Ford Motor Company announced on July 25 the launch of the �Conservation and Environmental Grants� program in Southeast Asia. The program will provide $250,000 from Ford and $25,000 from US-AEP, in grants to conservation and environmental initiatives in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Karen Ware, Commercial Counselor in Thailand, comments on behalf of the United States Embassy and US-AEP, �The United States government is very pleased to be able to support Ford Motor Company in its conservation and environmental protection initiative.�

The Conservation and Environmental Grant program provides funding to individuals or groups that are working in four categories of conservation: Environmental Conservation, Heritage Conservation, Conservation Engineering, and Child and Youth projects. To be considered for funding, individuals or groups must submit applications to Ford that provides details about their specific project and how much funding is required. Applications are available by calling 011-662-661-8535, or fax request to 011-622- 264-0701, attention Khun Khaepet. All individuals or groups whose initiatives are selected to receive funding will be notified in November 2000.

The State Environmental Initiative (SEI) administered by the Council for State Government is sponsoring projects in New Mexico and Idaho to promote pollution prevention technologies to businesses in India. The participants in this yearlong initiative include businesses, universities, and trade agencies from the two states that plan to market pollution prevention methods, hazardous waste management, energy efficiency and cleaner production to Indian firms. Senator Pauline Eisenstadt (D-NM) said, �This is a great step in promoting increased environmental cooperation between India and the United States.�

A delegation will travel to India in September to attend the Environ International 2000 conference in New Delhi to meet their counterparts. Mr. Dinesh Parekh, President of Thane Belapur Industries Association, which represents over three thousand industries in and around Mumbai, comments, �There are tremendous benefits for improving our environment by facilitating these direct business-to-business meetings.� He further adds, �The business linkages and cooperation will continue long after the project�s completion and that will be when we know we have done our jobs successfully.�

US-AEP co-chaired and was one of ten bilateral and multilateral partners who planned the International Sustainable Transport & Clean Air Conference held in Jakarta, hosted by the Governor of Jakarta. US-AEP Executive Director Peter Kimm gave opening remarks on behalf of the ten multilateral organizations.

The conference held May 29-31 drew experts from eighteen countries who proposed a consensus-based set of recommendations. These recommendations will be shared to help shape current and proposed donor activities covering topics ranging from: removing lead from gasoline, improving and mandating inspection and maintenance programs for private vehicles, greater focus on sustainable transportation, and public awareness campaigns to educate and gain support from civil society on the importance of cleaner air and sustainable transportation.

US-AEP�s role, in partnership with USEPA, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Environment will be to design and implement a children�s blood lead testing program in Jakarta, in concert with a public awareness campaign to build on and compliment existing efforts.

US-AEP, together with the Asian Development Bank and Greening of Industry Network-Asia, hosted a Press & Policy Briefing on �Asia�s Clean Revolution: Industry, Growth and the Environment� in Hong Kong on July 24 and in Singapore on July 26. The publication is the output of The Policy Group�s framing exercise. The briefing featured the Contributing Editor, David Angel, and other partners, including Somporn Kamolsirpichaiporn, Melito Salazar and Owen Cylke, to outline the findings and major recommendations of the book.

The panel also highlighted the publication of the Asian development Bank�s �Asian Environmental Outlook.� Together, the two publications suggest a bold strategy for industrial transformation in Asia.

Other participants, consisting of government, academia, and leaders of industry, also discussed the potential for a �Clean Revolution in Asia.� Corporate initiative presentations from companies such as Motorola, CKS International, and Hyatt International, emphasized the point that the environment is becoming an investable concept among leading companies. All participants confirmed that industrial transformation requires policy innovation and strong leadership from both government and the private sector.

US-AEP provided a grant to PERPAMSI (The Association of Indonesian Water Enterprises) for the Women�s Institution for Local Development (WILD) project. The WILD project is a short-term project that identifies local women�s groups and mobilizes them to spread the clean water message in pilot communities. The clean water message includes the importance of cleanliness in health care, proper boiling, and advantages of piped water over alternative sources. Women are critical to spreading this message in Indonesia because of their role in feeding the family, fetching water, caring for the sick, and education of children. The methodology developed by the project is expected to be used by all 300 of Indonesia�s water enterprises to elicit community participation.

Please welcome Felicia Ruiz as the new Program Associate for the Alliance to Save Energy. She joins the Alliance from the Environmental Export Council. Felicia will work on US-AEP sponsored Energy Efficiency Business Council activities in India and Thailand. She can be reached at: fruiz@ase.org. 

Farewell

In this edition, US-AEP will have to say farewell to four members of the US-AEP family.

Eunhee Rim started out as the Administrative Assistant in the US- AEP/Korea office four years ago. Last year, she transferred to the Washington, DC office to join the Operations team and helped keep things moving smoothly. Eunhee will be pursuing a career in marketing Asia.

Kristen Zimmerman, who many of us have had the pleasure of working with, will be leaving her position as Project Officer on the Environmental Exchange Program on August 4. Kristen will join Development Alternatives, Inc. to work on a USAID Women in Development project called GenderReach.

Fatmata McCormack who has been in charge of the US-AEP Information Center will be joining the US-AID Learning Resource Center. Fatmata�s last day with US-AEP is August 9.

Joe Cunningham came to US-AEP from the American Institute in Taiwan. Joe left his position as Operations Research Associate on the ETNA team to pursue a position in teaching.

We thank these individuals for their contributions to US-AEP and we wish them much success in their new endeavors.

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