This report captures the mission and actions of the Asia Solar Energy Initiative (ASEI), launched by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in May 2010, in response to the exponential growth opportunities to install solar energy capacity in Asian and Pacific.
The report provides information to relevant stakeholders on the importance and benefits of developing the solar energy sector in Asia and the Pacific, investment opportunities and challenges in the sector, and the approach adopted by the Asia Solar Energy Initiative to facilitate the rapid deployment of solar energy applications in the region, including knowledge management, project development and innovative finance.
Universal access to safe, reliable energy is a necessary condition for providing the poor with safe water and sanitation, for maintaining adequate standards of living, and for achieiving the Millennium Development Goals. The Asian Development Bank recognizes the importance of electricity and water access for the poor and has committed to providing such access by establishing the Energy for All and Water for All initiatives.
While broad efforts aimed at regulatory reform and increasing energy and water access may be helpful, targeting interventions, measures, and approaches are often needed to ensure that the poor benefit from these efforts. This publication identifies specific infrastructure and utility service reform measures that can be taken to advance the interests of the poor.
This paper takes stock of developments in Asian and Pacific countries as they prepare to take advantage of emerging financial incentives for forest conservation created through the “REDD+” approach for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and other actions that conserve and enhance forest carbon stocks. The paper contributes to the active dialogue on how best to organize for good knowledge management and coordination in Asia and the Pacific for implementing the REDD+ approach. Countries of the region, and especially those of Southeast Asia, have the potential to significantly contribute to mitigating global climate change through forest conservation with incentives provided through REDD+ payments. Current REDD+ arrangements and actions in the region are reviewed along with the extent to which existing multilateral and bilateral REDD+ support mechanisms are allocating their time and resources to support countries of the region. Asian and Pacific countries are receiving considerable support, and coordination is improving as all try to use the new REDD+ incentives to address the major drivers of deforestation in the region.
The widespread loss of natural ecosystems and biodiversity is much more than a conservation issue. Natural ecosystems provide socially and economically valuable services, such as food and fiber resources, clean water and climate regulation, that are fundamental to human welfare, but are often overlooked in decision-making processes.
Produced through a partnership between ADB and WWF International, this report provides examples of promising approaches for sustainably managing natural capital in the region. These are based on experiences from four important regional cooperation initiatives, which demonstrate the commitment of the participating governments to protecting the integrity of natural ecosystems while improving livelihoods and reducing poverty.