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AECEN UPDATE. Overview. Background on AECEN 2008 AECEN Achievements Country Activities Regional Activities International Activities AECEN Secretariat Support 2008 AECEN Forum Objectives. AECEN Mission. Established in 2005
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Overview • Background on AECEN • 2008 AECEN Achievements • Country Activities • Regional Activities • International Activities • AECEN Secretariat Support • 2008 AECEN Forum Objectives
AECEN Mission • Established in 2005 • Mission – To promote improved compliance with environmental policies, laws and regulations through the exchange of innovative policies and practices
AECEN Membership • 12 Members • 10 national agencies – People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam • 2 sub-national agencies – Laguna Lake Development Authority of the Philippines, and West Bengal Pollution Control Board of India • West Bengal joined AECEN in 2008 • Other participating countries – Korea and Pakistan
Network Activities • Rapid country program assessments • Country pilot and twinning activities • Regional forum • Asian Justices Forum on the Environment • Targeted studies • Regional capacity building • Website
Regional Principles • Promote effective compliance and enforcement programs • Reflect national experiences in Asia and worldwide • Provide framework for AECEN activities • Developed with member inputs
Pilot Projects – Objectives • Projects address priority challenges of member agency • Demonstrate best practices with potential for regional replication • Build capacity in key program areas • Achieve measurable results on the ground
Pilot Projects – 2008 Achievements • Philippines and Thailand Compliance Assistance Centers • Expanded operations and reach of virtual centers for pig farms and slaughterhouses • Establishing physical centers • West Bengal Compliance Assistance Center • Established first center in India targeting metal production industry • Partnering with World Bank to build infrastructure and capacity
Pilot Projects – 2008 Achievements • Sri Lanka Wastewater Pollution Charge Program • Amended laws, developed guidelines and completed capacity assessment • Targeting textile industry • Vietnam Inspector Training Program • Established national training manual to standardize inspections • Planning national training initiative
Member-to-Member Twinning Program • Twinning partnerships • Focused technical exchange between two Members • Collaborative engagement leads to measurable results in one or both countries • Small grants program with significant member cost share • Launched at 2007 forum in Beijing • Solicited grant proposals from Members • Established 3 twinning partnerships
New Member Twinning Partnerships • Japan – Thailand Partnership • Natural resources damages policy and guidelines in Thailand • Coordinated by Institute for Global Environmental Strategies • Singapore – Indonesia Partnership • Inspection and investigation capacity in Indonesia • Coordinated by Indonesia Center for Environmental Law • Philippines – Sri Lanka Partnership • Wastewater pollution charge program capacity in Sri Lanka • Technical exchanges with Laguna Lake Development Authority
Asian Justice Forum on the Environment • Builds on Global Judges Symposium convened at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 • Objective: strengthen human and institutional capacity of courts on the environment • Key partners: UNEP, EEPSEA, Vermont Law School
Asian Justice Forum – 2008 Achievements • Philippines established 117 environmental courts • Philippine Judicial Academy and US EPA trained Philippine judges with new environmental law curriculum • AECEN and EEPSEA conducted regional training on natural resources damages • AECEN and UNEP organized roundtable on judicial capacity building to set action agenda on capacity building
New Targeted Studies • Secretariat initiated 2 new studies to provide future programming priorities in response to Member interests • Institutional Capacity Benchmarking • Strengthening Legal and Policy Frameworks for Addressing Climate Change in Asia • Developed with partner organizations • Secretariat to present preliminary findings at forum to gain member feedback • Complete studies in 2009
Institutional Capacity Benchmarking • Evaluate institutional capacity of selected member agencies to perform mandated compliance and enforcement responsibilities • Seek to establish regional capacity benchmarks to support agency resource requests • Conducted member survey with assistance from Vermont Law School • Present findings at AECEN forum
Climate Change and Enforcement • Evaluate climate change law and policy, as well as enforcement • P.R. China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines and Thailand • Identify country and regional advances and gaps • Cooperation between USAID, UNEP and IGES • Present findings at CAI-Asia BAQ workshop and at AECEN forum
International Cooperation and Training • AECEN members presented results at 8th Conference of International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) in April, 2008 • AECEN members shared experience on capacity challenges and benchmarking at OECD workshop in September, 2008 • AECEN members presented findings from climate change study at Clean Air Initiative-Asia Better Air Quality conference in November, 2008
Knowledge Management • Conducted member survey on communications • Upgraded website capabilities with support from ADB • Enhance best Practices Inventory with assistance from ADB • Solicit feedback from members at AECEN forum
2008 Forum Objectives • Share innovative approaches in Indonesia on strengthening environmental compliance and enforcement • Identify best practices for effective decentralization of environmental compliance and enforcement • Conduct focused workshops on priority topics • Agency institutional capacity • Natural resources damages assessment • Climate change and enforcement • Present progress on twinning initiatives • Solicit Member feedback on activities and priorities
AECEN Partners • United Stated Agency for International Development • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Asian Development Bank • The World Bank • United Nations Environment Programme • Institute for Global Environmental Strategies • Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development • Vermont Law School • Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia • Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities • Asia Pacific Jurists Association • International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement • Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network for Accession