Summary Report - SOM Steering Committee on ECOTECH
15 May 2011
9h30 – 12h30
Big Sky, Montana, United States
The second meeting of the SOM Steering Committee on ECOTECH (SCE) was held in Big Sky,
Montana, United States on May 15, 2011. It was attended by representatives of all 21 APEC
economies, including Senior Officials from 18 economies and the APEC Secretariat Executive
Director.
The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Gennady Ovechko, Ambassador-at-Large, and the Senior
Official of Russia for APEC. The Vice Chair of the meeting was Ambassador Kurt Tong, the US
Senior Official for APEC, US Department of State.
Agenda Item 1: Welcome by SCE Chair, Amb. Gennady Ovechko
The SCE Chair welcomed all members to the second meeting of the SCE in 2011 and encouraged
members to actively participate in the discussions. He also thanked the United States for its
hospitality and arrangements for this meeting.
Agenda Item 2: Adoption of the Agenda
The meeting agenda (2011/SOM2/SCE/001) was adopted without amendment.
Agenda Item 3: Review of SCE Fora Reform
3.1 SCE to continue its discussion of ways to streamline SCE fora
The Vice Chair led a discussion on sub fora accountability and communications (document
2011/SOM2/SCE/004). The Vice Chair introduced the discussion by recalling the plan agreed at
CSOM 2010 to encourage sub fora to demonstrate to the SCE their ability to remain effective for
APEC. The meeting also noted the updated document from the APEC Secretariat on sub fora
participation in broader APEC activities and a new table outlining the communications activities of
each of the sub fora. Disappointment was expressed with the participation of sub fora chairs and lead
shepherds at the SCE-COW in Washington, D.C. despite the importance that the SCE had clearly
signaled and the offer of travel funding that was extended.
According to the plan agreed at CSOM 2010 a number of sub fora will be requested to report at SCE3
on how they plan to contribute to rationalization efforts or provide an explanation for why they should
remain unchanged. Economies were encouraged to be prepared to discuss and make decisions in
this regard at SCE3 and CSOM this year.
Brunei requested that future updates of the table provided by the APEC Secretariat include a column
on participation in Ministerial meetings. This suggestion was supported by the Vice Chair and others
who have noticed decreasing levels of participation by Ministers in Small and Medium Enterprises and
Tourism ministerial meetings.
The Vice Chair also introduced a new proposal for an APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the
Economy (PPWE) (documents 2011/SOM2/SCE/002 and 003). The PPWE would combine the
strengths of the GFPN and the WLN by creating a single public-private entity to streamline and
elevate the influence of women’s issues in APEC. The proposal includes the creation of the PPWE
along with an administrative management council for this body and would empower the PPWE to
provide policy recommendations to APEC leadership. The first meeting of the PPWE would take place
in September 2011 in conjunction with the planned High Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the
Economy in San Francisco.
A robust discussion on this proposal took place which indicated strong support for cooperation with
the private sector. Some concern was expressed regarding the right degree of institutionalization of
private sector involvement in APEC sub-fora, including the make-up of the management council and
the level of control this proposal would grant to private-sector participants. Economies also requested
clarity on the expected attendance from each economy with members expressing uncertainty as to
whether they should encourage attendance from Women’s Ministries or from Economic Ministries.
Some economies asked for additional time in order to conduct internal consultations. Despite these
reservations, most economies subscribed to the view that a new structure of this type would be a
worthwhile experiment to elevate the impact of women’s issues in APEC.
In order to move forward in a timely fashion prior to September, the Vice Chair undertook to take into
consideration the concerns expressed in this meeting and provide a revised proposal to members in
the next 24 hours so that economies can review and consult domestically on the revised proposal for
discussion at the upcoming Senior Officials Meeting.
3.2 SCE to consider the update by the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat on the
Implementation of SCE Sub Fora Work Plans.
The Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Noor presented his report on behalf of
sub fora Chairs and Lead Shepherds (document 2011/SOM2/SCE/005). Ambassador Noor noted
that the update demonstrates that there is a clear link between a forum having a well developed work
plan and effective results. A positive note highlighted in the report is the increasing level of
cooperation between sub fora, including the holding of joint meetings and increasing levels of
cooperation in the area of APEC funded projects.
Canada noted that the report appears to present a “laundry list” of the work and discussions being
undertaken in the sub fora and recommended that the Secretariat try to reformat the report to more
effectively communicate the substantive outputs of the sub fora.
