ISAP2016: The 8th International Forum for Sustainable Asia and the Pacific

DAY2: 10:00-12:00	Plenary Session 2

Starting Strong on the SDGs in Asia: Roles of Key Stakeholders

Session Video
» IGES YouTube Channel

Last year’s agreement on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) marks a potentially critical turning point in the history of global environmental policy. There are nonetheless real risks that the high hopes for the SDGs fail to materialise in Asia. One such risk is that early institutional and policy responses from Asia’s national governments are slow and fragmented. Another is that international business, civil society or development communities do not offer the financial or technical support that governments need to take a more proactive or coherent response. This session is organised into two parts that will aim to identify ways to reduce these risks. In the first half, IGES and its partner organisation will introduce key findings from strategic research on national readiness for SDG implementation in Asia. A second half will engage representatives from international organisations, development agencies, civil society, and business in a facilitated dialogue on how they can help countries in Asia get off to a good start on the SDGs.

Downloads
Speakers and Presentation Materials
Discussion Paper: Starting Strong on the SDGs in Asia: A Framing Paper on National Readiness (601KB)

Framing Presentations

	Eric Zusman, Leader / Principal Policy Researcher, Integrated Policies for Sustainable Societies Area, IGES	PDF (826KB)
	Dara Lee, Project Officer, Political and Economic Department, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Dara Lee Dara Lee joined ASEF in November 2014 as Project Officer for the Political and Economic department. Prior to joining ASEF, she worked in various international and non-profit organizations in Southeast Asia, including in refugee protection at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and in human rights advocacy at Amnesty International. At ASEF, she is involved in the Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVforum) and the Asia Europe Economic Forum (AEEF). In the former, she has supported research and capacity building workshops on the Sustainable Development Goals. Dara received her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics with a minor in International Development from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge. Close	PDF (996KB)

Speakers

	Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary for Sustainable Development, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Kaveh Zahedi Kaveh Zahedi is responsible for overseeing the work of the ESCAP Divisions and Institutes supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Prior to joining ESCAP, Mr. Zahedi was Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), managing UNEP’s technical support programmes and representing the organisation in the region’s major political forums. Mr. Zahedi has also served as Deputy Director of UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP-DTIE), leading work on green economy, resource efficiency and climate change. At UNEP-DTIE he also set up and headed the Climate and Clean Air Coalition for reducing short lived climate pollutants. He has previously also worked in UNEP’s offices in Mexico and Kenya. Before UNEP, Mr. Zahedi worked at an NGO as project manager for micro credit and development projects. An Iranian and British national, he holds a Masters degree from the Fletcher School, Tufts University, USA, and a BSc first class degree in Economics & Geography, from University College London. Close
	Toshio Arima, Board Member, United Nations Global Compact / Chairman of the Board, Global Compact Network Japan Toshio Arima After graduating from the College of Liberal Arts of International Christian University in 1967, he joined Fuji Xerox. He became President and Representative Director of that company in 2002. In 2007 he retired as President and was appointed as an Executive Advisor to the Board. In the same year, he was appointed as a Board Member of the United Nations Global Compact. Since 2008 he also has been serving as Chairman of the Board of Global Compact Network Japan. In 2010, he also became the Chairperson of Japan Platform, an NGO platform organization for emergency humanitarian aids. He is a board member of three public companies, Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd., Resona Holdings, Inc., and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. Close
	Elenita C. Dano, Asia Director, Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group) / Member, United Nations 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism Elenita C. Dano Elenita “Neth” Dano is Asia Director of the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group) based in Davao City, southern Philippines. ETC Group is an international CSO that monitors the impacts of new and emerging technologies on marginalized communities, tracks corporate concentration and governance in food and agriculture, and investigates erosion of biodiversity. Neth earned her bachelor’s degree in Development Studies (cum laude) and graduate degree in Community Development from the University of the Philippines. She is a researcher who has done in-depth analysis and published work on various issues in agriculture, plant genetic resources and climate change in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. She is the outgoing representative of environmental non-governmental organizations (in the Advisory Board to the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN)), the operational arm of the Technology Mechanism of the UNFCCC. She was recently appointed by the UN Secretary-General in the 10-Member Group that supports the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM). Close
	Kunihiro Yamauchi, Director General, Global Environment Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Kunihiro Yamauchi Mr. Kunihiro Yamauchi joined Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1986. He has been engaged in administration of development projects in various fields including infrastructure and environmental management. He served as Environmental Specialist at the Asian Development Bank from 1998 to 2001 and Resident Representative of JICA Ghana Office from 2007 to 2011. Since April 2015 at the current position, he has been responsible for JICA’s activities on environmental conservation and management; water and sanitation; and disaster risk reduction. He studied biology (BS) and environmental sciences (MA) at the University of Tsukuba, and geography and environmental studies (MA) at the University of Toronto. Close	PDF (384KB)