SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR GREEN DEVELOPMENT 2015 Research Fellowship Programme

Transcription

1 SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR GREEN DEVELOPMENT 2015 Research Fellowship Programme

2 Summary 1 Background The project South-South Cooperation in Central Asia and Mongolia: Sharing Knowledge on Inclusive Green Economies and Ecological Civilization provided support to Central Asian countries and Mongolia in developing their research capacity in the area of Green Economy and Ecological Civilization. Funded by the Chinese government, the project focused on enhancing knowledge exchange between China, Central Asian countries, and Mongolia on inclusive Green Economy Pathways and Ecological Civilization. These countries currently share many socio-economic challenges and are exposed to similar environmental issues such as land degradation, water scarcity, energy inefficiency, and waste production. The Fellowship Programme was a great success, and a good example of UNEP's continuing work on South-South Cooperation and capacity building to support the transition to a green economy - Sheng Fulai, UNEP The Fellowship Programme The centrepiece of the project was a Research Fellowship Programme taking place between 4 May and 12 June Under the leadership of Dr. John D. Shilling, seven research fellows from China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan participated in a 6-week research and training programme in Beijing. They attended workshops, visited other cities in China that have demonstrated good green economy practices and met with key stakeholders including government, academia, enterprises, international organizations and local NGOs. The programme concluded with a highlevel policy dialogue on 11 June The fellowship was jointly organized by the UNEP Economy and Trade Branch, the Green Development Institute at Beijing Normal University, and China Centre for SCO Environmental Cooperation (CSEC). Lecture on green investment, CAEC High-level policy dialogue China Beijing Environment Exchange

3 2 Participants of the opening workshop Goals Opening Workshop The main objective of the fellowship programme was to build the capacity of the participating researchers: to analyse national Green Economy priority issues to study the kinds of investment and financing needed for transitions to Green Economies to identify the related national policies that can contribute to Green Economy transitions to determine the potential for regional cooperation on Green Economy issues The fellowship programme started with a twoday workshop on Green Economy in Central Asia and Mongolia on 4 and 5 May. It included representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), Beijing Normal University (BNU), WWF, IISD, GGGI and UNEP. On the first day, research fellows had the opportunity to learn about China s Ecological Civilization, to discuss National Green Economy policies and practices in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia, and to explore opportunities for sub-regional cooperation on Green Economy. On the second day, participants received intensive training on interdisciplinary concepts of sustainability and how they can be captured in system dynamics models such as Threshold 21, which has been used in several national green economy policy assessment processes. Jiang Nanqing from UNEP China at the opening workshop The programme will contribute to making Chinese- Kazakhstani/Central Asian partnerships and collaboration in the fields of green economy, climate change, environment etc. more effective and informed - Fellowship researcher

4 3 Study Visits and Networking The researchers visited a large number of organisations to learn about Green Economy, Ecological Civilization and their practical implementation. They met with key stakeholders from government, academia, enterprises, international organizations and local NGOs: China Centre for SCO Environmental Cooperation (CSEC) 6 May CSEC is the Beijing-based environment branch of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which aims to promote regional cooperation on the environment between China and other East Asian countries. The researchers learned about CSEC s work with a focus on technology sharing and environmental industry cooperation. China Beijing Environment Exchange (CBEEX) 7 May CBEEX is a trading platform for environmental equities such as carbon emission certificates and green technologies. The participants got an introduction to carbon exchange in China, the pilot cities, and the work of CBEEX. Meeting with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretariat Visit to Jinan Environmental Monitoring Center, Shandong Province Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, and China- ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center 12 and 19 May Two meetings covered the topics of water pollution, wastewater treatment, and green investment with a special focus on Environmental Protection Investment in China and Safeguarding Frameworks for Multilateral Financial Institutions. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) China Office 20 and 22 May WWF is among the oldest NGOs in China that works primarily on biodiversity conservation and natural capital since 30 years. The research fellows learned about green credits in China and the Sustainable Banking Network, which offers opportunities for cooperation with Central Asian countries. They discussed trends to include green finance in the guidelines of central banks and ways to improve multi-ministry cooperation. At the second meeting, they got introduced to basin hydropower planning and sustainability assessments, which aim to strike a balance between conservation and electricity generation for hydropower projects.

