The first-ever US-AEP Environmental Technology Fund grant project in Vietnam�site of US-AEP�s newest Office of Technology Cooperation�is now underway. The $20,000 Tech Fund grant will enable Envirotech Services, Inc. of Enid, Oklahoma, to demonstrate landfill development techniques at several sites in Vietnam. Envirotech worked closely with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma State Office in Vietnam in developing this project, which originated during a January 1999 trade mission to Vietnam. Officials from the Vietnamese Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment were interested in Envirotech and visited Oklahoma in March 1999. The officials saw Envirotech�s successful landfill operation for the city of Enid and subsequently asked the U.S. company to present a workshop on landfill development procedures. Envirotech will make its follow-up trip to Vietnam in June.

Another Tech Fund milestone was also reached recently: the award of the 300th Tech Fund grant. This grant went to Advanced Environmental Services, Inc. (AES) of Elkton, Maryland, a producer of air pollution control and waste energy recovery equipment. Sponsored by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, AES will use the grant to facilitate its bid on a large Korean landfill project, as well as to foster a long-term partnership with a Korean engineering firm.

The American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC), US-AEP�s partner for environmental infrastructure development in Asia, has signed groundbreaking cooperative agreements with the Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore (ACES) and the Consulting Engineers Association of India. These agreements are expected to result in significant benefits for the associations� members on both sides of the globe.

During the May 18 signing ceremony with ACES, ACEC president-elect Arnie Spiess said that the partnership�the first of its kind between an Asian association and ACEC�will allow for increased sharing of information and technical know-how between American and Singaporean engineers. With the combined strength of the two organizations, the partnership will be well-positioned to secure urban infrastructure projects in Asia. US-AEP�s Office of Technology Cooperation in Singapore helped to arrange the ceremony, which featured remarks by Dr. Kog, ACES president; Herbert W. Schulz, deputy chief of mission in Singapore; and Mr. Tay Thiam Peng, deputy CEO of Singapore�s Trade Development Board. In addition, two ACEC member firms presented projects that had earned them ACEC�s Engineering Excellence award, and three ACES firms described their local projects. U.S. Ambassador Steven Green, who was unable to attend the event, sent congratulatory letters to ACES and ACEC on this "historic event in Asia." According to US-AEP/Singapore, "ACEC and ACES look forward to a close and mutually beneficial working relationship in and out of the region."

ACEC�s agreement with the Consulting Engineers Association of India was signed on May 21 in New Delhi. Look for more information on this event in a subsequent edition of UPDATE.

Over the last year, US-AEP�s Clean Technology and Environmental Management (CTEM) program has been working with groups in the Philippines to establish an environmental technology verification (ETV) program. This program will help ensure that environmental technologies proposed for use in the Philippines meet specific performance requirements.

The latest of these ETV efforts was an April 21-23 workshop conducted by the Philippines� Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) in coordination with CTEM, the Civil Engineering Research Foundation, and the Technology Application and Promotion Institute. The 26 participants, representing community, academic, and regulatory and financial institutions, drafted several key documents: ETV policy statements and guiding principles, an outline of evaluation processes, and identification of stakeholders and their roles. Speakers included experts from the United States and Japan; the nongovernmental organization Lingkod Tao Kalikasan; and officials from the Philippine Department of Health, Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, and Technology Application and Promotion Institute. CTEM will continue to support ITDI as it takes the next steps, which include building alliances in various industrial sectors, conducting an evaluation of training needs, and implementing a pilot program to validate technologies.