The UN Regional Commissions http://www.regionalcommissions.org Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:44:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5 More ECE Success Stories http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=609 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=609#comments Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:34:33 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=609 Subprogramme 1. Environment

Dam safety in Central Asia

More than 100 Central Asian dams and water-control facilities are ageing and are not adequately maintained. Meanwhile, the number of people living downstream from these dams is growing. If a dam were to break, the humanitarian and economic consequences could be enormous. Therefore, to prevent such major dam accidents, in collaboration with UNESCAP we launched a project to help the countries work together to ensure safer dams.

The joint project resulted in a model national law on safety of large hydraulic facilities, including dams, intended to be a basis for national harmonized legal frameworks for dam safety. A draft was drawn up of a regional agreement on cooperation on dam safety, which stipulates, inter alia, exchange of information and notification of other countries in case of accidents with dams. The Central Asian countries are active in this work to improve or revise the existing legal provisions and institutional modalities for dam safety.

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan will develop a national law on safety of hydraulic structures including dams by adapting the model law; Kyrgyzstan will create a national commission on safety of dams; Kazakhstan is considering changing its Water Code to incorporate provisions for regulating dam safety.

Uzbekistan is working towards enforcing the law on safety of hydraulic structures, which was adopted in 1999. All the countries are interested in pursuing regional cooperation on dam safety by setting up a legal and institutional framework along the lines of the proposed regional agreement.

Subprogramme 5.  Sustainable Energy

Energy efficiency in Kazakhstan

The general objective of our programme in Central Asia is to accelerate energy-efficient development and to reduce the power intensity of GDP by creating administrative, legal, economic and technical conditions for using energy resources efficiently and increasing power safety in that region.

UNECE has estimated, for instance, that Kazakhstan’s potential for energy saving is 60 per cent of the total potential of all the Central Asian countries together. UNECE helped set up Kazakhstan’s first National Energy Efficiency Centre in 2008. The Centre is also a symbol of the growing awareness and commitment to energy efficiency in that region. It gathers together academics, politicians and practitioners, offering them a forum for exchanging ideas and expertise.

The Centre focuses on technical analysis and energy audits, legislation, and the creation of energy-efficiency markets. It also identifies investment project priorities, raises awareness about the need for energy efficiency and energy saving, and promotes regional and international cooperation. It advocates for the money saved from energy efficiency improvements to be used on research and further energy efficiency investment. UNECE aims to extend the network of Energy Efficiency Centres into neighboring Central Asian countries.

Subprogramme 6.  Trade

Facilitating trade in South-East Europe

One of our main objectives in the area of trade is to reduce barriers to trade in goods and services by promoting wider application of our international norms, standards, instruments and recommendations, particularly in trade facilitation. One of our key trade-facilitation recommendations requires the establishment of a “Single Window”, a facility that provides a country with a single entry point for clearing all export, import and transit information and documents.

In 2005, the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia requested us to help alleviate the burden of trade-document procedures. These procedures had been slowing down the movement of goods after the introduction of new State borders in the Western Balkans.

In response, working with the Government in Skopje, notably the Customs authority, and with USAID, in 2006 we organized a regional conference in that country on trade facilitation, the Single Window for export and import clearance, and trade data harmonization. Almost all South-East European countries attended.

Among the results of the conference was the launching of a Single Window project in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as a regional initiative on data harmonization. During the following years, the authorities of that country managed to build the first stage of a Single Window.

A web-based facility providing a single location for filing licences for foreign trade operations was officially launched in February 2009. The authorities had been working with the experts from the conference, building on the UNECE standards and tools, participating in further regional training courses, and getting more support from USAID, Sweden and various organizations.

UNECE provided the basic standards and a broad platform on which it gathered all relevant agencies with their experts to assist the beneficiary country. This pilot project is an innovative step in the overall development of the Single Window concept for foreign trade in the broader European space.

 

 

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=609 0 RCs and UN System-Wide Coherence http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=601 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=601#comments Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:56:13 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=601 Cooperation Framework between Regional Commissions and UNDP

Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) and Regional Directors’ Teams (RDTs): Functions and Complementarities (1 April 2010)

Coherence at the Regional Level: The Regional Dimension of HLCP Work (27 Feb 2009)

UN Coherence at the Regional Level: Synergies and Complementarities Between the Regional Coordination Mechanism and Regional Directors’ Team

Note on the Regional Dimension of Development with the UN (15 June 2006)

Towards a more coherent institutional framework for the UN system’s environmental activities views and role of the regional commissions (May 2006)

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=601 0 Region’s Countries Must Strengthen Institutions in Order to Maximize the Contribution of Natural Resources to Development http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=584 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=584#comments Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:16:45 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=584 portadaRecursosNaturales-UNASUR_ING_250(28 May 2013) According to a new ECLAC document launched today, Latin American countries must review and strengthen the institutions and instruments in order to maximize the contribution of natural resources to regional development, particularly in the current cycle of high prices.

