MAGAZINE KOICA

INTERVIEW

2022.11.14

LAPOR grows as efficient e-government system in Indonesia

Following her participation in KOICA s e-government training program, Dr. Diah Natalisa, Deputy Minister for Public Services at the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, remarked that she was greatly inspired by the Korean government s public system. I am excited to return to Indonesia and apply the knowledge and findings. The Deputy Minister visited the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commissions of Korea during her participation in the training program on the citizen-centered online petition and civil complaint handling system of Indonesia, called LAPOR1), from September 18 to 24. The training program is part of the KOICA-UNDP partnership for capacity building on an integrated national complaint-handling system. Deputy Minister Natalisa detailed the progress of LAPOR and its development into a new communication channel for the Indonesian government. LAPOR, growing into an important complaint-handling system in Indonesia LAPOR has become one of the most important petition and civil complaint handling systems in Indonesia. In the early stages, only 41 organizations were connected to LAPOR, whereas it is now connected to 663 entities. Within this single integrated system, all petitions and complaints are collected and delivered to relevant organizations that are authorized to resolve the issues. That means that LAPOR has significantly enhanced both efficiency in administration and citizens convenience in using public services. The introduction of an online petition and civil complaint handling system can contribute to efficiency in administration, and integrity and transparency in government, which in turn leads to the enhancement of democracy and economic development. In 2012, the Indonesian government established LAPOR as an online system to handle petitions and civil complaints with the aim of preventing and eradicating corruption. Initially, LAPOR faced difficulties in its operations due to a lack of relevant policies and insufficient resources; the rate of responses to complaints lagged at 25%. Together with the UNDP, KOICA is providing support of 5.2 million USD from 2019 to 2023 to establish and strengthen the capacity of the integrated complaint handling system, based on the Korean citizen petition handling system. The core of the project is to integrate the government s scattered petition and complaint collection systems into LAPOR. To that end, KOICA transferred its experience and knowhow in establishing and operating the Korean petition and complaint handling system, e-People. To establish an integrated management system for collecting petition and civil complaints, KOICA first established a mid-to-long-term master plan and accordingly devised policy consulting plans. At the same time, KOICA continues to provide local training for 490 government officials to enhance capabilities in the central and local governments. Other programs that KOICA include a workshop to enhance awareness among civil servants and a promotional campaign among the public.Deputy Minister Natalisa highly noted the improvements. This project helped us successfully improve the overall system in public services. We are particularly satisfied with the significant improvements in the quality of the petition and complaint management system. The deputy minister also added, The government of Indonesia is now able to offer better public services by providing opportunities for citizens to actively participate in system monitoring thanks to the improved LAPOR. Such efforts will continue to enhance the welfare level of the nation and allow us to improve the reliability of government systems. Invitational training resumed after COVID-19, participants offer positive feedbackIn 2022, KOICA resumed some of its invitational trainings that had been suspended for three years due to COVID-19. All three scheduled trainings for policymakers, ICT managers and operational managers were hosted as planned. The Deputy Minister said, These trainings enabled us to learn how to create an ideal petition and civil complaint handling systems and what efforts are being made by the central government of Korea. The training for ICT and operational managers was held for 14 days between