Iloilo City, 21 March 2024: As part of the 3rd Regional Workshop for the “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to Protect the Marine Environment and Coral Reefs”, or 3RproMar project under the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia) Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (RKC-MPD) team, along with GIZ, co-organized a session titled “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Schemes in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States Contributing to Minimise Plastic Pollution”. The session, which was moderated by the Director of the Regional Knowledge Centre, Mr. Reo Kawamura, and Dr. Johannes Paul, Team Leader for 3RproMar of GIZ Philippines began with a panel presentation on EPR practices across ASEAN followed by the soft launch of the Regional Knowledge Centre’s EPR webpage and a focus group discussion (FGD).
The panel presentation featured Mr. Choo Kim Kian, Assistant Director of the Department of Sustainable Packaging Policy from Singapore’s National Environment Agency, as well as Ms. Delia Valdez, an Environmental Specialist from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, and Ms. Ilusion Farias, the Managing Director of Friends of Hope. Mr. Choo and Ms. Valdez provided insights on the implementation of EPR schemes in their respective countries from government perspectives, whereas Ms. Farias discussed the non-governmental organization and private sector perspectives, sharing how organizations such as Friends of Hope can contribute to diverting waste while also supporting community livelihood.
The panel presentation was concluded by Mr. Michikazu Kojima, Senior Research Fellow on Environmental Issues at ERIA, who presented a summary of the implementation of EPR among ASEAN Member States (AMS). In his talk, Mr. Kojima highlighted the factors that affect the value of plastics which in turn influence how they are collected and managed. He also discussed observed challenges in applying EPR in developing countries and concluded with several good practices that can be used as reference.
After the panel presentation, Ms. Elsa Noviani, the Regional Knowledge Centre’s Knowledge Management Associate, took the stage to introduce a webpage dedicated to EPR knowledge on the Centre’s newly revamped website. The webpage includes information on the EPR legal framework and practices in ASEAN+3 Member States, global EPR practices, as well as challenges and opportunities in implementing EPR schemes. As the webpage was only recently launched, participants of the session were encouraged to explore the webpage and provide feedback and suggestions for further improvement.
The session was concluded with an FGD where participants were divided into three groups to discuss several EPR-related topics. Group 1, which was facilitated by Mr. Kojima, Ms. Aulia Salsabella Suwarno of the Regional Knowledge Centre, and Mr. Florian Schmidt of GIZ Cambodia, explored the different types of information that are needed to design effective EPR schemes. Group 2, facilitated by Mr. Kawamura and Mr. Roy Andy Panjaitan of GIZ Indonesia, focused on how EPR knowledge and best practices should be shared. Ms. Noviani and Ms. Julia Giebel of GIZ Indonesia facilitated Group 3 which further discussed the EPR webpage, specifically identifying gaps and potential opportunities for making it more accessible and useful for its visitors. While the results of Group 3’s discussion would be useful in helping the Regional Knowledge Centre further improve their EPR webpage, the results from Group 1 and 2 were helpful in creating a better understanding of the landscape of EPR practices across the ASEAN region.
The GIZ 3RproMar 3rd Regional Workshop was held in Iloilo City, the Philippines between 19th-23rd March 2024 to share the progress of the implementation of the project and discuss regional interventions for addressing marine litter. The Regional Knowledge Centre is involved in one of the four activities under the GIZ 3RproMar project which focuses on promoting regional cooperation and knowledge management on marine litter and plastic pollution.
Research Associate
Iloilo City, 21 March 2024: As part of the 3rd Regional Workshop for the “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to Protect the Marine Environment and Coral Reefs”, or 3RproMar project under the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia) Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (RKC-MPD) team, along with GIZ, co-organized a session titled “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Schemes in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States Contributing to Minimise Plastic Pollution”. The session, which was moderated by the Director of the Regional Knowledge Centre, Mr. Reo Kawamura, and Dr. Johannes Paul, Team Leader for 3RproMar of GIZ Philippines began with a panel presentation on EPR practices across ASEAN followed by the soft launch of the Regional Knowledge Centre’s EPR webpage and a focus group discussion (FGD).
The panel presentation featured Mr. Choo Kim Kian, Assistant Director of the Department of Sustainable Packaging Policy from Singapore’s National Environment Agency, as well as Ms. Delia Valdez, an Environmental Specialist from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, and Ms. Ilusion Farias, the Managing Director of Friends of Hope. Mr. Choo and Ms. Valdez provided insights on the implementation of EPR schemes in their respective countries from government perspectives, whereas Ms. Farias discussed the non-governmental organization and private sector perspectives, sharing how organizations such as Friends of Hope can contribute to diverting waste while also supporting community livelihood.
The panel presentation was concluded by Mr. Michikazu Kojima, Senior Research Fellow on Environmental Issues at ERIA, who presented a summary of the implementation of EPR among ASEAN Member States (AMS). In his talk, Mr. Kojima highlighted the factors that affect the value of plastics which in turn influence how they are collected and managed. He also discussed observed challenges in applying EPR in developing countries and concluded with several good practices that can be used as reference.
After the panel presentation, Ms. Elsa Noviani, the Regional Knowledge Centre’s Knowledge Management Associate, took the stage to introduce a webpage dedicated to EPR knowledge on the Centre’s newly revamped website. The webpage includes information on the EPR legal framework and practices in ASEAN+3 Member States, global EPR practices, as well as challenges and opportunities in implementing EPR schemes. As the webpage was only recently launched, participants of the session were encouraged to explore the webpage and provide feedback and suggestions for further improvement.
The session was concluded with an FGD where participants were divided into three groups to discuss several EPR-related topics. Group 1, which was facilitated by Mr. Kojima, Ms. Aulia Salsabella Suwarno of the Regional Knowledge Centre, and Mr. Florian Schmidt of GIZ Cambodia, explored the different types of information that are needed to design effective EPR schemes. Group 2, facilitated by Mr. Kawamura and Mr. Roy Andy Panjaitan of GIZ Indonesia, focused on how EPR knowledge and best practices should be shared. Ms. Noviani and Ms. Julia Giebel of GIZ Indonesia facilitated Group 3 which further discussed the EPR webpage, specifically identifying gaps and potential opportunities for making it more accessible and useful for its visitors. While the results of Group 3’s discussion would be useful in helping the Regional Knowledge Centre further improve their EPR webpage, the results from Group 1 and 2 were helpful in creating a better understanding of the landscape of EPR practices across the ASEAN region.
The GIZ 3RproMar 3rd Regional Workshop was held in Iloilo City, the Philippines between 19th-23rd March 2024 to share the progress of the implementation of the project and discuss regional interventions for addressing marine litter. The Regional Knowledge Centre is involved in one of the four activities under the GIZ 3RproMar project which focuses on promoting regional cooperation and knowledge management on marine litter and plastic pollution.
Research Associate
