Fostering the Regional Circulating and Ecological Sphere
Approach to Translate Global Goals into Local Actions– Lessons from National Scoping Workshops in ASEAN Countries –Satoshi Kojimaa, Bijon Kumer Mitraa, Mika Tachibanaa, Juan M. Pulhinb, Catherine Andersc, Indrajit Pald, Kullanan Sukwanchaid,Hendricus Andy Simarmatae,f, Ova Candra Dewif, Yukihiro Imanarig
a Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; b Department of Social Forestry and Forest Governance at the College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños;c Interdisciplinary Studies Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management, University of the Philippines Los Baños; d Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT);e Indonesian Association of Urban and Regional Planners; f Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia; g Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

What is the Regional Circulating and Ecological Sphere (Regional-CES)?

The Regional Circulating and Ecological Sphere (Regional-CES) aims to support
the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in both urban and ruralcommunities with maximum utilisation of local strengths and resources. It brings together
existing approaches, such as rural–urban linkages, ecosystem-based solutions for
decarbonisation, and resource circulation for economic revitalisation and resilient society.
Introduction of the Regional-CES concept
National and local policy
and priority context

Local action/projectcontext

Group exercise

Entry points for
Regional-CES

Challenges for
implementationof Regional-CES

Enablingsolutions

Framework of country workshops

How has the Regional-CES Concept been fostered ?

Regional-CES concept

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Asia-Pacific Network for Global
Change Research (APN) conducted the Regional-CES Scoping Project to assess the potential ofpromoting the Regional-CES concept in Asia. The scoping project organised workshops to engage key
national and local stakeholders in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. The workshops consisted ofa series of sessions to explain the Regional-CES concept, to discuss and identify opportunities for
applying Regional-CES based on each country's context, and to share practices that may have been
conducted under similar frameworks or concepts.

Potential Entry Points

Country Potential entry points
Philippines  Resource circulation
 Ecosystem-based adaptation
 Rural-urban linkages
 R&D on circular economy (CE), green technology/product development
Thailand  Sustainable and climate resilient development
 Water food nexus in rural-urban linkage
 Revitalisation by utilising local resources and enhancing rural-urbanlinkages
Indonesia  Balanced urban expansion with preserving green areas and protecting
rural spaces
 Sustainable resource management Spatial planning for disaster and environmental risk management

Challenges/Issues for Regional-CES

Country Challenges for Regional-CES
Philippines  Limited budget/funds for integration and climate mitigationMismatched priorities for localisation of development based on
confliction of policies at the local and national levels
Lack of shared knowledge and information, and infrastructure torealise circular economy
Wasteful duplication of plans from various agencies at various levels
Insufficient means to implement plans/weak implementation
Thailand  Lack of location-based law and regulation
Incompatibility between top-down implementation efforts and local
demands
Lack of understanding on local available resources
Insufficient financial supports/research funds, lack of awareness and
networking
Different approaches between urban and rural settings
Indonesia  Urban bias whereby urban areas have a strong position comparedto rural areasLack of infrastructure, and human resources with necessary skills
Lack of inter-municipality coordination

Lack of community involvement/consultation in formulating and
implementing spatial planning
Different culture/tradition between urban and rural areas

Enabling Solutions

Country Enabling measures
Philippines  Harnessing of key resources such as human, nature, and finance Forward-looking actions/policies
 Strengthening cross-sectoral coordination and linkages
 Sustainable funding sources
 Sharing sufficient knowledge of Regional-CES-related best practices/successful models to increase awareness and empower stakeholders
Thailand Laws and regulations should be reviewed based on locations, andeffectively enforced
 Enhancing rural and urban linkages for sustainable society
 Establishment of local stakeholder platforms (e.g.: Regional-CESplatform)
 Community participation/consultation to formulate and implement
spatial planning Promotion of sustainable agriculture, and enhancing vocational training Provision of infrastructure
Indonesia  Enhancing spatial planning with accurate mapping Community engagement to formulate and implement spatial planning Effective law enforcement
 Addressing conflicts between land ownership rights and spatial
regulations
 Promotion of sustainable agriculture, and enhancing vocational training

Lessons learnt from the three workshops

Participants understood the relevance of the Regional-CES concept to national sustainable development pathways and line policies
in each country. They acknowledged its potential to advance transformative actions towards low-carbon society, resource circulation,and living in harmony with nature at local, national and regional levels. The importance of aligning the concept to specific localcontexts, such as local needs, policy relevance and priorities, was also recognised.

Way forward

The lessons learned from national workshops will facilitate a regional level, cross-learning mechanism on applying the Regional-CES
to tackle sustainability challenges through localisation in a range of different national, sub-national and local contexts.

Jointly implemented by

In collaboration with