5 4 Elion Resources Group 22 May Elion is a Chinese national enterprise that focuses on desert economy, clean energy and natural pharmacy. The researchers got to know its work on ecological photovoltaic industry and discussed the challenges of economic development in the desert, including the Green Silk Road Fund to plant 1.3 billion trees along the silk road. Shandong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) 26 May On the second day, the researchers visited the provincial EPB. They got to know the way environmental standards are set, with a special focus on the new practice of setting water standards based on water environment capacity. Asian Development Bank (ADB) 22 May ADB is a regional development bank that promotes social and economic development in Asia. The participants learned about ADB s work related to Green Economy, its environmental and social safeguard policies, and projects to improve water supply, wastewater treatment and flood protection. Visit to Jinan Environmental Monitoring Center, Shandong Province Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 29 May The SCO promotes regional cooperation with a focus on security. The participants got introduced to SCO s work related to the environment, in particular about its expert group on transboundary ecological issues. Tianjin Binhai New District and Sino- Singapore Tianjin Eco-City 2 June Visit to Tianjin Binhai New District Jinan Environmental Monitoring Centre 25 May On the first day of their study tour to Shandong province, research fellows visited the station that collects water and air quality data in Jinan. They got introduced to the monitoring system, the major indicators, and the strategy for air pollution control. During their study tour to Tianjin, a pioneer city in green procurement, research fellows learned about green supply chain management. Wastewater and Garbage Treatment Plants 3 June The researchers completed tours to a wastewater and a garbage treatment plant in Beijing to find out about the efforts being made to increase recycling and reduce pollution in China.

6 5 Very informative, intensive and unforgettable program! This is the end of the program but the beginning of the regional cooperation among Central Asian countries, Mongolia and China in the field of green economy, green finance and environmental sustainable development - Fellowship researcher Visit to Elion Resources Group Research As part of the fellowship programme, each participant conducted research on a key issue for Green Economy in their home country. Individual research topics included China s potential to support the Green Economy transformation in Central Asia, Energy efficiency and renewable energy in Kazakhstan, Hydropower in Tajikistan, Water use and renewable energy in Mongolia, Agriculture in the Kyrgyz Republic, and Environmental health issues in Uzbekistan. Teaching To foster information sharing and regional collaboration, the research fellows gave presentations to students at Beijing Normal University as part of the programme. Their presentations covered: Green agricultural policies in Kyrgyz Republic Desertification in Mongolia Agriculture in Uzbekistan Natural resources in a Green Economy in Tajikistan A substantive summary report on Inclusive Green Economy for Central Asia, Mongolia and China was produced, based on the research undertaken by the fellowship participants and indepth follow-up research. It identifies five common key challenges and explores how regional cooperation can help address them: Increasing water scarcity, inefficient use of non-sustainable energy, agriculture and food security issues, poor waste management, and the potential impacts of emerging transport corridors. Meeting with students at Beijing Normal University

7 6 Panel discussion on regional green economy cooperation High-level workshop The programme concluded with a two-day high-level workshop on 11 and 12 June. Under the general topic of Green Economy and Ecological Civilization Development in Central Asia, Mongolia and China, it focused in particular on the challenge of developing a Green Silk Road. On the first day, distinguished speakers from the Chinese Ministry of Environment, Kazakhstan s Department of Energy, the Mongolian Embassy, the Environmental Protection Committee of Uzbekistan, the Environmental Protection and Forestry Department of Kyrgyzstan and the Environmental Protection Committee of Tajikistan presented national Green Economy policies and measures. In the afternoon, an interactive discussion session focusing on the new Silk Road initiative explored directions for regional cooperation. On the second day, the research fellows each presented their research on key issues for the Green Economy in their home countries. Their results gave a good overview over key environmental challenges in the region and opportunities for a transition towards Green Economy. This UNEP supported project is a major step in helping participating countries recognize the key issues to be addressed, identify the kinds of policies needed, and demonstrate the benefits of more sub-regional cooperation - John D. Shilling Guo Dongme of the CSEC at the high-level workshop

8 2015 Research Fellowship Programme Supported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the P.R.C. For more information: