UNCRD-NU EST Symposium 19Mar2015
Program 04Mar2015

Public Symposium on
Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Asia
Date:Thursday, 19th March 2015
Venue:The Lecture Hall, Graduate School of Environmental Studies Building, Nagoya University(Chikusa, Nagoya, Japan)
Co-organizers:
Research and Education Center for Sustainable Co-Development, Graduate School ofEnvironmental Studies, Nagoya University (NU-SusCoDe); and United Nations Centre for
Regional Development (UNCRD)
Theme:
Outcomes of Regional EST Forums in Asia, including the Bangkok, Bali, and Colombo
Declarations, and their Relevance in Post-2015 Development Agenda/Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the Role of Scientific and Research Community andthe Private Sector
Background:
The Asian EST Initiative, which is a joint initiative of UNCRD and the Ministry of theEnvironment of the Government of Japan (MoE-J), was launched in 2004.
The
intergovernmental Regional EST Forum in Asia, which is the key component of the Asia EST
Initiative, has emerged as an important platform in the region for policy discussions andnegotiations on sustainable transport. The Forum provides a strategic and knowledge
platform for sharing experiences and disseminating among Asian countries best practices,policy instruments, tools, and technologies on various aspects of sustainable transport
underlined in the Aichi Statement (2005). The Regional EST Forum comprises: (a) high-levelgovernment representatives (mainly from Ministries of the Environment, Transport, Urban
Development, and Health); and (b) a Subsidiary Expert Group to provide technical input topolicy consultations in various thematic areas on EST. Starting with ASEAN + 4 (China,Japan, Republic of Korea, and Mongolia), the Regional EST Forum gradually expanded tocover 24 countries, including South Asia and Russian Federation. With the spirit of realizing
Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020) and Bali Vision Three Zeros – Zero Congestion, Zero
Pollution, and Zero Accidents, and by forging meaningful link with the new UN High-Level
Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport, the Forum further aims to contribute to the global
processes, discussions and actions in transport sector leading to sustainable development,including the overarching Rio+20 outcome – the Future We Want, post-2015 development
agenda, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be adopted by the member
countries of UN in UN General Assembly in September 2015.
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Program 04Mar2015
The inaugural 1st Regional EST Forum in Asia (2005, Japan), through the adoption of theAichi Statement (2005), fostered a common understanding across Asia on the essential
elements of EST as well as the need for an integrated approach to deal with multi-sectoraltransport, environment, health and safety issues, including climate change. This was the firstmajor transport congress of Asian countries to successfully highlight and draw attention tosocial equity and gender considerations, among other 11 thematic areas, in overall transport
policy, planning and development attaching strong importance to non-motorized transport(NMT) and people and environmentally friendly transport design and infrastructure.
Seoul Statement ~ Towards the Promotion of EST for a Low-Carbon Society and Green
Growth in Asia, agreed at the 4th Regional EST Forum (2009, Rep. of Korea), forged aconsensus on the need for sustainable mobility and various transport demand management(TDM) tools and measures to address local air pollutants and the greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from the transport sector concurrently and effectively towards green growth andlow carbon society in Asia.
The Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020) adopted at the Fifth Regional EST Forum in Asia
(2010, Thailand), reflecting a regional consensus, aims to influence the decisions ofgovernments and various transport stakeholders in the region over the decade (2010-2020)
towards realization of safe, secure, affordable, efficient, people- and environment-friendly,and inclusive transport in rapidly urbanizing and modernizing Asia. The Bangkok 2020
Declaration, with twenty time-bound EST goals and monitoring indicators (to assess progressin meeting them) embedded in avoid-shift-improve strategy, was the first regional declarationon the strengthening of environmentally sustainable land transport in developing Asia.
The Regional EST Forum in Asia has been able to catalyze a consensus among the EST
member countries to move towards a “Regional Agreement on Green Freight in Asia”. The
6th Regional EST Forum in Asia (2011, India) not only called Asian governments to develop
strategies, policies, regulations, and make investment for the establishment of national green
freight programmes, but also catalysed the “Private Sector Declaration on Green Freight inAsia towards a Green Economy”, acknowledging private sector’s responsibilities and lending
support to governments for green freight initiatives and programmes that reduce fueldependency, and air pollutant and CO2 emissions while maintaining economic growth.
The 7th Regional EST Forum in Asia (2013, Indonesia) adopted the Bali Declaration on Vision
Three Zeros‐Zero Congestion, Zero Pollution, and Zero Accidents towards Next Generation
Transport Systems in Asia, reinforcing and renewing the commitments of Asian countries on
the implementation of Bangkok 2020 Declaration. The Vision Three Zeros is based on zerotolerance towards congestion, pollution, and road fatalities which help in bringing about aparadigm shift in thinking on the role of motorization and mobility in realizing sustainable
development in Asia. The outcome of Seventh Regional EST Forum in Asia also reinforced,
among others, the importance of green freight for Asian countries for better logistics andsupply chain management.
In course of policy discussion and deliberations at the Regional EST Forums, the Asiancountries have increasingly felt the need to realize climate and disaster resilient transportsystem and infrastructures. It was also noted in the Forums that many developing countries
are in net deficit in sustainable urban transport infrastructures, thereby it was increasingly felt
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UNCRD-NU EST Symposium 19Mar2015
Program 04Mar2015
to mobilize public-private-partnerships (PPPs) and innovative financing mechanisms tobridge such deficits.
Objective:
To make Japanese public, research and scientific community, private sector aware of theneeds of developing countries of Asia in transport and sustainable development and theirrole in achieving a smart, safe, livable, resilient and inclusive community and society in Asia.
The Symposium will also discuss on how PPP and other financing mechanism could bepromoted in realizing sustainable and resilient transport infrastructure in Asian countries. The
outcome of the public Symposium will provide substantive input to the 9th Regional EST
Forum in Asia in 2015.
Targeted Audience:
Japanese scientific and research community, private sector, central and local governments,and general publicProgramme (tentative):
13:00 – 13:20i Opening remarks:
Master of the Ceremony: Prof. Hirokazu Kato, NU-SusCoDe• Prof. Seiichi Matsuo, Nagoya University President-Elect• Representative of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (TBC)• Ms. Chikako Takase, Director, UNCRD
13:20 – 13:45

Outcomes of the Regional EST Forums in Asia
• Mr. Choudhury Rudra Charan Mohanty, Environment Programme
Coordinator, UNCRD

13:45 – 14:10

Beyond Bangkok 2020 Declaration• Prof. Yoshitsugu Hayashi, Director, NU-SusCoDe

Panel discussion sessions
Overall Chair: Prof. Yoshitsugu Hayashi, Director, NU-SusCoDe
14:10 – 15:30

Session 1: Integrated EST Policy and Resilience
Facilitator: Mr. Chaudhury Rudra Charan Mohanty, Environment Programme
Coordinator, UNCRD••••

Dr. Huapu Lu, Professor and Director of Institute of Transportation
Engineering, Tsinghua University
Dr. Ashish Verma, Professor, Indian Institute of Science; President,
Transportation Research Group of India (TRG); WCTRS
Dr. Wei-Shiuen Ng, Research Fellow, Stanford University Precourt
Energy Efficiency Center
Ms. Yoko Tsuji, Environmental Policy Division, Ministry of Land,Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Japan
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UNCRD-NU EST Symposium 19Mar2015
Program 04Mar2015•Mr. Toshio Otake, Corporate Officer, Deputy Director General, andGeneral Manager, Technology Research and Development
Department, Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) (TBC)

Discussion Points:•

One of the proposed SDGs for the post-2015 development agenda
is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilientand sustainable. What integrated EST policy measures could be
helpful in building resilience of our cities given the transport
infrastructures’ vulnerability to impacts of climate change andnatural disasters?

•What lessons Japanese transport policies and systems, including
its railway and other urban infrastructures, provide in terms ofresiliency of cities and communities?

•Given the large increase in transport demand in developing andemerging economies, it is crucial to achieve significant modal shift
from high carbon modes (e.g., road, aviation) to low carbon andhigh energy efficient modes (rail, water and maritime, and otherforms of public transport). Drawing from Japanese and othercountries’ successful cases, what integrated EST policies andmeasures we can recommend for local and national authorities ofAsian countries?

•How can we promote a robust science-policy interface to better
address the resiliency in transport sector? What could be potential
role of the scientific and research community?

15:30 – 15:40

Coffee Break

15:40 – 16:40

Session 2: Public Private Partnerships (PPP) - Strategic Finance andInvestment for EST
Facilitator: Prof. Yoshitsugu Hayashi, Director, NU-SusCoDe••••Dr. Victor Pontines, Research Fellow, ADB Institute Tokyo
Mr. Koji Kuroda, President, Japan Expressway International(JEXWAY)
Dr. Masaki Arioka, Executive Director, Society of Life-cycle
Infrastructure Management (SLIM Japan)
Mr. Kazuya Nishi, Director, Transportation Policy Division, Urban
Maintenance Department, The City of Toyota

Discussion Points:

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UNCRD-NU EST Symposium 19Mar2015
Program 04Mar20151) The Regional EST Forum have noted that many developing andemerging economies had considerable infrastructure deficit at thecurrent level of urbanization. As Asia goes through rapid urbanization,
countries like India, for instance, will require financing of more thantrillions of US$ over the next decades. What potential opportunities theprivate sector offer in building next generation sustainable transport
infrastructures to meet such growing transport demand in developing
countries?
2) The frequency and magnitude of natural disasters (e.g., flood,earthquake, cyclones, landslides, etc.) are on the rise across Asia, yetthe majority of developing countries and cities, have not made“resilience” a major part of their transport policy, planning, andfinancing for infrastructure and services development. What are thepossible new and innovative financing options, including partnership
options, for local and national government authorities to consider forleveraging such financing needs in the post-2015 development era?
3) What lessons we can draw from Japanese PPP experience?

16:40 – 16:50

Recapitulation of panel discussions:
Facilitators:- Session 1: Mr. Choudhury Rudra Charan Mohanty, UNCRD- Session 2: Prof. Yoshitsugu Hayashi, NU-SusCoDe

16:50 – 17:00

Closing remarks:
NU-SusCoDeor

UNCRD (TBD)

Language:
English and Japanese (with simultaneous translation service)
Admission:
Free
Registration:
Advance registration requested with name, affiliation, and Email address toestasia@ercscd.env.nagoya-u.ac.jp

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