The report Natural resources within the Union of South American Nations: Status and trends for a regional development agendawas presented by Antonio Prado, Deputy Executive Secretary of this United Nations regional commission, at the Conference of the Union of South American Nations on Natural Resources and Integral Development in the Region, which is being held until 30 May in Caracas, Venezuela.

In the document, ECLAC analyses the issue of natural resource governance in the region, which refers to the set of sovereign policies over ownership and allotment of natural resources and the distribution of productivity gains arising from their exploitation.

Latin America and the Caribbean has 65% of the world’s reserves in lithium, 42% of silver, 38% of copper, 33% of tin,  21% of iron, 18% of bauxite and 14% of nickel. It also has large oil reserves: a third of world bioethanol production, almost 25% of biofuels and 13% of oil.

The region has around 30% of the world’s total renewable water resources, which represents over 70% of the water throughout the Americas, as well as having 21% of the planet’s forests and plentiful biodiversity.

However, the region has major weaknesses, such as production and export structures based on static comparative advantages (based on natural resources alone) rather than dynamic competitive advantages; low investment in infrastructure, exploration and value added; and poor performance in innovation, science and technology.

According to Antonio Prado “Historically, the region has been unable to translate the boom periods of exporting its resources into long-term economic development processes.  The challenge for the countries of the region is to generate and efficiently invest extraordinary revenue from the current price cycle with social and environmental sustainability”.

In the new report, ECLAC describes the various legal and economic instruments that Latin American and Caribbean States have at their disposal to appropriate and distribute the revenues from the exploitation of natural resources relating to mining, water and hydrocarbons.

In terms of mining, ECLAC states that four UNASUR countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru) receive 62% of regional investment in exploration (and according to 2010 data the percentage climbs to 84% if Mexico is added).

In 2011, Brazil, Chile and Peru were among the top 10 recipients of mining investment, accounting for 36% of the world total (compared to 26% in 2000).

Between 2000 and 2010, the region’s oil exports did not follow the upward trend of prices, unlike the pattern in the rest of the world. Despite this, estimated income of the hydrocarbons sector during the boom of 2004-2009 (7.1% of GDP) was double the average recorded between 1990 and 2003 (3.6% of GDP).

ECLAC also states that UNASUR has a primary energy supply structure that is cleaner than the world average (31% compared with 12%), as it combines energy sources such as hydroelectricity, biomass and other renewables. In 2011, for instance, hydroelectricity represented 11% of these countries’ total primary energy supply (which is much higher than the world figure of 2%).

The Commission describes the region as facing the challenge of achieving homogenization and integration in energy consumption, with a view to narrowing the subregional divides that still persist, namely: the heterogeneity of natural resources, supply structures and energy consumption, and the need to achieve institutional consolidation and establish the basic conditions for renewable energy promotion and penetration policies.

According to ECLAC, the subregion’s public policies should take a long-term view on the need to ensure efficient investment of the windfall earnings from natural resources now that prices are buoyant, as well as on the need to improve public management of socioenvironmental conflicts that arise in the development of natural resource sectors.

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=584 0 Africans need to see the benefits of the extractive sector, Report Says http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=580 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=580#comments Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:11:17 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=580

africaprogressreportAddis Ababa, 28 May 2013 (ECA) – Africa’s natural resources could dramatically improve the lives of millions – but while natural resources may have fuelled a decade of rapid economic growth on the continent, most Africans have still not seen the benefits, according to this year’s Africa Progress Report presented to African leaders and policy-makers during the AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

A panel session on the recently launched 2013 Africa Progress Report said African policy makers have critical choices to make: they can either invest their natural resource revenue in people to generate jobs and opportunities for millions in present and future generations. Or they can squander this opportunity, allowing jobless growth and inequality to take root.

“It is very important that this self-confidence that we are seeing emerging is going to be put to good use,” said Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). “And in order for it to be put to good use, we need very concrete rather than rhetorical questions to be addressed – and I think that is where the report becomes very timely not only because it can influence the G8 discussions, but also because it can influence the African discussions, including the shaping the agenda of 2063 which is the agenda that now the AU has put in front of us.”

