ASSIST SEID project holds conference in Kathmandu, Nepal

Oct. 29, 2012 - PRLog -- Sustainable and Efficient Industrial Development (SEID) in Bhutan and Nepal was launched through a stakeholders conference last June 20 and 22, 2012 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The event served as introduction to the three-year project which targets agro-based enterprises, product manufacturing industries, tourism/hospitality and service organizations, government agencies, academic institutions and NGOs working in the field of tourism and agro-enterprise development in Nepal and Bhutan.

The first conference was attended by Mr. Keshav Sthapit, Commissioner of Kathmandu Development Board, European Union Ambassador to Nepal Dr. Alexander Spachis, and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Mr. Suraj Vaidya President.

Dr. Spachis talked about the importance of SWITCH Asia Program launched by the EU to support the developing countries in utilizing resource and incorporating energy efficient technology in enterprises. For his part, Mr. Vaidya pointed to the need for the value addition to indigenous agro- and forest-based products, and the promotion of tourism.

The second conference was led by Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President Mr. Krishna Mohan Shrestha while Lekhnath  Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Mr. Suman Bhattarai served as guest of honor.

For both conferences, Dr. Robert  Wimmer,  Lead Project Manager from GrAT,  presented on the SEID partner consortium, objectives, methodology and success stories on low cost appropriate  technology.

Meanwhile, Dr. Uttam Kunwar FNCCI-SEID Coordinator presented paper on baseline situation in tourism and agro-enterprise sector of Nepal.

SEID seeks to reduce costs and pollution; improve health and safety performance in the target sector, and enhance the capacity of national anchor associations/service providers to collaborate and promote sustainable practices to their supply chain/members, and provide technical support and input to SMEs to improve the overall resource efficiency of their production processes from the life cycle perspective.

Further, it aims to build strategic partnerships with on-going initiatives in the target sector, providing access to existing knowledge, Information Education Campaign material to address needs of SMEs; and facilitate dialoguing and networking amongst key stakeholders including government, financial institutions, industry associations, academe aimed at creating and enabling environment which propagates and incentivizes adoption of sustainable industrial practices.

It is implemented by ASSIST along with GrAT (Center for Appropriate Technology), FNCCI, Austria Recycling (AREC), Bhutan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI), and Stenum Asia.

ASSIST is an international non-profit organization focused on capacity-building. It seeks to promote sustainable practices to address social problems in the developing world, with focus on Asia and Africa. It takes pride in its process-oriented approach to capacity building towards social improvement and sustainable transformation. Its goal is to empower its target groups to make them resilient to the social, economic, and environmental challenges.

It is presently based in Makati City, but also has operations in India and Vietnam and manages projects in over 10 countries. Through its Partner to Progress philosophy, it has successfully implemented such projects in collaboration with the European Union, United Nation Environment Program (UNEP), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), USAID, International Finance Corporation (IFC), GIZ, and DEG/ KFW amongst other organizations. To know more, visit www.assistasia.org. #