"The lack of adequate and reliable supplies of electric power is one of the most serious problems facing Indonesia today. In 2009, energy output was some 170 billion kilowatt hours (kwh), well short of the 260-290 billion kwh the country would have needed to avoid rationing. And energy demands are only growing. Each percentage point in future GDP growth will demand a 2.5 percent increase in electric power output. If Indonesia is to reach a 6 percent annual growth rate, it will require a power increase of at least 15 percent every year.

The current plan to add 10,000 megawatts to the grid by 2012 would increase current capacity by about 40 percent, or half of the rise necessary to eliminate rationing. But the plan will also cost the government more than $17 billion, a steep price to pay if current subsidies keep domestic electricity prices well below the cost of production. What the government needs is a comprehensive and creative approach to solving the energy crisis -- one that addresses both supply and demand."

"As of 2002, some 699 million people in the Asia-Pacific region had no access to safe drinking water, according to a report. The paper, gAsia Water Watch 2015,h also mentioned that the Philippines' water use and water supply situation have actually regressed -- that is, as more and more Filipinos need water in rural and urban areas, water supply is actually decreasing. In the next few years, the Philippines could be facing a water crisis with tragic consequences. How should it deal with this emerging crisis?

The ADB is encouraging the private sector and government to invest in water, specifically targeting the poorest areas, where people need water and sanitation most urgently. A cost-benefit analysis shows that investing in water will result in tremendous returns. Essentially, for every dollar spent on water and sanitation for the poor, $6 is generated."

"The Aquino administration plans to double the Philippines' infrastructure investments in the next six years by tapping the private sector, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The new government will raise investments to a range of 25 percent to 28 percent of gross domestic product for the period 2011 to 2016, from the current 14 percent.

To achieve this, NEDA said the government will increase spending on public infrastructure through greater private sector participation. NEDA said the government aims to modernize the transportation sector and the logistics system for efficient movement of goods and people. The country's competitiveness has deteriorated in the last 14 years because of poor infrastructure and costly power."

"A 12-year-old girl isn't doing her schoolwork. In fact, she says she has missed months of classes. That's because nearly every hour of her day is spent working in the tobacco fields of Kazakhstan alongside her parents, who are migrant laborers from neighboring Kyrgyz Republic. The report documents wage violations, forced labor, debt bondage, excessively long working hours, the absence of written contracts, exposure of workers to pesticides, lack of clean drinking water, and illegal labor by children as young as 10 on the tobacco farms.

The payment structure is such that migrant workers get paid once at the end of the season by the volume of tobacco that they produce. That incentivizes child labor because these migrant workers travel with families and they need to get as many hands on the tobacco as possible."

"Efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions through domestic cap-and-trade systems have acquired new urgency, as PRC is set to become the world's largest emitter and energy user in the coming decade. In the absence of a functioning global cap-and-trade system that is widespread enough to fight climate change effectively, Chinese policymakers should do what they can to develop similar domestic programs to promote energy efficiency and clean energy sources that will both enhance energy security and deal effectively with climate change.

China has already achieved some progress in voluntary carbon trading. Expanding such an experimental system and successfully applying it to certain industries or regions would however require the introduction of a proper price tag on carbon emissions. A domestic cap-and-trade mechanism will ensure that investors in clean energy benefit from the sale of carbon credits and consequently be encouraged to further expand the supply of greener alternatives."

"At a time when India's agriculture is under stress and the subsidy on fertilizer has reached unsustainable levels, recent policy initiatives such as price decontrol for most fertilizers (except urea) and nutrient-based pricing send out a strong signal that New Delhi is keen to release the industry from antiquated regulations and make it truly market-oriented.

Farmers need to be educated about the use of appropriate fertilizers depending on the soil condition. It is in this context that the proposal to launch a pilot project, leveraging the country's strengths in information technology to track movement of fertilizers from factory to field deserves mention. Together with soil testing, delivery of customised fertilizers to meet soil-specific and crop-specific needs would go a long way in improving farm productivity."

"Biodiversity and a healthy soil are central to ecological approaches to making farming more drought-resistant and more resilient to extreme events. Practices that make soils better able to hold soil moisture and reduce erosion and that increase biodiversity in the system help in making farm production and income more resilient and stable.

In order to feed humanity and secure ecological resilience it is essential to increase productivity in rain-fed areas where poor farmers implement current know-how on water and soil conservation. Ecological farms that work with biodiversity and are knowledge-intensive rather than chemical input-intensive might be the most resilient options under a drier and more erratic climate."

"Some Tk 200 billion ($2.9 billion) is lost every year in traffic jams due to valuable time being lost in the maze of gridlocks in Dhaka's streets, a study said. It said traffic jams are held responsible for taking away 8.15 million working hours, 40 percent of which are business hours.

The study, which was based on only loss of time of people and modes of vehicles, disclosed that both public transport operators and the freight industry have to bear losses of Tk 20 billion each for losing trips daily and restrictions on entry into the city during the daytime."

"PRC became the largest aircraft manufacturer in Asia, with a coverage of 29.2 percent of the market, according to a report. The center of aircraft manufacturing in the Asia-Pacific area is rapidly shifting to China and the country earned $13.1 billion from the industry last year, surpassing Japan, which earned $12.8 billion, to become the No.1 manufacturer in Asia.

But despite these achievements, China continues to face many challenges from its domestic market, and it has not yet initiated a spare part supply system, which is key for the development of its aircraft industry, said an expert. The Asia-Pacific area covers a small part of the international aircraft manufacturing business, but it will be the major market for the global commercial aircraft business within the next two decades."

"Sri Lanka will sell up to $1 billion of a 10-year sovereign dollar bond in September to help with budget financing and to reduce short-term debt, the central bank said on Thursday. It will be the island-nation's third bond issue after selling two $500 million, 5-year bonds in 2007 and last year, mainly to fund a raft of infrastructure projects.

Part of that money will go to budget financing and part of the money will be used for restructuring the debt stock, minimizing the risk part of the portfolio. Sri Lanka expects the economy to grow 7 percent this year, with a budget deficit of 8 percent. The deficit hit an eight-year high of 9.9 percent last year."

"Yet another sugar shortage is looming large ahead of Ramazan due to the Pakistani government's inability to import the commodity according to national needs. It is difficult to say who is responsible: the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), the bureaucracy, business groups or people working on behalf of certain influential politicians? All players appear to have collaborated to manipulate the situation to their advantage and prevent the TCP from importing 1.2 million tons of sugar before the June 30 deadline.

The consequences of the shortage are predicted to be harsh for both consumers and the government. Soon we will find consumers either paying very high prices for the sweetener or waiting for hours in long queues to buy it in small quantities at subsidized rates. Though authorities claim the country has enough sugar stocks to meet its needs over the next several months, retail prices are spiraling upwards in anticipation of the shortage."

Please share e-newsline with others interested in the development of Asia-Pacific.

For questions, comments, complaints please visit our online contact form

To change your email address or to unsubscribe from ADBI e-newsline please visit:
http://www.adbi.org/e-newsline/subscribe.php

Sign-up for ADBI's free e-notification service to ensure you receive an e-mail when we post new publications and opportunities.

Follow us on Twitter

The stories and links selected and the views expressed in e-Newsline are those of the authors and editors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the ADB Institute. The Institute does not endorse them and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequences of their use. Original name usage is retained in quoted articles, although it may not necessarily follow ADB naming conventions.