Inter-city environmental cooperation: examples in the Pan Yellow Sea Zone

(1) International cooperation for the environment industry in Kitakyushu

Kitakyushu has contributed to the environmental improvement of developing countries. It uses the technologies it accumulated in the air pollution prevention process. The city has been dispatching experts and establishing training centers for developing countries since the 1980s (Environment International Cooperation 2008 of Kitakyushu, www.city.kitakyushu.jp).

KITA was established in 1980. It started offering environmental training courses in full swing in 1986 after it was commissioned by the International Cooperation Group (currently known as JICA, KOICA’s Japanese counterpart).

Every year, some 250 trainees are accepted in environmental training courses in Kitakyushu. These include the creation of a zero-waste society through the eco-city project and energy savings.

For the creation of a zero-waste society, the administrative policy (combination of policy on proper treatment/recycling and environment industry attraction and fostering) is introduced. The Kitakyushu Eco-city and recent corporate technologies (technology for the proper treatment of waste and resource recycling and environmental management) serve as the backdrop.

In the energy savings field, energy conservation measures and training curriculum are provided. They are aimed at promoting measures against global warming and energy savings. Such measures include urban planning, which applies smaller load to the environment and use of reusable energy.

Kitakyushu City tries to accommodate 400 trainees annually and 2,000 trainees for 5 years. It seeks to become Asia’s stronghold fostering talented personnel specializing in the environment.

Kitakyushu forms various environment cooperation networks including the Environment unit of OEAED, Asian Environment Cooperation City Network, and Kitakyushu Initiative Network.

The environment unit of OEAED consists of 10 cities of Korea, China, and Japan in the Pan Yellow Sea Zone. It pursues the creation of the Pan Yellow Sea Economic Zone through the promotion of economic and personnel exchanges.

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The environment unit holds seminars on industry-academe-research linkage. It has also established an advanced environment database. It seeks to contribute to the sustainable development of the Pan Yellow Sea Zone while encouraging the cultivation of talented personnel in the area.

The Asian Environment Cooperation City Network was established during the Asian Environment Cooperation City Conference held in Kitakyushu in 1997. It sought to enable the sharing of each city’s experiences and take new actions to realize sustainable development in Asia. The conference was jointly established by 4 countries and 6 cities in Southeast Asia.

Kitakyushu is making an effort to solve problems through training, dispatch of experts, and hosting of seminars.

The Kitakyushu Initiative Network has adopted the Kitakyushu initiative for a clean environment. This was to ensure the smooth promotion of environment improvement in the Asia-Pacific region with its environmental pollution. Kitakyushu’s experience was used as a model. The policy for preventing environmental pollution and enabling city recovery as presented during the MCED held by UN ESCAP in 2000 was also applied.

The Kitakyushu Initiative Network was founded based on this;

62 cities in 18 countries of the Asia-Pacific region participated in the network as of December 2006. Seminars, study tour, and pilot projects for urban environment improvement have been implemented.

The Kitakyushu international cooperation network fosters practical cooperative relations with China and Southeast Asian cities.

Typical cases are as follows: creation of a zero-waste society (China’s Tianjin, Suzhou, Qingdao); sewer treatment technology field (China’s Kunming and Huhehaote); Dalian environment model zone maintenance plan project (Dalian, China); environment education project (Cebu, Philippines), and; project on making food waste compost (Bangkok, Thailand and Surabaya, Indonesia).

Creation of a zero-waste society (Tianjin, Suzhou, and Qingdao): An attempt to realize a zero-waste society is currently underway in China. This shows that China has taken an active interest in the eco-town project of Kitakyushu.

Seminars are held in Tianjin and Qingdao to introduce the policies of Kitakyushu. The eco-town project is also presented during the seminar.

Suzhou conducts surveys on the construction of an eco-town in the district. It also proposes the building of eco-towns suitable for China’s social system.

Dalian’s environment model zone maintenance project (Dalian, China):

Various forms of cooperation have been pursued to date. Such was in response to the request for cooperation by Dalian City. Dalian’s environment model zone maintenance plan as proposed by Kitakyushu serves as a pilot project. Kitakyushu seeks to expand its achievements across China.

For the realization of the plan, Kitakyushu conducted a development survey. Such survey aimed at coming up with an environment improvement master plan using ODA.

