To address the dangerous levels of lead pollution in the Philippines, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) hosted a workshop entitled "Public Awareness Campaign for Eliminating Leaded Gasoline" on February 1-2, 2000. The two-day event brought together about 160 key stakeholders from government, civil society, and the private sector who will play a vital role in implementing the campaign.

According to one of the organizers, "The workshop is an important and timely opportunity." The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 mandates the elimination of leaded gasoline nationwide by January 1, 2001. And in support of the Act, the Department of Energy and the major oil companies in the country have agreed to an accelerated elimination by April 1, 2000, in Metro Manila.

Manila is one step closer to this goal as a result of this workshop. At the event�s closing ceremony, the group presented a public information campaign action plan to the president of Petron, a local oil refining company, and to Congressman Neureus Acosta, one of the authors of the Clean Air Act. Petron�s president thanked the group and stated that the oil industry is committed to supporting the campaign.

The Honorable Manuel Villar, Jr., Speaker of the House of the Representatives, delivered the workshop�s keynote address. Other speakers included Jane Armstrong, Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. EPA�s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, and Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana, director of the Air Quality and Noise Management Division of the Pollution Control Department of Thailand.

Co-sponsors of the workshop included the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Energy, ADB, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership. For more information, go to https://www.usaep.org/pressrel/release27.htm.

On February 2, the United States Department of Agriculture presented their "International Honor Award" to the original U.S. and Taiwan team members who were responsible for establishing the Environmental Center for Livestock Waste Management in Kiaoshung, Taiwan. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Timothy Galvin presented the award to members of the U.S. team comprised of government, corporations, and academic institutions, and also the Taiwanese team. US-AEP team members that were recognized were Randy Yamada and Richard Sheppard of the US-AEP Secretariat, Jennifer Huang, Taiwan Technology Representative, and Larry Lai and George Irvine from the Institute for International Education.

The plaque given at the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator�s Honor Awards Ceremony had the following inscription: "For a unique and successful public-private partnership between U.S. government agencies, universities and American industries leading to a creative advancement in livestock waste management contributing to international development and trade."

In the Salem area in Tamil Nadu, India, hundreds of starch food processing plants have been indiscriminately discharging wastewater into the ground for several decades. The government of Tamil Nadu ordered the closure of more than 80 plants due to failure to comply with the environmental standards.

As a result of the serious pollution, the Salem Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) approached the US-AEP office in Chennai, India for help in addressing these issues. US-AEP Chennai recruited and worked with the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the U.S. Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) to identify environmental solutions. NJIT conducted a feasibility study, and recommended a process that will not only treat the wastewater but also recover energy from it in the form of methane gas.

Following the recommendations of NJIT, the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) is giving the go-ahead on the waste-to-energy project. TEDA is inviting bids for the construction of a biomethanation plant for energy recovery from starch effluents. The estimated cost of the project is $720,000 and the estimated time for completion is nine months. The United Nations Development Program will provide financial assistance.

In late January, US-AEP, in cooperation with the Indonesian Association of Sanitary Engineers (IATPI), and the Water Environment Federation, supported the administration of pilot customer satisfaction surveys by the water enterprise in three test areas in Indonesia. The customer survey represents a shift in public administration attitude in which the water enterprise managers are trying to be more accountable to the consumers.

The test is designed to be administered annually by all 300 water supply enterprises in Indonesia. The results can be used to improve water service and to influence requests for tariff increases. The initial results will also be a benchmark to measure the effectiveness, responsiveness, and accountability of local water enterprise management in Indonesia.

The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable will hold the its "P2000 Spring Conference: Expanding Horizons" in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21-24. The conference will include information on pollution prevention in the healthcare industry, corporate environmental strategies, public health and occupational safety offices, and agricultural facilities. Early registration deadline is February 22, 2000.

For more information, visit: https://www.usaep.org/calendar/index.htm.

The Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, in Taiwan is hosting an international conference on Strategies & Management Tools for Sustainable Development in Industry on February 29 and March 1, 2000, in Taipei. US-AEP is co-sponsoring the conference. Also on February 28 and March 2, the Policy Group in conjunction with the Institute for International Education is sponsoring a concurrent conference directed at the idea of "sustainable industries".

Ms. Lisa Lumbao is the newly designated US-AEP Philippines Coordinator. She is the point of contact for US-AEP programs in the Philippines. Ms. Lumbao�s responsibility will be to ensure the greatest possible impact for US-AEP�s efforts with USAID bilateral activities.

Welcome and Farewell:

Ms. Hiep Thi Nguyen is the new Administrative Assistant in the US-AEP Vietnam office in Hanoi. She joins US-AEP from Booz Allen Hamilton where she served as a translator. She can be reached at: hiep@usaep.org

Katerina Savvas is the new Program Coordinator on the Environmental Exchange Program team for the Institute for International Education. Katerina graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor in Environmental Conservation and Science. Her expertise is climate change and water issues and her main countries will be Korea, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. She can be reached at: ksavvas@iie.org