocontinue to grow at an average rate of 2.4 percent per year
between 2001 and 2015. This trend of rapid urbanization isposing burdens on the environmental capacity of urban
areas. Major issues that cities in the Asia-Pacific region are
facing are air pollution from industrial activities andtransportation, waste management, and water andsanitation. The common denominator of these urban
environmental issues is that they will not be solved bypiecemeal approaches. Therefore, RISPO aims to develop
innovative policy options to improve urban environment
from a holistic viewpoint.

RISPO identified three sub-themes in this research area.
The sub-theme Innovative Financing for Renewable Energy
Development explores new financing mechanisms thathasten the development of the renewable energy industry
and markets for renewable energy products/technologies inorder to meet the growing energy demand through cleansources of energy. The second sub-theme is Creation ofInter-boundary Market for Recyclable Materials. Because oflimited demand for recyclable materials on domestic
markets, recyclable materials sometimes end up in landfills.
On the other hand, because of limited supply of recyclable
materials on domestic markets, firms sometimes end up
using costly virgin materials. Creating an effective
inter-boundary market can be a breakthrough for thissituation so that it reduces waste and also production costs.
The third sub-theme is Improving Environmental

RISPO focuses on transport, one of the major sources of air
pollution, as a sub-theme in this research area 4 . Air
pollution from the transport sector is expected to rise owing
to an increase in traffic demand and motorization in the
4 Good practices related to urban issues, such as Improving

Urban Environmental Services through Private Sector
Participation and Community Related Initiatives for Urban
Environmental Management, are also collected incollaboration with the Kitakyushu Initiative for a Clean
Environment. These cases will be incorporated in Good
Practices Inventory.

3

Asia-Pacific region. This sub-theme examines theinnovative paths the cities in this region can take in order todevelop Environmentally Sustainable Transport Systems,
which can break the current trend.

options for countries in Asia and the Pacific by actively
making use of biomass-derived residual wastes currently
not in use, in order to sustainably use natural resources.
Facilitating Community-based Tourism in Protected Areas
will propose innovative ways to involve communities living
in and around protected areas in tourism, in order toeffectively use natural and community resources for
integrated protected area management.
Networking Stakeholders for Action
Many Asian countries are now in the process of
democratization and decentralization, which have brought
about the need to reconsider the style of environmental
governance. The multi-stakeholder approach has become
increasingly important, as the state can no longer exert thestrong leadership it used to in many cases. In other words,
increased participation of non-state actors such as local
authorities, businesses, NGOs, and local people isnecessary to enhance environmental governance in termsof legitimacy and resources. However, it has been observed
and reported that there are various obstacles to forging
such partnerships between actors.

Appropriately Using Community Resources
The unsustainable consumption patterns prevalent in Asiaand the Pacific region remain a formidable obstacle tosustainable development. Rural communities are
particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation
resulting from unsustainable consumption patterns. Rural
communities often lack access to the resources that canpromote environmentally sound activities and lifestyles.
Moreover, rural areas can be rich in natural resources andare often targets of overexploitation and environmentally
destructive development strategies. Therefore, ruralvillages often face a breakdown in the traditional
subsistence economy because of limited access to landand natural resources, lack of human and financial
resources, and sources of employment.

RISPO studies the networks among stakeholders as a way
to overcome such obstacles and promote a
multi-stakeholder approach. Two sub-themes have been
identified, and both of them make the most of non-state
resources by networking stakeholders, resulting in theenhancement of environmental governance. One is
Promoting Environmental Education by NGOs, which
focuses on the roles of NGOs in raising public
environmental awareness. The other is Promoting
Local/indigenous Knowledge-based Sustainable Resource
Management, which focuses on the significant roles of local
people who provide in-situ knowledge of sustainable
resource management.

