US-AEP Operations has confirmed one of the largest technology transfer
successes in the program's history. Business counseling from US-AEP's Office
of Technology Cooperation in Singapore helped a U.S. company win a $50
million environmental consulting services contract with the Singapore
Ministry of Environment. In other substantial transactions recently
facilitated by US-AEP, a U.S. company made a $1,840,000 direct technology
sale to Korean company Youngpoong Ltd.; and U.S. company GSE Lining
Technology Inc. of Houston, Texas, sold a $691,953 landfill liner to Sinsin
Pharm Co., Ltd. of Kyonggi-Do. Kudos to US-AEP Technology Representatives
Chan Yiu Kei (Singapore) and Chi-Sun Lee (Korea), whose work with the U.S.
and Asian companies made these sales possible.
More than 78 environmental journalists from 43 countries participated in
the 6th World Congress of Environmental Journalists held in Colombo, Sri
Lanka, October 19-23. US-AEP, through the Environmental Exchange Program,
sponsored the participation of six journalists: the president of the
International Federation of Environmental Journalists and head of the
environmental journalism program at Michigan State University; the president
of the Philippine Environmental Journalists Forum; the secretary-general of
the Asian Media Information and Communication Center in Singapore; the
executive director of the Press Development Institute of Thailand; and two
journalists affiliated with the Syarifa Foundation for Environmental
Communications in Indonesia. Discussions at the conference focused on the
role of journalists in informing the public about environmental threats, as
well as sharing experiences and lessons learned. The group drafted and
adopted a Code of Ethics for Environmental Journalists that highlighted the
journalist's obligation to be as objective as possible and stay abreast of
the complex issues involved in environmental reporting.
Lisa Kircher Lumbao of US-AEP Communications attended the five-day
conference and made several presentations. Ms. Lumbao provided journalists
with information on urban and industrial environmental issues and expects
several articles to appear in the Asian press as a result. Other US-AEP
participants were Jeremy Hagger of the US-AEP Secretariat and Prabath
Gunathunge of US-AEP's Office of Technology Cooperation in Sri Lanka. (Note:
US-AEP's Environmental Exchange Program is managed by the Institute of
International Education.)
To help abate Asian environmental problems and generate business
linkages, several U.S. environmental technology companies participated in a
US-AEP-initiated trade mission to the Philippines and Sri Lanka, October
21-30. The mission was sponsored by the International Executive Service
Corps, a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization.
While in the Philippines, the Americans met with numerous potential
business partners at Environtech '98, the premier Filipino annual
environmental trade fair and seminar. (Read more about Environtech '98
below.)
The trade events in Sri Lanka, held October 21-24, were coordinated by
the Technology Initiative for the Private Sector (TIPS)-a program funded by
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-as well as
the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and the American Embassy.
The mission organizers selected three technology sectors to be addressed,
reflecting the most pressing environmental concerns in Sri Lanka: water
(wastewater treatment, groundwater pollution, and large-scale drinking water
treatment projects), recycling (paper, rubber, plastics, and wood waste),
and solid waste minimization and management. Working with TIPS, US-AEP's
Office of Technology Cooperation in Sri Lanka identified six U.S. companies
that are suited to meet these needs: Stellar Marketing (also representing
VITA-IP brick-making technology), ASCG Incorporated, Thermogenics
Incorporated, Chemtech International, Environtech Group, and Michigan
Biotechnology Institute. These companies received US-AEP Environmental
Technology Fund and Overseas Program Fund grants to help cover the expenses
of participation.
In Sri Lanka, the Americans met with potential business partners and
government authorities responsible for establishing and enforcing
environmental regulations. Kickoff briefings were held with U.S. Ambassador
to Sri Lanka Shaun Donnelly, the U.S. Embassy's Economic Office and
Political Section staff, the CEO of TIPS, and US-AEP representatives.
Meetings were also held with the Mayor of Colombo, the Chairman of the Board
of Investment, senior officials of various ministries, development bank
officials, and members of AmCham.
For the Sri Lankan business community, the mission provided an ideal
opportunity to meet potential partners for agency agreements,
distributorships, joint ventures, and direct purchases. US-AEP arranged
almost 100 one-on-one meetings between the Americans and Sri Lankans, and
one U.S. company has already entered into an agency agreement with a Sri
Lankan firm. A second U.S. firm is negotiating with a Sri Lankan partner to
undertake large-scale solid waste management and disposal projects focusing
on agro-industry. During the next several months, US-AEP and TIPS will
facilitate follow-up visits for the interested parties. (Note: US-AEP's
Environmental Technology Fund and Overseas Program Fund are managed by the
National Association for State Development Agencies.)
Showcasing state-of-the-art environmental technology from the United
States, 18 U.S. companies comprised the first-ever American Pavilion at
Environtech '98 in Manila, Philippines, October 26-30. US-AEP's Office of
Technology Cooperation in the Philippines, along with the U.S. Department of
Commerce's Foreign Commercial Service, recruited the U.S. participants and
organized seminars, briefings, and one-on-one meetings for prospective U.S.
and Asian business partners. These meetings are expected to result in
business agreements between the American and Filipino companies. Another,
less-expected result of the conference was the brief appearance of US-AEP
staff members on Japanese television! US-AEP representatives including Chan
Yiu Kei, Alma Madrazo, and Emma Escover were filmed working the trade show
booth during a Japanese televison crew's coverage of Environtech. The
30-second segment appeared October 30.
