Supporting sustainable resource use in the Asia-Pacific region

The Asia-Pacific region consumes over two-thirds of the world’s natural resources at a rate of resource efficiency three times lower than the rest of the world. The region is also in a continued stage of rapid urbanisation, which partly drives the rate of resource use as infrastructure and housing are built for the first time.

Urbanisation also presents opportunities to increase resource efficiency in the future, as urban development can be designed with low carbon, low waste, and low pollution goals. While many cities in the Asia-Pacific region have seen considerable economic and social development, urban planning has lagged, and infrastructure development has not kept pace. This may threaten the region’s continued growth and achievement of Sustainable Development goals.

We are developing science and tools to support local policymakers’ capacity to collect, analyse and utilize information to understand the long-term economic, social, and environmental effects of resource consumption and the benefits of decoupling economic growth from natural resource use and its environmental impacts.