U.S. Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard addressed the first national Philippine Pollution Prevention Roundtable (PPPR), held October 8 in Manila. The program, attended by more than 140 participants, focused on water pollution problems inherent in the country's water crisis, and included discussions on the government-industry dialogue, the role of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), impact of sewage on water quality, and examples of clean technologies that can be used to improve the quality of the country's rivers and lakes. Other key speakers at the event included Undersecretary Delfin Ganapin of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Undersecretary Melito Salazar, Jr. of the Department of Trade and Industry, and Kevin McDonald of the U.S. National Pollution Prevention Roundtable. PPPR consists of representatives from industry, government, academia, and NGOs who aim to increase awareness of the need for and benefits of cleaner production methods. Interest in creating PPPR was sparked after its organizers--Dr. Olivia L. Castillo of the University of Asia and the Pacific, Dr. Reynaldo Lantin of the University of the Philippines Los Banos, and Amelia Supetran of the Environmental Management Bureau, DENR--participated in the U.S. National Pollution Prevention Roundtable conference in April 1997, under the auspices of US-AEP's Environmental Exchange Program. This October event was co-sponsored by PPPR, USAID/Manila, and US-AEP.

Directors, advisors, and engineers from India's Sankat Mochan Foundation, National Rivers Conservation, and Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, traveled to the University of California/Berkeley (UCB) August 2-9, 1997, on a US-AEP Environmental Business Exchange. The exchange showcased to the Indian delegation the Advanced Integrated Wastewater Pond System (AIWPS) Technology developed at UCB's Environmental Engineering and Health Sciences Laboratory. Site visits included tours of nearby municipal wastewater plants in San Francisco, Bolinas, Napa, St. Helena, and Stockton. As a result of the exchange, two U.S. firms--Oswald Green LLC and Bechtel--were chosen to design, implement, and build portions of a new wastewater treatment system in Varanasi, India. This exchange was a follow-up activity to the U.S. to Asia Business Exchange that took place in January, 1997, where James Kirchner of UCB assessed the feasibility of the proposed AIWPS technology for implementation in the Varanasi region. The AIWPS technology will treat 150-200 mld of sewage daily from the city of Varanasi and improve the public health and environmental quality of the region. Both US-AEP Environmental Business Exchanges were facilitated by the Institute of International Education.

On October 6-10, US-AEP sponsored a workshop in Washington, DC, on "Industry Self-Monitoring and Disclosure" for Asian government officials from Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. The workshop, covered a comprehensive range of topics designed to share the U.S. experience in implementing environmental monitoring programs for air, water, hazardous waste, and toxic substances, as well as the Toxic Release Inventory. During the week, workshop participants visited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Unison Institute, and the Chemical Manufacturers Association, and discussed experiences in their own countries with obtaining and using environmental information. The workshop was organized by the Institute of International Education, implementors of US-AEP's Environmental Exchange Program.

On September 30, 1997, twelve participants from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines, attended the annual American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Association "Metal Finishing Workshop" in Portsmouth, New Hampshire as part of the New Hampshire/Thailand State Environmental Initiative, a co-sponsored US-AEP and Council of State Governments program. The state of New Hampshire and Thailand are working together towards cleaner production processes in the Asian electroplating industry. The Asian workshop participant--representing Environmental Technology Institute (Singapore), GG Circuits Industries (Johor, Malaysia), Acer/Texas Instruments (Tainan, Taiwan), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (Quezon City, Philippines)--examined some of the options for process pollution prevention, such as bath maintenance, chemical substitutions, water conservation, and wastewater management, in the printed wire board and printed circuit board manufacturing processes. U.S. sponsors of the event included: Romar Technology (Topsfield, Massachusetts), Kinetco Engineered System Division (Newbury, Ohio), Spectrum Energy Systems (Epping, New Hampshire), ProChemTech International (Brockway, Pennsylvania), and Public Service of New Hampshire (Manchester, New Hampshire). Speaking on the success of the exchange, Ihab Farag, director of the New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Partnership, states, "it provided participants not only a chance to better understand cleaner production, but also excellent networking opportunities with users, as well as suppliers of technology."

...In the Philippines, the local Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) Section and Water Environmental Federation (WEF) are co-sponsoring a series of technical sessions in Manila, November 10, 1997...In Malaysia, A&WMA is holding an information/organizing meeting in Kuala Lumpur, November 10...In Sri Lanka, A&WMA is hosting a Clean Power Generating Workshop, November 17, an activity being coordinated by local A&WMA members who are in the process of forming a local Section...In Thailand, A&WMA and WEF will exhibit jointly at the upcoming Pollution Control '97 exhibition in Bangkok, November 12-16...In Hong Kong, the A&WMA Section is sponsoring a Visibility Workshop, December 9-10.

The application for the US-AEP-spponsored Cane Sugar Industry study course, organized by the Environmental Exchange Program, is November 10, not October 20, as reported in last week's UPDATE.