Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 01 1.1 Background 02 1.2 Objectives 02 1.3 Team 02 1.4 Process 05 2.0 Implementation Plan 08 2.1 Regional Workshop of 7-8 November 2007 08 2.2 Subregional NSDS Delivery Process 08 Table 2 Central Asian Process in NSDS and SSDS Preparations 09 Table 3 South Asian Processes on NSDS Preparations 10 Table 4 South Asian SSDS and District Level Preparations Process 11 Table 5 NSDS and SSDS Preparations Process in GMS 12 3.0 Progress September-May 2008 13 3.1 SSDS Central Asia 13 3.2 NSDS Concept in Kazakhstan 14 3.3 NSDS Concept in Tajikistan 16 3.4 NSDS Concept in Kyrgyzstan 17 3.5 NSDS in Turkmenistan 18 3.6 Process and Gender Aspects in Central Asia 19 3.7 SSDS South Asia 20 3.8 SSDS South Asia Youth 21 3.9 NSDS in Bangladesh 22 3.10 NSDS in Bhutan 23 3.11 NSDS in Manang and Mustang Districts in Nepal 25 3.12 NSDS in Maldives 26 3.13 NSDS in Pakistan 26 3.14 NSDS in Sri Lanka 27 3.15 Process and Gender Aspects in South Asia 28 3.16 SSDS in the Greater Mekong Sub-region 29 3.17 NSDS in Cambodia 30 3.18 NSDS in Lao PDR 31 3.19 NSDS in Myanmar 33 3.20 NSDS in Thailand 34 3.21 NSDS in Vietnam 35 3.22 SDS in Yunnan Province of China 36 3.23 Process and Gender Aspects in GMS 38 3.24 NSDS Assessment in Mongolia, North East Asia 39 4.0 Project Impact 42 4.1 Capacity Building 42 4.2 Enabling Participatory Process 43 4.3 Project Evaluation 43 4.4 Promotion of Gender Equitable Development 45 4.5 Budget 45 4.6 Key Process Indicators 46 5.0 The Way Forward 56 Annex 1: Statement of Receipts and Disbursements (Financial Report) Annex 2: Questionnaire on NSDS Training Annex 3: Post Project Evaluation Questionnaire

Acknowledgement The NSDS Project Secretariat of UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific expresses the gratitude to the Government of Norway for financial and moral support to the project on NSDS and SSDS in Central Asia, South Asia, GMS and Mongolia of North East Asia. In addition, ADB supported some GMS countries within the component of NSDS-SSDS in Greater Mekong Sub-region, in particular for Thailand, Cambodia, Yunnan Province, Vietnam. The good lessons learnt across the countries were documented and shared at the Regional NSDS Workshop in November, specifically taken forward in consideration of decision-making processes. NSDS Project Secretariat 2007-2008

Mr. Surendra Shrestha Dr. Subrato Sinha Dr. Aida Karazhanova Ms. Saule Yessimova Dr. Yuwaree In-na Mr. Batyr Hadjiyev Mr. Purna Chandra Lal Mr. Tin Aung Moe Ms. Sansana Malairarisoon Ms. Liang Li Ms. Seon Mi Choi Ms. Catherine Candano Ms. Sengja Jangmaw Ms. May Ann Bernando Mr. Ric Dennis Canullas Mr. Manesh Lacoul Ms. Nawaphorn Supakarn

Short-term Internship Support September 2007-June 2008

Mr. Somnath Ray (India) Mr. Kishore Chandra Swain (India) Ms. Jung Hye Jin (Republic of Korea) Ms. Lee Hye Mi (Republic of Korea) Ms. Julia Oswald (Germany)

NSDS Project Secretariat AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific

Contact email: info@rrcap.unep.org Aida.karazhanova@rrcap.unep.org

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1.0 INTRODUCTION This is the ninth progress report for 2007 and 2008, prepared by NSDS Project Secretariat at UNEP Regional Resource Center for Asia and Pacific (UNEP RRC.AP). The previous performance reports for NSDS Progress in Central Asia, South Asia, North East Asia for the period of 2003-2007 (and in more detail for GMS countries in 2005, April 2006-April 2007, April 2007-March 2008) were submitted for publicity purposes and for the documentation of Donors – Government of Norway and the Asian Development Bank and located at the public domain (ref: http://www.rrcap.unep.org/projects/nsds.cfm). This progress report for the period September 2007-May 2008 presents the implementation status of NSDS and SSDS development projects in its participatory process. It provides the brief analysis of the NSDS process impact and a summary of financial statements. The updated work plans for each country in each sub-region in Asia are summarized in separate tables, providing updated information on activities undertaken from late 2007 to early 2008. The content of the Progress Report for NSDS-SSDS in CA, SA, GMS and Mongolia in September 2007-May 2008 also contains a brief summary of previous NSDS project activities from 2003-2006 for easy reference. The details on NSDS Project Background, Project Objective, Team, Methodology and Budget could be found in the previous reports. The overall performance of the development of the overall SD strategies will be presented in the Terminal Report, and based on the feedback from the countries on the post project evaluation questionnaire attached in the Annex. The approach and methodology for analysis of the process indicators are presented herein. The new publication is up-coming on the Handbook on NSDS and SSDS in Asia and the Pacific where the data, assessment of successes and challenges of NSDS on national, sub-regional levels will be incorporated.

Picture 1: Schematic Map of NSDS Project Participating Countries

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1.1 Background

The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) called upon all countries to prepare their respective national sustainable development strategies (NSDS) by 2005. To support the worldwide long term vision towards achieving sustainable development (SD), it urged international organizations to enable SDS with objectives and targets at both the sub-regional & national country levels, under a required participatory process of multi-stakeholder consultation and dialogue. Such multi-stakeholder mechanism in the spirit of engagement has been required to ensure a truly representative process, with the participation of Planning, Finance and Environment Ministries in each country has been essential for the process. Since countries had requested UNEP for assistance on NSDS, beginning from 2003 onwards UNEP has worked very closely with partner governments, intergovernmental organizations, international agencies and civil society organizations in the preparation of national and sub-regional sustainable development strategies in Asia.

1.2 Objectives

The NSDS AP project, as supported by UNEP, Government of Norway and ADB, is intended primarily to strengthen the capacity of the Asia Pacific region by assisting national governments in formulating NSDS and by mainstreaming sustainable development issues in the decision making process. Aside from this main objective, Sub-regional SD Strategies (SSDS) are being developed for Central Asia (CA), South Asia (SA) & the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).The project objectives are:

1. To build national capacity in developing NSDS and translating global SD strategy into concrete national and local actions through training and provision of guidelines and technical assistance.

2. To strengthen the role and capacity of multi-stakeholder platforms, such as the National Council on SD (NCSD) (where relevant) to deal with and address the issues related to SD in line of WSSD outcomes & recommendations.

During the period of September 2007-May 2008, the specific project objectives were to wrap up the country and sub-regional level activities, conduct the regional workshop to share best practices, finalise the consultation process on national and sub-regional level and to launch the NSDS publications in 17 countries.

1.3 Project Team

NSDS Team is gradually being built for the period of project implementation with the aim to exist beyond project delivery period. The role of the Project Secretariat is to build the network as well as the capacity of the countries to deliver NSDS. The Project Implementation Team at the country and sub-regional level mainly is represented by the National Focal Point (NFP) in environment agency with support of the consultants and collaborating centres (ref: Table 1). The main success of the project is ensured by the leadership and partnership that was built as a follow-up of the consultation meetings of stakeholders.

Geographic Coverage (ref picture 1)

The following seventeen (17) countries in 4 sub-regions are covered by NSDS project in Asia in alphabetical order:

Central Asia (CA): Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan; North East Asia (NEA): Mongolia;

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South Asia (SA): Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal-national, Nepal-2 districts, Sri-Lanka and Greater Mekong Sub-region(GMS): Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Yunnan Province of People’s Republic of China.

Project Secretariat UNEP RRC.AP is acting as a project secretariat for NSDS and SSDS projects in 17 countries of Asia and the Pacific, that are being implemented by respective Government and supported by UNEP, Government of Norway, etc. The component of NSDS-SSDS in Greater Mekong Sub-region for Thailand, Cambodia, Yunnan Province, Vietnam was partly also supported by ADB. The NSDS project is being coordinated daily by a fulltime project coordinator and a group of professionals involved part time from UNEP RRC.AP under the overall supervision of the Regional Director of UNEP. At the country level the core team is comprised of local experts nominated by collaborating centers in close consultations with experts and stakeholders.

Picture 2: NSDS Project Secretariat on the 3rd floor of AIT-UNEP RRC.AP office

Project Implementation Team At the national level the National Focal Point (NFP) from environmental agency is taking the lead in building the process and content of the NSDS and SSDS. NFP is working closely with the key line ministries, agencies, academia and NGOs. The sub-regional level process is being coordinated by TEI in GMS, SIC ISDC in CA, DA in SA, with support from RRC.AP. The NSDS network on national level is being guided by NSDS Project Secretariat and facilitated timely delivery of the project outcomes. This joint work is important in terms of institutionalization of the multi-stakeholder consultation process (reports are documented) in delivery of the NSDS and SSDS content.

Table 1: SSDS and NSDS Focal Points and Key Partners

Subregion/ Countries

NFP& Collaborating Center

Key Experts/ Partners Status and duration of Cooperation Agreement

GMS-SDS subregional

Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) & NFPs

TEI, Earth Council, IGES, international organizations

MoU: July 2005 – December 2007

Cambodia Ministry of Environment Local & international consultants, line ministries World Bank, UNESCO, EU, ADB & DANIDA

MoU: July 2006 – April 2008

Lao PDR Water Resource and Environment Administration Agency (WREA)

Local & international consultants, line agencies

MoU: March 2007 – June 2008

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Subregion/ Countries

NFP& Collaborating Center

Key Experts/ Partners Status and duration of Cooperation Agreement

Myanmar National Council on Environmental Affairs

Local consultants Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA), Committee for Environmental Conservation

MoU : April 2007 – May 2008

Thailand National Economic & Social Development Board (NESDB)

TEI , Key Line Thai Ministries, Thailand Development Research Institute, Civil Society Planning Network, Universities, Business Council, etc

MoU: May 2006 – March 2008

Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment

Vietnam Agenda 21 Office Department for Science, Education, Natural Resources & Environment Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam ministries

MoU: July 2006 – March 2008

Yunnan Province in China

State Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

Yunnan Environmental Protection Bureau (YEPB) and consultants; UNDP, ADB, YEPB, SEPA, DFID, EU and other agencies

MoU : October 2006 – April 2008

South Asia SSDS

Development Alternatives (DA)

Line Ministries of Environment and Planning, Finance, Local Govt, DA, ICIMOD, IUCN, SAARC, SACEP, TERI

MoU: September 2004 - December 2007

Bangladesh Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF)

Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies, local experts, UNDP, IUCN

MoU: October 2006 - March 2008

Bhutan National Environment Commission (NEC)

Ministry of Finance, SD Secretariat, Planning Commission, etc

MoU: August 2006 - December 2007

Nepal Ministry of Environment , Science and Technology, National Planning Commission (NTNC)

DDC Manang, Mustang, local NGOs , government, private sector

MoU: December 2005 - December 2007

Maldives Ministry of Environment Energy and Water (MEEW)

Line ministries, President’s office, Sectoral Agencies, Planning, MoPE, ICIMOD, UNDP, NGOs, MoF, etc

MoU: November 2004 - December 2007

Pakistan Ministry of Environment (MoE)

Sustainable Development Policy Institute, IUCN

MoU: May 2005 - June 2008

Sri Lanka Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MoENR)

IUCN MoU: April 2007- June 2008

South Asia SSDS Youth

South Asia Youth Environment Network (SAYEN)

Center for Environment Education (CEE), India

MoU: October 2005 - March 2007

Central Asia SSDS

SIC ISDC UNDP, NGOs, Line Environmental Ministries and Agencies

MoU: July 2004 - June 2008

Kazakhstan Ministry of Environmental Protection

Network of Experts for SD MoU: May 2006 - December 2006

Kyrgyzstan State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry

UNDP, Presidential Administration MoU: July 2004 - March 2008

Tajikistan Ministry of Agriculture and National Protection

Ministry/President’s Office MoU: June 2004 - December 2007

Turkmeni-stan

Ministry of Nature and Protection (MNP)

Scientific Information Center of ISDC, Strategic Planning Institute

MoU: March 2005 - June 2008

North East Asia: Mongolia

Ministry of Nature and Environment (MNE)

Training and Research Centre for SD MoU: May 2006 - December 2007

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Partnership The national level partnership is being developed by the NFP from respective environment agency. The sub-regional level cooperation is also led by NFP and collaborating centre. This is an extremely important scheme in terms of strengthening negotiating and communication capacity of the environmental agency in its further environmental mainstreaming activities to be reflected in the respective sectoral planning documents. To this end, there are still many challenges to be faced within the development of cooperation and integration of environment and line ministries. In this regard, the role of MSCM and the Councils for SD, where relevant, can be strengthened institutionally. It is important to shift from the project centred approach to an effective governance system at the sub-regional, national and local levels.

1.4 Process

The main purpose of the NSDS trainings and consultations in Asia Pacific countries covered by project is to build the capacity of environment agencies and line ministries in their efforts to step forward from awareness of the outcomes within environmental assessment reports towards decision-making processes in selecting sustainable development pathways at national and sub-regional levels. Holistic and systematic approaches to policy making and long-term planning were promoted. The main principles and the guidelines on NSDS are described in the training manual, with the trainings delivered in interactive form, by dividing the audience into small groups to look at the development challenges, turning challenges into objectives, and identifying priorities. Each of the objectives was further clustered into a few overarching goals for sustainable development. Participants were advised to use their EPA reports in respective GMS, CA, SA countries to identify environmental targets. Experts were advised to review the MDGs at the national and sub-regional levels as well as existing strategic policy documentations and relevant commitments within MEAs. During the reporting period of September 2007-May 2008, a number of consultations were conducted to develop and finalise national strategies in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and on sub-regional level in Central Asia. Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan have conducted national consultations and prepared the semi-final versions of the national strategies. National round tables were conducted to discuss the draft on sub-regional sustainable development strategy for Central Asia which was further presented at the 1st International Forum on “SD of Eurasian Continent”, conducted in Astana, Kazakhstan on 3-5 June 2008.

In South Asia, several consultations were conducted to finalise NSDS in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and on local level in Nepal. Maldives reported on consultations conducted and shared the first draft NSDS. In Bhutan the scope of NSDS project was completed only by 50% and the remaining resources will be redirected towards the preparation of the strategic paper on Climate Change. The sub-regional SSDS for South Asia is being prepared and submitted to the NSDS Project Secretariat for further follow-up. In GMS, Inception Meeting in the form of training workshop was conducted in Lao PDR. Myanmar, Yunnan Province of China (provincial level), Cambodia and Thailand passed through a number of consultations, including 1st and 2nd consultations and expert review meetings. In fact, Vietnam and Thailand have finalized its SD tool kit publication. Sub-regional consultations of NFPs on SSDS for GMS were conducted twice. The follow-up multi-stakeholder consultation meetings were delivered with participation of

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Need Assessment

SSDS Process • Partnership

• Lead Agencies • Focal Points

Consultations • Draft report • Government,

IGO, CSO

Finalization & Endorsement

representatives from economic and social ministries and agencies, as well as NGO’s, academia and international agencies.

Mongolia, North East Asia, was already able to finish its NSDS project and finalised its publication and DVD. At present all countries and the FPs have been requested to complete the post project evaluation questionnaire on NSDS project impact, which are partly analysed in this report and will be presented in the Terminal report by the end of the project.

Picture 3: Scheme of the National Level of the NSDS preparation process

Picture 4: Scheme of the Sub-regional Level of the SSDS preparation process

Gender Analysis in the Consultation Process The National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS) project of UNEP is implemented by Collaborating Centers with facilitation from NSDS focal points nominated by Environmental Ministries and the NSDS Project Secretariat. Both national and sub-regional sustainable development strategies (NSDS, SSDS) are developed through a process, which includes a number of key meetings by stakeholders from different sectors. The process typically covers an Inception Meeting, two or three Multi-stakeholder Consultation Meetings, an Expert Meeting and the Launching of the NSDS or SSDS. The NSDS Project Secretariat is located at UNEP-AIT Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific, with gender-balanced team of project staff. NSDS preparations are followed by the national execution process and ensure the national ownership of the long-term policy document. Gender aspects are usually undertaken at the national level by respective social institutions and international projects, particularly as it related to the implementation stage of the sustainable development strategy. How to tackle the gender issue will be covered in the Handbook on NSDS preparations. During the project design and monitoring of NSDS consultation process on national and sub-regional levels, the NSDS Project Secretariat designed and completed a Monitoring Table of Indicators to collect and reflect the data on gender balance and representation during the meetings (please refer to the Table enclosed). The NSDS Project Secretariat did not provide any special instructions towards gender balance selection in participation of stakeholders, but analyzed the existing tendencies on sub-regional level, reflected in the Monitoring Table.

