This report presents the results of a stocktake of national responses to Sustainable Development Goals 12, 14, and 15, and selected environment-related targets that have a direct relationship with responsible consumption and production, and sustainable marine and terrestrial ecosystems management, by 15 developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. The report was completed under the first phase of a technical assistance project by the Asian Development Bank, with the aim of understanding and helping its developing member countries address the issues and challenges behind effective integration of these goals and targets into national policies, plans, and programs.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), prepared this tool compendium to help address the issues, challenges, and barriers faced by developing countries from Asia and the Pacific in the successful implementation of the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The tools presented here can help policy makers gain a better understanding of SDG interlinkages, establish horizontal and vertical policy coherence, and select appropriate guidelines, indicators, and institutional arrangements for effective integration into national policies, plans, and programs. This publication reflects the high-level commitment of ADB and UN Environment to support efforts to accelerate progress in implementing the environmental dimensions of the SDGs.

This report is a combined effort by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU), and the Institute for Global and Environmental Strategies (IGES), and is being published as governments and other stakeholders prepare to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a plan for people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. While “transformation” has become a buzz-word during the formulation of this agenda, how to make it happen has not been addressed properly. This report underlines that the Sustainable Development Goals will only be achieved when key Asia-Pacific megatrends are managed in a way that creates opportunities for achieving sustainable development outcomes. It supports national and regional efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda. Regional megatrends such as urbanization, trade and economic integration and rising consumption and changing consumption patterns are already shaping the future patterns of resource use, and defining who will be the ‘winners’ and who will be the ‘losers’. The report examines the four critical determinants of the relationship between the economy, people and nature explored in this publication as targets for a fundamental transformation – social justice, resource efficiency, investment flows and economic structures.

This publication is the first Asia-Pacific report that comprehensively maps out the intersections between gender and environment at the levels of household, work, community and policy. It examines gender concerns in the spheres of food security, agriculture, energy, water, fisheries and forestry, and identifies strategic entry points for policy interventions. Based on a grounded study of the reality in the Asia-Pacific region, this report puts together good practices and policy lessons that could be capitalized by policymakers to advance the agenda of sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

This publication presents a snapshot of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) environmental strategies, programs, initiatives, partnerships, and a range of activities that demonstrate ADB's commitment to support environmentally sustainable growth in Asia and the Pacific---a strategic agenda of ADB's Strategy 2020. The report highlights innovations designed in selected ADB-supported projects with environmental sustainability as a theme that were approved in 2008–2010. It also discusses the emerging environmental challenges in the region, and previews ADB's strategies to strengthen its operational emphasis on the environment, including climate change, that would help realize green growth in Asia and the Pacific.

This report is a combined effort by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU), and the Institute for Global and Environmental Strategies (IGES), and is being published as governments and other stakeholders prepare to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a plan for people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. While 'transformation' has become a buzz-word during the formulation of this agenda, how to make it happen has not been addressed properly. This report underlines that the Sustainable Development Goals will only be achieved when key Asia-Pacific megatrends are managed in a way that creates opportunities for achieving sustainable development outcomes. It supports national and regional efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda. Regional megatrends such as urbanization, trade and economic integration and rising consumption and changing consumption patterns are already shaping the future patterns of resource use, and defining who will be the 'winners' and who will be the 'losers'. The report examines the four critical determinants of the relationship between the economy, people and nature explored in this publication as targets for a fundamental transformation - social justice, resource efficiency, investment flows and economic structures