August 14 and 27, targeting those who work in the field of system development and operation as well as working-level civil servants. Participants acquired the operational knowhow and relevant techniques in operating the petition and civil complaint handling system through lectures and visits to relevant organizations. The training for policymakers was hosted for 7 days between September 18 and 24. Director-level policymakers from Indonesian local governments visited Korea to have exchange opportunities with their counterparts in Korea. By visiting the Government Community Service Center and other organizations that deal efficiently with civil complaints (e.g. Seoul Metropolitan Government), participants had first-hand experience on rendering civil services and improving government reliability.In particular, participants provided positive feedback while visiting organizations related to petition and civil complaint handling. KOICA confirmed high interest and demand for on-site visits, and accordingly reflected these requests in this year s in-person program. Deputy Minister Natalisa was especially inspired upon visiting the Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commissions of Korea. During my visit to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, I was impressed by the maturity level of the Korean government system. At the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, I observed how the complaint management system in Korea is striving to expand the participation of local communities. I am excited to apply the knowledge I gained from the visit when I return to Indonesia. Transferring operational knowledge, enhancing speed of complaint management The project in Indonesia has been yielding positive results. The Deputy Minister shared statistics, which indicated that the number of complaints rose by 24.7% from 123,560 in 2018 before the project to 164,143 in 2021. The handling rate increased from 71% in 2018 to 84.9% in 2021. The pace of LAPOR s processing in dealing with such petitions and civil complaints had previously been 14 days in 2018, which has been reduced by half (6.3 days) in 2021. The number of users also rose from 790,000 to 1.39 million, showing a 75% hike. According to Deputy Minister Natalisa, Indonesia s efforts to enhance its information system and capacity building for organizations are still ongoing. She also added that the government is giving awards by selecting organizations with outstanding civil services as an incentive tool. LAPOR has also been an effective communication channel in the course of tackling COVID-19 issues. The Deputy Minister said, Amid COVID-19, LAPOR has become a communication tool that can inform citizens on the issues facing their local communities. The government of Indonesia is effectively accelerating its processes in dealing with COVID-19-related inquiries through LAPOR and actively utilizing the system to announce preventive measures to citizens. The government has also executed various measures to shorten the process of petition and civil complaint filing regarding COVID-19 and has also issued guidelines to develop relevant systems.Regarding Indonesia s national plan to realize digital government, the Deputy Minister said, Regarding our efforts in digital government, we are currently building a public service portal, which in the future is expected to be the entrance for all government services. As Deputy Minister for Public Service, I feel it is very important to learn as much as possible from countries such as Korea, which have advanced e-government services. Such knowledge sharing will allow us to realize high-quality public services based on information in addition to complaint handling. I hope the cooperation between Indonesia and Korea will continue fruitfully. KOICA hopes to contribute to the transparency and openness of the Indonesian government by 2023, the final year of the project. KOICA plans to continue expanding its anti-corruption and integrity activities in its ODA projects, with the aim of promoting government transparency in developing countries and supporting the realization of sustainable development and mature democracy. 1) Layanan Asdpirasi dan Pengaduan Online Rakyat (citizen-centered online petition and civil complaint handling system of Indonesia)
REPORT