Need Assessment

Capacity building • Training

• Workshop

Consultations • Draft report • Key Line

Ministries, CSOs others

Finalization & Endorsement

NSDS Process

Initiation: institutional &

technical

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The Monitoring Table collates the key indicators of NSDS and SSDS process at each step of consultations. The data is disaggregated naturally by geographical distribution due to the nature of the project developing country and sub-regional sustainable development strategies. In addition, further tracking related to gender of NSDS development process participants at each stage were undertaken. In addition, participants during the Inception Workshops were required to accomplish the Questionnaire on NSDS assessment. Analysis of gender aspects, in particular on integration of environmental concerns in social and economic development of the countries were questioned. In addition, the Post Project Evaluation Questionnaire was also developed to ascertain progress in the areas of NSDS assessment, both on the process and content of NSDS development. Please refer to the Initial and Post Project Questionnaire enclosed hereby in Annex 2 and 3.

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2.0 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN The project work plan has been revised twice annually, being updated based on the realities of implementation, targeted delivery dates and sensitivity to country needs. The main activities identified in the initial work plan were not modified. Initially the work plan was approved within TA and signed in 2005. Substantively the work plan remains the same, only changes in delivery dates were based on the actual performance dates. The indicators of success, as well as the challenges of the performance are presented in the Monitoring Table and analyzed further. The revised work plan is presented in Table 1-4 below. The cooperation agreements financially were finalized, although activities are still on-going within MoU commitments in polishing the draft publications of respective NSDS and SSDS to be printed and launched by June 2008. Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Thailand and Vietnam have prepared the accompanying video on the process and content of respective NSDS for the attention of mass media and publicity. The Handbook on NSDS as well as the Terminal report of the project will include the lessons learned from NSDS preparation process (ref Project Impact).

2.1 Regional Workshop The Regional Workshop of 7-8 November 2007 in Bangkok reviewed the existing NSDS Progress at sub-regional, national, local levels and discussed the mechanisms of implementation in the region. 19 distinguished countries from North East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and South East Asia attended as well as inter-governmental organisations and international organisations. Openned by the Regional Director of UNEP, the first Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Thailand and the Deputy Secretary General of the National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand, the workshop consisted of 7 total sessions. An overview of the NSDS project in respective countries was presented by Secretariat. Central Asia, GMS and South Asia presented their draft Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategies to date with major objectives of the development strategies pointed out. The final drafts of National Sustainable Development Strategy for Sri Lanka and Thailand were presented. Tajikistan, Kazakhstan launched their Concepts of Transition for SD, recently approved by the respective Governments. A special session was devoted to presentations and lessons learnt from sustainable development mechanisms on local and national level in Vietnam, results of the NSDS implementation in Mongolia, as well as the process of approval of the NSDS Concept in Kazakhstan. UNEP’s Regional Advisors expressed recommendations to deal with the plan on SD and its implementation for Asia Pacific countries. A Panel discussion on the Role of Multistakeholders in SD was facilitated by the representatives from IGES, Earth Council and SPREP; the case studies of NSSD of Republic of Korea by the PCSD; Local Sustainable Development Plan by NTNC from Nepal; and South Asia Youth Vision on Sustainable Development by SAYEN Secretariat (India) were presented. A future road map analyzing the experiences and lessons learnt to schedule the way forward within SSDS and NSDS in CA, GMS, SA and the Asia and the Pacific Region took place. Please kindly refer to the main recommendations captured in the Way Forward chapter of this report as well as in the materials of the work shop at the NSDS project web site: http://www.rrcap.unep.org/projects/nsds/workshop.cfm.

2.2 Subregional NSDS Delivery Process The NSDS and SSDS preparation process and the work plan follows initially scheduled activities. This chapter summarises the activities for each of the country and subregions of Central Asia (Table 2), South Asia (Table 3, 4), Greater Mekong Subregion (Table 5).

Countries Kyrgyzstan NSDS

Tajikistan NSDS

Turkmenistan NSDS

Kazakhstan NSDS/ Action

Plan Central Asia

SSDS

NSDS Process

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

MOU signing February

2004 √ 2004 √ 2005 √ May 2006 √ 2003 √

Inception Work-shop

25-27 Oct 2004 √ 28-30 Oct

2004 √ 9-10 June 2005 √ 22-23 June

2006 √ 2-3 July 2003 √

Institutional set up

Council for Strategic Planning, 07

√ Council for Strategic

Planning, 06 √

Conventions’ Committee

of 1999 √ CSD RK

2004 √ ICSD √

First Consultation

29 October 2007 √ 24 July

2006 √ 13-14

September 2007

√ 19-20 Oct 2007 √ 26 July 2006,

22 June 2007 √ √

Second Consultation

February 2008 √ 21-22 April

2007 √ June 2008 30 March 2007 √ 24 December

2007 √

Expert Review

April 2008 September 2007 √ July 2008 April 07 √

Round Tables in March-May 2008. Expert meeting in July 2008

√

Launching/ delivery of publication and DVDs

June 2008 November 2007 √ August 2008

May 2007: Action

Plan NSDS√ November-

ISDC 2008

Footnote: 1. MoU – Memorandum of Understanding 2. MSCM – Multi Stakeholder Consultation Meeting

Table 2 Central Asian Process in NSDS and SSDS Preparations

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Countries Bangladesh NSDS

Bhutan NSDS

Maldives NSDS

Pakistan NSDS

Sri Lanka NSDS

NSDS Process

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Sta

tus

MOU signing 2006 √ 2006 √ 2005 √ 2005 √ 2004 √

Inception Work-shop

May 2007 √ 24-25 April 2006 √ 8-9 May 2005 √ January

2006 √ 29-31 March 2005 √

Institutional set up In process July 2006 √ Sept 2006 √ December

2004 √ SD Council √

First Consultation

November 2007 √ September

2007 √ 1-2 October 2007 √ September

2007 √ 9-10 June 2006 √

Second Consultation

January 2008 √ n/a May 2008 √ February

2008 √ 27-28

November 2006

√

Expert Review

March 2008 √ July 2008 July 2008 12 June 2007

√

Launching/ delivery June 2008 August 2008 December

2008 June 2008 √

Footnote: 3. MoU – Memorandum of Understanding 4.MSCM – Multi Stakeholder Consultation Meeting

Table 3 South Asian Processes on NSDS Preparations

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Subregional SDS in South

Asia NSDS Nepal Local SSDS SA SSDS SA Youth

NSDS Process

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

Timeline

Stat

us

MOU signing 2006 √ 2004 √ 2005 √

Inception Work-shop January 2006 √ 23-24 June 2004 √ 24-27 January 2006 √

Institutional set up Existing bodies √ SA Ministerial Meeting √ SAYEN, SAARC √

First Consultation

April 2006 √ 21-22 August 2006 √ 9-10 June 2006 √

Second Consultation 22 August 2006 √ 6-7 June 2007 √ 23-24 November,

2006 √

Expert Review

September 2006 In process May 2008 16-18 May, 2007 √

Launching/ delivery

June 2008 August 2008 August 2008

Table 4 South Asian SSDS and District Level Preparations Process

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Countries Cambodia Lao PDR Myanmar Thailand Vietnam Kunming/

China GMS/ SSDS

NSDS Process Tim

eline

Statu

s

Timeli

ne

Statu

s

Timeli

ne

Statu

s

Timeli

ne

Statu

s

Timeli

ne

Statu

s

Timeli

ne

Statu

s

Timeli

ne

Statu

s

MOU timeline

5 July 2006-Dec 2007

√

19 March 2007- June 2008

√

11 April 2007- Dec 2007

√

25 Jan 2006- March 2008

√

7 July 2006-Dec 2007

√

20 Oct. 2006-Dec. 2007

√

10 Jan 2005-Dec. 2007

√

Inception Workshop

18-19 September 2006

√

30-31 January 2008

√

28-29 June 2007

√

12 July 2006

√

15-16 August 2006

√

5 March 2007

√

April 2005

√

First Consultation

27-27 February 2007

√

April 2008

25-26 September 2007

√

5 February 2007

√

14-15 September 2006

√

24-25 July 2007

√

30-31 January 2007

√

Second Consultation

30-31 July 2007

√

May 2008

December 2007

√

4 May 2007

√

25 October 2006

√

13 September 2007

√

28-30 May 2007

√

Expert Review

December 2007

√

June 2008

January 2008

√

12 Dec 2007

√

March 2007

√

14 Dec 2007

√

25-26 October2007

MSC Meeting

Launch, publication, DVD

June 2008

August 2008 June 2008 March 2008 √

1 February 2008

√

April 2008

August 2008

Footnote: 5. MoU – Memorandum of Understanding 6. MSCM – Multi Stakeholder Consultation Meeting

Table 5 NSDS and SSDS Preparations Process in Greater Mekong Subregion

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Background. Countries of Central Asia (CA) - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are signatory to Rio Declaration (1992) & Heads of Governments committed to develop respective National Sustainable Development Strategies within Nukus Declaration of 1995 and Almaty Declaration in 1997. A number of decisions for SD were undertaken by International Foundation of Aral Sea and SIC ISDCs in CA counties to address the trans-boundary water and environmental problems. Emerging ecological crisis has urged to develop a Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy (SSDS) for CA, as a common strategy for creation of adequate institutional, economic and legal environment for the implementation of the sustainable development in this region to improve interstate policy of Central Asian countries for SD.

3.0 PROGRESS SEPTEMBER 2007-MAY 2008 This chapter presents NSDS project activities for Central Asia, South Asia and Greater Mekong Sub-region on sub-regional and national levels for the period of September 2007- May 2008. Regional workshop coverage and recommendations of November 2007 are also presented for each country.

3.1 Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy of Central Asia

The overall SSDS development process is summarised to date here: ● Inception workshop on NSDS/SSDS was conducted in Bangkok in June 2007

organized by UNEP, and participants from Central Asia tasked SIC ISDC to develop the SSDS CA.

● MoU between UNEP and SIC ISDC was signed after Inception Workshop in 2004 to develop SSDS CA with efforts of leading national and regional experts and with technical and financial assistance from UNEP/Government of Norway.

● First consultative meeting of 26 June, 2006 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan has revised the national NSDS inputs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan to SSDS CA draft.

● Second and third consultative meeting of SIC ISDC of 22 June and on 14-16 November, 2007 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and on 22-24 December in 2007 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan has revised available materials and national inputs and organized the work of SIC ISDC to finalize SSDS CA in 2008.

● Special Central Asian Group discussions of the regional workshop of 7-8 November 2007 discussions of SSDS CA draft recommended the following until 2015: the sub-region is targeting to improve the legal basis for sustainable development; ensure better environmental regulations; facilitate trans-boundary management of natural resources; enable efficient of management of trans-boundary water resources; and enact environmental treaties. Targets towards the next 15 year plan up to 2030: covers development of an unified system for environmental regulations; and implementation for joint ventures (water/energy in particular), while ensuring necessary support and funding is mobilized. A regional center would be opening in Kyrgyzstan, to address the sustainable development issues in Mountain

Picture 5: CA Group discussions, 7-8 Nov 2007, Bangkok, Thailand

14

ecosystem. ● Round Table consultations with CSO, respectively, in March, April and May 2008 in

Uzbekistan (March 08), Kyrgyzstan (14 Mat 08), Turkmenistan (16 May 08), Tajikistan (27 May 08) and Kazakhstan (electronic discussions and on 3-5 June) were conducted. 1st International Forum on Sustainable Development of Eurasian Continent in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 3-5 June 2008 reviewed the process of preparations. This event was widely covered by media.

Picture 6: Workshop of SIC ISDC team on Information System and the working

meeting on the draft SSDS CA, April 2008, Bangkok, Thailand

Thus, during the reporting period, the draft SDS CA preparation process was reported to the Ministers at the sub-regional Interstate Sustainable Development Meeting in November, 2007 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and during internal SIC ISDC meetings as well as international meetings. The protocols of the round table meetings with Ministries and CSO are available upon request, in Russian language and will be uploaded to the public domain and CD-rom by August 2008. The next ISDC meeting on 25 June 2008 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan will be considering the follow-up of SSDS CA draft. The major objective of the upcoming publication of SSDS CA will is to sensitise the civil society to address SD.

3.2 NSDS Concept in Kazakhstan

The summary of the NSDS development process within NSDS project as follows:

● Ministry requested UNEP to assist NSDS, March 2006 ● Inception Workshop on NSDS in June,2006 ● Three Consultations in July, August, September 2006 ● Training for Senior Officials, 19-20 October, 2006 ● Government Endorsement, 14 November, 2006: President of RK issued a

decree to approve the Concept of Transition of RK for SD for 2007-2024. ● Launching in Astana, 14 December, 2006 Prime Minister’s approval of the two-

years action plan 2007-2009 on 14 February, 2007.

Background. Kazakhstan has adopted a series of major SD policy documents: the Strategy on Sustainable Development up to 2030, the National Environmental Action Plan, Environmental Code. The Concept of Transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to SD up to 2024 (NSDS Concept) was elaborated in 2007 to respond to the Presidential Decree following 2002 WSSD & Address of the President to the People of Kazakhstan of 1 March 2006. Ministry of Environmental Protection with support from UNEP, UNDP, EU has processed the Concept discussions with participation of parliamentarians, governmental agencies, national and international experts and academia in the field of SD, NGOs, business community.

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● President of RK & Minister of MEP attended the 62nd UN General Assembly Meeting on 24 September in New York, presented the NSDS Concept and informed on the latest initiatives in Kazakhstan.

Thus, Kazakhstan has completed the process of development of the Concept on Transition of the country for SD and the 2 years Action Plan was endorsed by the President and Prime Minister (ref November, 2006 and March 2007) and presented during the Regional Workshop on NSDS in Bangkok, Thailand on 7-8 November, 2007, supported by NSDS Project Secretariat from UNEP. Dr. Bakhyt Yessekina of the Network of Experts for SD of Central Asia and Ms. Ludmilla Shabanova of SIC ISDC Kazakhstan represented the NSDS team. Mr. Surendra Shrestha, Regional Director of UNEP, Mr. Lasse Nymoen, First Secretary, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Bangkok and Mr.Termpittayapaisith, Deputy Secretary General, NESDB congratulated Kazakh delegates to the achievement of Kazakhstan to highlight and address the global climate change issues. Kazakhstan identified the set of SD indicators, and the ecosystem approach in 8 river basin ecosystems. Challenges of the process identified are: (i) the lack of monitoring system for the implementation of the SD Concept and Action Plan, (ii) the lack of integration of SD principles in the system of strategic planning of the national economy and its branches, and (iii) the lack of localized Agenda 21 for local level implementation. Recommendations and specific steps to support implementation, included:

● Integration of SD in the national planning mechanisms; ● Integration of SD indicators into the national statistics system; ● Development of the Action Plan of the NSD Concept to address SDI; and ● Establishment of the Working Group (or Agency) within the NSD Council for

monitoring of the action plan implementation. Picture 7-8: Mr. Shrestha, Regional Director of UNEP, Mr. Nymoen, First Secretary of Royal Norwegian Embassy, Mr. Termpittayapaisith, Deputy Secretary General, NESDB congratulates Kazakhstani delegation. Cover page of the document of Concept of Transition of RK for SD up to 2024.

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Background Tajikistan focus on complex measures to accelerate political, economic and structural reforms, based on existing strategies and programs such as a Strategy Document on Poverty Alleviation (2002-2009), signing the Millennium Declaration along with ratification of several environmental conventions to fully integrate three dimension of SD. In 2005 Tajikistan developed the National Strategy for Development up to 2015 with technical support from UNDP. In 2006 Tajikistan requested assistance from UNEP to develop NSDS towards mainstreaming SD in decision making as well as the strengthening the capacity of the NCSD which was established in 1988. NCSD will coordinate stakeholders in implementation of NSDS & development of cooperation with international and regional organizations for SD.

