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Photo credit: UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Blog

Stories of growing vulnerability make regular headlines across all Asian and Pacific small island developing States (SIDS). With tens of thousands of people displaced every year due to climate and…

Photo credit: iStock/benedek Blog

As the world is still gearing up to welcome 2024, let us find a moment to reflect on some of the key trends of the past year and pursue now to embrace the path towards hope and promise for everyone,…

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Nastco Op-ed

We are living in an era of a polycrisis: the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency and the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to send shockwaves through Asia and the…

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Dilok Klaisataporn Op-ed

The latest synthesis report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes for grim reading: Every fraction of a degree of warming comes with escalated threats, from deadly heatwaves to…

Photo credit: ESCAP/East and North-East Asia Office Op-ed

Cities are key players in combatting climate change and its effects. They are responsible for 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and consume 80 per cent of global energy. Thus, without…

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Getty Images Op-ed

The start of the “Decade of Action” to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has also marked the start of an unprecedented period of overlapping crises.

The Covid-19…

Photo credit: iStockphoto/LeoPatrizi Story

For those in Seoul looking to avoid a frustrating commute home or needing transportation after a late night out, getting around is now much easier thanks to new “smart mobility” technology.

The…

Photo by Unsplash/Irina Shishkina Blog

2022 started with an abnormally warm January for North and Central Asia, followed by civil unrest, and the lingering impacts of COVID-19. How the year ahead would look like is still fraught with…

Photo credit: iStockphoto/superwaka Op-ed

In a joint statement, the Executive Secretaries of the United Nations Regional Commissions have called for enhanced regional cooperation to develop nature-based and technological solutions for…

Photo credit: e X p o s e/shutterstock.com Blog

From Suva to Seoul, people wearing face masks is now a common sight in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past years, face masks have become a regular feature of everyday life to protect from…

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Getty Images Op-ed

If the world wants to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure no one is left behind in the recovery, two issues thrown into sharp relief by the pandemic need attention: digitalization and regional…

Istockphoto/ipopba Op-ed

Tomorrow marks the entry into force of a new international agreement promoting paperless trade, a timely reminder of how the COVID-19 pandemic has brought digital solutions to regional development…

Shutterstock / Nuad Contributor Blog

Could you imagine a world where online chat platforms become the primary source of information for truckers on how to get across borders? This blog follows the Subregional SDG Forum hosted in…

Shutterstock / Chubykin Arkady Blog

Civilizations in North and Central Asia have ebbed and flowed, along with the river basins that feed and nurture them. Water has always been a key source of livelihood in this subregion, given that…

Shutterstock / Curioso.Photography Blog

In recent years, countries in North and Central Asia have put in place measures to ensure the rights of migrant workers, recognizing their significant contribution to both home and recipient…