He noted that Africa’s leaders have adopted the Africa Mining Vision to try and clean up the industry and that an ongoing study by the ECA on illicit financial flows out of Africa shows the need for transparency and accountability. “It is a two-way street -we have to improve across the board,” he said.

President Johnson-Sirleaf, whose country Liberia exports iron and diamonds, said the ‘resource rich vs poor human condition’ paradox has long been exemplified by her country but that this changing. “Our experience in Liberia shows that we need to go an extra mile to improve extraction process audits,” she said.

“Africa, like the rest of the world, is suffering tremendous losses from the illicit and unwarranted outflow of wealth through tax avoidance, shell companies, tax havens, transfer pricing and others, that in a way leads them to avoid their fair share of taxes,” said Johnson-Sirleaf.

“This report shows very clearly that such outflows exceed the total amount of development assistance which the African continent receives ever year. This problem can only be resolved if all nations can work together, and the ball is in the court of our partners to close tax loopholes in the extractive sector,” she said.

International tax avoidance and evasion, corruption, and weak governance represent major challenges. The report therefore welcomes the commitment from the current G8 presidency, the United Kingdom, and other governments to put tax and transparency at the heart of this year’s dialogue. International tax avoidance and evasion, corruption, and weak governance represent major challenges. The report therefore welcomes the commitment from the current G8 presidency, the United Kingdom, and other governments to put tax and transparency at the heart of this year’s dialogue.

“This year we’ve seen enormous impact, and enormous interest from a wide range of people, it’s incredible,” says Caroline Kende-Robb, the Africa Progress Panel’s Executive Director. “But I think it’s because it’s a global issue, and people care: people care that resources are not being made use of to the best that they should be; they care that in Africa, human development outcomes should be much better, considering the amount of wealth that’s in Africa. And it can be done; many African countries are making good use of the wealth from natural resources. But this issue of tax avoidance, tax evasion, it affects people in Africa but it affects people in Europe and it affects people in the United States, so we see almost a global movement linked to the issues that we’ve raised in this report this year.”

According to estimates, Africa holds 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, and its economies are growing faster than any other region of the world except for East Asia – growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has remained robust at over 5% per year for the past ten years.

But the report also suggests that Africa needs to better manage its vast natural resource wealth to improve the lives of the region’s people by setting out bold national agendas for strengthening transparency and accountability.

Civil Society representative, Yao Graham from the Third World Network said Africa should focus on adding value to its commodities as it would be more beneficial. “Adding value reduces resource intensification, which is less burdensome on the environment and communities living in mining regions. He also said that public institutions in charge of regulations need to reverse their tardy responses to the community complaints resulting from mining. Managing impact could also help to change perceptions.

Some oil companies are also increasingly aiming to adhere to industry “best practice” standards, which include mitigating the environmental impact of their activity and investing in social projects to improve living standards in areas where they operate.

The session panelists included Executive Director of the Africa Progress Panel, Caroline Kende-Robb, the head of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Carlos Lopes, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and the head of Third World Network-Africa, Yao Graham.

Note to editors:
Chaired by Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, the ten-member Africa Progress Panel advocates at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. The Panel releases its flagship publication, the Africa Progress Report, every year in May.

 

Issued by:
ECA External Communications and Media Relations Section
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org
www.uneca.org

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=580 0 RPTC Success Stories – ESCWA http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=569 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=569#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 21:38:19 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=569 Support to the Ministry of Economy and Planning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the formulation of the Ninth Five year Development Plan

During 2008 – 2009, ESCWA provided support to the Ministry of Economy and Planning in formulating their Ninth National Five Year Development Plan for key productive sectors, such as water, industry, social development, gender and family issues, regional planning and information and communication technology. In an effort to ensure quality of contributions made by the different regional advisors and synergy among their submissions, ESCWA organized a peer review workshop in Riyadh in November 2008, with participants representing high level experts in different disciplines, from the ESCWA region. This meeting was very useful on more than one front: it underscored ESCWA’s comparative advantage in intervening strategically, facilitating knowledge sharing at an intra-regional level and providing highly needed “homegrown” expertise in an efficient and timely manner; it consolidated and strengthened a multi-disciplinary outlook through an inter-active debate among the experts and the whole process generated a number of technical cooperation activities between KSA and ESCWA, initiated during 2009 and due to continue in the upcoming biennium. As a result KSA requested ESCWA’s support in developing a national youth strategy that addresses social and economic challenges facing youth in KSA through a multi-disciplinary and participatory approach. It also solicited ESCWA’s support to explore options for building the capacity of Saudi NGOs to play a developmental role in society, based on critical assessment of their technical capacity, scope of work, type of intervention and effectiveness in reaching out to their respective constituencies.

Subprogram 4: Information and Communication Technology

Capacity building on measuring ICT indicators for selected ESCWA member countries. In 2008, ESCWA held in Amman, Jordan, a regional training workshop on measuring ICT indicators to improve national capacity to collect, analyze and disseminate statistical indicators on the information society. The workshop was planned as a joint activity with a number of regional organizations such as ITU – Arab regional office and the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS). The training workshop generated many requests for replication at the national and sub-regional level. During 2009, ESCWA held two additional sub-regional workshops, the first in Kuwait for the GCC sub-region and the second in Syria for the Mashreq sub-region. In the process ESCWA refined its training module to include case studies from the region and input from the participants to ensure that the process is as interactive as possible. This cumulative process of knowledge building and sharing led to the maturing of the concepts and tools used in the module and higher quality of the deliverables, with the possibility of developing it as an on-line capacity building package. ICTD plans to follow-up on an on-going basis the usefulness of the program at the beneficiary level, and reflect its findings into further refinement of the training materia

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=569 0 RPTC Success Stories – ECE http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=567 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=567#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 21:37:54 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=567 Subprogramme 1. Environment

Transboundary water cooperation in the Drin River Basin in South East Europe

The Drin River transboundary system (Basin) demonstrates interdependences between different users in five inter-connected water bodies (Prespa, Ohrid and Skadar/Shkoder Lakes and the Drin and Buna/Bojana Rivers) and the Adriatic Sea. However, the Basin is managed through different and often conflicting national management approaches leading to the degradation of natural values, and considerable pollution export to the Adriatic Sea.

The objective of this project is to improve the transboundary management of the Drin River Basin. UNECE, in cooperation with Global Water Partnership Mediterranean, organized consultation meetings on integrated management of the extended Drin River involving governmental and non-governmental representatives from Albania, Greece, Montenegro, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo (UN Security Council resolution 1244). Drawing on the conclusions of these meetings, the water competent Ministries as well as other stakeholders in the Drin River Riparian countries have developed a Shared Vision for the management of the Basin facilitating the enhancement of transboundary cooperation. A Memorandum of Understanding on the Shared Strategic Vision for the Sustainable Management of the Drin River Basin[1] was signed by the five riparians in Tirana, Albania on 25 November 2011.  The MoU establishes a structure for cooperation between the riparians and defines short-term, medium-term and long-term objectives for the cooperation. Implementation of this MoU will benefit about 1.5 million people relying on the water resources of the basin for drinking water, agriculture, fisheries, industry and hydropower.

In 2012, the institutional structure for the implementation of the MoU was established and a grant of 4.5 million USD for the development of practical cooperation was approved by the Global Environmental Facility with UNECE being one of the implementing agencies.

 

Subprogramme 1. Environment

Ensuring sustainable management of the Dniester River Basin in Eastern Europe  

The overall objective of three Dniester River projects managed jointly by UNECE, OSCE and UNEP in 2004-2012 is to enhance cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on sustainable management of the Dniester River Basin. In recent years, both countries faced severe water quality problems, declining biodiversity and deteriorating ecosystems along the Dniester River. The impacts of climate change such as increasingly frequent devastating floods are already felt in the Basin.

As a result of eight years of step-by-step development of cooperation involving a broad range of stakeholders from both countries, a bilateral Treaty on Co-operation on Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Dniester River Basin was signed by high-level representatives of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in November 2012. The Treaty identifies principles and provides a framework for cooperation on water pollution prevention and control, water flow regulation, conservation of biodiversity, and protection of the Black Sea environment. It also addresses monitoring data exchange, public participation and cooperation in emergency situations.

The Treaty is a pioneering example for the post-Soviet region. It significantly broadens the existing cooperation to cover the entire river basin and all sectors important for the management and protection of the shared waters. The Treaty establishes the bilateral Dniester Commission, to facilitate sustainable use and protection of the Dniester River Basin. It is an important step in the implementation by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine of their obligations under the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention).

 

Subprogramme 1. Environment

Cooperation on water quality in Central Asia

The objective of this project is to support the development of efficient and coordinated national policies with regard to water-quality aspects of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in Central Asia.

As a result of the project, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, sharing water resources in Central Asia have now established a platform for cooperation on water quality management. A Regional Working Group on water quality management with officially nominated representatives of these countries met six times in 2009-2012 and developed a Diagnostic Study and a plan for future cooperation: «Development of the regional cooperation to ensure water quality in Central Asia» and «Guidelines for water quality monitoring in Central Asia». Both documents have been approved by institutions in all five countries of Central Asia. The low capacity in the field of water quality management in the region was further strengthened through the organization of three training workshops on core principles of the management of water quality and training material was developed to support future capacity building.

The project has significantly increased the understanding of IWRM issues by national stakeholders and contributed to confidence building and improved regional cooperation on IWRM in Central Asia. As a result of a political endorsement of the work implemented within the project, water quality issues were included in the Aral Sea Basin Programme 3 (ASBP 3) approved by all five Central Asian states in 2012.

 

Subprogramme 2. Transport

Workshops on Web Common Questionnaire on Transport Statistics

The importance of transport as a driver of national competitiveness has increased dramatically over recent decades, due mostly to the increasingly complex demands by the international economy.

Collecting transport statistics from Central Asian countries is difficult. On the basis of the requests received from member States in 2009-2010, three seminars/workshops for countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) were held in 2010–2012. Their main objectives were to raise awareness of those countries of the need for collecting data on transport and on the use of the Common Questionnaire on transport statistics, with a special focus on methodology and road accidents statistics. Information on the E-Censuses was also included in the agenda of these events.

The first workshop was held in Almaty (Kazakhstan) in September 2010, with participation of experts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The other two workshops held in Baku (Azerbaijan, 2011) and in Kiev (Ukraine, 2012) were attended by statisticians from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Ukraine. During these workshops, the participants received training on the methodology of data collection on road safety and the use of the Web Common Questionnaire which was translated into the Russian language for the first time. The major role of statistics in road safety policies was also highlighted and illustrated with data from EECCA countries.

The workshops offered concrete examples of synergies of action between the secretariats of UNECE, OECD-ITF and EUROSTAT. These events resulted in increased number of statistical data entries from EECCA countries into the Web Common Questionnaire which was an important contribution to a coherent and comprehensive data system on transport statistics in the UNECE region.

For more information, please visit the following webpage: http://www.unece.org/trans/theme_capacity/workshops.html

 

Subprogramme 3. Statistics

Global Assessment of the National System of Official Statistics of the Kyrgyz Republic

The UNECE works with member countries to improve national statistical information needed for effective economic, social and environmental policy making, and for assessing the progress against international development goals.

In order to support the development of national statistical capacities, the UNECE, jointly with EFTA[2] and Eurostat[3], is involved in conducting Global Assessments of National statistical systems in the EECCA[4] region. A Global Assessment (GA) provides a clear picture of the state of development of official statistics in a particular country. Global assessments allow national authorities, international organization and other bilateral partners to better coordinate and prioritize statistical capacity-building programmes.

Under the UNECE leadership, a GA of the National System of Official Statistics of the Kyrgyz Republic was undertaken in 2011. The report provides guidance and recommendations for the development of statistical capacities in Kyrgyzstan, including further improvement of the compliance of national statistics with international and European standards. At the meeting in Bishkek in January 2012, the report of this assessment was presented to relevant government agencies, ministries, international organizations, media and other stakeholders.

As a follow-up to the Global Assessment, the World Bank will provide financial resources for the implementation of recommendations, contained in this document, into the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics in Kyrgyzstan.

 

Subprogramme 4. Economic Cooperation and Integration

Role of Turkmenistan in the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia: from neutrality to active participation

Since the comprehensive reform of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) in 2005, most of its member countries have shown great interest in steering the Programme through the Governing Council, in the strategic discussions of the SPECA Economic Forum as well as in the activities of the Project Working Groups. Turkmenistan had been an exception: it shunned practically from all activities in the framework of the Programme. Involving Turkmenistan in SPECA activities was a strategic objective of UNECE and UNESCAP in recent years.

Turkmenistan’s increasing contribution to the energy security of Asia and Europe, its central location for the North-South and East-West transport corridors leading through Central Asia and its potential role in the reconstruction and stabilization of Afghanistan, among others through the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, make it an irreplaceable player in regional cooperation. The UNECE has undertaken a series of consultations with the Government of Turkmenistan, including visits by the Executive Secretaries to Ashgabat as well as expert missions, urging it to actively participate in SPECA. These consultations increased the awareness of the Government of Turkmenistan about UNECE legal instruments which offer solid legal frameworks for strengthening cooperation with its neighbors in the management of shared water resources and in addressing transboundary environmental challenges.

As a result, Turkmenistan had expressed its interest to assume the Chairmanship of SPECA.  The Chairmanship of Turkmenistan (2010-2012) was marked by its increased participation in the activities of the governing bodies of the Programme. Turkmenistan hosted two Economic Forum meetings held in Ashgabat in 2011: the one dealing with regional cooperation with Afghanistan and the other one summarizing the successes and challenges of 20 years of economic cooperation in Central Asia. As a result of the dynamic leadership by Turkmenistan, the Programme is making further progress in addressing strategic issues of regional cooperation and strengthening collaboration with donors and partner organizations.

 

Subprogramme 6. Trade

Single Window: Local Solution in the Port of Odessa in Ukraine

The objective of this project is to build a port community system for trade information exchange using UNECE’s recommendations and standards for trade facilitation. Three capacity-building seminars on Trade Facilitation and the Single Window organized by UNECE (Odessa, Ukraine, June 2011, May 2012 and May 2013) and several regional advisory missions to Kiev led to the launching of a Port Community System (local Single Window) at the port of Odessa. The key document/form in the system is the electronnyi naryad (electronic order). Since 8 October 2012, when the first electronnyi naryad was filed, 25,106 containers were cleared electronically (growing from 21 per month in October 2012 to 11,098 in May 2013). Initially, 6 freight forwarding companies joined the system in October 2012. In May 2013 they grew to 351. The “PPL33-35” enterprise, which was established in the port of Odessa to manage the PCS project, reports on significant progress in the implementation of the project.

An Interagency Working Group on the Single Window – Local Solution in the Port of Odessa was set up by a decision of the Prime Minister of Ukraine. It has held ten meetings since its inception in September 2011, to facilitate the implementation of the project. At its meeting on 30 May 2013 in Odessa, it decided to broaden its scope to cover a whole range of trade facilitation issues. One of the key areas, in which the project and the Interagency Working Group are advancing, is the identification of impediments for the Single Window and a functioning system of electronic signatures in the legislation. The group suggests concrete improvements in the texts, taking into account the views of many stakeholders.

UNECE is planning to organize the next capacity-building seminar in Odessa in May 2014 and to develop, in cooperation with the local stakeholders, a trade facilitation strategy for Ukraine, in which the establishment of a Single Window and other trade facilitation tools would be key steps. The plans are to expand the project to cover the whole maritime sector in Ukraine, and lead to a national Single Window project, which will use the experience of the Odessa project in the areas of legislative amendments, drafting a master plan, etc.


[1] http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/South-Estern_Europe_Drin/MOU_Drin_Strategic_Shared_vision_Final.pdf

[2] European Free Trade Association

[3] Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union

[4] Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia

 

CLICK FOR MORE SUCCESS STORIES

 

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=567 0 RPTC Success Stories – ECA http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=565 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=565#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 21:37:15 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=565 ECA

Subprogramme 3: ICT and Science & Technology for Development:
ECA provided ICT support to rural schools in Cameroon through a project known as the Electronic Rural Schools in African Languages (ERELA) Initiative, launched in collaboration with the National Association of Cameroonian Languages Committee (NACALCO). Over a three-year period a computer-based linguistic model was developed based on local languages in rural schools and is currently being piloted. Three training manuals in local languages, for supervisors, teachers and students, were developed, and specialized software in local languages has been installed in the schools. As a result of this initiative, rural school children in Cameroon will have access to computers as well as be able to use them in their own local languages. One thousand students are targeted to benefit from this initiative.
Subprogramme 4: Economic Cooperation and regional integration:
  1. Upon request of the African Union Commission, the regional advisor has in close collaboration with AUC management and staff designed and internally validated a human resource management reform and development framework, (March 2009), finalizing a comprehensive results based management and accountability framework, (October 2009) and up-grading the staff performance appraisal system of the Commission and a capacity development programme for transforming the African Union Commission with a detailed 2009-2012 Implementation Road Map.
  2. Advisory services provided in the area of water resources development and management contributed to strengthening the related institutional and technical capacitiesof member States, RECs and RBOs, within the framework of the African Water Vision 2025 and the MDGs and NEPAD priorities.  Programme activities have also helped raise awareness at all levels of government that meeting water and sanitation targets of the JPol-WSSD is critical for poverty reduction and achieving the other MDGs.  Advisory services also supported the preparation of the first African Water Development Report (AWDR) and the setting up of the African Water Information Clearing House as mechanisms for monitoring and reporting progress on water-related commitments. Over 1000 copies of the report have been distributed to member States and other stakeholders.  In addition, programme resources contributed to the conceptualization and establishment of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC).  The initiative has been endorsed by African Heads of State and has received significant funding support from several bilateral partners.
Subprogramme 6: Subregional Activities for Development:
ECA organized with AU-SARO and AfDB, a Seminar on Water and Sanitation in Southern Africa Development Community, in Lusaka, Zambia. Various international commitments on water were reviewed by 15 SADC countries. In the same vein, ECA finalized the programme document on Climate Information for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) Programme. The objective of ClimDev is to leverage multi-donor funding for adaptation to climate change in African countries. ECA also collaborated with OECD to publicize ClimDev to G8 countries, to prepare an analytical study on CDM in Africa, and to prepare the ECA/OECD Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa. ECA also organized the Joint Meetings of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and the UN-Water/Africa Cluster Group, providing a platform for reflections on ways of providing support to the African leadership to achieve the water and sanitation targets of the MDGs. ECA hosted the 3rd Regional Conference on Agricultural Water Management in Eastern and Southern Africa.

 

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=565 0 RPTC Success Stories – ECLAC http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=563 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=563#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 21:36:32 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=563 Subprogramme 4. Social Development:

Strengthened capacity of governments to measure and analyze social expenditure and the cost of hunger

As a result of the provision of technical cooperation services and the adoption of methodologies developed by ECLAC, the Ministries of Finance and/or Social Planning of Argentina and Bolivia strengthened their capacities to improve the measurement and analysis of social expenditure and thus were in a better position to develop national models to measure and monitor social expenditure in the context of the current economic and social crisis. Government authorities and professional staff from Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru were also trained in the use of a methodology jointly developed by ECLAC and the WFP to measure the cost of hunger as a major impediment to achieve economic and social development. Specialized technical teams were set up in the afore-mentioned countries with ECLAC technical backstopping to apply the methodology in national studies to strengthen the planning and formulation of national policies related to the eradication of hunger and malnutrition.

Subprogramme 8.  Sustainable Development: Strengthened capacity of governments to assess of the socio-economic impact of pandemics

In 2009, Mexico and Bolivia received rapid-response technical cooperation services from ECLAC, with the support of PAHO, to address serious epidemiologic crises.  In the case of Mexico, support was provided to the Ministry of Health to assess the socio-economic impact of the human influenza (AH1N1) pandemic in order to analyze the correlation between the incidence of the disease on individuals and the associated economic and social loss and damage. Likewise, an emergency response was generated by ECLAC to support the Ministry of Civil Protection of Bolivia in developing technical capacities to assess the socio-economic impact of the first-ever dengue epidemic in that country. In both cases, the results of the analytical work were meant to be used by national authorities and technical staff in formulating the corresponding recovery plans.

Subprogramme 10.  Statistics: Strengthened capacity of national statistic offices to monitor and analyze social indicators

During 2008-2009, senior technical staff in various countries of the region that received technical cooperation services from ECLAC in social statistics enhanced their capacities to assess, plan and formulate social policies and programmes. Professional staff from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia used ECLAC methodological recommendations to strengthen the design of national household surveys either to improve the formulation of indicators or to incorporate new ones for measuring emerging social issues. Panamá, Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Venezuela also put in practice new tools and methodologies recommended by ECLAC to improve their capacities in data processing and analysis in the areas of poverty and employment. Moreover, participants from National Statistical Offices, Central Banks, Labor Ministries or Senior Government Advisers from seven countries were trained by ECLAC to enhance their capacity to monitor the evolution of social indicators to monitor the progress made towards achieving the MDGs and other IADGs at national level.

 

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=563 0 RPTC Success Stories – ESCAP http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=560 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=560#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 21:34:26 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=560 Subprogramme 1. Poverty and development

During 2008-2009, Asia-Pacific countries, particularly the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states, strengthened their capacities to respond to the food-fuel crises and climate change, as a result of the technical assistance provided by ESCAP. Ministries of Finance and Central Banks from 17 Asia-Pacific countries were trained to improve and implement macro-economic policies in the context of the financial crisis based on innovative practices available in the Asia-Pacific region. Furthermore, the ministries on housing and national housing banks in India, Pakistan and Thailand received technical support to develop policies and measures that support stronger partnership with community-based organizations in providing pro-poor housing finance. This effort resulted in the launching of a regional network on pro-poor housing finance, which is serving as a platform for sharing policy options, innovative approaches and good practices in the region. ESCAP also responded to the urgent need in Samoa for post-disaster impact and needs assessment after the recent tsunami in the Pacific and in Myanmar for increasing the capacity of policy-makers to design and implement recovery and reconstructions measures following the Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.