Against this background, the objectives of the research
conducted in this strategic research area are to formulate
ideas to better utilize natural and community resources inorder to realize sustainable development in Asia and thePacific region, focusing in particular on rural communities.
Promotion of biomass energy will draw out ideal energy mix

4

2.2. Details of Sub-Themes

financing) could be optimized through an innovative mix ofthe four categories of financing considered.

2.2.1 Innovative Financing for Renewable Energy
Development

Renewable Energy Financing Roadmap

OutlineRE Development phases

This research explores four areas that are likely to be theprimary sources of finance for the development andcommercialisation of wind and solar technologies andproducts in the mid to long term: government finance;international funding mechanisms (including the Clean
Development Mechanism); private sector finance (including
financing through energy service companies); andmicro-credit and community-based financing.

d
stu

y

Full
Commercialization

Early
Commercialization

Demonstration
Research&
Development

fo r

ca
Fis

l/

l ins
ncia
fina

re
icy
Pol

trum

cilit
e/fa
gim

Timeline

Research Methodology

Product/technology
development

s
ent

an
ech
gm
n
i
t
a

ism

4

Examples of Good PracticeResearch &Development
Product/technology
development•

Demonstration
Government financeInternational funding mechanisms- Private financing incl. ESCOs
Micro-credit & community-based financing

Fullcommercialization

al
er n
Ext

ols
/ to
u ts
inp

•

Early
commercialization••

The aim is to identify in these four areas innovative
financing mechanisms that: 1) break down the high initialcosts of renewable energy products and technologies; 2)
increase competitiveness against traditional fossil fuels; 3)
reduce the transaction costs of renewable energy products
and technologies; and 4) ensure sustainability without
public aid and subsidy.

••

The research is developing strategic policy options aimed at
an innovative financing mix through a life-cycle approach,which include financing mechanisms for the stages ofresearch and development; demonstration; earlycommercialization; full commercialization; and product andtechnology development. These policy options would
provide an indication of how financing for the supply side
(R&D, manufacturing) and demand side (consumer

•

•

5

Public sector financing (Indian Renewable Energy
Development Agency Ltd.: IREDA) for wind power
development – Tamil Nadu, India
Solar photovoltaic minigrids – a combination of
government and community financing – Sunderbans,West Bengal, India
Developing a market-oriented institutional andfinancial model for decentralized solar systems –Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, India
Wind-power development by the private sector – a
combination of the Clean Development Mechnism
CDM and public sector financing (IREDA) –Karnataka, India
Promoting household PV system application inremote areas through international funding – Inner
Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang, Tibet, andwestern Sichuan, China
Scaling-up of renewable village power throughgovernmental finance and bidding based on market
regulation – Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu,
Xinjiang, Tibet, Shanxi and Sichuan, China
Economic incentive policy–stimulated growth of themarket for a small wind turbine – Inner Mongolia,
China
Renewable energy finance: the experience of thefirst CDM project in China.

2.2.2 Creation of Inter-boundary Market for
Recyclable Materials

recycled and disposed of, and how many areexported overseas?
• Where are they exported to?
<Demand side>• What types of tradable non-hazardous recyclable
materials are in demand domestically?
• What types are domestically obtained and whattypes are imported from overseas?
• Where are they imported from?

Outline
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and thePacific (ESCAP) reported in its State of the Environment in
Asia and the Pacific 2000 that the amount of industrial solid
waste generated in the Asia-Pacific region is expected toincrease substantially and will double in less than 20 years
at the current rate of growth of industrial solid waste
generation. Promotion of recycling is one solution to reduce
industrial waste. In addition, for the countries with relatively
cheap labor costs of waste separation and limited access to
expensive virgin materials, the use of recyclable materials
is sometimes more attractive in terms of production costthan is the use of virgin materials. Promotion of therecycling of industrial waste could reduce the production
cost as well as the volume of industrial waste.