3.3 NSDS Concept in Tajikistan

Strategic objectives of the Tajikistan NSDS are: to ensure stable social economic growth; conservation of clean environment; and use rationalization of natural resource to meet the needs of the present and the future generations. NSDS development progress within the scope of project to date could be summarized in following steps:

● MoU signed between the State Committee for Environmental Protection and Forestry of Republic of Tajikistan and UNEP on 25 June 2004

● An Inception workshop to discuss priority issues for sustainable development, challenges and opportunities facing Tajikistan, 28-30 October’ 2004

Picture 9-10: Mr. Shrestha, Regional Director of UNEP, Mr. Nymoen, First Secretary of Royal Norwegian Embassy, Mr. Termpit-tayapaisith, Deputy Secretary General, NESDB congratulates Tajikistan delegation. Cover page of the publication on Concept of Transition of Tajikistan for SD ● First consultation workshop on development of NSDS to assess country’s

preparedness along with discussion of the structure and content of the strategy, 28 June’ 2006

● Second consultation workshop to discuss a draft NSDS document to incorporate the comments and suggestions of the participants on 21-22 April 2007

● The National Sustainable Development Strategy of Tajikistan was endorsed by Government on 28 September, 2007

Within the reporting period, the completed Concept of National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) of Tajikistan was presented and released through video materials and hard copy document to the during the opening ceremonies of the Regional NSDS workshop on 7 November 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. NSDS Team of Tajikistan was

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Background Kyrgyzstan has ratified several international environmental conventions and agreements and acceded to a number of regional and sub-regional initiatives. Moreover, the Kyrgyz Republic is committed to achieve MDGs and Government is well equipped with national strategies in response to the national development challenges including the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) up to 2010. National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS) within the CDF has been implemented in four major target areas: Formation of Effective State, Building a Fair Society, Promoting Sustainable Economic Growth, and Regional Development. Moreover, sectoral strategies developed will be incorporated into new NSDS Concept for longer term period, mainly: in industry, health, land resources, environmental security, state program on waste production and consumption.

represented by Mr. Kodir Boturov, Head of the International Relations Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature Protection of Tajikistan; Mr. Dzhalil Buzkurov of Scientific Information Center, Interstate Sustainable Development Commission (ISDC) Tajikistan; Dr. Makhmadshariff Khakdodov, Head of the Collaborating Center on NSDS in Tajikistan, Vice Minister on Energy and Industry.

3.4 NSDS Concept in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan followed the following process of development of the long-term strategy to date:

● Inception cum training workshop to facilitate the process of building up capacities of stakeholders, organized in October’ 2004, in Bishkek.

● The Ministry of Ecology and Emergency requested assistance from UNEP for development of NSDS, 2004.

● The work plan to support NSDS was developed on January 9, 2007, and updated/approved by the State Agency on Environmental Protection & Forestry (SAEPF) in April 2007, supported by UNEP. The financial and technical support is also provided by UNDP project, started in September, 2007.

● Training of SAEPF staff was organized in International University Nature-Society- Man “Dubna” in June 2007, in Moscow, supported by EU project.

● Working meetings and consultations on draft NSDS development work plan and structure was conducted in Bishkek in September and October 29, 2007. Participants from Government, NGOs & UNDP provided inputs for a new NSDS concept.

Within the scope of the annual reporting period, the draft Concept of Transition of Kyrgyzstan for SD was discussed among stakeholders on first and second NSDS consultations 29 October and 28-29 December 2007, respectively. More than 25-30 participants -representatives from State Agency for Environment Protection and Forestry (SAEPF), President Administration, Line ministries, NGOs, UNDP attended both meetings to review the draft outline and the NSDS Concept for Kyrgyzstan attended the meetings, organized by SAEPF and supported by UNDP and UNEP RRCAP. The number of working group meetings were conducted (November 9, 2007, early 2008) and the final draft Concept of NSDS should submitted for the government approval process in March 2008. The draft strategy of April 2008, prepared by national experts and supported by both UNEP and UNDP has received a special attention of Presidential Administration and will be discussed at the high level meeting in Bishkek on 4-6 June, with regard to the context on the Concept of Transition and “Environmental and Economic Aspects of SD of Issyk-Kul Lake”. It was initially scheduled to present the Concept at the Subregional level at ISDC on 25 June 2008.

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Background Turkmenistan has ratified number of environmental conventions, approved the National Environmental Action Plan, which responds provisions of the Presidential Strategy of Socio-Economic Development up to 2010 & other important documents. The Ministry of Nature Protection requested UNEP to provide support in development of National Sustainable Development Strategy of Turkmenistan. Meetings on NSDS Concept of Turkmenistan with participation of all stakeholders – representatives of key Ministries, organizations, NGOs, and international organizations are being conducted to discuss the structure, priority directions and mechanisms to address them for SD.

3.5 National Sustainable Development Strategy in Turkmenistan

To summarise the overall NSDS development process within the project to date: ● Two days Inception Workshop to outline the NSDS content was conducted June,

2005 in Ashgabad, Turkmenistan. ● Two days Conference on NSDS Concept was conducted in Nisa Hotel on 13

September, 2007. ● Sectoral strategies for SD were presented by each ministry and the group

discussions to finalize the outline on NSDS Concept for Turkmenistan were organized for each respective economic, social and environmental protection sectors by integrating environmental concerns into the planning process in each sector.

● Thus, NSDS process include: (i) Situation analyses, (ii) Policy and Actions Plan development, (iii) Implementation & monitoring, (iv) Analyses, regular survey and evaluation.

Picture 11: Inception Workshop on NSDS development for Turkmenistan, 13 September, 2007, Ashgabad, Turkmenistan

During the NSDS project reporting period of 2007-2008, one day Conference on NSDS Concept was conducted in Nisa Hotel on 13 September 2007. Participants were Senior Officials from the line Ministries, NGOs as well as international organizations from WB, UNDP, UNEP as well as the media. The Conference was broadcasted widely on national TV channels. The sectoral strategies for SD were presented by each ministry and the group discussions to finalize the outline on NSDS Concept for Turkmenistan were organized for each respective economic, social and environmental protection sectors by integrating environmental concerns into the planning process in each sector. The draft outline of NSDS Concept of Turkmenistan was discussed at the GEF national dialogue workshop on 14 September in President Hotel for the further implementation arrangements. The first draft was prepared by mid November and discussed internally in Ashgabad. Ministry signed contracts with national consultants to finalize the NSDS Concept draft by the end of June 2008. The Meeting records are available in Russian

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Language. At present, the discussions and preparations of the territorial long-term strategy plans at 5 velayat (rayon or districts) levels are being conducted to contribute to the overall NSDS preparation process in Turkmenistan. National NSDS team requested extension of NSDS preparations by August 2008.

3.6 Process and Gender Aspects in Central Asia

Expertise to develop the SSDS of Central Asia, covering the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan was provided by the Scientific Information Centre (SIC) of the Interstate Sustainable Development Commission (ISDC). Equal proportion of men and women represented during the working meetings and consultations as the Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy (Ref: Table 4.6 on Key Process Indicators). Sustainable Development Indicators in each NSDS and SSDS include social aspects, covering the gender sensitive issues. Though the Terms of Reference of researchers on SSDS did not include a requirement of relevant gender knowledge and experience, the research was guided by the expertise of the NSDS Project Secretariat to ensure the reflection of gender aspects in the sub-regional document with regard to the status and issues of relevant Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Picture 12-13: Group discussions on NSDS challenges and priorities, 13 September 2007, Ashgabad, Turkmenistan

The multi-stakeholder consultation process on national level for the development of NSDS on the country level in the four Central Asian countries included a series of meetings. Environmental Ministries in each country invited representatives from key line ministries representing social and economic sectors, as well as national civil society organizations, to discuss NSDS content. The NSDS development process included various stakeholders such as NGOs, special-interest gender institutions as well as the social research institutions. Representatives from the key line ministries, international agencies as well as NGOs and private institutions usually are represented by aged male and about 30% of female but representation specifically related to gender and development issues were put forth in the consultation meetings by special-interest organizations such as “Union of Women” of Turkmenistan and the “GreenWoman” Ecological Group of Kazakhstan . The Central Asian sub-regional level multi-stakeholder consultations had an incidence of 30% participation by women on the average in each meeting, with the inception and first consultation meetings slighter over the average. On the country level NSDS process, incidence of women’s participation at meetings varied from 13% (Tajikistan) to 50% (Kyrgyzstan), with an average of incidence of 1/3 of participants each meeting. Ranking

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Background: South Asian (SA) region as whole showed positive response to SD activities after JPOI of 2002. Sub-regional priority issues for SD were published. Regular Ministerial level Meetings identify sub-regional environmental issues and considers the ways to address them. South Asian State of Environment Reports were developed. There are 22 SAARC development goals under 4 areas and policy targets to be met between 2005-2010. Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy for South Asia (SSDS-SA) was initiated in June 2004 and drafted by Development Alternatives, India.

Picture 14: SA group discussions, SSDS SA and SA Youth, 7- 8 Nov 2007, Bangkok, Thailand

average incidence of women’s participation in NSDS development places the countries in the following order: 13% (Tajikistan), 30% (Kazakhstan), 40% (Turkmenistan), 50% (Kyrgyzstan). Further details are available by referring to the statistics on monitoring table as well as the photo gallery at the project website.

The statistics show the following the optimal natural gender balance within the process of NSDS development for Kyrgyzstan NSDS led by the State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry, with Turkmenistan NSDS led by the Ministry of Nature Protection following suite. Out of the four participatory meetings, incidence of women’s participation for the Kyrgyz strategy development was found to be highest at 58% (Final Consultation Meeting) and 56% (First Consultation Meeting), averaging a ratio between genders of 1:1. Turkmen strategy development averaged at 40% incidence of women’s participation across its meeting process. In addition, involved countries of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan exhibited participation of women comprising roughly 1/6 to 1/3 of the consultation stakeholders.

3.7 Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy in South Asia

The draft SSDS considered the mandates, including the Global Environment Outlook, UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the WSSD plan of implementation, global ministerial forum, and sub-regional Concerns as indicated by the South Asian state of the environment (SoE) report. The priority SD issues: ensuring livelihood security, including food, water, energy, income; combating environmental disasters; preventing industrial pollution; eliminate poverty and ensure human security; and conserve natural resources, and secure economic base. Climate change is the priority issues and would be reflected to address the each priority area. Key implementation strategies recommended: decreasing external assistance; building up internal capabilities; resource mobilization; and monitoring & evaluation system. Priorities for South Asian cooperation and institutional mechanism were considered for further endorsement and implementation of the draft SSDS-SA. The final draft prepared by Development Alternatives will be submitted for the Government endorsement process to follow the recommendations of the 2nd consultations of June 2007 on SSDS SA draft. The summary of the process of preparation of SSDS SA:

● Inception Meeting on SSDS in June, 2004. Participants of Environment and Planning Ministry from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as representatives from sub-regional and international organizations such as, SAARC, SACEP, BCAS, TERI, DA, ICIMOD and IUCN attended the to discuss the 1st draft SSDS SA in August 2006.

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Background The chapter 25 of Agenda 21, which calls for advancing the role of youth and actively involving them in the protection of environment and promotion of SD. SA countries are encountering many environmental problems including depleting resources, degradation of environment, unsuitable production and consumption, poverty and population growth. Youth have been recognized as an important stakeholder to find solution and promote life style more conducive to the environment. The SAYEN Secretariat in CEE- in close partnership with the UNEP initiated the work on SSDS for SA- A Youth Perspective in the year 2004. It focused on the youth’s vision and goal for SD strategy for SA sub-region. It also includes eight goals consists of 28 objectives and 23 targets.

● Development Authority (DA) signed MoU with UNEP to support NSDS, August 2005.

● The outline for SSDS-SA was agreed in a participatory process and the first draft was prepared by DA for SSDS- SA and further revised with the comments stakeholders.

● Two consultations workshop were organised in August 2006 and June 2007 to improve the context of SSDS SA which renewed the draft.

● Consultation meetings reviewed the draft SSDS CA and the final update will be submitted to the publication to NSDS project secretariat upon readiness.

3.8 Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy of South Asia Youth

SSDS SA Youth submitted the document for the attention of the environmental ministers of respective South Asian countries for consideration. Feedback from the countries suggested the changes in the draft and the DVD and publication is being in preparation process by the Secretariat of the South Asia Youth Environment Network. The following is the summary of the process of preparation of SSDS SA Youth:

● SAYEN-CEE signed MoU with UNEP to support SSDS for SA- A Youth Prospective, in October 2004

● SSDS-Youth believes, youth, the future generation of the planet and are full of potential and enthusiasm and the direct stakeholders, are always enthusiastic to get involved in current issues and there should be no hesitation in entrusting the responsibility to them.

● Inception Workshop on SSDS- A Youth Prospective in January, 2006: the work plan which included the individual responsibilities of the participants for the duration of the project was finalized. The specific output of SSDS-A Youth Prospective includes, capacity building for 20 youth participants, strengthen youth network in South Asia and publication of SSDS for SA-Youth.

● 1st and 2nd consultations workshop were held in Colombo, November 2006 and in Bangalore, May 2007

● The final document is shared with NSDS Project Secretariat on June 03.08 and enclosed to this report as a hard copy.

Thus, the response to the UNEP’s global strategy on Youth ‘called TUNZA’ emphasized the needs for building capacity of youth for sustainable development. In this regard, the unique experience of the South Asian Youth Environment Network (SAYEN) to produce draft Youth Vision on SD “We hold our future” was shared. Consultation process involved youth from the Tunza-South Asian Youth Environment Network, which consisted of youth environmentalists from SA. Youth’s experience and perspective in localizing SD objectives and capacity building needed for youth are included within 8 Goals & 20 Targets. Each target have 3-6 objectives, and 2-3 targets with cases on how to motivate and involve youths to live in a sustainable way.

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Background Bangladesh participated and presented the Country Report at the Earth Summit in 1992, Rio+5 meeting in 1997, Agenda 21 meeting in 1999 and WSSD in 2002. Besides, UNFCC, UNCLOS, CBD and Basel Convention have been ratified. The government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh has requested UNEP’s assistance for preparation of the NSDS-Bangladesh. Since 2006, the Department of Environment (DoE) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has requested assistance from UNEP and has been engaged in implementing a project to develop National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS), with technical support from UNEP and financial support from Government of Norway.

3.9 NSDS in Bangladesh

The NSDS development process to date is summarized as follows: ● UNEP’s assistance was requested to start the process of NSDS development. It

was initiated in spring 2007 and Inception Meeting was conducted in May 2007 in Dhaka.

● Delegates from Ministry of Environment and Forests, line ministries and agencies such as Planning, Agriculture, Water Resources, Local Government and RD, Food and Disaster Management, Planning Commission, IUCN, UNDP discussed the challenges of institutional set up for SD.

● The meeting identified the challenges and developed the integrated goals and objectives of SD for the country in a participatory process. The Work Plan was revised and presented to the participants.

The following consultations were conducted in November 2007 and January 2008, during the reporting period:

The First Consultation Workshop on formulation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) for Bangladesh was held at the Hotel Miskha in Chittagong on December 18, 2007. The workshop was organised by the Department of Environment (DOE), Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of Bangladesh. Representatives from various autonomous and semi-autonomous government departments and agencies attended the workshop. Professionals, experts and academicians also attended from NGO’s and educational institutions. The objectives of the consultation workshop were: To present and receive feedback on draft outline of the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) for Bangladesh and identified goals and to identify additional issues and elements for the NSDS through consultation and group discussion. The Second Consultation Workshop on Development of National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) was held at Dinajpur Zilla School Auditorium on 23-24 January 2008. The workshop was organized by the Department of Environment (DOE), Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Representatives from various government departments and agencies were present at the workshop. Professionals, experts and academics also attended from NGOs and educational institutions. Objectives of the consultation workshop were to present and receive feedback on draft outline of the National Sustainable Development Strategy for Bangladesh (NSDS) and identified goals; to review and receive feed back on output of first consultation workshop; to identify additional issues and elements for the NSDS through consultation and group discussion.

