Good afternoon. I am pleased to be here today to discuss our shared vision on how pollution prevention promotes sustainable economic growth in Asia. I would like to begin, however, by offering congratulations to the leadership of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Cleaner Production. The roundtable�s interim board, secretariat, and a committed group of advisors and supporting organizations have not only planned an exceptional conference and exhibition, but more importantly, they have succeeded in establishing a regional network for promoting cleaner production and eco-efficiency.

The United States-Asia Environmental Partnership, or US-AEP, is pleased to be a part of this regional gathering. Three years ago, US-AEP formed a partnership with the U.S. National Pollution Prevention Roundtable. We share the belief that P2 roundtables�at both the national and regional levels�can foster collaboration and partnership among a diverse set of stakeholders. By bringing together government officials, business leaders, academia, and NGOs, these roundtables enable the direct exchange of ideas, resources, and experiences. Together, US-AEP and NPPR have worked with six Asian countries�India, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand�to form country-level roundtables. I welcome the roundtable representatives that are here today.

For those of you who may not be familiar with our program, I�d like to take just a couple minutes to describe US-AEP and its objectives. Launched in 1992 as a presidential initiative, US-AEP is a public-private, interagency program designed to promote environmentally sound economic growth in Asia. The program, led by the United States Agency for International Development, works in eleven priority Asian economies, including Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and�starting this year�Vietnam.

US-AEP embodies a new model of cooperative development, one that encourages U.S.-Asian partnerships for mutual benefit. US-AEP�s objective is to promote a "Clean Revolution" in Asia and the Pacific. Just as the "Green Revolution" of the 1970s and 80s completely changed Asia�s approach to agriculture and how to feed its peoples, Asia in the 1990s could be on the cusp of a "Clean Revolution" �transforming how Asia industrializes and protects its environment. By "Clean Revolution," I mean the continuing development and adoption of less-polluting and more resource-efficient products, processes, and services.

Some of you may be more familiar with the terminology of Lester Brown, the founder and president of Worldwatch Institute, who coined the term "Environmental Revolution." According to Brown, [quote] "No challenge in the new century looms greater than that of transforming the economy into one that is environmentally sustainable." [unquote] This is where pollution prevention (or cleaner production) and eco-efficiency can play an important role. This is the challenge that both national and regional roundtables must confront if they are to be effective and relevant.

The stakes are high. As President Bill Clinton said recently in China, [quote] "We must ensure that economic development does not lead to environmental catastrophe." [unquote] To do this we must address the assumption in many countries that there is an "unbreakable link" between economic growth and environmental degradation. By increasing the resource efficiency of production, demands on the earth�s resources can, in fact, be reduced. At US-AEP, we refer to this strategy as technology transformation.

By technological transformation, I mean a shift�perhaps unprecedented in scope and pace�to new technologies, policies, and practices that dramatically reduce pollution intensity. Today�s unacceptable levels of degradation will continue to rise unless the percentage of annual growth in global economic output is matched by an annual decline in environmental or pollution intensity per unit of economic production. By doing this we can create a new link�one that links both economic prosperity and a better quality of life for all the world�s citizens.

Due to the economic crisis in Asia, however, some industries may be reluctant to implement cleaner production technologies. Many regard pollution prevention as cost prohibitive. What they may not realize is that pollution prevention could be the greatest commercial opportunity for Asian businesses to achieve sustainable economic growth in the new millennium. Indeed, P2 initiatives may well be the key to long-term survival of entire industries and firms.

That is why in Indonesia, even during this time of financial and political crisis, US-AEP has stepped up its commitment to industry. Indonesia�s pollution prevention roundtable, better known better by its acronym KMB, is carrying out two US-AEP initiatives aimed at saving or creating Indonesian jobs through eco-efficiency and pollution prevention.

One of the initiatives, Eco-Productivity Outreach Corps, is helping small- and medium-sized factories improve operating efficiency and cut costs. The second, a waste exchange program called the Waste-to-Product Partnership Program, is identifying potential business partnerships between companies that want to dispose of waste materials and those that can either convert the waste into new products or better recycle it.

Since the programs began in October 1998, four institutions have been selected as regional coordinators for West, Central, and East Java, and the Jakarta metropolitan area.

Each of these institutions have pulled together industry associations, local government, academia, and consultants to carry out these programs�in doing so, they have created four de facto sub-national roundtables affiliated to KMB, the national roundtable. In addition, staff members have been recruited and trained for all locations.

To date, 97 small- and medium-sized companies have been selected to participate in the eco-productivity program. Project managers have so far visited 82 factories. At each of these sites, engineers have collected data on flow diagrams, number of workers, production capacity, and electricity, water, and fuel use.

The waste exchange program has made similar strides. In past months, staff members have visited numerous factories to collect data and conduct preliminary field surveys. Based on these studies and on a strict set of criteria, eleven types of waste streams have been identified. These include plastic bottles, scrap PVC, worn tires, dry cell batteries, and waste generated from processing coconuts, tofu, and fish. For each of these waste streams, team members are identifying appropriate recycling and conversion technologies, types of new products, and product users/consumers.

These are some of the P2 initiatives US-AEP promotes to foster environmental and economic sustainable growth in Asia.

That is why US-AEP is focused on facilitating the establishment of national cleaner production roundtables. We strongly believe that US-AEP�s country-level activities are complementary in their objectives with the regional activities of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Cleaner Production. Both national and regional roundtables can serve as forums for collaboration and for the advancement of our common objectives, those being, the promotion of cleaner production and sustainable development. We commend the Asia Pacific Roundtable and the important role that it plays in facilitating the dissemination of P2 experiences, practices, and technologies to public and private organizations in countries throughout the region.

In addition to promoting the roundtable movement, US-AEP has provided the resources and encouragement necessary to bring Asian colleagues into an international research and policy partnership that focuses on sustainable development issues relating to industry, environment, and society. The partnership is the Greening of Industry Network. Until last year, it was housed at Clark University in Massachusetts and Twente University in the Netherlands. In July 1998, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand opened its doors to the network, becoming the third "node" in the partnership under the leadership of Dr. Somporn of the university�s Environmental Research Institute.

Already the Greening of Industry Network in Asia (or "GIN-Asia") has hosted several regional workshops and events and has begun to recruit an advisory board comprised of the Undersecretary of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, Dr. Melito Salazar, Jr.; Indonesia�s former Minister of the Environment, Dr. Emil Salim; and former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr. Korn Dabbaransi.

This August, GIN-Asia, US-AEP, and the Asian Development Bank will co-host an authors� discussion for a dozen Asian and U.S. authors who are collaborating on a set of papers that will lay the groundwork for an international dialogue on policy directions that are crucial to industrial transformation and sustainable development. In November 2000, GIN-Asia will host the network�s annual conference in Bangkok, Thailand. As participation in the network grows to encompass an ever-widening circle of government and corporate policy-makers, academics, and non-governmental organizations, GIN-Asia and its research agenda are well positioned to lead�and productively contribute to�the global discussion of sustainable development.