Secondly, to determine the factors that are important for
creating an effective inter-boundary market of recyclable
materials, information on good practice in inter-boundary
trading of recyclable materials and in domestic material
exchange systems is being collected from Thailand, thePhilippines, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
Lastly, strategic policy options to create an effective
inter-boundary market of recyclable materials and promote
their use will be developed from analyses of theabove-mentioned survey and good practices.

This research aims to propose strategic policy options tocreate an effective inter-boundary market of recyclable
materials and promote their use in order to achieve awin-win situation.
Recyclable materials targeted in this research can be seenin the following diagram.
Under Basel Convention
Hazardous recyclable
materials/reusablewaste

Non-hazardous
recyclable materials/
reusable waste

Under domestic laws
NonTradable

Tradable

NonTradable

Tradable

HMR Envirocycle (Manila, Philippines)

Targete.g. plastic waste
paper waste(non-hazardous) metal waste
glass waste
othersExamples of Good Practice
One example of good practice is the waste recycling
business of Wongpanit Co. Ltd. in Thailand, whichpurchases and sells waste domestically and to and fromabroad. Its main trading partners are those in the Lao PDR,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the People’s Republic ofChina, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The research activities have three components. First, todetermine the current and potential supply and demand ofrecyclable materials in the region, the following survey is
being conducted in countries of Thailand, the Philippines,
the Republic of Korea and Japan:

Pilot Project<Supply side>• What quantity of tradable non-hazardous recyclable
materials is produced domestically?
• How many of these materials are domestically

To evaluate the strategic policy options, a pilot project thatwill experiment in the inter-boundary trade of recyclable
materials among four countries (Thailand, the Philippines,
the Republic of Korea and Japan) is planned.

62.2.3 Improving Environmental Performance ofSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises

approach. Further research will be focused on exploring
how the identified SPOs will be practically implemented – inother words, what should be done to make the SPOs
actually happen.

OutlineIt is widely recognized that SMEs are important vehicles inthe economy and are substantial suppliers of employment
opportunities in Asia and the Pacific. At the same time, theenvironmental impacts that SMEs cause have reached alevel that can no longer be ignored.

Examples of Good PracticeIn the course of the research work, the following examplesof good practice have been determined to improve theenvironmental performance of SMEs:• Implementation of an environmental management
system in a medium-scale manufacturing industry(Thailand)• Energy conservation in a medium-scale autopart
manufacturer (Thailand)• Demonstration and dissemination of cleaner
technologies in a small-scale glass industry (India –see photos)• Adaptation of vertical shaft brick kiln (VSBK)
technology for the brick industry (India).

Under such circumstance, globalization of the economy andpressure from the international community have virtually
forced SMEs to widen their narrow focus of profit-seeking to
one of sustainable economic operations. However,technical and financial constraints as well as insufficient
information hamper them from doing so.

Conventional coal-based furnace (Firozabad, India)

The research work of this theme sets its objective as: To
examine and identify practical means of improving theenvironmental performance of SMEs.
To conduct a thorough analysis and develop strategic policy
options (SPOs), the research work has started bydelineating the overall role of SMEs in the socio-economy inrelation to the environment. Background information has
been collected on productivity figures, existing government
policies, and programs supported by non-public sectors
through literature reviews and sometimes face-to-faceinterviews. Further, some good practices under the theme
have been examined to derive the critical essence ofpossible SPOs. (See below.)

Natural-gas-fired furnace (Firozabad, India)

Capacity-building
The Preliminary field studies and interviews have shownthat some sort of capacity-building to increase theunderstanding of sustainability must be carried out at alllevels (local government, business owners, andemployees). The target groups and methods have to becarefully identified in accordance with the objective of thecapacity-building. It would be appropriate to invite local
NGOs to help design capacity-building programs, so that
their cooperation will be ensured on a long-term basis.
Moreover, funding aspects should be incorporated into theplanning.