This is the first case wherein the local government’s cooperation was connected with the ODA agenda. Kitakyushu pursued cooperation in the following fields: environment administration, environment monitoring, sewer treatment, and factory cleaner production (CP).

As a result of such cooperation, Dalian was awarded the

“Global 500 Prize” by the UN Environment Plan for the first time in China in 2001.

A. Environmental economic cooperation through the environmental international business

For Asian countries, Kitakyushu actively encouraged participation in the environment business by private firms with high technological prowess. This was in addition to the previous cooperation projects of the government.

Kitakyushu targeted China and Korea, where rapid economic development is being pursued.

Information on the overseas environment business is obtained through cooperation projects or business feasibility survey. Such information has been widely disseminated. Business mission dispatch and exhibition consultation meeting and participation have been planned as well. Thus, the participation of firms within Kitakyushu and are interested in foreign countries has been actively supported.

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Thanks to such efforts, three companies dealing with the environment in Kitakyushu advanced into China in 2005.

(2) Fukuoka waste landfill and international cooperation between cities A. Description of the Fukuoka waste landfill

A special semi-aerobic landfill measure was developed as a co-project between Fukuoka City and Fukuoka University. Such measure became widely known as the Fukuoka measure.

In 1966, Fukuoka University started research on landfill technology to improve the quality of leachate.

A series of experiments were conducted for 3 years beginning in 1973. The cooperation of the Japanese government’s former Welfare Ministry and Fukuoka City was solicited.

In 1975, Professor Masataka Hanashima of Fukuoka University presented a semi-aerobic landfill development concept. Its biological features were first tested with the Shinkamata Landfill in Fukuoka.

Concept of semi-aerobic landfill development (Fukuoka Environment Bureau, 2008)

The basic concept involves improving the quality of leachate of landfill wastewater through the increase in oxygen and decrease in hazardous gas such as methane and sulfuretted hydrogen. This can be done by increasing microbe activities.

The research found that various landfill layers exist. Moreover, the types of microbes were found to differ according to the landfill layers. The types were classified into 5.

This concept and measure were formally named the Fukuoka Measure. The former Japanese Welfare Ministry recommended this semi-aerobic landfill measure in the Instructions for Final Waste Treatment. This has led to the adoption of the measure throughout Japan.

The development of the Fukuoka measure enabled various academic research activities on landfill technologies, which have not been systematically organized.

The landfill can be converted into useful land resources. Thus, the measure contributes to the creation of a zero-waste society.

B. International cooperation between cities in relation to the Fukuoka waste landfill

Fukuoka City boasts of the following international cooperation achievements: cooperation project through JICA; cooperation on landfill technology transfer to Malaysia (transfer of low-cost Fukuoka measure);

technological cooperation with China’s Weifang City through the UN Human Habitat Program; signing of agreement on technology cooperation between Tsinghua University (China) and Fukuoka University, and;

improvement of landfills in Samoa.

Fukuoka City has been contributing to environmental pollution reduction in the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, it is working on the transfer of waste landfill technology in cooperation with JICA.

UN Human Habitat Program (UN-HABITAT): The Fukuoka branch deals with habitat environmental improvement in the Asia-Pacific region. It also establishes a project on introducing the Fukuoka measure in China’s Weifang City. In addition, the Fukuoka branch signed an agreement with China’s Construction Ministry.

Fukuoka City assumes that active international cooperation can help address urban environmental problems. It hopes to contribute to Asia through the waste landfill measure. The Fukuoka branch of the UN Human Habitat Program recommends dispatching personnel including engineers to the local cooperation city.

On November 7, 2003, an agreement for environmental technology cooperation and dissemination of the Fukuoka measure was signed. In particular, the technology cooperation covers the waste treatment technologies of Tsinghua University, Fukuoka City, and Fukuoka University.

The environment group of China’s Tsinghua University (in Beijing) recognized the problems of waste treatment measure development. Thus, it visited Fukuoka’s Nakata landfill as part of the exchange program between Fukuoka University and Tsinghua University.

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China decided that the Fukuoka measure was very suitable for its small cities. Thus, the country requested for cooperation from Fukuoka City and Fukuoka University to promote the Fukuoka measure (semi-aerobic landfill measure) and signed an agreement.

Tsinghua University introduced the Fukuoka measure for the Mengzi-Yunnan province. It was the initial project on the landfill measure dissemination within China.

2) Implications of environmental cooperation between cities in the Pan