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This analytical report highlights that although the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)  has 48% forest cover, reinvestment in forests is necessary to address increased demands for timber, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. The brief argues that millions of hectares of grassland and degraded forest could be viable sites for plantation development and assisted natural regeneration. It also stresses the need for a renewed focus on an enabling institutional environment to make the most of forestry investments.

This technical document presents a comprehensive assessment of the benefits that can be derived from practical measures to reduce black carbon—a principal soot component—as well as methane and other gases that contribute to the formation of ozone in the troposphere (ground level to about 10-15km altitude). Both black carbon and tropospheric ozone not only contribute to climate change, but also have negative effects on health, agricultural production and key ecosystems like forests and freshwater.

This analytical report highlights the role of forest tenure reform in achieving sustainable forest management and improved livelihoods, noting the importance of accompanying reform with capacity building and supportive measures to forest users. The publication calls for support for traditional forest management arrangements, and flexibility for forest users to develop their own management systems suited to their particular circumstances. The report also discusses implications of tenure reform for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

This analytical report evaluates potential health impacts of mitigation options for the residential building sector. It finds that many forms of asthma and allergies, as well as heart disease and strokes related to increasingly intense heat waves and cold spells, could be addressed by climate-friendlier housing measures. It identifies a number of win-win strategies for health and climate change mitigation, including improved and energy-efficient heating and cooking facilities to reduce indoor pollution.

This document includes two modules on green tax and budget reform. The first one aims to provide a brief thematic overview of the fundamental tenets of green tax and budget reform, various methods for overcoming obstacles to implementation, as well as its applicability to the Asia-Pacific region, particularly within the context of developing countries. The second one aims to familiarize participants with the various tax instruments and financing techniques available for greening the transport sector.

This document includes two modules on sustainable infrastructures. It highlights that without careful planning, infrastructure can lock in countries into unsustainable consumption and production patterns. The first module aims to familiarise participants with policy measures to support cost-effective, sustainable construction plans, emphasising the environmentally-efficient delivery of services and the regeneration of natural habitat. The second module aims to introduce ways to design environmentally-efficient, people-centered transportation systems towards enhancing the health, safety and mobility of urban populations.

This document includes a series of five modules on green business and green growth. Green business is defined as enterprises which consider environmental protection as an essential component of their long-term business objectives, both by promoting ecologically efficient production activities and by marketing sustainable products and services. While the first module introduces the key concepts, the second one presents the whole system approach. The third module discusses the role of the government in greening business, and the fourth is a collection of case studies and the fifth analyses social entrepreneurship and green business in developing countries.

This document includes two modules on sustainable consumption and production. The first one aims to familiarise users with key concepts pertaining to these issues. The second is designed to introduce users to the Asia-Pacific region specific facts and findings supporting the needs for sustainable consumption and production. It addresses the economic and social costs of “business as usual” growth in Asia and the Pacific, discusses unexplored opportunities for increasing sustainability and ecological inefficiencies, and analyse the role of the various actors.

This technical document studies North African cities’ vulnerability to climate change risks. Alexandria is found to require climate-smart urban planning to ensure its growing population does not settle in low-lying coastal areas, as well as early warning systems for natural disasters. The document indicates that climate-resilient urban planning, including drainage systems, will also be crucial for Tunis to manage the flooding risks. Casablanca, in turn, has a coastal segment that faces a strong risk of erosion and submersion, requiring upgraded systems for surveillance and early warning.

This analytical report aims to assist journalists to cover disasters in ways to persuade national and local governments to invest more in disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies. It highlights that climate change, environmental degradation, poverty and rapid urbanization contribute to expose more people to disasters, and governments are slow to implement DRR policies by continuing to react to disaster emergencies, rather than looking for ways to prevent them. The report shows that journalists can play a critical role by raising awareness about disasters and making a difference in the way people act, especially with climate change recognized as aggravating the vulnerability to disasters.

This technical document aims to enhance understanding of  HFC-23 abatement in HCFC-22 facilities and to provide analysis of relevant new developments in intergovernmental processes. The document provides background information on the matter, summarizes the developments under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and highlights a number of options to address the implications of the establishment of new HCFC-22 facilities seeking to obtain certified emission reductions for the destruction of HFC-23.

This technical document was prepared for the Summit of the Rainforest Basins, taking place from 31 May-3 June 2011, in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. It states that the net loss of forest area in the rainforest basins has decreased from 7.1 million hectares from 1990-2000 to 5.4 million hectares from 2000-2010. The Amazon Basin suffered the most deforestation, followed by Southeast Asia. Of the forests in these regions, just over 1% is certified, 3.5% is managed sustainably, and less than 15% is covered by a management plan.

This technical document analyzes many of the issues facing the carbon market. The report covers international developments (Section 1), domestic policies (Section 2), risk and regulation of markets (Section 3), carbon and climate finance (Section 4), and market outlook (Section 5). It indicates a slight decline in carbon markets compared to 2009.

This technical document considers whether funding for climate change is being managed in the most effective manner, based on the long history of lessons learnt from development assistance over the last 60 years. For doing so, it analyses the experience of five countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam). The document suggests that, although global agreements to fund climate change have emerged over the last 20 years, challenges remain to making this finance fully effective and sustainable.

This technical document looks at the use of water in the agribusiness sector across Australia, Brazil, India, South Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. The implications of water pressures on agribusiness activities and their financial performance are analysed and the impact of agricultural activities on local water parameters discussed. This is done by examining water issues with regards to a set of specific crops: those considered by financial institutions themselves to be the most financially relevant in each of the geographies concerned.

This analytical report aims to increase public understanding about the urgency of action to combat climate change and its impacts. It underlines that, as the messages from scientists become increasingly explicit, the gap between the need for action they project and the climate policy the world leaders put in place remains. The report contains easily understandable texts and 40 mostly original maps and graphics, based on the Fourth Assessment Report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007.

This technical document presents an in-depth research on the China New Energy Vehicles Program. The preliminary findings of the study indicate that the scale of China’s electric vehicle programme leave the country poised to benefit from vehicle electrification. Vehicle electrification is expected to be strategically important to China’s future in the following four areas: global climate change; energy security; urban air quality; and China’s auto industry growth.

This technical document highlights the changing economies and forest trends across the Southeast Asian subregion, particularly the growing concern over trade legality and sustainable resource management in major markets. The document notes the possibilities from participation in a REDD+ mechanism, but suggests that reductions in deforestation and degradation will be hard won. It also suggests that national priorities should center on economic production and biodiversity protection, but that these can only be effective with improved governance.

This technical document examines both opportunities from and potential limitations of REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation  in developing countries, as well as conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks). It underscores the critical impact of societal changes on forests, particularly demographic changes, globalization and increasing demand for food, fiber and fuel. The report suggests that use of wood as a source of energy is likely to decrease and that improved governance will be central to the success.

This technical document describes the current status and key trends in illegal logging and governance, institutional arrangements, forest policy and forest legislation in the Asia-Pacific region. It underscores that international REDD+ efforts and Forest Law Enforcement and Governance and Trade (FLEGT) programmes have the potential to provide support to efforts to increase and sustain forests, and highlights the need for consensus on the role of forestry in national development.