Some ideas for SPOs include gearing up the operations ofindustry associations for the environment; setting up
ISO-type environmental management systems applicable
to SMEs at a cluster level; and engaging SMEs inenvironmental improvements by a business-oriented

7

2.2.4 Development of Environmentally Sustainable
Transport Systems in Urban Areas(Singapore), Curitiba (Brazil). Bangkok (Thailand), Seoul(Korea), Bogota (Colombia), and Quito (Ecuador).
It isplanned to collect examples from Cairo (Egypt), Sapporo
and Fukuoka (Japan) , and other South East Asian
countries.

OutlineThis research aims to develop systems for environmentally
sustainable transport (EST) for the cities in the Asia-Pacificregion as strategic policy options.

Good Practice Examples Collected in Year 1
City

Title
Emission Control

Strategic policy options for EST will be developed on thebasis of scenario analysis, which offers a means of
exploring a variety of long-range alternatives.
Beijing

The procedure for this research is as follows:
Categorization of future city types‘Good cities’ of the future are categorized according to thedegree of demand for transportation and the types ofmeasures needed to accommodate transportation needs.
These city types are: (i) High-Tech Dependent/ Growing
City; (ii) Automobile Dependent/ Growing city; (iii)
Community Independent/ Sustainable City; (iv) Public
Transport Dependent/ Sustainable City; and (v) Public
Transport Dependent/ Growing City.

Public Transport
SystemAlternative Fuel
VehiclesExamples of
Critical Instruments
High-quality fuel standard,emission checking system
International bidding, public
participation in price-setting
Establishment of compressed
natural gas (CNG) andliquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
stations
Financial innovation

Integrated Road
Transport System
Emission Control Vehicle license auction,
elimination of motorbike
Rail-based mass Financial innovation,
Shanghai rapid transit system competitive operation
Alternative FuelInvestment and loans,
Vehiclesestablishment of supervisionsystemElectric
Role of NGOs and civic
Kathmandu Three-wheelers
society, favorable electricity
tariffEnvironmentally
Fiscal measure to restrain carSoundownership, public transport ,Singapore
Transportationelectric road pricing,
Planning
vehicle quota system
Integration of Land Single fare for public
Use and Bus
transport,
Curitiba
Systemtube-shaped bus stations,all-bus network transit system

Collection of good practices
Good practices are being collected and compiled in Good
Practices Inventory.
Development of scenarios
Field-based studies will be carried out for selected cities(Beijing and Taiyuan in China, and Bangkok in Thailand),and qualitative city-specific scenarios will be developed on
the assumption that the city will develop into one of thecategories of a ‘good city’.
Development of draft Strategic Policy Options
On the basis of the scenario analysis and the application ofgood practices from the inventory to the city, draft Strategic
Policy Options will be developed.
Calculation of an index for measuring innovation
The effect of draft Strategic Policy Options will be estimatedby quantitative model simulations in collaboration with the
IEA.

Compressed natural gas bus (Beijing)

Pilot Project
Examples of Good Practice
One proposal for a pilot project could be the introduction ofclean fuel buses in a small to medium-sized city in China.

Examples of good practice have been collected in Beijing,
Shanghai (China), Kathmandu (Nepal), Singapore

82.2.5 Promotion of Biomass Energy

Proposal of Strategic Policy Options
Draft Strategic Policy Options at a local, country, andregional level will be proposed on the basis of this process.
These proposals will be improved by effective interaction
between the research team and stakeholders.

OutlineThe objective of this research is to determine the preferredmix of energy supply in the Asia-Pacific countries, mainly byfocusing on a Biomass Energy Promotion Strategy (BiEPS)
as part of Strategic Policy Options.

Examples of Good PracticeIn the first year, the following examples of good practicewere identified and compiled in Good Practices Inventory.

Strategic policy options for BiEPS are being developed
through the following process:India• Satisfying heating needs in rural cottage industries
through a cluster- and application-based approachto biomass gasification• Use of rice husks as fuel in process steam boilers• Biogas plants based on night soil

Investigation of available biomass energy resources
In the first year, the use of biomass energy in India,
Thailand and Japan was reviewed. This is needed as abasis on which to review the literature on other Asia-Pacificcountries.

