Singapore
Introduction
1. The United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), the National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA-Singapore), and the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan (MoE-Japan), jointly organized the Third Meeting of the Regional 3R Forum in Asia from 5 to 7 October 2011 in Singapore. The Forum was supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the German International Cooperation (GIZ), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Asian Productivity Organization (APO) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). It was attended by approximately 150 participants, comprising government representatives from twenty three countries, including ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Bangladesh, People’s Republic of China (hereinafter, China), India, Japan, Republic of Korea (hereinafter, Korea), Maldives, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, and five Pacific island countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Samoa, and Solomon Islands), Subsidiary Expert Group Members of the Regional 3R Forum in Asia, international resource persons, representatives from various UN and international organizations, NGOs, representatives from the private sector, and local observers from Singapore. As a side event of the Forum, the NGO communities from Japan and Singapore shared and discussed various experiences in promoting the 3Rs towards a zero waste society.
2. The Asia-Pacific region is facing immense challenges in coping with the rapidly increasing volume and changing characteristics of urban and industrial wastes. The quantum of waste is increasing significantly due to rising population, and increasing consumption and per capita waste generation. Apart from municipal solid waste (MSW), emerging waste streams such as electronic waste (ewaste), health-care waste, plastic waste, construction and demolition waste, and household hazardous waste have become matters of concern. These wastes, if not managed properly, will have a significant adverse impact on human health, ecosystems, and resources in the region. It is also important that technologies which are chosen can be managed safely.
3. The Regional 3R Forum in Asia was established in November 2009, with the objective of becoming a knowledge networking platform for disseminating and sharing best practices, technologies and tools on various aspects of the 3Rs. The third Regional 3R Forum in Asia, focused on the key theme “Technology Transfer for promoting the 3Rs – Adapting, implementing, and scaling up appropriate technologies,” with an objective to address one of the key priorities highlighted in the Tokyo 3R Statement. More specifically, the Meeting aimed to: (a) address 3R technologies, including technologies that reduce virgin material input as well as those which encourage the use of recycled resources; (b) address and identify policies and institutional frameworks for the promotion of 3Rs technologies, including those that contribute to attracting investment and promoting business to business technology transfer; (c) address and identify opportunities for collaborative actions and partnerships including bilateral, multilateral and regional supporting mechanisms to promote 3R technology transfer.
4. In addition the Meeting discussed the “Recommendations of the Singapore Forum on the 3Rs in Achieving a Resource Efficient Society in Asia,” which is a comprehensive set of recommendations covering a wide range of sectors and issues relevant to the 3Rs and resource efficiency. This is based on the fundamental understanding that the 3Rs is intrinsically linked with resource efficiency in a variety of sectors such as agriculture, industry, urban development and energy, among others, towards transitioning to a resource efficient and green economy.
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