The SCE agreed to submit this report to SOM for information.
4.
Independent Assessment of SCE Fora
4.1 Canada to provide a status update on the review of the process of independent assessments and
ways to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
Canada presented a proposal for SCE consideration setting out a process for review of the
independent assessment process with a view to identifying to make the assessments more cost
effective and valuable. SCE members supported Canada's suggestion to survey the consultants who
have conducted previous assessments along with APEC economies and sub fora Chairs and Lead
Shepherds to ask them what facets of the process could be changed or improved. The outcomes of
these surveys will be compiled for discussion at SCE3.
The United States expressed support for this proposal and noted that the timeliness of this review as
all SCE sub fora have now been subject to a review under the current format.
4.2 CTTF and TWG to report on process in implementing independent assessment recommendations.
On behalf of the CTTF Chair, Ms Anne Witkowsky, Mr Jim Steele of the United States reported on the
implementation of the recommendations of the 2010 independent assessment of the CTTF (document
2011/SOM2/SCE/006). Most of the recommendations for the CTTF have either been implemented or
are in process. The CTTF however, has taken the reform of their activities beyond the
recommendations from this assessment as reflected in the medium term work plan developed last
year. Two priority areas for the CTTF that have been developed in order to improve the effectiveness
of the forum are cooperation with other APEC fora and capacity building and cooperation.
On behalf of the TWG Lead Shepherd, Ms Helen Marano, Ms Brenda Fisher of the United States
reported on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2010 independent assessment of the
TWG (document 2011/SOM2/SCE/007). During the TWG meeting which took place last week the
group discussed the recommendations of the independent assessment and identified how they have
or are in the process of implementing these recommendations, including through the updating of the
strategic goals of the forum, development of a flagship project and focusing of activities on areas
where APEC can make a difference such as reducing impediments to investments in tourism and
tourism as vehicle for economic and social development. TWG also noted that at last year’s Tourism
Ministerial Meeting 17 of 21 economies said that tourism is one of top three areas of focus for
economic recovery and that tourism should remain a separate working group seeking ways to
cooperate closely with other APEC fora such as the TPTWG, HRDWG and CTTF.
4.3 The Secretariat to present the progress report of the ongoing independent assessments of the
EPWG, FWG and MRCWG, SMEWG, and MTF.
The meeting noted the APEC Secretariat Progress Report on the implementation of the Independent
Assessments of the EPWG, FWG and MRCWG, SMEWG and MTF (document
2011/SOM2/SCE/008). Questions were raised regarding the impact of the potential merger of the
FWG and MRCWG on the independent assessment currently underway, it was noted that the
contractor undertaking the assessment is aware of the current situation and will take this into
consideration in making his recommendations. The Terms of Reference may need to be revised if the
two groups decide to recommend merger into a united Oceans Working Group. The Secretariat was
also reminded to encourage the contractors to provide their reports as far in advance of SCE3 as
possible.
5.
Other Issues
5.1 Russia to present a self-funded project proposal “Building APEC Economies’ Capacities of
Employing Input-Output Tables for Advanced Economic Modeling”.
Russia presented on their self funded project proposal "Building APEC Economies Capacities of
Employing Input-Output Tables for Advanced Economic Modeling" (document 2011/SOM2/SCE/009).
The presentation outlined the scope of the project, the expected outcomes and the value to APEC.
Discussion and questions focused on the feasibility of the longer term objective of creation of a larger
APEC regional input-output table for both technical and financial reasons and the capacity building
needs that will be required in order for this to happen. Russia noted that this is an initial project which
will help identify the current capabilities of APEC economies and what is required to move forward.
Japan also noted the capacity building efforts they have been conducting in this area with some
ASEAN members over the past 5 years and suggested that this may be valuable groundwork for this
project.
The SCE endorsed the project.
Other Issue – Location of the ABAC Secretariat
The Vice Chair also raised the issue of the location of the ABAC Secretariat for SCE consideration
intersessionally. It was noted that the ABAC Secretariat is currently located in Manila while the APEC
Secretariat is in Singapore. While thought has been given to moving the ABAC Secretariat to
Singapore moving costs are currently an impediment. Economies were encouraged to consider this
issue and discuss with the Vice Chair or the US delegation over the next week.
5.2 Document access - Members will be invited to decide on the classification of all documents
relating to this meeting.
The SCE adopted the Document Classification List (2011/SOM2/SCE/000) without amendment.