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Background Bhutan has a fragile ecosystem and is very concerned about the adverse impacts it will face due to climate change. Bhutan is committed to develop and pursue NSDS (Agenda 21, MDG and JPOI). Bhutan’s National Environment Commission has initiated NSDS activities with the support of UNEP. The SD in Bhutan will based on Vision 2020, Middle Path, PRSP, MDG report, Five years plan, and Human development reports etc. It would revisit goal as presented in Vision 2020 and NEC. New constitution and other policy documents serve as a baseline to operationalize the long term strategic planning and to address the priorities and challenges of the country development.

A National Consultation Workshop was organized by Ministry of Environment and Forest and Department of Environment of Government of Bangladesh on 17-18 February 2008 in Dhaka. The objectives of the workshop were to review the draft NSDS report and provide comments and the process timeline. H.E. Barrister Raja Devasish Roy, Honorable Minister of Environment and Forest opened the meeting together with UNDP and UNEP. Representatives from key line Ministries, civil society organizations, business sector, donors and UN organizations attended the workshop. Dr. Subrato Sinha from UNEP attended the meeting as a resource person. Following the consultation meetings the new draft NSDS for Bangladesh was prepared, shared with NSDS Project Secretariat in June 2008 and submitted to the Government.

3.10 NSDS in Bhutan

The following list exhibit the NSDS project milestones to date: ● National Environmental Commission signed MoU with UNEP in August 2005, for

3-year term. ● Inception Workshop on NSDS was organized in Paro, during 25-26 April, 2006.

Dignitaries representing the mass media, NGO, international organizations and government officials attended the workshop and revised the priorities of the countries.

● The NEC Secretariat in close cooperation with the relevant line ministries and other stakeholders carries out the development of the NSDS. The long term planning is build on existing policies and planning mechanism, including the “The Middle Path” National Environmental Strategy for Bhutan.

● The consultation meeting of NEC and UNEP revised the scope of MoU and changed the terms and subject of MoU to address climate change concerns in July, 2007 in Paro.

Gross National Happiness in Bhutan is an ideology that the pursuit of happiness is found in all people and is the strongest force of desires. The guiding principle describes development as a continuous process towards a balance between material and non-material needs of individuals and society. The country’s philosophy of development, while recognizing the importance of economic growth as essential, to support and nurture the spiritual and social needs of the community, is not an end in itself, but one among many means of achieving holistic development. GNH is a program for social and economic revisions toward implementation and institutionalization of the belief that development should promote happiness as its primary value. Objectives of long term planning are: To tackle issues such as: sustainable land management, climate change, disaster management, energy sustainability, globalization, infrastructure development, and urbanization

Picture 16: Local consultations on Pilot projects, 2007, Gasa Dzongkhag, Bhutan

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pressure. Following the political reforms within the Government of Bhutan, the latest developments of 2007 prioritized NSDS towards the climate change adaptation report.

The activities committed under the MoU between UNEP RRC.AP and NEC of 25 August 2005 on preparation of the National Sustainable Development Strategies were: (i) preparation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy in a participatory process, (ii) preparation an assessment on food, water and energy security and its implication on environment security, (iii) demonstration pilot study on organic farming to promote sustainable agriculture development and, (iv) carrying out a study on potential hydrogen economy. The activities within MoU were partly completed and reported by NEC to AIT/UNEP RRC.AP (RRC) in March 2008. The pilot project for promotion of organic farming for sustainable agriculture was handed over to the Organic Programme under Department of Agriculture for execution. Gasa Dzongkhag was selected as it has been intentionally farming without the use of any agrochemical since the year 2004, and due to the limited access to roads in that Dzongkhag most of the farming has been by default organic. In order to improve the farming system, cultural practices should be considered with regard to further productivity of the land, better farming technology should be incorporated and appropriate crops with a market value should be selected, to help to increase the income of the farming community. The project is completed as per the plan and the terminal report submitted to NEC for further actions and reporting.

Further to discussions between UNEP and NEC in 2006-2007, it was proposed to make the following amendments to the MoU:

1. Preparation of the strategic options for the short-term and medium term climate change adaptation and mitigation measures through serious consultations

2. Demonstration pilot study on organic farming to promote SD 3. Carrying out a study on potential hydrogen economy

The following specific outputs will be accountable for the Amendment to MoU: ● Climate Change Strategy Paper for Bhutan published in two languages ● Report on pilot study on organic farming and potential hydrogen economy

Pictures 17-18: Organic Farming, 2007, Bhutan

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Background The mountain ecosystems of Mustang and Manang (M & M) districts of Nepal play a key role by providing important ecological services including habitat for biodiversity, clean water downstream, and livelihood options for the local populace. These districts are yet to experience planned integrated development that leads to SD. A major road networks development has been started with the aim to connect both the districts headquarters by national road networks. In order to minimise negative impacts of road development and to take hold of wide range of opportunities the road network will bring together, a comprehensive SD Master Plan (SDMP) for these two districts has been envisioned by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) Nepal, formally known as KMTNC.

3.11 NSDS in Manang and Mustang Districts in Nepal

The summary of Master Plan preparation process is as follows: ● National Planning Commission (NPC) realized a need of SD Master Plan (SDMP)

for the Manang & Mustang districts. ● Preparatory workshop, to define, vision, goal and objectives of SD for Mustang

and Manang districts, Nepal, was held on October 2005, ● Follow up workshop was carried out in November 2005. ● MoU was signed, between King Mahendra Trust for Nature and Conservation

(NTNC) for M&M districts NSDS and UNEP, in January 2006 ● Inception workshop on SDMP was held on

January 2006 ● Two consultation workshop held in April and

August 2006. ● A SDMP expert team formed in October

2006. Draft SDMP report peer reviewed in March 2007

The sustainable development issues addressed as the long term vision for development in the context of the rich eco-diversity and cultural heritage of the Annapurna conservation area. The Master Plan aimed at providing the existing status of economic, social and environmental development, the impacts of proposed activities on the overall development, and the institutional mechanism for sustainable development.

The draft Sustainable Development Master Plan for M & M Districts has been prepared with wider consultations with local and national stakeholders. Thus, two separate SDMPs for each district have been peer reviewed. The team is in the process of finalizing the documents based on reviewer’s comments. A national level workshop is planned for final discussion. The final draft Master Plan for Manang and Mustang Districts was prepared and submitted for the Government approval process. The GOAL of SDMP for M&M districts is to promote environmentally sensitive socio-economic development of these districts. Objectives: To conserve and manage bio-physical environment, attain economic prosperity, and enhance socio-cultural system. SDMP Guiding Principles: Building on the indigenous knowledge and system; Participatory approach for decision making; Ownership by local government and local stakeholders; Process orientated long term vision; Integration of conservation and development; Priority to meet need for food, water, energy and technology transfer;

Picture 19-20: Local consultations, Nepal, 2007; Draft cover page for Manang Master Plan

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Background In Pakistan, poverty reduction is one of the major issues for SD along with challenges from the sectors, such as: natural resource management, education, health, economy, international agreements, cross sectoral, ecological degradation, industrial growth, access to science and technology, political social harmony, disaster, coordination and communication, media and urbanization etc. Pakistan is committed to develop and pursue NSDS (Agenda 21, MDG and JPOI). The Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan has initiated the NSDS activities with support of UNEP. NSDS project in Pakistan aims to set in motion coordinated and integrated efforts from a number of key stakeholder at national level.

Background: In Maldives, there are 34 sustainable development challenges including high population growth, harmonized tourism development and equitable distribution of health services. Vision 2020 for Maldives includes social economical and environment goals; implementation strategy; tourism planning; natural resources (biodiversity and natural environment); institutions; environmental planning; laws and regulations; priority issues; and future policy directions and involvement in decision making. Maldives is committed to develop and pursue NSDS (Agenda 21, MDG and JPOI). Ministry of Environment and Construction, Maldives has initiated NSDS activities with the support of UNEP since November 2004.

Develop and strengthen partnership and collaboration with the key stakeholders; Build on the strengths of the mountain women; Adaptive Management.

3.12 NSDS in Maldives

In the following the NSDS development process is summarised to date: ● Ministry of Environment and Construction signed MoU with UNEP to support

NSDS, November 2004. ● Inception and Training Workshop on NSDS in May, 2005 ● Preparation of report on inception and training workshop for NSDS Maldives and

submission to the NSDS Project Secretariat. ● 1st consultation on NSDS Maldives was conducted in October 2007.

The first draft NSDS for Maldives was submitted to the NSDS Project Secretariat in May 2008. The Leading Agency is Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water (MEEW) work on NSDS with partners from Planning Ministry, Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology, CAD, MRC, UNEP. The consultation meeting is scheduled for June 2008, after that the whole project will be questioned for further termination or speedy wrap-up.

3.13 NSDS in Pakistan

The following list presents the progress of the NSDS project to date:

● Ministry of Environment signed MoU with UNEP in May 2005. ● Inception Workshop on NSDS was held in January, 2006 ● Ministry of Environment signed MoU with Sustainable Policy Development

Institute (SPDI), Islamabad, for preparation of NSDS guidelines and NSDS report.

A National Consultation Workshop was organized by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development Policy Institute on 27 February 2008 in Islamabad. The objectives of the workshop were to review the draft NSDS report, provide comments and

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Background As an emerging economy, the challenge for Sri Lanka is to achieve sustainable high economic growth with greater equity, whilst integrating in the process of globalization, achieving permanent peace and rehabilitating and reconstructing the tsunami affected areas. A sustainable high level of economic growth must be ensured without causing irreversible damage to the environment. SL’s vision for SD is “Achieving sustained economic growth that is socially equitable and ecologically sound, with peace and stability”. SL made commitment to Environmental protection and SD by adopting the main instruments agreed at the UNCED and WSSD, and by ratifying the MDG. Sri Lanka is committed to develop and pursue NSDS (Agenda 21, MDG and JPOI).

the timeline for implementation of the project. The Secretary of Minister of Environment opened the meeting together with UNDP and UNEP. Representatives from key line Ministries, provincial departments, civil society organizations, business sector, donors and UN organizations attended the workshop. Dr. Subrato Sinha from UNEP attended the meeting and shared regional experience on NSDS. The meeting appreciated the UNEP assistance to Pakistan NSDS as an input to One UN Pilot in 2008 and UNDAF process in 2009.

3.14 NSDS in Sri Lanka

Aimed at achieving sustained economic growth that is socially equitable & ecologically sound in a peaceful and stable manner. The key strategies are: creating an economy for SD; strengthening institutional structure for SD; creating a policy & regulatory framework; and knowledge base for sustainable development. The challenge for Sri Lanka’s NSDS is to link the country’s SD vision, with achievable targets in the medium and short-term, and promote genuine partnership between government, business & community organizations and ensure collective efforts towards sustainable development. The summary of the NSDS development process is as follows:

● Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka requested support from UNEP to develop NSDS and signed MoU with UNEP to support NSDS in October 2004.

● Ministry of Environment has selected Sri Lanka Country Office of the World Conservation Union as Local Collaborating Center and also appointed an Oversight Committee to direct the process and to provide guidance.

● Inception Workshop on NSDS on 29-31 March, 2005

● 1st and 2nd Consultation Workshop were held in June 2006, November 2007, respectively.

● Overall there were 8 workshops to discuss the draft NSDS for Sri Lanka NSDS development process in Sri Lanka was completed in 2007. At present the final draft is submitted to the Government Endorsement Process.

Picture 21: Draft cover page on NSDS Sri Lanka

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3.15 Process and Gender aspects in South Asia

Development Alternatives (DA) based in India provided the expertise towards developing the sub-regional sustainable development strategy for South Asia. Although the progress of the region has been slower compared to the GMS and Central Asian sub-regions, it is noted that the diverse issues among member countries, particularly related to political aspects provide a challenging and urgent context to the SSDS and NSDS development. The Terms of Reference of researchers on SSDS SA did not include a requirement of relevant gender knowledge and experience, but the research was guided by the expertise of the NSDS Project Secretariat to ensure the reflection of gender aspects in the sub-regional document with regard to the status and issues of relevant Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In addition, further tracking related to gender of NSDS development process participants at each stage were undertaken. Representatives from the key line ministries, international agencies as well as NGOs and private institutions usually are represented by aged male and under a quarter of female participants in all South Asian Countries(Ref: Table 4.6 on Key Process Indicators). The Youth SSDS development showed the highest incidence of gender balance at 34% on the average compared to that of the SSDS developed by the countries at 26% on the average. The SSDS for South Asia developed by the countries had an incidence of roughly a quarter of women participants across the series of meetings, in particular 27% in the Inception Meeting, 22% First Consultation Meeting, 28% Final Consultation Meeting respectively. The Youth Program on SSDS South Asia exhibited 45% women’s participation in its Inception Meeting and 23% in its Consultation Meeting. Environmental Ministries in each country invited representatives from key line ministries representing social and economic sectors, as well as national civil society organizations, to discuss NSDS content. Sustainable Development Indicators in each NSDS and SSDS include social aspects, covering the gender sensitive issues. NSDS process in Sri Lanka had the optimal natural incidence of women’s participation, averaging 35% incidence, with most balanced proportion of genders during the Final Consultation meeting (57%). On the country level NSDS process, incidence of women’s participation at meetings varied from 9% (Local Nepal SDS) to a maximum of 35% (Sri Lanka), with an average of incidence of women’s participation at nearly 23% of participants each meeting across all the seven countries.

Ranking average incidence of women’s participation in NSDS development places the countries in the following order: 9% (Local Nepal Manang and Mustang Districts), 10% (National Nepal), 16% (Bangladesh), 18% (Pakistan and Maldives), 28% (Bhutan), 35% (Sri Lanka). Compared to CA and GMS the representation of women in working meetings to formulate strategies in South Asia is most imbalanced. Implementing SSDS can improve gender balance as its objective includes effective woman’s participation in social programs. Among the SAARC countries with a Muslim majority in four states gender biases exist due to different political, social and religious approaches. It is up to the respective Governments of the SA to consider recommendations of the NSDS guidelines by UNEP in their particular development strategies. It is noted that the countries of Pakistan, Maldives thus far had only begun their respective NSDS development processes late 2007, early 2008, as such the incidences of gender participation may vary with subsequent follow-up activities leading to the completion of the strategy. Please refer to the statistics on monitoring table as well as the photo gallery at the project website.

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Background: Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) comprises of six countries that share the Mekong river- Cambodia, People’s Republic of China (Yunnan and Guangxi Province), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. GMS have already committed to Agenda 21, Millennium development goals (MDG) and JPOI. The degree and nature of progress for SD has varied across the GMS countries, conditioned by different political, economic, institutional and cultural circumstances. Based on the need to address the challenges and priorities, UNEP, ADB and Government of Norway developed the Technical Assistance Project and organized inception workshop for GMS –SDS process in 2005.

3.16 Sustainable Development Strategy in Greater Mekong Sub-region

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The objectives of the draft GMS SSDS: assess the existing status of sustainable development; identify challenges; key priorities and sustainable development goals; develop strategies to address each goal and objectives; and provide mechanisms for implementation of goals and objectives. The draft GMS SSDS included three priorities: poverty reduction through sustained economic growth; sustainable development and management of shared environmental resources; and nurturing human and social capital. The following list documents the overall SSDS development process for GMS to date:

● Inception workshop was organized to discuss the SD issues and the process of SD mechanism in GMS in April, 2005 and developed the outline for the SSDS. The focal points on NSDS were set by environmental agencies, UNEP, ADB and other donor agencies attended the meeting. Participants tasked Thailand Environmental Institute (TEI) to process SSDS draft for GMS countries on common and trans-boundary issues.

● The MoU was signed between TEI and UNEP RRCAP in July, 2005 to develop the SSDS for GMS countries.

● Consultation workshops were organized to review the draft SSDS with environmental focal points and experts of GMS. Recommendations were provided towards finalization of the SSDS in January, 2007 and in May, 2007.

● The Multi-stakeholder workshop of 25-26 October, 2007 with representatives from Planning, Environment, Finance agencies, CSO & Business Councils of GMS countries provided the overall comments to the draft SSDS GMS document for further finalization & further approval process.

The multi-stakeholder consultation meeting was organised on 25-26 October 2007 to discuss the draft with representatives from planning, environment, finance agencies,

Picture 22: Consultations on SSDS GMS, 25-26 October,2007, Bangkok, Thailand

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Background: The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), as member of the United Nations General Assembly has committed to the global and national commitments of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. Cambodia went a long way developing its national strategy by its Social-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) I & II, National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS). The National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010 was formulated by consolidating SEDP, NPRS, comprehensive Rectangular Strategy (2004) and aligned it with Cambodia’s Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs) and Action Plan. In 2006 Ministry of Environment requested UNEP to assist in development of NSDS–Cambodia to prioritize goals, synthesize and merge the existing strategies, plans, policies, CMDGs in the longer term.

