The Expert Group Meetings are expected to be held annually, with participants from both Asia and the Pacific region and Japan. Representatives from Asia will introduce their environmental issues, challenges and concrete needs of the cities and the current progress of their work. On the other side of the meeting table, local governments from Japan, businesses and NGOs will introduce their technologies, know-how and share their experiences in overcoming issues such as environmental degradation at the municipality levels. Through the discussions, we aim to seek further opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, by matching the needs and technologies available. Pilot projects and follow up workshop information will also be available in this website.
The 3rd Expert Group Meeting was held in Fukuoka, Japan on from 30 November to 1 December 2011. The meeting focused on the area of sanitation, in particular, sewage issues. Day I covered sanitation management, administration, and operational know-how practiced by selected local governments; Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka City and Iizuka City, ranging from centrally controlled advanced systems to mixed use of septic tanks and combined tanks. On Day II, technologies and know-how developed by the private sector were introduced; such as leading toilet companies seeking for low-carbon and less water consuming toilet systems, series of sewer pipe inspection robots which enables efficient and low cost maintenance, sewerage consulting and design for rural and isolated communities such as island communities, sustainable yet powerful degradation of sewage and sludge by use of bacteria and so on. From Asia and the Pacific region, representatives from central governments, local governments and UN-HABITAT country offices made presentations on their current sanitation situations, and the issues and challenges many countries and cities face. Following the presentations, very active discussions were held among the experts on how these challenges could be addressed by utilizing the technologies and know-how introduced.






