Land management and real property tax reform have at least a forty-year history in the Philippines, underlining the immense political, social, technical, and institutional challenges of reforms in this area. The Asian Development Bank-financed REGALA project and its predecessor, the AusAID-financed Innovation Support Fund (ISF), adopted an approach that combined land management, and real property tax reforms.

The Rakhine Fisheries Law is a new benchmark for Myanmar both in terms of delivering equitable resource sharing and, crucially, as a replicable model for consultation and public participation in policy-making. This case demonstrates that despite decades of repressive state machinery, with the right process, government departments can embrace new ways of working and thinking.

This presentation shares cases that demonstrate the economic effects of infrastructure and gives a snapshot of the governance of infrastructure. It also initiates discussion on how the knowledge and expertise of local academic institution can be tapped to craft knowledge solutions that can benefit the entire region. 

This presentation features an energy distribution initiative introduced in Mousuni Island near India’s Kolkata City by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. It aims to integrate both traditional grid and micro grid systems with various renewable energy sources to create electricity that is efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly.

South Asia’s rapid growth is met with an increasing crisis in energy demand. Strategic investments in human capital is needed to address this major challenge in energy security. The productive engagement of women in training and employment opportunities accelerates access to renewable energy sources that will sustain growth and development.

This presentation focuses on gender-inclusive community development programs as one of the entry points for mainstreaming gender equality and social inclusion in project areas. The aim is to mitigate resettlement risks and environmental and social impacts. The Asian Development Bank’s Tanahu Hydropower Project in Nepal is featured as an example.

Demand side management, while it matters, often fail in low income households due to their intriguing cash flow. Given the low interest shown by women in energy savings, this presentation shares the results of a campaign to reduce energy demand aimed at closing the gender divide.

Opportunities to integrate social inclusion and gender elements in risk mitigation for project affected areas in large infrastructure projects can potentially bring important benefits to women and vulnerable groups. Projects deemed to have strong “some gender elements” according to the Asian Development Bank’s gender mainstreaming categories can be considered.

Energy access by itself encompasses the concept of inclusivity. The Government of India’s vision is to create Ujawal Bharat by providing 24x7 power to all by 2019. State specific action plans are currently being prepared to ensure both existing and unconnected consumers have access to quality power in phases.

The Asian Development Bank closely looks into each project it supports through Project Procurement-Related Reviews. These reviews offer internal controls, identify irregularities, inspect project outputs, and recommend enhancements.