Thailand• Biogas technology for pig farm wastes• Biogas technology for carbohydrate-based
wastewater from a starch factory• Fluidized bed combustion of biomass

Categorization of targeting of biomass energy resources
There are many kinds of biomass energy resources.
Bagasse, rice husk, animal waste, wood and solid waste(e.g. palm oil shell, municipal waste, wood residues) wereselected as the target biomass energy resources forconsideration in the review of the Asia-Pacific countries.
Collection of good practice examples and development oftechnology list for comparison studies
Good practices are being collected by focusing on theabove and targeting biomass energy resources. They will
be added to Good Practices Inventory. Each team willcompile a summary list of biomass energy conversion
technologies. These lists will become important inputs into
comparison studies of each target biomass energy
resource.
Development of story lines to promote biomass energy use
On the basis of comparative studies, story lines to promotebiomass energy use will be developed. They will take into
account economic instruments, technology components,organizational arrangement, and policy and regulatory
instruments. Quantitative impacts will be simulated incollaboration with the IEA sub-project.

Circulation tank and biogas domes at pig farm
(Pak Tho District, Thailand)92.2.6 Facilitating Community-based Tourism inProtected Areas
OutlineThe objectives of this strategic research are a) to compile
good practices of community-based tourism (CBT) in theprotected areas of four countries in Asia (India, Indonesia,
Japan and Thailand) into Good Practices Inventory; and b)
to propose innovative strategic policy options on ways toactively involve those communities living in and aroundprotected areas in tourism and thus facilitate effective
integrated protected area management.

Local guide performing his duty
(Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand)

For the purposes of this research, ‘community-based
tourism’ has been defined by its objectives, namely: gain
local economic development; obtain a certain level ofparticipation; provide a socially and environmentally
responsible experience for visitors; and have a positive
impact on the conservation of natural and/or cultural
resources.

Good practice sites identified in FY 2002 were as follows:India• Multi-stakeholder tourism planning for the Corbett
National Park LandscapeIndonesia• Community-based tourism in Gunung Rinjani
National Park• Community-based tourism in Gunung Halimun
National Park• Community-based tourism in Gunung Gede
Pangrango National Park• Community-based tourism in Gunung
Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National ParkJapan
• Nature tourism promoted by the Whale-watching
Association, Ogasawara National Park
Thailand• Community-based Tourism in Doi Inthanon National
Park: case study of Ban Mae Klang Luang Tourism
Alliance, Chiangmai• Ecotourism of Ban Khao Lek at Chalerm
Rattanakosin National Park• Nature and Environmental Conservation Group of
Ban Wang Lung at Khao Luang National Park

Examples of Good Practice
To select examples of good practice, the CBT teamdeveloped the following criteria:

Participation/
relationship

Nature/environmental
conservation

Socio-economic
issuesBusiness

Have participation by local communities
Have co-operation between protectedarea tourism authorities andcommunities working incommunity-based tourism
Support a feeling of local community
ownership of community-based tourism
ideas, concepts and actions
Increase conservation of key resourcesin and around protected areas
Build upon environmental awarenessand others by local communities
Lead to increased environmental
awareness and improved attitudes
by local communities and visitors
Retain significant economic benefits inlocal communities
Contribute to local social andcommunity development in and aroundprotected areas
Be a profitable business for local
communities

Awareness and capacity building, partnership, andself-regulatory instruments were important components inmost of the good practices identified.
Capacity Building
Building the capacities of policy makers is a vital componentof the facilitation of CBT in protected areas. The
development of programs targeting policy-makers will fill a
gap in the capacity-building programs that are currently
available.

Promote authentic products that build
upon local natural and cultural assets

Other indicators of sustainability are to be developed whennecessary by using participatory methods.

