Conference on Sustainable Business & Development in Asia

This international, peer-reviewed weekend event will be held in partnership with the 3rd International Conference on Disaster Response and Management (DREAM 2017) and the 3rd Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Asia (COSTA 2017).

Nearly 30 years ago, the Brundtland report – formally titled “Our Common Future” – launched the concept of sustainable development as “the process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.” At the heart of the concept of sustainable development lie two interrelated challenges: how to address our growth needs, in particular those of the developing countries, given the limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on our ability to meet present and future needs.

The Symposium on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Asia

“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water” penned Benjamin Franklin over 250 years ago to not only underscore the essence of water for life but also to portend the horrors of its absence. Water, declared a basic human right essential to the enjoyment of life and all other human rights by the UN, is inextricably linked to a nation’s health, economy and environment, yet today over 780 million people lack access to clean water and nearly 1.9 billion lack adequate sanitation. The stark contrast between developed and developing nations amplifies the current water and sanitation crisis. Multiple factors, most notably poverty, inequality and unequal power relationships, place developing regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Southern and Eastern Asia in a struggle for survival. Furthermore, social and environmental challenges like rapid urbanization, climate change, increasing agriculture water consumption, rising pollution levels, and the depletion of water, exacerbate the problem and intensify the competition for available water.

The Asian Conference on Education for Sustainability (ACES 2015)

ACES 2015 will be held at the Mitsui Garden Hotel Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan, February 1-3, 2015.

Today’s sustainability challenges require a holistic perspective that embraces the critical relationship between the classroom and community service. This is evidence as human communities as well as their diverse biological and cultural heritage are increasingly threatened by mounting environmental and societal problems from climate change and exploitation of finite resources to the inequities and human costs of unsustainable practices and technologies.

ACSEE2014 - The Fourth Asian Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment

2014 Conference Theme: “Individual, Community & Society: Conflict, Resolution & Synergy”

Conflict from earliest times has been a characteristic of the human condition. The struggle between our individual selves and our social selves arises from what makes us unique on the one hand, being challenged by our being part of an interdependent structure of relationships on the other.

The 2nd Biennial Conference on Sustainable Business, Energy and Development in Asia

Twenty five years ago, the Brundtland report – formally titled “Our Common Future” – launched the concept of sustainable development as “the process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.” At the heart of the concept of sustainable development lie two interrelated challenges: how to address our growth needs, in particular those of the developing countries, given the limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on our ability to meet present and future needs.

Sustainable Future for Human Security

The 4th International Conference on Sustainable Future for Human Security (SUSTAIN)

Clock Tower Centennial Hall, Kyoto University, JAPAN, Kyoto, October 18 - 21, 2013

The past three conferences have attracted more than 350 participants from Europe, Africa and Asia, with highly-qualified papers and posters. This time we are expecting more than two hundred participants for oral and poster presentations. The SUSTAIN conference originated from the need to provide an inter-disciplinary forum where the most serious problems affecting a sustainable future for human security can be discussed, in recognition of the fact that many future problems cannot be solved by a “siloed” approach.

The 2nd Annual Pacific Rim Energy and Sustainability Conference

27th   to  29th August 2013, Hiroshima, Japan 

The 2013 Pacific Rim Energy & Sustainability Conference will be held in Hiroshima, Japan: the City of Peace. The three day event will debate issues related to sustainable energy, sustainable consumption, resiliency and policy needs.

Japan Held Nuclear Data, Leaving Evacuees in Peril

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FUKUSHIMA, Japan — The day after a giant tsunami set off the continuing disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, thousands of residents at the nearby town of Namie gathered to evacuate.

Given no guidance from Tokyo, town officials led the residents north, believing that winter winds would be blowing south and carrying away any radioactive emissions. For three nights, while hydrogen explosions at four of the reactors spewed radiation into the air, they stayed in a district called Tsushima

ASEAN plus three should enhance coordination in macro policy

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ASEAN and the three countries of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) should enhance their communication and coordination in the aspect of macro policies for the benefit of an equitable and sustainable development of the regional economy, said Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming.

ADB, Japan to Reduce Poverty in Nepal's Disadvantaged Communities

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MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Japan are providing assistance to develop new livelihood opportunities and improve income in some of Nepal's poorest and most disadvantaged communities.

A $2.7 million grant from Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, administered by ADB, will be used to support targeted and sustainable development programs for marginalized groups including the Dalits and Hill Janajatis, who have the highest poverty rates in the country.

"The goal of this initiative is to reduce both income and non-income poverty and to empower disadvantaged groups in the target districts," said Paolo Spantigati, Principal Country Specialist at ADB's Nepal Resident Mission.