CSO, Business councils of GMS countries on national and sub-regional level. In addition, during the working group meeting on SSDS GMS at the regional workshop on NSDS, conducted on 7-8 November, 2007 in Bangkok the follow-up process was discussed. The final draft was polished by TEI, Dr. Cielito Habito and UNEP RRC.AP based on comments. Institutional set up for further finalisation of the draft SSDS should be still agreed and considered by Ministerial Process. The draft SSDS for GMS highlights a number of common and trans-boundary related issues and reflects the recommendations of stakeholders. The document will be published with UNEP logo. The issues of ownership, implementation, monitoring and evaluation are still need to be considered. The content of SSDS GMS is described in the report on ADB of March 2008 (Annex).

Picture 23: Group discussions of SSDS & NSDS in GMS, 7-8 November, 2007, Bangkok, Thailand

3.17 NSDS in Cambodia

The summary describes the NSDS process development to date as follows: ● Ministry of Environment requested UNEP to assist with NSDS preparation

process and signed MoU on July 5, 2006. ● An Inception Workshop was organized to discuss the SD issues and the process

of SD mechanisms in Cambodia. An Inception workshop was organized on 18-19 September, 2006 in Phnom Penh.

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● Consultation workshops were organized to review the draft NSDS. 1st Consultation workshop was organized on 26-27 February, 2007 in Sihanoukville, followed by 2nd Consultation workshop on 30-31 July, 2007 in Siem Reap.

Following recommendations from consultation meetings of 30-31 July in Siem Reap in Cambodia, as well as the request from the Government, the NSDS Project Secretariat invited international consultant to provide technical support to the draft NSDS for Cambodia. The expert workshop to finalise the draft NSDS was conducted on 7th December, 2007. The final draft NSDS was prepared in two languages and submitted for the Government approval process. We expect the final version with collated comments by the end of June 2008.

3.18 NSDS in Lao PDR

Following the MoU on NSDS Lao PDR the Inception Workshop was conducted on 30-31 January 2008 in Vientiane. The objectives were (i) to take a stock of development aspects in Lao PDR, (ii) preparation of the draft NSDS outline and consultations to initiate the long term strategic planning document for Lao PDR. More than 70 participants-stakeholder organizations from the whole country attended the workshop, government representatives from water, environment resources agencies, planning and finance from national and provincial levels, as well as international organizations: UNEP, UNDP, IGES, Korean NGO, etc. The meeting discussed the draft outline, the scope of work, content and the deadlines of delivery of each chapter of NSDS for Lao PDR by national consultants as well as the work plan for overall NSDS project. WREA expressed request to UNEP RRCAP to provide support in developing and polishing the final NSDS content by International Consultant. The next meeting is scheduled for June 2008 with final delivery of the NSDS publication by August 2008. Three groups of Inception workshop identified SD challenges and clustered priorities into four goals and objectives, as presented in the box below:

Background: Lao PDR’ s overall development goal is to graduate from the Group of Least Developed Countries by 2020. The Government has integrated the National Growth and Poverty Eradiction Strategy (NGPES) from 2003 and the MDGs in its National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006-2010. The Plan focuses on poverty eradication and equity among multi-ethnic population within a rapid and sustainable economic growth framework. Lao PDR is committed to the objective of ASEAS’s vison 2020 and the Hanoi Plan of Action based on the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21. The Prime Minister’s Office Water Resources and Environment Administration (WREA) requested UNEP’s assistance to prepare NSDS for Lao PDR in order to fulfill SD principles according to JPOI (2002).

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Goal 1: Sustained economic development Promote trade and exports Sustainable financial resources Food security (Production and access) Infrastructure (road, IT, etc) network Eco-tourism Renewable energy (hydropower) Sustainable mining industry

Goal 2: Sustainable social well-being and development Human resource development (education) Culture and tradition Increase life expectancy Health (basic care access) Job creation and opportunity Community development (rural and urban)

Goal 3: Sustainable environment and natural resource management Clean environment (air, water quality) Increase forests coverage Access to clean water and sanitation (ref MDG) Watershed development and management Sustainable land use and management Waste management Conserve biodiversity

Goal 4: Governance Law enforcement (improvement and implementation) Access to information Promote CSOs for SD Strengthen institutions for SD Media for dissemination, awareness Strengthen participatory process

Picture 24: Inception Workshop, NSDS preparations, 30-31 January 2008, Vientiane, Lao PDR

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Background Myanmar with its unique political and social scenario has made promising progress towards NSDS. The Myanmar Agenda 21 was formulated and published in 1997, providing a blueprint for the country’s approach to sustainable development. A stronger institutional mechanism for addressing environment and sustainable development may come about with the passage of an Environmental Protection Law expected in the near future. Myanmar has adopted the National Environmental Policy in 1994 and other sectoral strategies. Myanmar has requested support from UNEP and is stepping towards adopting NSDS in 2007-2008 in a participatory process.

3.19 NSDS in Myanmar

The following summarizes the NSDS project steps to date: ● The National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) is the key

coordinating body for environmental protection, conservation and sustainable development.

● The MoU between NCEA and UNEP RRCAP on NSDS was signed on 10 April, 2007.

● In the Inception workshop held on 28-29 June, 2007, the NSDS outline and goals were drafted.

● 1st consultation was conducted on 26-27 September, 2007 to revise the sectoral strategies in a participatory process. Team of national consultants of NCEA is incorporating all suggestions made by the participants to update the NSDS draft.

● 2nd consultation will be held in November, 2007 followed by revision of the draft NSDS and expert review meeting.

The National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) is the key coordinating body for environmental protection, conservation and sustainable development. The MoU between NCEA and UNEP RRCAP on NSDS was signed on 10 April, 2007. In the recent Inception workshop held on 28-29 June, 2007, the NSDS outline and goals were drafted. 1st consultation was conducted on 26-27 September, 2007 to revise the sectoral strategies in a participatory process. Team of national consultants of NCEA is incorporating all suggestions made by the participants to update the NSDS draft. The 1st Consultation on the Myanmar National Sustainable Development Strategy was organized by the National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) and UNEP RRC.AP in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar last 27 to 28 September, 2007. Nearly 60 participants representing all the line ministries, NGOs and academia participated in the consultation meeting where three goals, sustainable management of natural resources, sustainable economic development and sustainable social development and governance were discussed. Feedback from stakeholders was taken into account to the draft NSDS and was shared in time at the 2nd consultation meeting. Mr. U Than Swe, Director-General, Planning and Statistics Department and Secretary of NCEA, Ministry of Forestry, opened and closed the meeting. Chairpersons were selected to organize plenary sessions and discussions, respectively. The 2nd consultation on NSDS Myanmar was conducted in November, 2007 followed by revision of the draft NSDS and expert review meetings in 2008. At present the final draft is prepared in two languages and submitted for the government approval process.

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3.20 NSDS in Thailand

In the following a summary exhibits the NSDS project development to date:

● The MoU was signed between NESDB and UNEP RRCAP in January, 2006. ● An Inception workshop was organized to discuss the Sustainable Development

issues and the process of sustainable development mechanism in Thailand in July, 2006. An outline for NSDS was developed in a participatory process during the inception workshop.

● Consultation workshops were organized to review the draft NSDS in March and April, 2007. Representatives from line ministries, CSO, and business reviewed the draft NSDS in a participatory process. Recommendations were provided towards finalization of the NSDS.

● The draft NSDS has been put on TEI’s and NESDB websites for wider dissemination and review.

During the NSDS project reporting period of September 2007-May 2008, the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) Thailand convened the stakeholder consultation meeting on the Thailand National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) on 7 December at the NESDB Offices in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting aimed to review the proposed draft report on Thailand's NSDS and gather recommendations on such draft from related core agencies, including representatives from internal units of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, NESDB and Thailand Environment Institute (TEI). The meeting concluded that NSDS shall be applied as a Guidance Manual as deemed appropriate by related agencies in operations in accordance with the 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan, Environmental Management Plan, and Policy and Prospective Plan for Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality; further discussions are needed with other related agencies on National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD); reporting of SD status for Thailand will be performed as per the 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan. Thai government participants to the meeting were Dr. Porametee Vimolsiri, Senior Advisor in Policy and Planning of the NESDB, acting as the chairperson; Dr. Chaiyod Bunyagidj, Vice President of TEI; and Dr. Pongvipa Lohsomboon, Senior Director of TEI.

Background: Thailand has committed to Agenda 21 (1992), MDG and JPOI (2002) and acted early in addressing the institutional requirements in 1975. Thailand has formulated a middle-term sustainable development plan: National Social and Economic Development Plan No. 10 (2007-2011), with the implementation period of 5 years. Governments were urged to develop the National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS) to bring in SD principles into national planning and development process by 2005. The National Council for SD was established but not activated yet. The National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand (NESDB) has initiated a process to develop the NSDS and requested UNEP’s assistance.

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The Draft NSDS Thailand - The Guidance Manual presents Thailand’s experience to enhance existing strategies, Sufficiency Economy and the 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan of Thailand. This draft NSDS Guidance Manual provides roadmap for development towards sustainability in the long-term plan of 30 years. Main lessons learnt:

● There is a need to undertake the participatory NSDS process, which came as a result from a review of Thailand existing plans including Tenth National Economic and Social Development Plan and other environmental and social plans and policies

● In addition, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) of Thailand defined roles and responsibilities, as well as should develop links to provincial/community development plans, capacity building for stakeholders.

3.21 NSDS in Vietnam

Implementation mechanisms, included: orientation workshops on implementation of VA 21; strengthening the capacity of agencies in developing and implementing local and sectoral Agenda 21; awareness and advocacy of SD; promoting documentation of best practices and knowledge sharing; framework of development of robust monitoring & evaluation systems; and mobilization of resources and strong international cooperation. The implementation challenges identified, including: (i) lack of technical and institutional capacity, (ii) overlap in duties and institutional gaps, (iii) limited monitoring & evaluation system, and (iv) low SD awareness among stakeholders.

The NSDS development process is summarized to date as follows:

● The MoU was signed between Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and UNEP RRCAP on 7 July, 2006.

● An Inception workshop was organized to discuss the Sustainable Development issues and the process of sustainable development mechanism in Vietnam on 15-16 August, 2006. An outline for NSDS indicator set was developed in a participatory process during the inception workshop.

● Couple of consultations were delivered on draft NCSD charter in September 2006 in Hai Pong and on Operational procedures of NCSD and Local Agenda 21 formulation in October 2006 in Ha Long City

● The progress of the Agenda 21 office on Monitoring and Implementation within UNEP supported project was reported during Environmental Performance

Background Vietnam established its own Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE) in 1992. One of its first initiatives was the establishment of the National Environment Agency (NEA) in 1993. Subsequently, local government arms DOSTE, were set in all 61 provinces. Just in the later 2002, the new ministry named Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment 21 was established. Vietnam Agenda 21 office (VA21 office for short) was established to implement Vietnam Agenda 21 on 28 June 2004 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and National Council of SD was established in September 2005. Vietnam government has asked assistance of UNEP to organize, instruct and steer the implementation process of the NSDS in Vietnam.

Picture 25: Cover page of the publication

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Assessment Workshop in GMS countries on 24 October, 2007 in Bangkok

● Experience of Vietnam on SD Implementation Since the Rio Earth Summit on Environment and Development in 1992, Vietnam has shown growing interest in the issues related with sustainable development. Vietnam has taken actions towards sustainable development to achieve economic, social, environmental protection as a basis for improvement of quality of like and provision for competitiveness of the country in the long run.

● Operational and Organizational Charter of National Council for SD The charter established the appropriate mechanism for coordination, direction and decentralization in the State management apparatus of SD. This established the National Council of Sustainable Development (NCSD) consisting of 44 members. The members are from the major line ministries and agencies. They assist the Prime minister to organize, instruct and steer the implementation of the Strategic Orientation for Sustainable Development in Vietnam; organize and cooperate cross-sectoral and cross-regional activities in terms of development planning; as well as steer propaganda, education, responsibility and awareness rising for all sectors, level and people strata.

● Vietnam’s Sustainable Development Indicator Set The SD indicator sets are divided into Central level and Local level indicator sets. These indicators help in checking the progress and success of the implementation of the SD. The central and local indicators consist of specific economic, social, environmental and institutional indicators that are for the different levels. The SD Tool Kit is the result of a year-long collaboration between the Vietnam and UNEP RRC.AP aimed at raising public awareness on sustainable development by compiling SD best practices throughout the country. At the event, the draft Operational and Organizational Charter of National Council on Sustainable Development of Vietnam was also introduced to the various stakeholders who attended.

3.22 NSDS in Yunnan Province of China

Background. After the 1992 Rio earth summit, China developed its own Agenda 21. This is supported by an inter-agency body called the Administrative center for China’s Agenda 21 (ACCA21), which is under the supervision of State Planning Commission and the State Science and Technology Commission. China established the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) in 1985. NEPA was later elevated into State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). NEPA/SEPA has been vested with relevant powers. At the Yunnan province level the Yunnan Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau (YNPEPB) is responsible for all environmental concerns. Through this mechanism China finalized its Agenda 21 in 1994. The Eighth Conference of Yunnan Provincial Party Committee recommended delivering the initiative of Colorful Yunnan. The Action on Colorful Yunnan will be incorporated in Yunnan Provincial SDS.

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The following list summarizes the NSDS process to date:

● The MoU was signed between FECP/SEPA and UNEP RRCAP in October, 2006. ● Inception workshop was organized to discuss the SD issues and the process of

SD mechanism at provincial level in Yunnan on 5 March, 2007 ● Consultation workshop were organized to review the contents of the draft YPSDS.

Recommendations were provided towards finalization of the NSDS. 1st Consultation workshop was organized on 24-25 July, 2007 followed by the 2nd Consultation workshop on 18 September, 2007.

● YPSDS team from Kunming attended the regional networking communications with planning, finance, civil society and business community in the multi-stakeholder Consultation Workshop, on GMS-SDS on 25-26 October in Bangkok.

Picture 26: 2nd consultations on YPSDS,, September 200, Kunming

Second Consultation Workshop Yunnan Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau (YEPB) in cooperation with China State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) hosted the 2nd consultation workshop on the draft of Yunnan Provincial Sustainable Development Strategy (YPSDS). The consultation was held at the Horizon Hotel, Kunming, P. R. China on 18 September 2007 and the work plan for further progress was discussed between NSDS Project Secretariat and writing team on 19 September, 2007 in the hotel. The objective of the workshop is to collect comments and suggestions on the draft from participants. Feedbacks will be incorporated into the current draft and the modified version will be brought to the second and later the third consultation workshops for further review and comments. The participants of the workshop included representatives from SEPA, YEPB, respected government officials of different departments of Yunnan and the NSDS Project Secretariat (UNEP RRC.AP). Expert Workshop on YPSDS China State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) in cooperation with Yunnan Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau (YEPB) hosted the expert review meeting on the draft Yunnan Provincial Sustainable Development Strategy (YPSDS) to summarize and finalize the publication. The workshop was held at the Xiyuan Hotel, Beijing, PR China on 14 December. The objectives of the consultation workshop were: (1) to present the Yunnan PSDS draft for the feedback of senior level officials from the line ministries, Yunnan Province and stakeholders from NGO, academia and business sector to further improve the Yunnan PSDS study report; (2) to discuss the design of the final version of the publication of the Yunnan PSDS; and (3) to discuss the next steps for finalization of the Yunnan PSDS and delivery of publication for awareness raising and further replication in other provinces. Senior level officials from Yunnan Province and stakeholders from NGO, academia discussed the draft and awareness-raising plans to enable replication in other provinces.

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The meeting report is located at NSDS homepage. YPSDS team from Kunming attended the regional networking communications with planning, finance, civil society and business community in the multi-stakeholder Consultation Workshop, on GMS-SDS on 25-26 October in Bangkok. At present, the YPSDS study is being finalised and prepared as publication for official launching in June 2008 in Beijing.

