Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia) eNewsletter Quarter 2 FY 2010, Volume 5, Number 2 (January 1, 2010 March 31, 2010)

Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia), a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), promotes regional cooperation on the environment by demonstrating best practices and sharing experiences across Asia. Focus areas include: improved access to clean water and sanitation; improved environmental governance; sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation; and investment in clean energy technologies. For more information, please visit www.usaid.eco-asia.org.

This eNewsletter contains the following stories:

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

CLEAN DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE PROGRAM (CDCP)
· USAID Initiates Asia Clean Energy Policy and Regulatory Exchange
· USAID-Supported Regional Network Facilitates $2 Million Investment in Chinese Biogas Company
· Clean Energy Projects from Across Asia Presented to Investors
· Large Indian Banks Build Capacity on Energy Efficiency Financing

U.S.-CHINA SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS PARTNERSHIP (SBP)
· USAID Green Buildings Program Supports Low Carbon 2010 World Expo in Shanghai  
· U.S.-China Sustainable Buildings Partnership Helps First Carbon Neutral Hotel in China Reduce Electricity Use by 36 Percent
· U.S.-China Sustainable Buildings Partners with Super 8 Hotel China

GUANGDONG ENVIRONMENTAL PARTNERSHIP (GEP)
· U.S. EPA Joins Effort to Reduce Harmful Air Emissions in China's Guangdong Province
· Guangdong Community Launches Residential Green Roof Project
· 2,500 Students in Guangdong Lead the Way to Lower Energy Consumption
· Guangdong Factory to Reduce Energy Consumption by 20 Percent

U.S.-China Partnership for Climate Action (PCA)
· Seven Chinese Companies Join Their Counterparts Worldwide to Measure GHG Emissions from Products and Supply Chains

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

ASEAN WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT NETWORK (ASEAN-WEN)
· ASEAN-WEN Tapped by Asian Ministers and World Bank to Help Save the Wild Tiger
· ASEAN-WEN Facilitates U.S.-Thailand Prosecutions of Ivory Traffickers
· Record Wildlife Seizure in Malaysia Follows International Enforcement Training
· Disease Control and Border Security Forums Draw on ASEAN-WEN

ASIA REGIONAL BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION PROGRAM (ARBCP)
· Vietnam Shows Strong Commitment to Expand PFES
· Payment for Forest Environmental Services Decree Undergoes Final Review in Vietnam
· Vietnam's Payment for Environmental Services Model to be Replicated in Lao PDR

RESPONSIBLE ASIA FORESTRY AND TRADE (RAFT)
· Workshop Helps Clarify Emerging Policies to Promote Trade in Legal Forest Products
· Indonesian Ministry of Forestry Officials Visit Timber Concession to See Reduced Impact Monocable Logging First-Hand
· First Forest Stewardship Council Chain-of-Custody Certification Awarded to Timber Processing Company in Lao PDR

U.S. SUPPORT TO THE CORAL TRIANGLE INITIATIVE (USCTI)
· USAID Prepares "Wildlife Wardens" to Protect Malaysian Marine Park
· Marine Resources Outreach Campaign Launched in Timor-Leste Coastal Communities
· Mangrove Nursery Established to Sustain Conservation Hotspot in Philippines
· Four Public-Private Partnerships Signed at First CTI Business Summit

WATER AND SANITATION

SUSTAINABLE WATER SERVICES
· WaterLinks: Chinese Water Services Companies to Take Part in Water Operator Partnerships
· WaterLinks: USAID Concludes Successful Initiative on Stakeholder Participation in the Water Services Delivery in China
· WaterLinks: Philippines Water Association Adopts National Water Operator Partnerships Program
· USAID Launches Pioneering Sanitation Assessment at East Asia Sanitation Summit

ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

ASIAN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT NETWORK (AECEN)
· China and Japan Launch Twinning Partnership on Strengthening Enforcement of China's Energy Efficiency Law
· AECEN: Nepal and Malaysia Establish Twinning Partnership on Hydropower Planning

ADDRESSING TRANSBOUNDARY CONFLICT IN THE MEKONG RIVER BASIN
· USAID Develops Tool to Assess the Basin-Wide Sustainability Impact of Mekong Hydropower Dams