10

2.2.7 Promoting Environmental Education by NGOs

increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of member’s EE
activities). These benefits have attracted NGOs, and JPL’s
membership has increased from 27 in 1996 to 85 in 1999.
Critical instruments in this successful case are
Awareness/capacity
building,
Partnerships,
andInstitutional Arrangements.

OutlineEnvironmental education (EE) by NGOs has been taken up
as a sub-theme of RISPO for the following reasons. First,
capacity-building is a key factor in helping countries to copewith the socio-political transitions (see Networking
Stakeholders for Action in 2.1.). Secondly, as is seen fromthe UN’s plan to launch the ‘Decade of Education for
Sustainability’, there is an increased need for policy
research to promote EE worldwide. Thirdly, the role ofNGOs in promoting EE has become increasingly importantin Asia owing to the growth of NGOs and the insufficientavailability of resources within the formal education sector.
Lastly, EE is one of the areas that can be effectively
promoted by stakeholder networks. Therefore, thisresearch tries to provide ‘policy options’ to promote EE by
NGOs through networking stakeholders, as well as ‘goodpractices’ to be shared among related parties to improvetheir programs. This research is focused on Indonesiancases for the moment, because of limited time andresources, the abundance of good practices in Indonesia,
and their applicability to other countries. Together with
RMI-the Indonesian Institute for Forest and Environment(the partner institute in Indonesia) and other local experts,
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) has
been conducting research activities such as literature
reviews, interviews, observations, focus-groups andquestionnaire surveys on this sub-theme.

Another example is ‘REPLING – an Environmental
Education Route Program’, which is a collaborative
program conducted at Bogor Botanical Garden in Indonesia
by an NGO and primary and secondary schools. Itemphasises guiding interpretation as an education method,which is used in combination with other methods such as
nature game activities, observation, and group discussion.
The participants follow the REPLING trails in the Botanical
Garden in groups (each group consists of 6 to 10 people)
aided by facilitators. The program has brought about
positive impacts on schools, participants, their parents, andfacilitators. The case has shown that guiding interpretation
is an effective method of EE, and that places such as
botanical gardens can be a powerful EE tool that supports
and complements the primary and secondary education
sector. Critical instruments in this successful case are
Awareness/capacity building and Partnerships.
Around 20 good practices will be collected within the next 2
years. See the Technical Report or Good Practices
Inventory for further information.

From our analysis of good practice examples, four SPOs
will be formulated on four key issues. ‘Networking’ is the key
instrument in each SPO. These four issues are networking
NGOs; networking NGOs with the local community;
networking NGOs with primary and secondary education;and networking NGOs with higher education.
Examples of Good Practice
A few good practices have already been identified. One ofthem is the ‘NGO Environmental Education Network inIndonesia (Jaringan Pendidikan Lingkungan: JPL)’. It has
resulted in improved external relations (e.g. an increase inresources such as funding and training opportunities) and
improved internal relations (e.g. facilitation ofcommunication and resource-sharing, leading to an

JPL Annual Meeting in 1999
(Seloliman, Indonesia)112.2.8Promoting Local/indigenous Knowledge-based
Sustainable Resource Managementof LINK-based practices. Although many LINK-based
practices are site- and culture-specific, some aspects ofthese practices can be transferred to other settings.
Likewise, the lessons learned from LINK, such as the rolesof local/indigenous people and culture, the use of low-cost
technologies, and the implementation of the necessary
institutional arrangements, may be shared among
policy-makers who aim to develop better planning forsustainable resource management.

OutlineThe importance of local/indigenous knowledge (LINK) andits potential in the sustainable use of natural resources has
been repeatedly emphasized in international discourses onsustainable development. In 1992, Agenda 21 of the Rio
Declaration highlighted the importance of holistic traditional
knowledge of lands, natural resources and the environment
developed over many generations by local/indigenous
people. The United Nations proclaimed 1993 as the‘International Year for the World’s Indigenous People’ andpresented a unique opportunity to mobilize international
cooperation to preserve and share local/indigenous
knowledge for sustainable resource management. Recently,
in 2002, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation adopted
at the World Summit on Sustainable Development again
drew people’s attention to the vulnerability of local,
traditional, and/or indigenous knowledge.