Ethnic minority groups often face difficulties in accessing the benefits of government's development efforts. As marginalized communities, they struggle to assert their rights in decision making and have missed out on mainstream efforts to create new livelihood opportunities.

The project will fund a series of activities to address these obstacles, including training for village members to produce community action plans which will be used to identify viable income-generating activities. Skills training will be given to one family member from each of the 2,000 poorest households in the target communities to help them start micro-businesses, with a revolving seed fund of $300,000 established for this purpose. Another $100,000 will be set aside to support larger business ventures for communities, where there are prospects for high returns.

Given past difficulties in including marginalized groups in development activities, the project will incorporate several innovative features, including a strong focus on social empowerment, including awareness campaigns to overcome discrimination. It will also take a broader approach to livelihood development which goes beyond mere skills training to include access to finance, and support for links to markets. A key component will be empowering women, with targets set for their involvement in community courses and entrepreneurship training.

Along with Japan's contribution of $2.7 million, the Government of Nepal will provide non-cash assistance of $60,000 with beneficiary communities contributing nearly $20,000 in kind for a total project cost of almost $2.8 million. The Ministry of Local Development will be the executing agency for the project, which will be implemented over 4 years.

Source: reliefweb.int

After earthquake and tsunami, Twitter messages give news advisories, prayers for victims and shocked reactions

Just as Egypt has been cast as the Twitter revolution, so Friday's massive Japanese earthquake and tsunami was destined to become the Twitter disaster.

In 140-character bites, the story unfolded: the shock and terror; the sense of human frailty mixed with lifesaving information; the messages of those seeking comfort and those seeing some kind of divine retribution, all mixing at hyper-speed.

Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake

Google launched its Person Finder technology on Friday morning, in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Person Finder is an interactive database that allows users to search for missing persons online, or submit information about people who are injured or were missing.

The 8.9 magnitude Japan earthquake set off a massive tsunami, and the two have left behind floods, fires and the shutdown of public transportation systems and airports.

Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant

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A massive explosion has struck a Japanese nuclear power plant after Friday's devastating earthquake.

A huge pall of smoke was seen coming from the plant at Fukushima and several workers were injured.

Japanese officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant's reactors after radioactive material was detected outside it.

A huge relief operation is under way after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 600.

Clean energy gets fewer subsidies, less investment than fossil fuels, report says

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Energy from fossil fuel gets 12 times more in subsidies worldwide than sustainable energy, says a new report from the USC Marshall School of Business.

That discrepancy, as well as other barriers including high clean-tech start-up costs and low prices for products, keep green investment from booming, according to a group of MBA students from the school.

Without clear global policies on how to regulate and incentivize green business and technology, investors aren’t making any long-term bets on the industry, which is also less lucrative than the fossil fuel market.

And without ways to store the energy created by renewable sources such as solar or wind, companies may avoid innovating new generation technologies at all, the students found.

“Inertia in the form of myopia, misperception, and dulled motivation, at the economy, firm, and consumer levels creates resistance to change and constrains solution-seeking to incremental improvements of known technologies rather than disruptive breakthrough innovations needed,” they wrote in their executive summary.

The team presented their findings recently in Yokohama, Japan, to an advisory council of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, a 21-nation group known as APEC. The researchers made their conclusions based on nearly 200 interviews with business leaders in 14 countries.

They encouraged governments to help make renewable energy attractive to consumers and to support clean-tech research efforts.

17th ASEAN Summit promotes sustainable development

The 17th ASEAN Summit and other related meetings from October 28-30 is highly significant for the on-going process of building an ASEAN community by 2015.

The three-day event will see 11 major meetings, including the 17^th ASEAN Summit, the regular ASEAN+1 Summit with partners, such as including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and India, as well as with Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the United Nations; the ASEAN+3 Summit (with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea), and the fifth East Asia Summit.

The summit will be attended by 18 leaders of ASEAN member countries and the bloc's partners plus the United Nations Secretary General. For the first time, the Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State will also attend the East Asia Summit as special guests.
At these summits, ASEAN and its partners will discuss ways of developing each country and for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world.
ASEAN 17- the last ASEAN summit in 2010, will build on previous achievements and the theme of 'Toward an ASEAN community – from vision to action'.
ASEAN leaders will discuss measures to accelerate the creation of an ASEAN community, strengthen regional connections and implement the ASEAN Charter.
The summit will discuss how to cement ties between ASEAN and its partners. It will also discuss and work out measures to raise the bloc's capacity to cope with emerging challenges such as post-economic crisis recovery, sustainable development, climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, and environmental degradation.
At other related meetings, they will mull over practical measures to maintain the ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in which ASEAN plays a central role. Especially, at the EAS summit as ASEAN leaders will officially invite Russia and the US to take part from 2011. >>>