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EPA
conducts Asia regional workshop on dangerous particulates.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)�through its interagency agreement with US-AEP�conducted a Regional
Workshop on Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 in Singapore, April 28-30.
Cosponsored by the Singapore Ministry of the Environment and the Singaporean
Institute of Environmental Epidemiology, the workshop focused on tracking
airborne particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which pose serious
human health risks when inhaled. Approximately 60 regional government
officials attended the event. Among them were ten officials from Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, whose participation was
supported by US-AEP�s Environmental Exchange Program. The workshop was a
follow-up to a 1997-98 EPA technical assistance program, which focused on
analyzing the effects of Indonesian biomass fires on human health in the
region. Led by EPA�s Dr. John Vandenberg, Dr. Richard Scheffe, and Mr.
Joseph Paisie, the April event included a review of the United States�
latest PM2.5 developments, including air pollution health impacts, policies,
and regulations. Since few Asian countries are using equipment capable of
monitoring the small but dangerous 2.5 particles, workshop leaders
encouraged Asian governments to upgrade their monitoring standards.
Participants also identified ways to optimize regional efforts when future
haze problems occur, saw demonstrations of air monitoring equipment by four
U.S. companies, and took a field trip to a PM2.5 monitoring station in
Singapore. [Note: The Environmental Exchange Program is managed by the
Institute of International Education.]
US-AEP
confirms $4 million in U.S.-to-Asia sales in April.
Between March 25 and April 30, 1999, US-AEP�s
Operations staff confirmed 12 U.S. environmental business transactions
facilitated by US-AEP programs, totaling $4,376,790. Of the 12, six took
place in the Philippines, two in India, and one each in Hong Kong, Korea,
Singapore, and Sri Lanka. Equipment sold included technologies for air
pollution control, wastewater treatment, gasoline extraction from scrap
plastics, defluoridation of drinking water, and energy efficiency.
Asian
delegation investigates industrial estates on EEP study tour.
Ten senior-level government and private industry policy makers from
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand participated in a April
21-May 2 study tour on Environmental Management for Industrial Estates. The
US-AEP Environmental Exchange Program-led event took the delegation to
industrial estates in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Choctaw County,
Mississippi; and the San Francisco Bay area in California. During these
visits, participants met with industrial estate managers, as well as
representatives of technology companies, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and academic institutions. Topics discussed included policy,
design, and management strategies for existing industrial zones, specific
industries, and industrial eco-parks. In addition, the delegation viewed a
new video on eco-industrial parks prepared by the EPA�s Dr. Suzanne
Giannini-Spohn and Ms. Sarita Hoyt.
Study tour participant Jesus Sirios, deputy director general for
operations at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), said the tour
"gave me a lot of new ideas and concepts for greater participation in
discussions" about environmental issues with other government agencies. He
hopes to upgrade existing PEZA industrial parks in the Manila area with some
of the waste reduction techniques demonstrated at Burnside Eco-Industrial
Park in Halifax; for example, a state-of-the-art composting center. At the
end of the study tour, the participants attended the US-AEP-sponsored
Industrial Ecology IV conference in California, where several delegation
members gave presentations; see story below. [Note: The
Environmental Exchange Program is managed by the Institute of International
Education.]
US-AEP/GIN-Asia sponsor Industrial Ecology conference in California.
US-AEP and the Greening of Industry Network-Asia
(GIN-Asia) sponsored the Industrial Ecology IV Conference at the Mt. Madonna
Center in California, April 28-May 2, 1999. The conference was hosted by
Future 500, an international business network that helps companies profit
from sustainable business practices. The event focused on environmentally
responsible technologies and techniques, such as business ecosystems,
performance metrics, and product innovation. In attendance were more than
250 representatives from business, government, nongovernmental
organizations, and academia. Dr. Melito Sison Salazar, undersecretary at the
Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, participated in a roundtable
discussion on global industrial ecosystems and called the conference "a
kaleidoscope of insights." Three participants of the US-AEP industrial
estates study tour (see story above) made presentations: Ms. Teresa Oledan
of the Laguna Lake Development Authority in the Philippines; Ms. Ghette
Pascual of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry; and Mr. Leong
Yee Heim of the Prime Minister�s Development Office in Malaysia. They
described case studies included in the recent US-AEP publication,
"Place-Based Public Policy in Southeast Asia," which was distributed to all
conference participants. For more information on the conference or on Future
500, contact Bill Shireman via e-mail at
bshireman@globalff.org.
A&WMA
reports on successes in Asia.
The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA), one
of US-AEP�s partners for environmental professional development in Asia, is
now in its fourth year of activity with US-AEP. The association has built
networks of environmental professionals, or sections, in Hong Kong, Korea,
the Philippines, and Taiwan. Altogether, these sections have delivered
almost 50 technical programs (conferences, workshops, and seminars) to more
than 3,000 participants. As Mike Roy, A&WMA�s International Program Manager,
notes, this is a "remarkable achievement given the relative youth of the
sections and the fact that more than 60 business meetings took place in
addition to the technical programs."
May 18
Policy Forum: third briefing on renewable energy.
In the last of three briefings on renewable energy, US-AEP�s May 18
Policy Forum will focus on solar power and its use in rural electrification,
development, industry, and urban infrastructure. The speakers will be Scott
Sklar, director of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and Sarah
Howell, public relations specialist for Solarex. Join us at 12:30pm on the
7th floor of 1720 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC. For more information,
contact Brenda Bateman at
bbateman@usaep.org.
Farewell
and welcome.
On May 7, US-AEP said farewell to Kerith McFadden. Kerith had for
three years held the position of information specialist at the Washington,
DC, Information Center. She has now taken a librarian position with CNN.
Fatmata McCormack has taken the information specialist post on a
temporary basis. She earned master�s degrees in Journalism and International
Affairs from Ohio University and has over ten years of experience as a
librarian/researcher. Fatmata can be reached at 202-835-0333 x 131 or
fatmata@usaep.org. Debbie Andrews has joined the
US-AEP team as office manager of the Technical Support
Services Contract in Washington. Debbie comes to US-AEP with over ten years
of administrative experience in government and the private sector, most
recently with the American Association of Health Plans. She can be reached
at 202-835-0333 x 111 or
dandrews@usaep.org. |