Examples of Good PracticeCurrently, the RISPO-LINK research team is studying goodpractices in LINK-based sustainable resource managementin the coastal and mountainous areas of Bangladesh, China,
Thailand and Vietnam. For example, the gei wai at Mai Po
and the Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site, Hong Kong, China, is
a traditional practice of shrimp cultivation in a sustainable
manner. The gei wai (literally meaning a pond enclosed by abund) is built in the coastal wetland, and its operation iscarefully designed to minimize adverse impacts on theenvironment. Young shrimp flushed into the gei wai by tidal
waves in autumn are fed only naturally, e.g. on the leaves ofmangroves planted in the gei wai. The gei wai landscapeprovides precious habitats for water birds and other wildlife
at the same time.

It is worth noting that despite rising awareness of LINK,
such knowledge and practices are rapidly vanishing in a
number of Asian countries. LINK embedded in a given
culture or society is likely to be lost irretrievably when theculture or society experiences drastic socio-economicchanges. Once the unique and complex cultural norms thatfunctioned as the basis for various local practices are lost,the knowledge can barely survive and cannot be passed on
to future generations. The chances for learning lessons
from such knowledge to realize sustainable development
are gradually becoming slimmer.
This research aims to develop strategic policy options topromote LINK-based sustainable resource management,with two primary objectives:i) preservation and promotion of LINK, andii) application and adaptation of LINKThe former aims to maintain the diversity of existing
LINK-based sustainable resource management practices.
The major focus here is to examine and propose a variety of
approaches to encouraging local people to sustain suchpractices in the face of rapid socio-economic change.
These
approaches
includeawareness-raising,capacity-building, provision of economic incentives, the useof advocacy systems, and the provision of administrative
support. The latter objective is to examine the applicability

Gei wai ponds, Mai Po (Hong Kong, China)

Other LINK-based practices, such as indigenous strategies
of coping with climatic extremes (floods and droughts) in
Bangladesh, traditional systems of community-based water
management in Thailand, and joint reforestation initiatives
between local authorities and local people in Vietnam, arealso being examined, with the close cooperation ofresearchers from both the social and natural sciences.

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3.

To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of Strategic
Policy Options, some of them will be implemented as pilot
projects. The findings from these RISPO outcomes will beincorporated in capacity-building activities to enhance theknowledge and skill of policy-makers and/or the awarenessand participation of other stakeholders.

How can the APEIS-RISPO products be applied
for policy formulation/implementation works?

RISPO products provide policy-makers with tested ideas
and strategic policy options for achieving sustainable
development. When developing policy to address anenvironmental problem, one of the good approaches is toconsult past experience. Good Practices Inventory offers alist of lessons identified and categorized from various pastpractices in the Asia-Pacific region. Strategic Policy
Options, which are a combination of good practices
validated with pilot studies, offers practical solutions inselected area that can serve as models for actual policy
development.

Current Progress
Approximately 50 good practice examples are searchable
in the prototype of Good Practices Inventory on the website(http://iges.or.jp/APEIS/RISPO). They include examples ofrenewable energy, recycling, cleaner production, resource
management, and environmental education.
Cases can be searched not only by environmental area, butalso by keyword, country, innovative instruments and/or
strategy.

Good Practices Inventory is a compilation of good (orunsuccessful) practices, with analyses of those instruments
considered critical for success. Users can search the
database for cases that apply to them. Currently, a
prototype is available on the Internet.

