ESCWA is leading a Development Account project entitled “Strengthening national capacities in the ESCWA region on developing green production sectors”, and is implementing it jointly with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and a series of national public and private institutions. The aim of the project is to build the capacity of policymakers, civil society, business support institutions and industry associations in developing green production sectors in the ESCWA member countries through the design and implementation of effective policies and programmes. The project also benefits from the implementation of pilot projects demonstrating the viability and application of the capacity building programme in the Arab region.

A major activity of the project consists of a Regional Mapping Exercise to review and assess existing green policies, programmes and institutions in the ESCWA region for production sectors development and “green” support services developed at the international, regional and national levels. One of the main objectives of the mapping exercise is the determination of needs and opportunities for developing these green productive sectors through pilot projects and national training activities.

The mapping exercise covers 3 pilot project countries (Lebanon, Egypt and Oman) and includes a desk review of regional and national policies and programs on green production as well as data on institutions and processes available in the 17 ESCWA member countries.

Moreover, the Mapping Exercise has been used as a platform to develop a draft of regional guidelines on the formulation of policies and programmes for the development of green production sectors.

In the framework of this development account project, ESCWA is organizing a Regional Workshop involving representatives from the ESCWA member states.