3.23 Process and Gender Aspects in Greater Mekong Sub-region The main experts that drafted SSDS of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) were from the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) and led by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) of the Royal Thai Government. Equal proportion of men and women represented TEI and NESDB during the working meetings and consultations as the Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy in GMS and National Sustainable Development Strategy in Thailand were developed. In addition, two experts on NSDS from the Philippines, one male and one female, were invited to support the process of the GMS SSDS development, alongside TEI and NESDB. The Terms of Reference of researchers on SSDS GMS did not include a requirement of relevant gender knowledge and experience, but the research was guided by the expertise of the NSDS Project Secretariat to ensure the reflection of gender aspects in the sub-regional document with regard to the status and issues of relevant Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The multi-stakeholder consultation process on national level for the development of NSDS Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Yunnan Province in China included a series of meetings: from three to seven meetings on working level, and on expert and multi-stakeholder consultation level. Environmental Ministries in each country invited representatives from key line ministries representing social and economic sectors, as well as national civil society organizations, to discuss NSDS content. NSDS process in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam include NGOs, Gender institutions as well as the social research institutions. Sustainable Development Indicators in each NSDS and SSDS include social aspects, covering the gender sensitive issues. Due to the sound presence of the institutional body in Cambodia, Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam, representation from gender institutes were foreseen far in advance not withstanding minimal variances in the incidence of actual gender balanced participation at each stage of the strategy development process. The sub-regional level consultations were balanced in gender naturally(Ref: Table 4.6 on Key Process Indicators). Sub-regional level multi-stakeholder consultations were naturally gender balanced. Women comprised on the average 44% of participation in the GMS SSDS process, with the inception and final consultation meetings representing the optimal gender balance with women comprising 50-51% of participants during the strategy development.

On the country level NSDS process, incidence of women’s participation at meetings varied from 13% (Lao PDR) to 54% (Thailand), with an average of incidence of 1/3 of participants each meeting. Ranking average incidence of women’s participation in NSDS development places the countries in the following order: 13% (Lao PDR), 16% (Cambodia), 23% (Vietnam), 30% (Myanmar), 43% (Yunnan, PRC), 54% (Thailand). Please refer to the statistics on monitoring table as well as the photo gallery at the project website. The Monitoring Table (ref Annex 2) collates the key indicators of NSDS and SSDS process at each step of consultations. The data is disaggregated naturally by geographical distribution due to the nature of the project developing country and sub-

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Background The Government of Mongolia is committed to fulfill its obligations under UNCED, established the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) in 1996 as a coordinating mechanism to develop the Mongolian Action Program for the 21st century (MAP-21) and local sustainable development programs. The MAP-21 and national sustainable development strategy, developed with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with participation of government and non-government organizations, and the civil society, were approved by the Government Resolution No.82 in 1998. Strengthening of the capacity of maintstreaming the sustainable development strategy and actions in the decision making process is one of the important issues.

regional sustainable development strategies. In addition, further tracking related to gender of NSDS development process participants at each stage were undertaken. Representatives from the key line ministries, international agencies as well as NGOs and private institutions usually are represented by aged male and about 30% of female in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar. NSDS process in Thailand, Vietnam and China was gender balanced naturally and ensured by respective social institutions. The statistics show the following the greatest incidence of gender balance with the process of NSDS development was in the development of the Thailand NSDS, Yunnan Province, China SDS and GMS SSDS. Out of the four participatory meetings to develop the sub-regional sustainable development strategy, incidence of women’s participation was found to be highest at 50% (Inception Meeting) and 51% (Final Consultation Meeting), averaging on 44%.

For Thailand NSDS development, four meetings yielded an average incidence of 54% women’s participation, between 44% - 64% participation. On the other hand, the three strategy development meetings of Yunnan Province, China generated an average incidence of women’s participation of 43%, between 35%-48%. As such, the natural gender-balance or participation of women in the process can be said to be present for Thailand and Yunnan Province, PRC experiences. It was noted that other countries in GMS involved exhibited participation of women comprising roughly 1/6 to 1/3 of the consultation stakeholders. In Myanmar’s consultation process, the ratio of women to men was 1: 3. Cambodia’s meetings saw less than a quarter of women participants, while women participants comprised a quarter on the average for Vietnam’s NSDS process meetings. And as Lao PDR’s Inception Meeting begun the NSDS process early this year, women comprised 13% of participants.

3. 24 NSDS Assessment in Mongolia, North East Asia

Following the MoU assessment of NSDS implementation process is summarized to date: ● The Ministry of Nature and Environment requested UNEP’s assistance to support

NSDS, December 2005 ● Inception Cum training workshop on NSDS issues and trends; environmental

indicators to take of progress on progress on national and local SD agenda, discuss project implementation 13-15 March, 2006

● Multi-stakeholder consultation meeting to discuss the draft assessment report on NSDS with following recommendations: to revitalize NCSD activities by defining its legal and financial status, raise awareness on SD issues, accelerate national research on sustainable development, 26 September’ 2006

● Multi-stakeholder’s workshop on NSDS assessment report to discuss challenges and issues to overcome for implementation of the strategy, 28 June 2007

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● National Conference discussed future activities for SD, 16-17 October, 2007 provided recommendations to national and local governments, NGOs, business and partners

Pictures 28-30: National Conference on NSDS assessment in Mongolia, 16-17 October, 2007, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ministry of Nature and Environment has organised the National Conference to discuss future activities for SD on 16-17 October, 2007 in Ulaanbaatar. Stakeholders provided recommendations to national and local governments, NGOs, business and partners on further enhancement of SD process. The strategic assessment report on progress of sustainable development in English and Mongolian languages is being published and will be released in June 2008. Delivery of the communication strategy and media kits on SD performance for publicity was undertaken. Replication of best practices within five selected pilot projects need to be promoted and achievements widely publicized. The SD challenges include: (i) need for clear definition of roles and responsibilities of central and local governments, NGOs and citizens in NSDS implementation, (ii) strategic environmental assessment is urgently required for all government socio-economic and environmental policies and programs, and (iii) unclear result-based orientation of state budget linkages with SD outputs.

Gender aspects The development of the Mongolia country NSDS was supported by the Ministry of Nature Protection and Environment. Research was guided by the expertise of the NSDS Project Secretariat to ensure the reflection of gender aspects in the sub-regional document with regard to the status and issues of relevant Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically goal 3 on gender empowerment. Sustainable Development Indicators

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include social aspects, covering the gender sensitive issues. Table 4.6 presents the Key Process Indicators of the NSDS assessment process. Multi-stakeholder consultations showed incidence of women’s participation approximately one third of the stakeholders involved in the development of Mongolia’s NSDS, with the inception and meeting representing the optimal gender balance with women comprising 42% of participants, while succeeding consultation meetings involved a wider pool of stakeholders, of which women formed nearly a quarter of the participants.

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4.0 PROJECT IMPACT This chapter gives a brief overview of the on-going analysis of the project impact on target countries, taking into account the capacity building objective at national and sub-regional levels, the process indicators (ref: Table 4.6 on Key Process Indicators) and the preliminary feedback to the post-project evaluation questionnaire from national NSDS focal points (Ref: Annex 3).

4.1 Capacity Building

The NSDS project has made substantial progress in building capacity of target countries in formulating an NSDS, operationalizing sustainable development at national level and establishing a multi-stakeholder participatory process to address the sustainable development challenges, thereby supporting them in their efforts to meet international commitments on SD, in particular, the Agenda 21, MDGs and JPOI. The NSDS Project assisted national stakeholders in undertaking a long-term strategic approach for sustainable development. The Project has been providing training and awareness raising activities to identified target multi-stakeholders at the national and sub-regional levels. Training on overall sustainable development issues, NSDS and innovative SD tools and instruments was delivered through the training manual developed by the Secretariat and inception and consultation workshops. National focal points and lead institutions could gain knowledge and expertise to integrate sustainable development principles into existing national and sectoral strategies and plans. As a result the draft NSDS reports and DVDs were produced as enclosed to this report (except for Lao PDR) and presented in the CD data base (CD enclosed). At the sub-regional level in Central Asia, GMS and South Asia, the project helped each sub-region develop the Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy (SSDS), which can serve as a sub-regional framework of action for sustainable development. Each sub-region faces a number of common- and trans-boundary issues to be tackled through joint efforts. The SSDS project provided a much-needed and unique opportunity to build joint capacity in identifying common SD challenges, developing a common vision and agreeing on shared responsibilities and framework for cooperative actions to overcome such challenges which include poverty, trans-boundary health problems, human trafficking, climate change, air pollution, watershed management, biodiversity, transportation, tourism and food, water and energy security. The regional workshop of 7-8 November 2007 summarised the experience of previous years and NSDS issues on the content, process, implementation mechanisms as well as the development of sub-regional sustainable development strategies for CA, SA and GMS, as well as the role of multi-stakeholder participation mechanisms. Please refer to the details at the NSDS project website: http://www.rrcap.unep.org/projects/nsds/workshop/Rg_NSDS_MeetingReport.pdf

43

Picture 30: Asia and the Pacific Group discussions

at the Regional Workshop, 8 November 2007, Bangkok, Thailand

4.2 Enabling Participatory Process

Multi-stakeholder participatory process is an inherent and crucial element for sustainable development. The countries in the region have demonstrated a varying degree of stakeholder involvement and participation depending on their political and institutional settings and circumstances. By undertaking consultation forums and workshops for NSDS, the Project has contributed to institutionalizing stakeholder participation in national planning processes. The Project Secretariat made a set of indicators to measure the level of stakeholder participation in each NSDS process, as shown in the table in Table 4.6. A preliminary analysis of the participation in the GMS sub-region reveals that the sub-region lacks full and equitable participation of representatives from different sectors, especially representatives of industries, private sector and NGOs. For example, in Cambodia, there were only 2 NGOs and 2 academia out of 52 participants without any representation from industries. Participation of academia, educational and research institutes shows the level of interest among the younger generations. However, compared to other sub-regions, the GMS has shown a steady level of participation throughout the key steps (for example the number of participants have been steady at 30-35 at all meetings of the GMS sub-region). This is quite indicative of the awareness and interest of the different stakeholders involved. By measuring and analyzing the degree of participation and involvement in the NSDS process, the Project will further propose measures to improve the current participatory system at national and sub-regional levels.

4.3 Project Evaluation

4.3.1. NSDS Workshop Evaluation The NSDS Project Secretariat developed an NSDS workshop evaluation questionnaire (Annex 2) to receive feedback from the workshop participants in terms of their level of awareness of SD issues, NSDS status in their respective countries, the level of workshop’s contribution to their needs in NSDS development and their future capacity building needs.

44

This questionnaire was typically circulated to the national stakeholders who participated in the NSDS formulation process through the inception and consultation workshops. Feedback is gathered from all inception workshops. Below is an example of a preliminary analysis in Thailand and Vietnam. Both national level workshops in Thailand and Vietnam garnered overall satisfaction rating on the upper bound of “good,” (more than 85% of participants), with note on high value on the presentations, case studies and networking; and average satisfaction for group and discussion sessions. For national participants in Thailand and Vietnam, it was notable that representatives of Vietnam were more aware of an existence of an NSDS strategy being led by the Planning Ministry (100% respondents), and nearly half claimed to have received preparatory training in some areas related to sustainable development. On the other hand, half of Thailand trainees were unsure of whether a strategy was in place and confused which government agency led it (Planning Ministry, 46%; Environment Ministry, 25%; Other, 18%). Yet, benchmarking the current workshop vs. past training, the experience and case of other countries, and framework were valuable additions to capacity. Recommendations included further training on methodology and indicators for sustainable development, enabling field visit, access to non-GMS national focal points for inter-country learning, problem-solution matrix format and greater discussions in training. Complement analysis of the feedback from all inception workshops will be provided in the terminal report.

4.3.2 Post-Project Evaluation In order to measure the overall impact of the Project, the Secretariat developed a post-project evaluation questionnaire (attached in Annex 3) and distributed to the national focal points in each target country as well as to the sub-regional focal points for their input. The questionnaire provides a framework for evaluating the Project’s impact on the following key areas:

● NSDS Formulation Process: stakeholder involvement, national coordination structure and strategy management system, coordination across government, legal and institutional foundation for SD, built on existing national processes and knowledge, resolution of conflicting interests and negotiation of trade-offs, local sustainable development, nation-wide awareness raising

● NSDS Content: shared national vision on SD, identification and setting of priorities for SD, cross-boundary, regional and global dimensions, integration across sectors, territories and generations, mainstreaming SD in national decision-making and planning processes, policy coherence, cross-cutting policy tools and instruments for SD, linking to budget and securing resources

● NSDS Monitoring: establishment of an integrated monitoring and evaluation system, ensuring accountability for NSDS implementation

National and sub-regional responses to the questionnaire are being compiled at the moment and will be analyzed to feed back to the evaluation of the Project’s overall impact on SD and reported in the terminal report.

45

4.4. Promotion of Gender Equitable Development

The “ESCAP Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2007 - Surging Ahead in Uncertain Times” highlighted that despite the impressive 7.9% growth of developing economies in the region in 2006, gender inequality continues at huge economic and social costs. The NSDS Project recognized the wide-remaining gender disparity in the region and tried to address gender issues by recommending the integration of equitable development and social inclusion as essential elements of NSDS. Gender equality is also addressed in the stakeholder participation in the NSDS formulation process. As analyzed in previous chapters in gender aspects in NSDS and SSDS preparation, it is important to take into account the importance of gender-balanced representation at the design and formulation stages of the NSDS. In addition to mainstreaming gender into the strategy formulation process and the strategy content, the NSDS project secretariat considers it important to integrate gender concerns into data collection, images and language usage of NSDS and SSDS publications. Gender issues will be further analyzed in the terminal report focusing on gender-balanced representation in the NSDS formulation process and the NSDS content with strategic measures to promote gender equality, in particular, access to education and health services as well as economic and political participation.

4.5 BUDGET The summary of the budget presented in Table 6 below and the budget breakdown is enclosed in Annex 1. The final summary of the Budget and the transactions breakdown will be reported to the Government of Norway within Terminal Report .

Table 6 NSDS Project Budget in USD, Summary as of 31 April 2008

Total Project Budget Approved 2,141,700Total Income 2,133,812 Expenses in 2003 4,044 Expenses in 2004 125,774 Expenses in 2005 247,667 Expenses in 2006 392,319 Expenses in Jan-June 2007 258,589

Expenses in July 2007-April 2008 319,705Total expenditure as of April 2008 1,350,498Cash balance with commitments (MoU commitments, Handbook, publications, launching of NSDS/SSDS reports)

783,314

46

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

CENTRAL ASIA IM-34 CM(1)-11 CM(2)-8 CM(3)-9 Round Tables Taj -30 Kyrg-29 Kaz-43 Turkm-23 Uzb -21

IM-12 CM(1)-4 CM(2)-2 CM(3)-2 Round Tables Taj -9 Kyrg - 17 Kaz- 20 Turkm- 3 Uzb - 4

Scientific Information Centre (SIC), ISDC

Scientific Information Centre (SIC)

IM-16 CM(1)-8 CM(2)-5 CM(3)-6 Round Tables Taj - 26 Kyrg -25 Kaz-40 Turkm-7 Uzb - 15

Min-ry of Env-t-Kaz, Economic Research Center, Min-ry of Ecology&Emergency-Kyrg,Min of Economic Dev, Industry& Trade of Kyrg,SCNPF-Taj, Min of Economy and Trade-Taj, Min of Nature Protection-Tuk, Min-ry of Env-Tuk, National Inst of State Statistics&Information-Tuk, State Committee for Nature Protection-Uzb, Ministry of Finance-Uzb, ISDC-Tuk, regional NGO-Uzb; UNDP, ISDC-Turkmenistan, ISDC-SIC (from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), Min-ry of Environment of Tajikistan, UNEP RRCAP, NGO GreenWomen, Social Council, CA Youth Network, OSCE, UNDP-Taj, REC-Taj, Env. Conventions Secretariats; State Agencies in Kyrg, REC-Kyrg, UNDP-GEF, Energy Sector-Kyrg GEF projects. International Scientific Centers, Water Protection Center in Uzb, Ministry of Agriculture of Uzb, Institute of Strategic Researches in Uzb, Aral Sea saving projects IFAS, SIC ISDC Uzb, Institute of Deserts, plants and animals in Tuk, Youth org in Tuk, Scientific Industrial Center of Env Monitoring in Tuk, State Committee on Statistics of Tuk, CAYEN-Tuk., EU, OSCE, 15/100 organisations in Kaz contributed electronically

