Sixth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific -
3R as an Economic Industry - Next Generation 3R Solutions for a
Resource-Efficient Society and Sustainable Tourism Development in Asia and the Pacific

On Sunday, 16 August 2015, two pre-events associated with the Sixth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific were held in Malé, Maldives, commemorating Maldives National 3R Day.

The morning pre-event focused on the signing by resorts of the "Declaration by Resorts in Maldives for the Promotion of 3Rs and Resource Efficiency towards Protection of Local Environment and Marine Ecosystem." Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Environment and Energy, announced that 16 August would henceforth be designated as National 3R Day and announced plans to phase out non-biodegradable plastic bags. Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor stressed the importance of sustainable tourism to Maldives and announced the creation of an annual National 3R Award to recognize resorts for their best practice. Ali Amir, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEE), discussed the principles, legal framework and key elements of the country's waste management plan. Ahmed Murthaza, MEE, outlined the commitments made by resorts by signing the 3R Declaration, and explained the award criteria for the National 3R Award.

The afternoon pre-event focused on the signing by City and Atoll Councils of Maldives of the Statement of the Saafu Raajje (“Clean Maldives”) Initiative to promote environmentally friendly and sustainable waste management practices. Umar Naseer, Minister of Home Affairs, and Abdullah Jihadh, Minister of Finance and Treasury, spoke on the importance of the Initiative. Ali Amir, Deputy Minister, MEE, reviewed the country’s waste management plan. Ahmed Murthaza, MEE, outlined the key elements of the Statement. Participants signed the Saafu Raajje Statement and then heard a closing statement from Abdullah Shareef Abdul Fahtaah, Thaa Atoll Council President.

Also held on Sunday were an NGO-led “Sixth Asia 3R Citizens Forum” event on the theme “Creating a Closed-Loop Community Based on 3Rs Practice in Asia and Pacific Islands," and a Workshop on Multilayer 3R Partnerships and Cooperation Among Asia-Pacific Cities co-organized by Japan's Ministry of the Environment on the theme “Building on the Outcomes of 2014 Chiba Workshop Towards Realizing Smart, Resilient, Inclusive, Low Carbon and Sustainable Cities and Communities.”

The Sixth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific formally opened on Monday morning, 17 August, in Malé, Maldives, with remarks by Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Environment and Energy, Maldives, Yasuhiro Ozato, State Minister of the Environment, Japan, Chikako Takase, Director, UN Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), and Shoko Noda, UN Resident Coordinator, Maldives. In his keynote address, Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor, Vice President, Maldives, underscored his country’s reliance on and commitment to sustainable tourism development, the special challenges of waste management for small island developing States (SIDS), and the goal of institutionalizing community based waste systems.

Throughout the day three plenary sessions were held, each with presentation of a background paper, followed by presentations on specific issues or country or city case studies and a panel discussion. The first plenary session focused on evolving 3R trends and developments in Asia and the Pacific, and their significance for the post-2015 development agenda, with specific presentations provided on Japan’s efforts to achieve a sound material cycle society, Maldives’ National Waste Management Policy and Plan, and on the interface between 3Rs, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and decent work.

The second plenary session addressed enabling a science-policy-business interface in building smart, resilient, inclusive, low-carbon and sustainable cities and communities, with presentations on the need for a science-policy interface for 3R, the model eco-cities in Japan, work on waste management and resource efficiency in Singapore, 3Rs for resiliency in Bangladesh, and capacity development in South Asian countries.

The third plenary session looked at how the sustainable tourism industry in SIDS could benefit from 3R and resource efficiency, with discussion of the 3R-tourism-marine ecosystem protection interface, and presentations on case studies from Mauritius, Maldives, and Pacific SIDS.

In the evening participants attended a reception hosted by Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Environment and Energy, Maldives.

The Sixth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific continued on Tuesday, 18 August 2015 in Malé, Maldives.

The day began with five parallel thematic roundtables.  Four of these focused on "economic opportunities through 3R" regarding: the urban sector; construction and demolition waste; biomass waste; and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The fifth roundtable was a special session on small island developing States (SIDS), examining how 3R and resource efficiency can contribute towards realizing the objectives and aspirations underlined in the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (S.A.M.O.A.) Pathway, which was adopted at the Third International Conference on SIDS held in September 2014.

A morning plenary session then focused on the challenges and opportunities in Asia involved in extended producer responsibility (EPR) and industrial ecological grants for sustainable material management, with presentations on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) experience in enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for EPR, EPR in the Republic of Korea, EPR design and guidelines in Japan regarding packaging materials, home appliances and batteries, industrial ecology grants in South Australia, and EPR in promotion of China's Circular Economy Law.

After lunch five parallel country breakout sessions heard brief reports by each country on their major achievements and initiatives regarding implementation of the Ha Noi 3R Declaration, the critical challenges faced by each, as well as major plans.

A subsequent plenary session heard reports by the rapporteurs of the morning thematic roundtables and afternoon country breakout groups on their sessions.

The final plenary session of the day focused on the waste and freshwater nexus in Asia and the Pacific, with presentations on the regional situation and the specific case of India.

The Sixth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific continued on Wednesday, 19 August 2015 in Malé, Maldives.

The morning plenary session heard presentations and discussions on "State of the 3Rs in Asia and the Pacific." UNEP presented on its work to develop resources use indicators in six domains covering 26 Asia-Pacific countries over a 40-year time frame, and ICLEI reported on the SUNYA zero waste project undertaken in seven cities in five South Asian countries.

Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Environment and Energy, Maldives, then presented a draft Chair’s Summary of the Forum, which participants reviewed and adopted with several minor amendments.

In the closing session, Ibrahim, Chikako Takase, Director, UN Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), and Masahito Fukami, Ministry of the Environment, Japan, offered closing remarks. Ibrahim announced that the Seventh Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific would be held in 2016 in Adelaide, Australia, and he presented a carved sculpture to Vaughan Levitzke, Zero Waste South Australia, to symbolize the handover.

Vladimir Maryev, Director, International Center for Best Available Technologies (ICBET), Russian Federation, announced the 2015 Global Forum of the International Partnership for Expanding Waste Management Services of Local Authorities (IPLA) to be held in Moscow, Russian Federation in October 2015, and invited all 3R Forum participants to attend. He also indicated the Russian Federation's interest in hosting the 3R Forum in the future.

The meeting closed at 1:18 p.m. Later in the afternoon participants went on field visits to see the waste management operations at different resorts that had endorsed the Malé 3R Declaration. The field visits were followed by a tree planting ceremony on newly reclaimed land on Hulhumalé Island as part of an effort to make this the first carbon neutral 3R Forum.

Please return to this page on Saturday, 22 August 2015 for the IISD RS summary of the meeting.