About Sustainability‪…‬ Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

It’s been a while since our last installment but today’s episode is a special interview with a long-serving member of IGES who has had a fascinating career, from which he just recently retired. Peter King has been based at IGES’s office in Bangkok, but has been mentor and advisor to many of us at IGES. In a wide-ranging discussion Alice, Shom, Simon and Andre spoke with Peter about his career, his reasons for choosing it, and the environment in general. Please listen in especially if you’re starting off in any environmental discipline - you’re sure to learn something from Peter. 
"About Sustainability..." is a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an environmental policy think-tank based in Hayama, Japan. IGES experts are concerned with environmental and sustainability challenges. Everything shared on the podcast will be off-the-cuff discussion, and any viewpoints expressed are those held by the speaker at the time of recording. They are not necessarily official IGES positions.

Our guest on this episode is Akihisa Kuriyama, a policy researcher in IGES’ Climate & Energy Unit. He joins us to talk about SDG7 on energy. We spoke about the relationship between energy and climate; what’s new about SDG 7 in the global discussion on energy; some of the barriers and challenges in achieving the goal; the possibilities of nuclear energy; and the best ways of getting energy to the largest possible number of people, as quickly as possible. A number of examples were given to illustrate parts of the discussion.

Relevant links:
SDG7: GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean EnergyKuriyama-san’s work at IGES: https://www.iges.or.jp/en/about/staff/kuriyama-akihisa  "About Sustainability..." is a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an environmental policy think-tank based in Hayama, Japan. IGES experts are concerned with environmental and sustainability challenges. Everything shared on the podcast will be off-the-cuff discussion, and any viewpoints expressed are those held by the speaker at the time of recording. They are not necessarily official IGES positions.
"About Sustainability..." is a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an environmental policy think-tank based in Hayama, Japan. IGES experts are concerned with environmental and sustainability challenges. Everything shared on the podcast will be off-the-cuff discussion, and any viewpoints expressed are those held by the speaker at the time of recording. They are not necessarily official IGES positions.

In this episode we met with Amila from IGES who shared the latest updates on  international plastics governance.  Among others, he described details on the international negotiations committee that was formed last year to define a legally binding instrument to curb plastic pollution. We heard who is on that committee and what they do when they meet. He also explained details and challenges around what is called the life cycle approach and explained why experts are working on approaches to account for the impacts of plastics throughout its entire life cycle. In this regard we were also able to hear some examples of the work he and his colleagues are doing to help build the needed capacity at local levels to measure plastic pollution and to be able to take steps to reduce it.


Relevant links:
Information on the lifecycle approach: https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/UNEP-D010-Food-Packaging-Re[…]Version-1-1.pdf/UNEP-D010-Food-Packaging-Report-2-1.pdf 

What makes reliable data for microplastics policy? ​​https://isap.iges.or.jp/2022/en/t13.html "About Sustainability..." is a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an environmental policy think-tank based in Hayama, Japan. IGES experts are concerned with environmental and sustainability challenges. Everything shared on the podcast will be off-the-cuff discussion, and any viewpoints expressed are those held by the speaker at the time of recording. They are not necessarily official IGES positions.

In this episode of About Sustainability…


Erin and Bob talked to Binaya Raj Shivakoti, an IGES expert in the Adaptation and Water team, about SDG6, which is on “ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (or simply ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’). This goal’s environmental dimensions are clear, and has targets on the universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for all; improving water quality and water-use efficiency; implementing integrated water resource management; protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems; fostering international cooperation, and involving local communities in water and sanitation management.


During our chat, we talked about water being fundamental to all aspects of life and what life can be like for communities without access to these basic needs. We then explored integrated water resource management (IWRM), which Binaya argued is a natural starting point for implementing all the SDGs.


Related links
UNDESA’s SDG6 PageRecent work on integrated river basin management (a form of integrated water resource management)Binaya’s recent publication on Tonle Sap LakeIGES publications relevant to SDG6


About our guest:
Binaya Raj Shivakoti is a Senior Policy Researcher in the Adaptation and Water team at IGES. His expertise includes, among others, local disaster risk management and planning, promotion of traditional/indigenous and local knowledge, wastewater management, and integrated implementation of the SDGs using river basin approaches.


"About Sustainability..." is a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an environmental policy think-tank based in Hayama, Japan. IGES experts are concerned with environmental and sustainability challenges. Everything shared on the podcast will be off-the-cuff discussion, and any viewpoints expressed are those held by the speaker at the time of recording. They are not necessarily official IGES positions.

In this episode of About Sustainability..., Andre and Erin spoke with their colleague, Maiko Morishita, about SDG5, on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Maiko is part of the IGES finance task force, which covers a variety of topics but she also previously worked in the NGO world where gender was a key component of her work. We started by asking Maiko why she thinks this goal is important. We then proceeded through a winding conversation that touches on various aspects of SDG5, albeit not all aspects of this diverse goal. The idea was to explore this SDG and really dig into some of the ideas behind it. So we hope it provides a bit of depth and a bit of breadth, and hopefully some fresh perspectives. 
Related links
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Goal 5 PageSustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)’s 2022 Sustainable Development ReportAbout our guest:
After working at a foreign investment bank, Maiko Morishita was involved in a development education program for an NGO involved in international exchange. Since 2010, Oxfam Japan has conducted research and proposals on climate change (adaptation finance), food issues (support for small farmers, land rights), development finance (ODA, environmental and social considerations, public-private partnerships), business and human rights, etc. In February 2019, Maiko joined the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). She graduated from Keio University’s Faculty of Law.
"About Sustainability..." is a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an environmental policy think-tank based in Hayama, Japan. IGES experts are concerned with environmental and sustainability challenges. Everything shared on the podcast will be off-the-cuff discussion, and any viewpoints expressed are those held by the speaker at the time of recording. They are not necessarily official IGES positions.

In this episode of About Sustainability…
In episode 2 of the Sustainability Afoot series, Bob took a walk with Dr. Bijon Kumer Mitra to find out what Regional/Local CES (Regional or Local Circulating and Ecological Spheres) is.   In brief, CES is an approach supported by the Government of Japan that is focused on bottom-up policy development that seeks to simultaneously address local or regional Economic, Environmental, and Societal issues in an integrated and sustainable way.
Relevant links:
IGES’ CES PublicationsThe Japanese Government’s 5th Basic Environment PlanAbout our Guest:
Bijon Kumer MITRA is a Deputy Director of the Integrated Center for Sustainability and Water and Adaptation Unit of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in Japan. He has more than 17 years of experience in the field of integrated natural resource management with a focus on sustainable water resource management. He uses a quantitative assessment framework to assess natural resource allocation trade-offs, aiming to provide guidance for optimal decision-making. His research interests include water-energy-food-climate nexus, water environment management, and rural-urban linkages. He leads the Circulating and Ecological Sphere (CES) projects at IGES. Mitra holds a Ph.D. degree in the Science of Biotic Environment from Iwate University, Japan.


"About Sustainability..." is a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an environmental policy think-tank based in Hayama, Japan. IGES experts are concerned with environmental and sustainability challenges. Everything shared on the podcast will be off-the-cuff discussion, and any viewpoints expressed are those held by the speaker at the time of recording. They are not necessarily official IGES positions.