A detailed description of each case can be retrieved byclicking on the title. Each case provides information on thefollowing items: (1) summary of the practice; (2) analysis ofwhat was innovative in the use of critical instruments andwhy and how the instruments have contributed to success;(3) qualitative and/or quantitative impacts on theenvironment and the socio-economy; (4) lessons learned
from the practice; (5) potential for application of the practice,and other relevant information. The box on the next pageshows examples of cases with high potential for application.

Strategic Policy Options are packages of policy proposals
that will support policy-making toward sustainable
development in the Asia-Pacific region. Stakeholders canidentify and refer to the proposals applicable to policy areasof interest, taking into account their own environmental,socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds. Preliminary
Strategic Policy Options will be developed by March 2004.

Search interface of Good Practices Inventory

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Examples of cases in Good Practices Inventory
Example 1: Developing a Market-Oriented Institutional and Financial Model for
Decentralized Solar Systems, India
Summary of the Practice The Uttam Urja initiative addresses the limitations of subsidy-driven programs fordecentralised solar systems, particularly with respect to technology customisation and delivery mechanisms. The
project is developing a grassroots Energy Service Network (ESN) comprising the local NGO, dealers and retailers ofelectronic systems, financial intermediaries, and manufacturers of solar home systems (SHS). It represents theprovision of a ‘package’ of energy products and services for rural people, rather than the provision of just the product,as used to be done in various initiatives undertaken by the government.
Critical Instruments The Uttam Urja model combines a unique institutional model, technology and awareness, andcapacity-building to showcase the commercial viability of SHS markets.
Impacts Between 1999 and March 2003, close to 1000 domestic lighting systems comprising lanterns, home lighting
systems and solar panels were sold without the need for government subsidy.
Lessons Learned Setting up local assembly facilities andentrepreneurship-based product dissemination can reduce thesystem and service costs. Customers are willing to purchase atreal market price (without subsidy) if products and services areof high quality. Instead of upfront subsidy to customers, theeffort should be on facilitating entrepreneurial ventures and theprovision of soft credit to customers.
Potential for Application The ESN institution provides a modelthat builds on previous experiences and can be easily
replicated.

Example 2: Ban Wang Lung Nature and Environmental Conservation Group at
Khao Luang National Park, Thailand
Summary of the Practice The main activities of the Nature and Environmental Conservation Group, formed in 1988,
are forest plantation, forest fire control, forest patrol and surveillance. In 1999, villagers started a community-based
tourism operation, which brings additional income and supports forest conservation.
Critical Instruments The most critical instrument that makes this community-based tourism successful is theawareness of local people of forest conservation. Another is the partnerships with several institutions.
Impacts Involvement of locals in forest conservation; earning of supplementary income; creation of social bonding;increasing partnerships with protected area authorities.
Lessons Leaned Importance of flexibility on the part of the park
authorities in exercising their authority and regulations;
understanding of park organization objectives by both the park
officials and local people leads to cooperation in tourism
management by the community; the need for locals to acquire
hospitality skills.
Potential for Application To examine the applicability of thispractice, studies have been conducted by the Ministry of Interior
and the Thailand Research Fund. Nature study groups in schools
have also stayed at Khao Luang to learn from the experience of
the Conservation Group.
14Participating Organizations(as of April 2003)
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
Department of Forests, Government of Uttranchal, India
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India
Indonesian Ecotourism Network, Indonesia
RMI – The Indonesian Institute for Forest and Environment, Indonesia
University of Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
University of Indonesia, Indonesia
National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan
Sustainable Society Promotion Center, Japan
Management Association of the Philippines, Philippines
Korea Environment Institute (KEI), Republic of Korea
Asia Institute of Technology, Thailand
Kasetsart University, Thailand
Mahidol University, Thailand
National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec), Thailand
Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), Thailand
Vietnam National University, Vietnam
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Collaborating Centre on Energy andEnvironment (UCCEE)

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/

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Web site
Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options（RISPO）

http://www.iges.or.jp/APEIS/RISPO/

Ministry of the Environment,Japan