Kazakhstan

*Need Assessment (NA) and Consultation Meetings (CM) *MoU signing *Inception cum training workshop (IM) *Consultation Meetings (CM) *Expert Review Meetings (ERM) * Multistakeholder cood-tion mechanizm (MSCM) *Endorcement by Govt and MSCM *Publication and launching of NSDS and SSDS (Pub) *Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

IM-50 CH(1)-41 CM(2)-29

IM-16 CM(1)-16 CM(2)-6

Ministry of Environmental Protection RK

National Collaborative Centre & Ministry of Environmental Protection RK

IM-21 CM(1)-33 CM(2)-29

Administration of the President of the RК, Ministry of Environmental Protection of the RK, Department on strategic planning and analysis, Science and Monitoring Department, Min-ry of Economy and Budget Planning of RK, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the RK, Ministry of Education and Science of the RK, Agency of the RK on Statistics, Joint-stock company "Fund of sustainable development "Kazyna", leader research institutes, the Kazakhstan Association of nature-users for Sustainable Development, Agency of ecological news “Greenwomen”, Agency on Statistics of RK, Department of national counting, Almaty territorial management of environmental protection, Institute of Economics of MES RK, Academician of NAS of RK,UNEP, Presidential Adminstration. Institute of Economy, Min-ry of Agriculture, Min-ry of Health, Min-ry of Culture and Eduction, Min-ry of Culture and Information, Min-ry of Finance, Tourism and Support, Energy and Mineral

47

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Resources, UNDP, Moscow State university, Center of environment legislation of Russia, CenInstitute of System Analysis of Russian Academy of Information, UNESCAP, International Institute of Environmental and SD-UK , Congress of Youth, Republic of Zhasyl El, Kazakhstan Institute of Petroleum and Gas, Council of the forum of the employees of RK, Center of Sustainable Development of Astana, Information Center of IC on SD of CA, Committee on welfare development, Legal maintenance and information-analytical department, Regional ecological center for CA, International Agency of Atom Energy, Union of the farmers of Kaz, Federation of trade unionsof RK, South Kazakhstan University, Association of the enterprise on water supply and water prevention "Kazakhstan Su Arsasy", Coordination center of climate change, Center of sustainable production and consumption, NESDCA, Ecocenter "Ecosphere", Kazakhstan Association of natureusers for SD, Institute of Mining of the MIT of RK, CAREC, National Academy of Science, Kazakhstan initiative of development of wind power market, Institute of geography of MES RK, Institute of metallurgy and concentration, Institute of problems of information and management of MES RK, Ecological center "Tau", Kazakhstan Republican chamber of valuers, KAPUR, NCC, UNEP RRC, Mass Media.

Kyrgyzstan IM-50 CM(1)-25 CM(2)-26

IM-18 CM(1)-14 CM(2)-15

State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry

State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry

IM-28 CM(1)-19 CM(2)-18

President Admin-n, Min-ry of Finance, Prime-Minister Apparatus, Min-ry of Health Protection, Min-ry of Econ. Development, Trade&Industry Min-ry of Foreign Affairs, Min-ry of Labour&Social Protection, Min-ry of Local Govt & Regional Dev-t, Min of Agriculture, Water, Processing Industry of Kyrg, State Agency of Energy, Ministry of Ecology &Emergency Situation, 7 NGOs, UNDP, Centre of Biodiversity and biosafety, agency on Hydrometrology, Land cadaster project, State committee owned land issues, Centre of intellectual pattern and protection, Tajik Tech. University, Centre on climate change, ISDC-SIC- Kyrgyzstan .

48

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Tajikistan IM-40 CM(1)-16 CM(2)-24

IM- CM(1)-3 CM(2)-2

State Committee of Nature Protection and Forestry (SCNPF)

Ministry/ President’s Office

IM-34 CM(1)-12 CM(2)-18

President Office, State Committee of Env Protection &Forestry, Min-ry of Foreign Affairs, Min of Finance, Min of Industry, Min of Energy, Min of Health, Min of Economy &Trade, Min-ry of Agriculture, Min-ry of Labor &Social Defense, State Committee, Medical University, Tajik State Medical University, Tajik State Technical University, State Technical Institute, NFPs for Env Conventions, Academy of Sciences, Asien Development Bank, Nature Protection Agency, Center of Biodiversity and Bio-security, Agency of Hydrometerology, Convention of POP, Centre for strategic surveys, National Patent-information Centre, National Centre on Climate Change, NGO "Civil Initiative Support Fund", NGO "Youth EcoCenter", NGO "Energetik", UNCBD, UNCCD, UNFFC, UNDP, OSCE, ADB, UNEP RRC, mass media

Turkmenistan IM-30 CM (1)-46

IM-11 CM (1)-20

Ministry of Nature Protection (MoNP)

Scientific Information Centre (SIC)

IM-14 Ministry of Nature Protection, Min-ry of Economy & Finance, Min-ry of Justice, Min-ry of Foreign Affairs, Min-ry of Oil &Gas Industry, Min-ry of Health Protection & Medical Industry, Min-ry of Water Industry, Min-ry of Agriculture, Nat-l Inst-te of State Statistics & Information, Union of Women, Union of Hunters,Natl Institute of Flora &Fauna, 1 NGO, UNDP, SIC ISDC, REAP, Research & Production Center of Ecological Monitoring

GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION

*Need Assessment (NA) and Consultation Meetings (CM) *MoU signing *Inception cum training workshop (IM) *Consultation Meetings (CM) *Expert Review Meetings (ERM) * Multistakeholder cood-tion mechanizm (MSCM) *Endorcement by Govt and MSCM *Publication and launching of NSDS and SSDS (Pub) *Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

IM-30 CM(1)-38 CM(2)-35 CM(3)-33

IM-15 CM(1)-13 CM(2)-14 CM(3)-17

Thailand Environment Institute (TEI)

TEI and Earth Council

IM-20 CM(1)-24 CM(2)-23 CM(3)-24

Cambodia: Min-ry of Env-t, Ministry of Planning, China: SEPA, YEPB, Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, Lao PDR: STEA, Division of Social Development Planning, Department of Environment Science, Technology & Env-t Agency, Department of Social Development Planning, General Planning Committee for Planning $ Investment, Community Development and Environment Association, Myanmar: Min-ry of National Planning &Economic Development, Ministry of Forestry, MWEA; Thailand: NESDB, Ministry of Natural Resources &Env-t, Office of Intern Cooperation on Natural Resources and Env-t, Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board, Vietnam: Min-ry of Natural Resources and Env-t, Ministry of

49

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Planning and Investment, VESTI, VCCI; Ateneo de Manila University, TEI, GMSARN, MRC, IUCN, EC, UNEP RRC, UNDP, US-EPA, SEI, Business Sector, ADB, Mekong Institute, IGES, Red Crescent Climate Centre, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Stockholm Environment Institute - Asia

Cambodia IM-44 CM(1)-38 CM(2)-43

IM-8 CM(1)-6 CM(2)-6

Ministry of Environment

Ministry of Environment

IM-15 CM(1)-10 CM(2)-21

Central Government Agencies: 5;Local Authorities: 41, mainly are directors/deputy directors from northern provincial departments of planning & investment and natural resources & environment; NGOs: 2 (Farmers Association); Research Institutes and Universities: 2;VIETNAM AGENDA 21 OFFICE;NSDS XXMin-ry of Environment, Min-ry of Industry, Mine and Energy, Min-ry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Min-ry of Planning, Min-ry pf Health, Min-ry of Tourism, Min-ry of Rural Development, MLMUPC, Min-ry of Woman Affair, Min-ry of Public Works and Transport, Min-ry of Commerce, Min-ry of Economy and Finance, MoWRAM, National Mekong Committee, Council for Development of Cambodia, NGO Forum, Cambodia Development Research Institute, World Conservation Union, Food and Agriculture Organization, UNEP ROAP, UN RRC.AP, Asian Development Bank, Municipality of Sihanoukville, Municipal Department of the Env-t (Sihanoukville), Phnom Penh Chamber of Commerce, GMS Environment Operations Center

Lao PDR IM-60 IM-8 Prime Minister's Office Water Resources and Environment Administration (WREA)

WREA and team of national and international experts

Water Resource Environment Agency, Planning, Finance, NGOs, UNEP, UNDP, IGES, etc

Myanmar IM-44 CM-55

IM-12 CM-18

National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA)

National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA)

IM-37 CM-45

Ministry of Forestry, National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) , Committee for environmental consevation, UNEP.RRCAP

Thailand IM-64 CM(1)-72 CM(2)-64 CM(3)-17

IM-28 CM(1)-46 CM(2)-38 CM(3)-8

National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB)

Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), NESDB

IM-29 CM(1)-35 CM(2)-30 CM(3)-12

Thai Ministries: Agriculture and Cooperatives, Commerce, Culture, Education, Energy, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Information and Communication Technology, Industry, Interior, Justice, Labor, Natural

50

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Resources and Environment, Public Health, Science and Technology, Social Development and Human Security, and Tourism and Sports.; Bureau of the Crown Property, Royal Thai Police, Office of the Village and urban Community Fund, Office of National Economic and Social Development Board, Agricultural Land Reform Office, National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards, Fine Arts Department, Office of Vocatinal Education Comission, Bureau of Energy Policy and Plan, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Industrial Estate Authority Thailand, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Bureau of Policy and Planning, Foreign Affairs Bureau, Planning and Information Office, Biodiversity Research Division, Public Sector Development Group, Community Development Department, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Department of Disease Control, Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, Department of Foreign Trade, Bureau of Industrial Sectors Development, Department of Land, Department of Local Administration, Department of Marine and Costal Resources, Department of Medical Services, Department of Mineral Resources, Department of Provincial Administration, National and Regional Planning Bureau, Department of Religious Affairs, Department of Social Development and Welfare, GMS Core Environment Program, IGES, Institute of Thai Law, Pollution Control Department, PTT Public Company Limited, Department of Water Resources, Office of Narcotics Control Board, Office of the Basic Education Commission, Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, Public Debt Managing Office, Rights and Liberties Protection Department, Royal Forest Department, Federation of Thai Industries, TISTR, Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, Strategy Development Bureau, Tourism Authority Thailand, Office of SME Promotion, UNEP, NESDB, TEI, Office of the Royal Development Project Board, Office of the Prime Minister, Friends of the Asian Elephant, Thailand Thailand Development Research Institute,

51

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Civil Society Planning Network, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Dhurakij Pundit University, and Thammasart University

Yunnan Province of People's Republic of China

IM-37 CM(1)-29 CM(2)-27

IM-13 CM(1)-13 CM(2)-13

Yunnan Environment Protection Bureau (YEPB)

SEPA IM-17 CM(1)-18 CM(2)-15

SEPA, Yunnan Environment protection bureau (YEPB), Yunnan Env-t Information Center, World Bank Yunnan Env-t Project Office, Env-t Programme Manage Center for Foreign Fund, YDRC, YPG, Forestry Department, Transportation Department, Foreign Affair Office of YPG, Tourism Department, Water Conservancy Department, Institute of Env-t Sciences, Land Resource Department, UNEP ROAP, UNEP RRC.AP, World Bank Institute, Poverty Alleviation Office, Yunnan Provincial Government, Water Resource Department, Yunnan Station of Agricultural Env-t Protection and Monitoring, Reform and Development Commission, Env-t Information Centre, Beijing Normal University, Construction Department, State Env-t Protection Agency, Transportation Bureau, Yunnan Provincial Government, Yunnan Water Resource Bureau, Forest Survey and Investigation Institute of Yunnan, Min-ry of Science and Technology, Policy Resouce Center on Env-t and Economy of SEPA, FECO, GEPB

Vietnam IM-36 CM(1)-30 CM(2)-50 Launching

IM-11 CM(1)-8 CM(2)-5 Launching

Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)

Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)

IM-29 CM(1)-29 CM(2)-47 Launching

Department of Research, Vietnam Farmers Association; Department of Personnel and Organization, Ministry of Home Affairs; Department of Planning, Vietnam Cooperative Union; Department of International Relations, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Department of Science and Economic Management, The Central Institute of Economic Management; Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Department of International Cooperation, Committee of Ethnic Minorities; Department of Planning and Finance, Committee of Ethnic Minorities; Institute of Northern Sustainable Development; Department of Labor and Employment, MOLISA; Center of Environmental Research, MOLISA; Institute of Development Strategy, Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI); Department of Agricultural Infrastructure and Urban, MPI; Department of Industrial Economics, MPI;

52

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Department of Personnel and Organization, MPI; Bac Ninh Department of Planning and Investment; Bac Ninh Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Quang Ninh Department of Planning and Investment; Department of Foreign Relations for Quang Ninh; Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment; Lang Son Department of Planning and Investment, Hai Phong Department of Planning and Investment, Yen Bai Department of Planning and Investment and UNEP.;Vietnam Agenda 21 Office

SOUTH ASIA IM-26

CM(1)-27 CM(2)-29

IM-7 CM (1)-6 CM(2)-8

Development Alternatives (DA)

DA, IUCN, BCAS

IM-22 CM(1)-20 CM(2)-25

Bangladesh: Min-ry of Envt &Forest, BCAS, Bhutan: NEC, Min-ry of Finance, India: Min-ry of Env-t and Forests, Plannin Commission, Min-ry of Trade and Industry, DA, Maldives: Ministry of Home Affairs & Environment, Min-ry of Planning & National Development, Min-ry of Env-t, Energy and Water, Nepal: Min-ry of Env-t, Science and Technology, Min-ry of Population &Env-t, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Local Devt, Physical Planning & Works, Population & Env-t Division, Environment Champs for Conservation Awareness, National Trust for Nature Conservation, Pakistan: Planning Commission; Min-ry of Env-t, Sri-Lanka: Minry of Envt & NR, Department of National Planning, Development Alternatives, ICIMOD, IUCN, SAARC, SACEP, TERI, UNEP, UNDP

Bangladesh IM-19 IM-3 Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF)

Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS)

IM-15 Agriculture, Water Resource, Rural Development, Planning commission, Food and Disaster Management Ministry, Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forest, IUCN, UNDP, UNEP

Bhutan

*Need Assessment (NA) and Consultation Meetings (CM) *MoU signing *Inception cum training workshop (IM) *Consultation Meetings (CM) *Expert Review Meetings (ERM) * Multistakeholder cood-tion mechanizm (MSCM) *Endorcement by Govt and MSCM *Publication and launching of NSDS and SSDS (Pub) *Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

IM-29 IM-8 National Environment Commission (NEC)

National Environment Commission (NEC)

IM-25 Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development Secretariat; Planning Commission; National Environment Commission; Ministry of Works and Human Settlement; Ministry of Trade and Industry; Ministry of Education, Nature Conservation Section; Royal Society for the Protection of Nature; Bhutan Broadcasting Service, Norbu Samyul Consulting, MOIC, DADM, CBS, DOE; and UNDP, UNEP

53

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Pakistan IM-40 IM-7 Ministry of Environment (MoE)

Sustainable Development Policy Institute, IUCN

IM-29 Planning & Devt Department, Northern Areas, Govt of Punjab, Min-ry of Env-t, Finance Division, Min-ry of Petroleum &NR, Health Services Academy, Hydrocarbon Devt Institute, NARC, IUCN, Prime Minister Secretariate, Min-ry of Population, ARID Univercity, LEAD, WWF, UNDP, Eco Conservation Pakistan, Environmental Science Department, Sustainable Development Institute of Pakistan, NARC, PARC, Health Services Academy, EDO (Finance and Planning), Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan, ASIANICS Agro-Dev. International, National Reconstruction Bureau, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, SDPI, Global Climate Change Study Centre, Regional Bioscience Centre-Pakistan, Environmental Science Fatimah Jinnah Women University, Min-ry pf Petroleum and Natural Resources, National Council for Conservation of Wilflife, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, UNEP

Maldives IM-39 IM-7 Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water (MEEW)

Ministry of Environment and Construction (MEC)

IM-29 Civil Aviation Department, Env-l Research Center, President's Office, Housing &Urban Devt Board, Water & Sanitation Authority, Male Municipality, Marine Research Center, Ministry of Attols Devt, Min-ry of Communication, Science &Technology, Ministry of Defense &National Security, Ministry of Education, Min-ry of Env-t &Construction, Min-ry of Finance & Treasury, Ministry of Fisheries, MoFA, Ministry of Gender, Min-ry of Health, Min-ry of Planning &National Devt, Min-ry of Tourism, National Security Service, Regional Development Projects Management, UNDP, etc