Subprogramme 3. Development of Pacific island countries and territories

In 2009, Pacific countries strengthened their capacities to implement the Biwako Millennium Framework of Action and the Biwako Plus Five and coordinate among relevant stakeholders, including NGOs and disabled persons organizations, as a result of the provision by ESCAP of technical cooperation and advisory services. Pacific countries endorsed the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability, through a subregional forum on disability held in the Cook Islands in October 2009, which provided countries with tools to assist in setting national priorities to address articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  The ESCAP Regional Adviser on Social Development and Planning provided advisory services to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in developing national urban policy and strategic plans. The Government of Nauru revised its National Sustainable Development Strategy with technical support provided by a joint UN team led by the ESCAP Regional Advisor on Development Policy.

Subprogramme 6. Environment and sustainable development

SPECA member States, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, received technical assistance from ESCAP to enhance their capacities to integrate energy efficiency and conservation in national energy sector development policies and strategies in the context of implementing the Baku Initiative on Energy Efficiency and Conservation. With technical cooperation services from ESCAP, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam identified innovative, pro-poor and environmentally-friendly approaches for solid waste management utilizing, among others, resources from carbon financing. This effort resulted in the replication of a decentralized neighbourhood-based compost plant developed by an NGO in Dhaka, Bangladesh in at least 10 other cities in the region, with further funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Subprogramme 8. Social development, including persistent and emerging issues

Asia-Pacific countries received technical cooperation services from ESCAP in support of their efforts to implement the Beijing Platform for Action and its Regional and Global Outcomes. As a result of the provision of technical assistance, senior government officials from 11 countries (Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor Leste) strengthened their capacities to deliver basic services in conflict affected and fragile areas and to contribute to the process of peace-building and reconciliation. Cambodia formulated a national youth policy framework through a participatory approach involving various stakeholders from Government, youth organizations and international organizations. In July 2009. Pacific countries received technical assistance from ESCAP to develop social protection and policy measures through a subregional workshop organized in collaboration with the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, ILO and UNICEF.

 

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=560 0 ECLAC Committee of the Whole, 27th Session, 28-29 May http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=557 http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=557#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 15:24:28 +0000 admin http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?p=557 29 May 2013) At the Twenty-seventh Session of the Committee of the Whole of ECLAC, on 28 and 29 May 2013 in New York, Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of this United Nations regional commission, set out topics including the position of the region today and the implications of the proposed structural change for equality spearheaded by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Speaking to delegates from the Commission’s 33 Member States and associate members in the conference hall of the United Nations Headquarters, Ms. Bárcena stated “Structural change proposes a long-term vision and gives meaning to planning in the 21st century”.

The welcoming address was delivered by Carlos Enrique García, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations. El Salvador is the Chair of the Twenty-seventh Session of the Committee of the Whole of ECLAC, which is a forum for member countries to meet between the official sessions of the Commission.

During the meeting, Raúl García-Buchaca, Director of the ECLAC Division of Programme Planning and Operations, and Diane Quarless, Director of the ECLAC Subregional headquarters in the Caribbean, gave a presentation on the Commission’s strategic focus and its impact on the 2014-2015 programme of work.  Luis F. Yáñez, Officer-in-Charge of the Secretariat of the Commission, and Ms. Quarless, presented the Report on the activities of the subsidiary bodies of ECLAC, 2012- 2013.

Alicia Bárcena and the Director of ECLAC Subregional headquarters in the Caribbean presented the main conclusions from the document Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Follow-up to the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015 and to Rio+20, which was drafted by ECLAC officials with the support of other United Nations agencies. Other speakers on this topic included George Gray Molina, Chief Economist for Latin America of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Delegations welcomed the presentations by ECLAC officials and stressed the importance of the Commission increasing its presence at the United Nations Headquarters, for instance by holding technical and intergovernmental meetings focused on the post-2015 process.

Participants also discussed the possibility of organizing a meeting of ECLAC officials and system agencies and permanent representatives of Latin America and the Caribbean to the United Nations in October to analyse the post-2015 development agenda.

Representatives from Caribbean countries praised the activities carried out by the ECLAC Subregional headquarters in Port-of-Spain, particularly in terms of small island developing States (SIDS) and the post-2015 process. Delegates were also pleased to receive the document on middle-income countries prepared by the Commission.

English programme

Spanish programme

 

]]> http://www.regionalcommissions.org/?feed=rss2&p=557 0