Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal - Current Issue

I am pleased to present the second issue of the Asia Pacific Sustainable Development Journal (APSDJ, vol. 30, No. 2) for 2023. Produced in collaboration with the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute, this issue contains a thematic section of five papers based on the theme “Regional sustainable development cooperation in Central Asian countries”, guest edited by Ghulam Samad, Senior Research Specialist (Research Division), and coordinated by Emma Tong of the CAREC Institute. Originating from the research programme of the CAREC Institute, these papers went through the Journal’s independent reviewing process for academic rigour before being included in this issue.

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities related to transport, energy, and information and communications technology connectivity in landlocked developing countries of North and Central Asia, underscoring its pivotal role in advancing sustainable development. Regional collaborative efforts – encompassing the development of multimodal transport corridors and promotion of multilateral power and energy trading, and information-sharing of digital transformation solutions – can offset structural weaknesses of individual countries, catalyse decarbonization and strengthen resilience. Interlinking transport, energy and information and communications technology connectivity has emerged as a strategy to realize economic, political and security gains, thereby facilitating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This paper developed a framework of digital and sustainable regional integration for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) regions with the objective to chart progress in achieving higher regional integration and offer future policy options. Trade and investment integration, including regional value chain integration, can be advanced through digital transformation of trade and investment in the CAREC region. Greater facilitation of mobility for people, substantial regulatory cooperation in digital trade, trade in information and communications technology goods, and development of e-commerce platforms are essential for sustainable development in the region.

The present paper provides an overview of regional collaboration on low-carbon energy development in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region. Low-carbon energy development can be achieved through a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, development of renewables and improvement in energy efficiency. For this study, an analysis was conducted on regional cooperation involving the eleven CAREC member countries in promoting renewable and energy efficiency policies and the level of cooperation was assessed by identifying challenges and opportunities in promoting regional cooperation in low-carbon energy development, which contribute towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13.

Global and regional value chains offer opportunities for countries to participate in international production networks. While global and regional value chains participation indices exist for many developed countries, none of them cover Central Asian and the South Caucasus countries as a separate group. This study has created a comprehensive mapping of the global and regional value chains using intercountry input-output matrices. It contributes to the empirical literature on regional value chains by assessing the trade linkages between countries in the region and further defines the methodology to compare global and regional value chains participation at the industry level.

This paper investigates the trade facilitation role of regional trade agreements of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) countries. A structural gravity model is applied to analyse annual bilateral exports for the period 2000–2019. The findings indicate that Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan experience a positive trade effect from their regional trade agreements, while Mongolia faces a negative trade effect. Although these agreements promote intra-bloc trade, their impact on exports outside the CAREC region is trivial. The paper offers policy guidance based on comparative advantage and trade complementarity to enhance trade connectivity of the CAREC region.

Investment in transport infrastructure boosts regional economies. Transforming a transport corridor into an economic corridor depends on ensuring market linkages. Focusing on the CAREC transport corridors in the mainly landlocked Central Asian region, this study makes an assessment to determine if low transport costs result in a cumulative causation process leading to the emergence of economic clusters. Using satellite imagery and multiple criteria decision modelling, land-use intensity changes are mapped to identify potential sites for economic activities in China, Pakistan and Tajikistan are identified. The study’s findings can be used in the design of policy interventions and for future investments.

The paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from China, specifically focusing on State-owned enterprises. It also analyses the potential effects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the ASEAN and CAREC regions following the pandemic. It is evident that OFDI of BRI significantly has harmed Stateowned enterprises of China in the ASEAN and CAREC regions. Despite this, the paper recommends that the BRI projects should still continue in the post-pandemic period to benefit the countries in these regions.

Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems serve numerous legislative and administrative functions, and the resultant statistics provide valuable evidence for policy and monitoring purposes. Nepal has made progress in improving the civil registration component of the CRVS system, while the vital statistics component remains underdeveloped. The present article provides a review of progress in improving the CRVS system in Nepal with reference to global and regional contexts, emphasizing the statistical importance of CRVS systems, identifying possible causes for deficient vital statistics and recommending solutions for obtaining high-quality vital statistics from a CRVS system in an efficient and sustainable way.

This paper uses a stochastic frontier gravity model to study bilateral trade efficiency and its influencing factors in Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation countries. The results reveal that bilateral trade efficiency is generally low and exhibit a downward trend from 2001 to 2022. The main inhibiting factors identified are trade barriers from export countries and disparities in informatization or the extent to which their economies are information-based. Accordingly, market forces should be further liberated to enhance trade efficiency, and the informatization differences expanded by the Covid-19 pandemic should be considered in particular to enhance trade facilitation in the region.

Over the past four decades, China has successfully eradicated extreme poverty through a series of government-led anti-poverty strategies. This paper examines the evolution of the country’s “area-based” to “targeted” poverty alleviation strategy, keeping up with the changing circumstances of economic development and poverty situation. The experience of China shows that despite various challenges for a large developing country, poverty reduction is achievable through policy commitments and institutional coordination, adaptation to circumstances, developmentoriented policy measures, and mobilization of societal and financial resources.

The Editorial Board of the Asia Pacific Sustainable Development Journal (APSDJ) would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of the following referees (in alphabetical order) during 2022-2023. It is only due to their rigorous reviews and insightful comments, APSDJ could maintain its academic standards.