Mr. Pradhan in his theme paper presentation provided a snapshot of the energy scenario in the Asia Pacific countries. Appraising Asia Pacific as a rich region in natural resources, he pointed out the region’s vulnerability to the negative effects of climate change and environmental calamities. He emphasized the need to recognize the fact that most of the environmental issues of the Asia Pacific region are inextricably linked, and working to ameliorate one will often have added benefits for the others. He advocated for collaborative approaches to effective resource allocation and management in order to minimize environmental costs and reiterated the need to provide incentives to businesses and local communities to achieve sustainable use of resources.
Mr. Pradhan’s presentation was followed by presentations on topics covering environmental sustainability in the region by selected key speakers from CACCI member countries. The key speakers included Mr. Albert Poon, Rotary Water Project from Hong Kong and Mr. Jesus G. Reyes, Assistant Vice President, Nestle Philippines Inc. and Co-Chair, PCCI Environment Committee.
Mr. Poon shared his experiences on a number of water service projects in China and presented on how techniques such as rain water harvesting can help provide an independent water supply to supplement the main supply during water restrictions or in areas of water deficiencies. He emphasized on the application of rainwater harvesting in urban water system to provide a substantial benefit for both water supply and waste water subsystems by reducing the need for clean water in water distribution system. He emphasized on the need to explore water resources for communities citing examples of rotary projects that have provided clean drinking water to schools.
Mr. Reyes presented the issues of environmental sustainability drawing experiences of Philippine businesses. He also presented his views on the experience and policies of the Philippines with respect to climate change and mitigating its impacts on the environment and on business.
