|
EPA's India
program incorporates US-AEP resources and goals.
Craig Haas, Regina Langton and Jane Metcalfe of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) recently completed a three-week trip to India to
initiate a program of environmental cooperation. EPA's proposed India
program focuses on urban air quality management, comparative risk
assessment, governmental environmental policy, and arsenic in drinking water
in the states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and the city of Delhi.
The bulk of the program is being funded by a million-dollar grant from the
U.S. India Interim Fund. EPA will be incorporating US-AEP resources and
goals in its overall India program by sending an
Environmental Action Team,
funded by US-AEP, to assist the government of Tamil Nadu on hazardous waste
issues. Much of the action team work will be in the area of environmental
policies associated with hazardous waste, such as economic incentives to
reduce the quantity of waste and compliance assistance programs. EPA will
also be supporting the work of US-AEP Technology Representatives by sending
EPA experts to participate in US-AEP- sponsored conferences.
Indonesian
P2 roundtable sustains momentum.
US-AEP partner organization, the
National Pollution
Prevention Roundtable (NPPR), met June 19-24 with the newly appointed
Secretariat for the Indonesian Pollution Prevention Roundtable (KMB) to
chart out its steps. With the on-the-ground support of USAID-funded
Indonesian Cleaner Industrial Production Program (ICIP), the
Indonesian-based Friends of the Environment Fund has been selected to serve
as Secretariat for the Indonesian Roundtable. Eka Budianto, who participated
in the Denver NPPR conference through US-AEP's Environmental Exchange
Program, has been appointed as Executive Director. The Indonesian
Roundtable's structure will consist of a Steering Committee with
representation from five major stakeholder groups: industry, government,
academia, nongovernmental organizations, and the consulting community. A
series of sub-committees will act as key advisers to the Steering Committee
and Executive Director. The sub-committees will also be responsible for
engaging their communities in KMB activities, and agenda and event planning
functions. A second roundtable conference is planned for late July 1997.
Kevin McDonald, International Coordinator for NPPR, offered advice to the
Secretariat on agenda content, possible priority topics, potential speakers,
and opportunities for Indonesian leadership in Asia-Pacific regional cleaner
production initiatives.
CTEM Info
Center participates in annual library conference.
Kerith McFadden, who runs US-AEP's Clean Technology and Environmental
Management (CTEM) Information Center in Washington, DC, attended the Special
Libraries Association's Annual Conference in Seattle, WA, June 9-14. The
annual conference was part of SLA's commitment to providing information
specialists with the best professional opportunities and resources.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Gates was the General
Session speaker. Kerith participated in the session, "Information for
Sustainable Development: A Focus on Environment and Industry," together with
representatives from the World Resource Institute and the USAID Development
Information Center. In her presentation, Kerith discussed the US-AEP
program, its activities, the role of the CTEM Information Center in
supporting them, and the resources she uses.
Texas/Bangladesh partnership promotes P2 and EMS initiatives.
Under a grant from the
State Environmental
Initiative, a jointly sponsored US-AEP and Council of State Governments
(CSG) program, the state of Texas and Bangladesh have formed a
public-private partnership to foster the use of environmental management
systems (EMS) and pollution prevention (P2) technologies. This initiative
will train key professionals in the fertilizer and leather tanning
industries on EMS and P2 approaches, and develop markets for transferring
environmental technologies and expertise from Texas. Few Bangladesh
industries are equipped with pollution control systems. The deterioration of
water quality around major urban centers has been mostly attributed to the
discharge of untreated industrial effluents. Instances of severe water
pollution downstream of major polluting industries are common. Industrial
air emissions are also increasing in the absence of proper emission control
measures. Due to international pressure, the Bangladesh government is in the
process of developing more stringent environmental regulations limiting air
emissions from industries. To date, The University of Texas at Austin has
completed the initial assessment of Bangladesh industries to identify
marketing opportunities for U.S. environmental technologies and services.
UT/A has also trained one Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Technology (BUET) faculty member and a high-level representative of the
Fenchunganj Fertilizer Factory (FFF).
October
conference to focus on clean energy technologies.
The governments of the United States and Indonesia will co-host the
Asia-Pacific Initiative for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Regional
Conference and Exhibition to be held October 14-16, 1997, in Jakarta,
Indonesia. A special symposium focusing on climate change and market
opportunities for the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries will
be held on October 13 in conjunction with the conference. Over 400 policy
makers, financiers, and industry representatives from the Asia-Pacific
region and the U.S. will convene to examine topics critical to the future
development and deployment of clean energy technologies in the Asia-Pacific
region. A special panel will be chaired by Hon. J. Stapleton Roy, U.S.
Ambassador to Indonesia, and will feature energy ministers from the
Asia-Pacific region. For more information, contact Dr. Griffin Thompson,
Director, Asia Programs, U.S. Export Council for Renewable Energy. Tel:
202-383-2561. E-mail:
griff@usecre.org.
Welcome to
. . .
...Theonie White, who joins US-AEP as the new administrative assistant of
the Office of Technology Cooperation in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Prior to joining
US-AEP, Theoni worked three years for Turner Steiner (East Asia Ltd) as the
secretary to the project engineer. She has also held secretarial positions
at Seylan Bank Limited and Delmege Forsyth & Company Limited (Delair
Limited). Theoni has received diplomas from the Royal Institute and
Polytechnic Limited for business management, marketing, secretarial, and
personal assistant courses.
Internet
update.
The five-year review of the successes and shortcomings of the Earth
Summit can be accessed on the Internet at
www.SustainableDevelopment.net. A team of international journalists,
both print and broadcast, were at the U.N. in New York City last week to
post a running commentary on Earth Summit+5. The site includes a special
supplement by the International Herald Tribute, articles, digital photos,
and videos. In addition, profiles of seven countries illustrate varying
approaches to environmentally sustainable development. |
