ASEAN Environmental Improvement Program

In Southeast Asia, one of the world's most rapidly developing regions, concern for ensuring sustainable and environmentally acceptable economic development was the driving force behind The Louis Berger Group's selection by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1992 to manage the ASEAN Environmental Improvement Program. The program was designed to address rising urban and industrial pollution in the then six ASEAN countries--Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand--and to provide a region-wide programmatic framework to introduce cleaner industrial production and environmental management. Funded by USAID and ASEAN, the monumental, six-year, $17.5-million program addressed environmental policy and institutional development, training and technology dissemination. Program tasks included analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of existing environmental laws, regulations and institutions in each ASEAN country; introduction of market-based incentives to foster improved environmental management; encouragement of regional policies to prevent industrial pollution and raise the level of environmental awareness and concern in the region; and establishment of technical research and development centers as well as region-wide certification programs for testing laboratories. As part of this program, The Louis Berger Group (Berger) Team undertook environmental audits of 15 industrial programs per year; prepared training courses in environmental pollution prevention practices and technologies; conducted environmental workshops and seminars for industry; established an information center to introduce state-of-the-art U.S. environmental technology to the ASEAN managers and entrepreneurs; and promoted the export of U.S. environmental technology. In the initial phases, the Berger Team, conducted policy and institutional analyses and targeted high-priority sectors in the ASEAN countries such as iron and steel, pulp and paper, metal finishing, food processing and cement industries to identify opportunities and suggest technologies that could yield significant productivity savings while reducing pollution levels. For example, discussions with iron and steel mill managers on reducing electric arc furnace dust identified the fact that no iron and steel mills in Southeast Asia were recovering metals from their metal-bearing tailings and wastes, an area in which U.S. practices are extremely advanced. Many of the Berger Team's recommendations have already been implemented, and more than 800 industry managers and government officials have been trained in workshops on industrial pollution prevention.

In early 1995, USAID reorganized its Asian environmental efforts, and the ASEAN program was absorbed into the larger United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP) program, a USAID-sponsored, $100-million public-private partnership designed to encourage the transfer of American environmental management and technology skills to over 30 Asian countries. The primary focus is on the original ASEAN member countries as well as Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka. The US-AEP, under the direction of Lewis Reade, maintains technology representative offices in each of these countries, as well as a full-time liaison at the Asian Development Bank.

Recognizing that Asia's rapid industrial development poses one of the most significant challenges to global environmental sustainability, the US-AEP's original mission focused on pollution control, biodiversity conservation, urban environmental infrastructure development and increased energy efficiency. In 1995, the US-AEP made clean technology and environmental management (CTEM) its primary focus, while maintaining the infrastructure component and adding a new focus on public policy to encourage CTEM. Because so much of Asia's projected industrial capacity is yet to be installed, promoting CTEM now will produce significant long-term benefits. The program supports professional exchanges, technology demonstrations, seminars and workshops aimed at fostering U.S.-Asian partnerships. The US-AEP also sponsors the widely followed Environment Technology Network for Asia, which provides environmental and clean production trade leads to U.S. suppliers.

Asian environmental priorities and opportunities are identified through country assessments conducted by US-AEP staff. Following these assessments, US-AEP staff members assist interested Asian organizations in finding like-minded U.S. organizations and establishing partnerships. Mechanisms include professional exchanges, information transfer, trade and professional missions, training and encouragement of major U.S. multinational corporations to foster improved environmental management from their Asian suppliers.

Drawing on the group's outstanding environmental technology, Berger provides a key resource to the US-AEP in its efforts to promote a "clean revolution" in Asia. The Louis Berger Group is assisting the US-AEP in fostering partnerships between U.S. and Asian industry and professional associations and between U.S. and Asian universities; encouraging the adoption of voluntary industry environmental standards such as ISO 14000; promoting technology transfer via information centers and trade networks; and encouraging the adoption of environmentally- sensitive national and regional industrial development.

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