Naypyitaw, 10 July 2024: The Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris presented the Open Session of the 16th Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Working Group on Environmental Education (AWGEE). The virtual meeting, hosted by Myanmar and chaired by Cambodia, marked the Regional Knowledge Centre’s first opportunity to attend the AWGEE Meetings.
Mr Reo Kawamura, Director for Environmental Policy and Director of the Regional Knowledge Centre, participated in the session on ASEAN Cooperation with Dialogue/Development Partners and Relevant Sectoral Bodies on Environmental Education and Sustainable Production and Consumption. He presented the Regional Knowledge Centre’s capacity-building and educational activities.
Mr Kawamura began his presentation by providing a brief introduction of the Regional Knowledge Centre, noting, ‘Its activity pillars are aligned with the ASEAN Regional Action Plan and it consists of five pillars. From these five pillars, number three, facilitating national and regional capacity-building activities, is relevant to environmental education.’
Amongst the Regional Knowledge Centre’s activities, Mr Kawamura elaborated on the Behavioural Insights Application for Single-Use Plastic Reduction (Breaking the Plastic Habit) Project, which was implemented in 2023 in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Studies and partners in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. He detailed the implementation and outcomes of the project, highlighting the substantial contributions of each country’s high schools and universities’ faculties and students. He emphasized the project's context within environmental education. Additionally, he announced that preparations are underway to roll out the second phase of the project this year.
Read more: Behavioural Insights Application for Plastic Reduction
Besides the project on behavioural change, Mr Kawamura also highlighted other initiatives by the Regional Knowledge Centre. These include collaboration with the ASEAN–Japan Centre, the ‘Zero in on Plastic’ article series featuring interviews with plastic experts, entrepreneurs, and activists, as well as the Private Sector Seminar Series.
The session on ASEAN Cooperation provided AWGEE partners with the opportunity to present and share the progress of their capacity-building and environmental education initiatives within the region. Other organisations that presented in the session included the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, ASEAN–Japan Centre, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Presenting at this session allowed the Regional Knowledge Centre to showcase its efforts in fulfilling its role as a hub for generating and disseminating knowledge on marine debris, raising awareness, and building capacity surrounding this environmental concern to representatives of ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretariat, and other AWGEE partners.
Research Associate
Naypyitaw, 10 July 2024: The Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris presented the Open Session of the 16th Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Working Group on Environmental Education (AWGEE). The virtual meeting, hosted by Myanmar and chaired by Cambodia, marked the Regional Knowledge Centre’s first opportunity to attend the AWGEE Meetings.
Mr Reo Kawamura, Director for Environmental Policy and Director of the Regional Knowledge Centre, participated in the session on ASEAN Cooperation with Dialogue/Development Partners and Relevant Sectoral Bodies on Environmental Education and Sustainable Production and Consumption. He presented the Regional Knowledge Centre’s capacity-building and educational activities.
Mr Kawamura began his presentation by providing a brief introduction of the Regional Knowledge Centre, noting, ‘Its activity pillars are aligned with the ASEAN Regional Action Plan and it consists of five pillars. From these five pillars, number three, facilitating national and regional capacity-building activities, is relevant to environmental education.’
Amongst the Regional Knowledge Centre’s activities, Mr Kawamura elaborated on the Behavioural Insights Application for Single-Use Plastic Reduction (Breaking the Plastic Habit) Project, which was implemented in 2023 in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Studies and partners in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. He detailed the implementation and outcomes of the project, highlighting the substantial contributions of each country’s high schools and universities’ faculties and students. He emphasized the project's context within environmental education. Additionally, he announced that preparations are underway to roll out the second phase of the project this year.
Read more: Behavioural Insights Application for Plastic Reduction
Besides the project on behavioural change, Mr Kawamura also highlighted other initiatives by the Regional Knowledge Centre. These include collaboration with the ASEAN–Japan Centre, the ‘Zero in on Plastic’ article series featuring interviews with plastic experts, entrepreneurs, and activists, as well as the Private Sector Seminar Series.
The session on ASEAN Cooperation provided AWGEE partners with the opportunity to present and share the progress of their capacity-building and environmental education initiatives within the region. Other organisations that presented in the session included the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, ASEAN–Japan Centre, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Presenting at this session allowed the Regional Knowledge Centre to showcase its efforts in fulfilling its role as a hub for generating and disseminating knowledge on marine debris, raising awareness, and building capacity surrounding this environmental concern to representatives of ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretariat, and other AWGEE partners.
Research Associate