Nepal-national IM-31 IM-3 Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology

Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology ; National Planning Commission /KMTNC

IM-20 MoPE, ICIMOD, UNDP, Min-ry of Population &Environment, National Planning Commission, Winrock International, CEAMP, Ministry of Forestry & Soil Conservation, MOICS, Min-ry of Forestry and protected areas, MOST, MOLT, MOWR, MoF, MoAC, MoST, MoWCSW, UNDP, Local Body Information, Urban Governance; Youth Development and Media, District Development and Renewable Energy, Pollution Control, FCAN, NPC, DANIDA, TU, SWC

Nepal-2 districts CM-64 CM-6 National Planning International CM-28 MOF, UNDP, WWF, DNPWC, TAAN, TMI, HEC, T.U,

54

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

Commission/ NTNC Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD);King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC)

BCN, Natural History Museum, MOEST, Central Dept. Botany, Department of archaeology, World Bank, Nepal Nature.Com, HRA, Ministry of Forestry, CRT/N, HRA, MFSC, CMC, DOF, NTB, DDC- Manang, DDC-Mustang, NPC, KMTNC, NNC-IUCN, UNEP

Sri-Lanka IM-34 CM(1)-47 CM(2)-21

IM-10 CM(1)-8 CM(2)-12

Ministry of Environment and Natural Recourses (MoENR)

IUCN, Colombo

IM-20 CM(1)-20 CM(2)-15

MoENR, Min-ry of Transport, Natural Resource, Industry, Dev-t Education Institute, Min-ry of Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation, Min-ry of Public Adminstration and Home Affairs, Min-ry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Min-ry of Estate Infrastructure and Livestock Development, Min-ry of Plantation Industries, Min-ry of Urban Development and Water Supply, Min-ry of Industrial Development, Min-ry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development, Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, Institute for Construction, Training and Development, Ceylon Electricity Board, Energy Forum, Min-ry of Power and Energy, Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka, Agriculture, Geological Survey at Mines Bureau, Policy Planning, Foreign Aid and Budget Monitoring Department, Env-t Coast, Nat-lnstitute of Education, Reconstruction and Development Authority, Environment Landscape Division, Min-ry of Regional Development, Min-ry of Labor Relations and Foreign Employment, Min-ry of Samurdhi and Poverty alleviation, Min-ry of Local Government and Provincial Councils, Min-ry of Vocational and Technical Training, National Science Foundation, Department of Meteorology, Min-ry of Industries & Investment Promotion, Min-ry of Science and Technology, Min-ry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Wayamba Environment Authority, Environmental Foundation Limited, Coast Conservation Department, Central Environmental Authority, Federation of Chamber of Commerce and industries in Sri Lanka, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Institute of Policy Studies, IUCN, NCSA, UNEP, UNDP

55

4.6 KEY PROCESS INDICATORS Subregion /

Country Process Total Meetings /

Participants Number of

Female National Focal

Points Expert Agency

Number of Stakeholders

Key Agencies Involved

YOUTH PROGRAM in South Asia

IM-20 CM-35 EM-12

IM-9 CM-8 EM-5

SAYEN Secretariat Centre for Environment Education (CEE), India

IM-12 CM-14 EM-6

Pakistan: Friendship Foundation; Maldives: Blue Piece Maldives; Nepal: Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness; Sri Lanka: Nature Club, Pinnawala Central College, University of Colombo, Children Skills Development Program, Center for Eco-Cultural Studies, Center of Env Education; Bangladesh: Striving Towards Env Protection, Bhutan: Royal Society for Protection of Nature; India: Center for Env Education; UNDP Post Tsunami Recovery Project

NORTH EAST ASIA

Mongolia

*Need Assessment (NA) and Consultation Meetings (CM) *MoU signing *Inception cum training workshop (IM) *Consultation Meetings (CM) *Expert Review Meetings (ERM) * Multistakeholder cood-tion mechanizm (MSCM) *Endorcement by Govt and MSCM *Publication and launching of NSDS and SSDS (Pub) *Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

IM-24 CM(1)-32 CM (2)- 32 Conference-32

IM-10 CM(1)-7 CM(2)-7 Conference - 16

Ministry of Nature and Environment (MNE)

Ministry of Nature and Environment (MNE)

IM-20 CM(1)-25 CM(2)-25 Conference- 23

UNEPNational University of Mongolia,Environment Office of Orkhon Province, Ministry of Fuel and Energy, NGO “Institute for Future”, Dornogobi Province Jambal, Industry and Environment Policy Coordination Department for Government of Darkhan-Uul Provinc; Mongolian Development Institute, CEO of Institute for Future NFP of NEAYEN Khovsgol Province, Gobisumber Province ASDA, Dornod Province ASDA, Seruuleg University, Infrastructure, Industry and Environment Policy Coordination Department for Government of Bayankhongor Province, Environmental Office of Arkhangai Province, Uvurkhangai Province, Ministry of Finance, Presidential Administration,UNDP-GEF projects, NGOs, Institutes,Media

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5.0 THE WAY FORWARD

The recommendations given by UNEP’s Regional Advisors from the Regional Workshop are taken as a basic foundation to give a direction for the way forward.

Essential issues which are not or only rudimentary reflected here will be further discussed in the Handbook for SDS which is dealing with the topics on innovation for sustainability, new emerging development models, low carbon society, knowledge economy and promotion of culture and tradition particularly. Asian pacific countries are urged to create an alternative development model which is independent from the developed countries development strategy plan. Asian tradition, traditional practices and Asian values should be preserved. The SD documents prepared by the distinguished countries are supposed to be operationalized in order to be a living document, not a historical one. A special focus should be set in green revolution indicating change in institutions and practice. In order to work towards sustainable development the respective countries are ask to emphasize on implementation tools providing education and training. Environmental issues should not be sectorized but being naturally incorporated in economy in the decision making process. Facing climate change, energy and natural resource management constitute a crucial part in SD. The target of sustainable development can be achieved if the participating regions oppose very strong unsustainable forces by implementing sustained strategies. Within the break-out group discussions on implementation mechanism of SSDS of and NSDS the Regional Workshop, future road map was outlined for CA, SA, GMS and the Regional group as follows: Central Asia

● SD education for decision makers based on best world experience is very important. ● Integration of SD principles into the system of strategic planning at local and national

levels, the involvement of all sectors: civil society, business thorough CSR practices, NGOs, communities, youth, women and other organizations.

● The effective management of the process through ISDC CA and other regional organizations and partnership, and value of partnership with international organizations.

South Asia

● The sustainable development at the national context was defined as environmental, social and economic sustainability, intra and intergenerational equity, mainstreaming and prioritization of sectors for integration of environmental issues in national policy (education, health, agriculture, water resources, infrastructure, forestry).

● The overarching goals are: to attain equity at all levels; well being and National Happiness of population is enabled; and poverty is eliminated and environment is healthy.

● The use of an integrated, participative, multi-sectoral and bottom-up approach to resolve SD challenges.

● To enable balanced and complementary approach towards urban and rural development.

● To enabling foundations and frameworks such as the institutional and legal arrangement, and support of regional partnership and integration of regional strategy.

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Greater Mekong Sub-region ● There is a need to promote the Center of Excellence in different thematic areas to

support the development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of NSDS in the subregion. Support

● There is a need to strengthen trans-boundary environmental management through bilateral and multilateral agreement.

● The focus should be given on social and environmental pillars especially gender issues. The capacity building and public awareness need to be enhanced for greater participation in the process of NSDS.

● The financial and human resource constraints as well as a lack of monitoring and evaluation indicators are the constraint for NSDS.

● The need for sustainable infrastructure, production and consumption, green business, tax and budget reform, and eco efficiency indicators was emphasized.

● The Mekong River Commission (MRC) with a wider mandate might be promoted as a mechanism to pursue the sustainable development.

Asia and the Pacific Region

● The ecosystem approach as opposed to sector/country approach should be followed to address the common and transboundary issues.

● The specific targets at the regional level are necessary for sustainable development. It is important that common national targets could be used as regional targets, for example in the case of poverty reduction. The availability of reliable data is a problem for setting any target.

● The importance of networking was emphasized. The collaboration between existing networks should be enhanced and the scope of networks should be expanded to bring in more focus on sustainable development, including CAN. Private sector and business should be invited in the networks.

● The education and awareness should be promoted to mainstream the SD into local, national and regional levels.

● UNEP should continue to provide a forum for sharing and reporting on progress on local, national and sub-Regional sustainable development strategies.

Implementation of the NSDS and SSDS developed through this project is a real challenge. National focal points and key stakeholders involved in the strategy formulation should continue to ensure government commitment in the strategy implementation, monitoring and evaluation. UNEP can assist countries in mobilizing further technical and financial resources required for the implementation from national and international partners. UNEP should continue to play a role in monitoring the progress of the strategy implementation and sharing lessons and good practices on NSDS and SSDS as well as on innovative SD practices among countries in the region beyond the project cycle.

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ANNEXES

Please share your impressions/suggestions on the workshop on Sustainable Development!

At the end of the entire program you will be required to fill out and hand in the evaluation, but you will not have to give your name. Please circle the appropriate answer. The evaluations will help to further improve the training program and will help you to revise your further needs. As well as filling out these forms, you are encouraged to share your opinions with the instructors and to send additional written evaluations after the training session has ended. Thank you very much for cooperation!

1) Which best describes the organization you represent? Government Agency NGO Business Other

2) How do you rate the Sustainable Development (SD) performance in your country?

Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad

3) How is the environmental dimension of SD being addressed in your country? Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad

4) Do you know if a SD strategy is in place in your country? Yes No

5) Who is coordinating the SD Agenda/Strategy in your country? Planning Ministry Environmental Ministry Other (please specify)

6) Have you attended the Sustainable Development workshops and meetings in your country before? If yes, please specify. Yes No

7) Was the training work shop on SSDS useful to you? Please explain. Yes No

8) Were the presentation materials from speakers useful for you and your work? Please explain. Yes No

9) Do you think that participants of the workshop have gained the common understanding on NSDS and NCSD process implementation in your country? Yes No

10) Do you have enough information needed for your work on SD issues? If no, what other types of information would be valuable? Yes No

11) What part of the training program did you find most valuable?

12) Methodology and usefulness of training program:

12.1. Presentations Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad 12.2. Discussions Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad

12.3. Case studies Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad 12.4. Group sessions Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad 12.5. Networking Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad

13) Overall, how would you rate the training? Please circle one.

Excellent Good Fine Poor Bad

14) Please share your suggestions for future versions of the manual on NSDS

15) Please share your suggestions for future NSDS work shops. How would you improve the training or make it more interesting?

16) Would you like to continue involvement in the NSDS and NCSD process? Actively involved Sometimes involved Just informed

17) For future reference, would you like to receive other trainings and materials on SD issues? If yes, please specify. Yes No

18) General remarks

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Post Project Evaluation Questionnaire National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) Project

Instructions: Please completely fill-in the following information required.

Country: National Focal Point: Collaborating Center: Name of Individual: Your Job Title/Team: Timeline of the NSDS project: start / end date Status of NSDS: formulation, implementation, monitoring,

revision

PART I. NSDS PROJECT OVERALL EVALUATION Instructions: Please provide your responses below by typing directly in the space provided.

1. Please describe the main achievements of the NSDS project in your country. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Please describe the main difficulties you encountered (if any) in the course of the

project. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Please provide the 3 key items you learned in the course of the project (in terms of

process and development of NSDS content). a. b. c.

4. Please determine the project’s success by rating a score between 50% to 100%

satisfaction. (50% as the lower bound, 100% as the higher bound)

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PART II. NSDS PROJECT PROCESS, CONTENT, MONITORING EVALUATION Instruction: Please evaluate the NSDS Project Process in your country by selecting the most appropriate response to the statements below. Mark the box that best describes the statement1 and explain your response briefly in the space provided. A. NSDS PROJECT PROCESS

1. The process of NSDS development in your country involved key stakeholders (e.g. central government, local authorities, NGOs, private sector, media) in the strategy formulation process. (An Inception Meeting, Consultation Meetings, Expert Meetings were conducted in phases following a process of NSDS development.)

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

2. The process of NSDS development in your country contributed to the establishment of national coordination structures and strategy management systems for sustainable development (such as committees, task forces, communication mechanisms).

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

3. The process of NSDS development in your country led to effective coordination between government departments and agencies in formulation of NSDS.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

4. The process of NSDS development in your country contributed to building partnerships among government, civil society, private sector and external institutions.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

1 You may do select your answer by typing X beside the box you wish to filll; you can also right-click on the box you wish to fill, selection “properties” in the pull-down menu, and click on “check.”

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5. The process of NSDS development in your country created or reinforced legal and institutional foundations for sustainable development ( such as Treaty, Ecocode, MEA).

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

6. The process of NSDS development in your country addressed national capacity building needs and built on existing knowledge and expertise?

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

7. The process of NSDS development in your country helped to resolve conflicting interests and opinions, and to negotiate trade-offs between different priorities (during the Inception Meeting).

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

8. The process of NSDS development in your country led to change in key stakeholder’s behaviors.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

9. The process of NSDS development in your country affected local levels (local government and communities).

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

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10. The process of NSDS development in your country received regional or national media coverage.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Please briefly explain your answer, specify the media coverage and extent (such as number of copies available, circulation number, etc.): _______________________________________________________________________

11. The process of NSDS development in your country raised the level of awareness of sustainable development issues among stakeholders.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

Instructions: For items 12 and 13, please provide answers in the space provided. 12. Please describe how the process of NSDS development and the strategy document was received by the different stakeholders? Specifically, describe the response of the following: a. CentralGovernment_____________________________________________________ b. Local Authorities: ______________________________________________________ c. NGOs:_______________________________________________________________ d. Private Sector: ________________________________________________________

13. Please describe the successful aspects of the process of NSDS formulation and the constraints (if any). ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ B. NSDS PROJECT CONTENT 14. The content of the NSDS in your country reflects issues of national consensus on the vision of sustainable development.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

15. The content of the NSDS in your country identified priority challenges for SD

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

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Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

16. The content of the NSDS in your country addresses trans-boundary, regional and global issues such as climate change, biodiversity, trade and development, respectively.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

The content of the NSDS in your country helped to build government’s capacity to find harmonize varying contexts across sectors, territories and generations.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

17. The content of the NSDS in your country facilitated incorporation of the SD concept in economic development policies, national decision-making, policy formulation.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

18. The content of the NSDS of your country encouraged win-win activities jointly enabling poverty alleviation, economic growth and environmental conservation.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

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19. The content of the NSDS in your country helped coordinate existing sectoral/thematic strategies to improve their coherence and efficiency in achieving sustainable development.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ 20. The content of the NSDS in your country contributed to develop policy options and measures that addressed trade-offs and attainable joint-benefits between different development priorities. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ 21. The content of the NSDS in your country helped develop policy tools and instruments, such as regulatory tools (legislation), market mechanisms (taxation, Clean Development Mechanism) and voluntary tools (certification procedure and labeling system) to support the NSDS implementation. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ 22. The content of the NSDS in your country ensured commitment in terms of government budget allocation towards strategy implementation. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ 23. The content of the NSDS in your country provided linkages to the private sector participation and investment towards strategy implementation? Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________

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24. The content of the NSDS in your country has clearly added value; it does not duplicate existing national and sectoral strategies/plans. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ C. NSDS PROJECT MONITORING MECHANISMS 25. The monitoring mechanisms of NSDS project in your country help identify and ensure key stakeholders’ accountability and responsibility for the strategy implementation. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ 26. The monitoring mechanisms of NSDS in your country facilitated establishment of integrated mechanisms for assessment, follow up, evaluation and feedback (rolling process with revision, building on feedback and results). Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: ___________________________________________________________________________

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PART III. COOPERATION WITH THE NSDS PROJECT SECRETARIAT 27. The UNEP NSDS Project Secretariat has provided your focal point with useful support, by providing references such as training manual, presentations, among others. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ 28. Your understanding of global commitments on sustainable development has improved, such as Agenda 21, UNCED 1992, JPOI 2002, WSSD 2004.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Please briefly explain your answer: _______________________________________________________________________ Instructions: For items 30 and 31, please provide the answers in the space provided. 30. Please describe how you will personally contribute to your country’s sustainable development. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 31. Please describe your future priority capacity building needs for NSDS and sustainable development in general. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your kind cooperation in accomplishing this questionnaire.