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Highlights for Thursday, 12 April 2018

The final day of the Eighth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific opened in Indore, India, with a plenary session focused on the challenges of mobilizing financing for 3R in the region, with presentations by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the World Bank, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ).

This was followed by a dialogue on public-private partnerships (PPPs) to advance 3Rs in Asia-Pacific wherein individual private sector representatives interact directly with individual country delegates for a short period of time before rotating on to the next interaction. The dialogue was organized in line with the objectives of International Partnership for Expanding Waste Management Services of Local Authorities (IPLA), a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Partnership under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Delegates reviewed and adopted a Chair's summary with several minor amendments. The summary adoption was followed by announcement of 3R Awards given to civil society organizations (CSOs) and industry in waste management. In a formal ceremony, it was announced that the Ninth Regional 3R Forum will be held in Chaing Mai, Thailand, at a date still to be determined, and India handed over the Chair of the Forum to Thailand.

Closing remarks were offered by Yasuo Takahashi, Ministry of Environment, Japan, Birgitte Bryld, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Durga Shanker Mishra, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), India, and Maya Singh, Minister for Urban Development, Madhya Pradesh, India.

The meeting closed at 3:03 pm. Later in the afternoon participants went on field visits to see a waste transfer station, bioremediation plant and integrated solid waste processing facility. In the evening MoHUA hosted a farewell reception for delegates.

Highlights for Wednesday, 11 April 2018

The second full day of the Eighth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific opened in Indore, India, with two keynote addresses on 3Rs and clean water.

During the day three thematic plenary sessions were held on:

• the connection between 3R principles and strategies and protecting coastal and marine ecosystems from land-based activities, particularly marine litter;
• experiences and policies of countries in the region to address the challenges in greening small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and shifting them to participating actively in a circular economy;
• 3R technologies and resource security, including the role of 3R technologies and the internet of things (IOT) to promote smart cities, and experiences in applying 3R technologies to address e-waste, plastics, and healthcare wastes.

Also throughout the day parallel sessions were held of the Asian Mayors Policy Dialogue on Achieving Clean Water, Clean Land and Clean Air through 3Rs and Resource Efficiency. These addressed:

• the contribution of the 3Rs to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and UN-Habitat III New Urban Agenda; and
• special waste challenges, such as plastics, chemical wastes, e-waste and medical wastes.

During lunch an invitation-only session was held to discuss a proposal for a Sub-regional Roadmap for Implementing the Global Waste Management Goals Towards Addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South Asia.

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 adopted at the Fourth Regional 3R Forum in 2013.

In an afternoon session the first “State of the 3Rs in Asia and the Pacific” assessment report prepared by experts was formally launched and discussed. The report addresses progress in implementation of the Ha Noi Declaration.

The report launch was followed by a session featuring a series of reports back to plenary on:

• the country breakout groups;
• the outcome of the Adelaide 3R Declaration adopted at the Seventh forum held in Adelaide, Australia in 2016, and the announcement of the launch of the Global Leadership Program on the Circular Economy;
• the 7th International Conference on Solid Waste Management (IconSWM 2017);
• a civil society event held in parallel to the Forum; and
• the parallel event “Recycling of Land-based Marine Litter: Challenges and Opportunities in South Asia.”

The final Forum event of the day was the signing by mayors and city authorities of the Indore Declaration on Achieving Clean Water, Clean Land and Clean Air in Cities.

Highlights for Tuesday, 10 April 2018

On Tuesday, the Eighth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific formally opened in Indore, India. After a cultural ceremony, participants heard welcome addresses by: Durga Shanker Mishra, MoHUA, India; Maya Singh, Minister for Urban Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh, India; Tadahiko Ito, State Minister, Ministry of the Environment, Japan; Birgitte Bryld, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA); Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State, MoHUA; and the guest of honor, Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Parliament of India.

During the day, four plenary sessions were held addressing the overall theme of the Eighth Forum: “Achieving Clean Water, Clean Land and Clean Air through 3R and Resource Efficiency.” Plenary Session 1 on “Toward Zero Waste Society - The 3R Way” set the scene, with presentations on path-breaking initiatives in India and South Australia, followed by a panel discussion addressing collaboration between national and city authorities in promoting zero waste policies and the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Plenary Session 2 on "The 3Rs and Clean Water,” discussed generally and highlighted specific cases involving India and Bangladesh in advancing 3R and circular economy policies to reduce water scarcity and generate co-benefits for water security and safe drinking water.

Plenary Session 3 on "The 3Rs and Clean Land,” discussed the many ways waste practices can contribute to land degradation, and ways promoting the 3Rs and circular economy policies can mitigate such impacts, prevent land pollution and promote remediation.

Plenary Session 4 on "The 3Rs and Clean Air,” looked at the impacts of waste practices on air pollution and climate change, including the release of short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, and the ways that the 3Rs and circular economy policies can prevent such pollution and generate climate co-benefits. The specific experiences of India and Singapore were presented. Panelists discussed, inter alia, open dumping and waste burning, including biomass, which sometimes produces trans-boundary air pollution.

The International 3R Exhibition was held throughout the day. During the afternoon two parallel events were held, one on what Indian industry is doing to address the 3Rs and waste management, the other on the recycling of land-based marine litter in the South Asia region.

In the evening, MoHUA hosted a reception and dinner for Forum delegates.

Highlights for Monday, 9 April 2018

On Monday afternoon, the Eighth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific opened in Indore, India opened with a pre-event celebrating India National 3R Day for Swachh Bharat (Clean India Mission). Manish Singh, Commissioner, Indore Municipal Corporation, welcomed participants from 40 countries and many of India's cities. He said that the Eighth Regional 3R Forum's themes should help give direction to cities, their officials and managers responsible for formulating and executing policies promoting clean and resilient infrastructure. He noted that Indore, named India's cleanest city in 2017, was proud to host the conference and have the 3R Declaration bear its name.

Birgitte Bryld, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), observed that each session of the Eighth Regional 3R Forum was directly relevant to the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its targets. She said the 3R Regional Forum's outcomes would provide a timely and important contribution to the 2018 review of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs by the High Level Political Forum (HLPF).

Vinod Kumar Jindal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), India, welcomed all participants on behalf of the Government of India. Noting that the host city of Indore has been managing its wastes in a scientific manner, he expressed pleasure that India is hosting of the Eighth 3R Forum at this opportune time when the country has embarked on its Clean India Mission (Swachh Bharat).

After this pre-event, delegates attended a cultural programme and reception dinner hosted by MoHUA.