Laos develops sustainable green cities to overcome pollution

Lao People s Democratic Republic (Laos) is a country with a low population density that is also undergoing one of the fastest rates of urbanization. The solid waste and wastewater issue had not been a serious problem historically. However, due to the country s rapid urbanization and growing urban populations following high levels of economic growth in recent years, Laos has started to face various issues in environmental pollution and poor hygiene facilities. In particular, there is a growing need to establish new systems and measures regarding solid waste and wastewater, which directly impact the urban environment and citizens health.Accordingly, the development of sustainable green cities has become a priority of the government of Laos, as environmental issues grow increasingly severe along with rapid urbanization. Laos became a member country of the Global Green Growth Institute in 2017 and has been pushing forward with its plans for green growth and green cities together with GGGI. Upon identifying wastewater and solid waste treatment as an urgent issue together following discussions with the Ministry of Public Work and Transports of Laos, KOICA and GGGI1) jointly initiated in 2019 a project for wastewater and solid waste treatment capacity building to improve urban environments in Laos. Establishing development plans for green cities in Vientiane and Pakse The objective of this project is to establish green cities in major cities including Vientiane, the nation s capital, and Pakse, in the Champasak province, by building management facilities for solid waste and strengthening related capacities in Vientiane, and building wastewater treatment facilities and strengthening related capacities in Pakse. With strong commitment to green growth and the development of green cities, the Laos government sought to enhance its knowledge, experience, and relevant infrastructure. This become KOICA s focus from the early stages as it developed a pilot project and proceeded with infrastructure building as well as supporting policymaking and implementation plans for green cities. While closely working with the Ministry of Public Work and Transports and local authorities, KOICA identified pending tasks and priorities, and drew up developmental policies and implementation plans by stage. At the same time, KOICA sought to enhance ownership through capability-building workshops on green city development for relevant government officials in the two cities. KOICA also drafted two proposals for projects connected to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) regarding green growth in Vientiane and Pakse. The proposals include capacity strengthening through GCF funds and the establishment of large-scale infrastructure. The green city development policy and its implementation plan consider the needs of government officials in related fields in Vientiane and Pakse and their capacity strengthening as priority tasks. This policy and its implementation plan in Vientiane and Pakse are expected to contribute to the green development of the two cities in addition to the capacity-strengthening project for waste management and wastewater treatment. Expanding waste recycling opportunities in Vientiane by strengthening waste management capacities and conducting pilot projectsWaste management is one of the most important agenda items in the development of a green city. Proper waste treatment not only has a direct impact on citizens health and living standards, but also contributes to economic development. Most developing countries face a range of issues due to inefficient management due to insufficient public services and infrastructure.In Vientiane, the waste collection rate remains low despite rising rates in trash generation each year. This is due to various reasons, such as the high price of collection, low access to services, and a lack of regulations. Much of the collected waste ends up in landfills without sorting. Some 70% of the waste is not collected, but rather illegally buried or incinerated, leading to environmental pollution. To resolve these solid waste issues in Vientiane, KOICA decided to: (1) establish management strategies for solid waste and build capacities; (2) establish facilities for waste recycling; and (3) implement pilot projects. Regarding the management of solid waste, KOICA established a 10-year strategy in solid waste management with full consideration of the growing volume of waste in Vientiane. This strategy is significant in that it stipulated and mainstreamed the use of waste as a resource. In addition, KOICA conducted a South-South cooperation knowledge-sharing program to enhance capacities of government officials in major departments. As part of the program, the officials visited India and Pakistan to learn about successful cases of waste management and share the best practices of Laos. Simultaneously, KOICA started working on the establishment of pilot facilities for waste treatment. In March 2022, the Integrated Resource Recovery Center was completed as the nation s first waste recycling facility. This was a meaningful milestone as it maximized the performance of waste recycling by collecting organic waste from project sites and turning it into fertilizers at the recovery center. The high quality of the fertilizers created from the recovery center drew attention from high-level officials in the government and is expected to be utilized for current agricultural activities in the country.The Pilot Project of Distributed Collection Services was first implemented to enhance access to waste collection services by increasing the number of waste collection points. In 2021, five distributed collection points were installed for 1,600 households in three villages that were difficult for large waste collection trucks to access. The plan was to expand more such distributed collection points. Also, four electric mini-trucks were provided to place inaccessible by large waste-collecting vehicles.In the three villages where the pilot project was launched, citizens also made efforts to promote waste classification through recycling. Bins for food waste and general garbage were provided and awareness campaigns were conducted. As a result of constant monitoring, the rate of accurate waste recycling by residents has been rising. Among the waste, organic waste is transferred to the Integrated Resources Recovery Center, while others go to landfills.In 2020, KOICA started the Pilot Project on the Waste Recycling Value Chain and another pilot project called Waste Bank in order to analyze the status of local waste management and the value chain, and improve the rate of waste recycling. Thanks to the active participation of 10 local schools with their students, the Waste Bank has successfully collected about 16.5 tons of recyclable waste over the last two years while contributing to awareness-enhancement among students. Based on this success, the Waste Bank has now been expanded to 60 schools and is expected to further enhance the value chain of waste recycling. Pakse, protecting the Mekong River by improving wastewater treatment facilities Pakse is located in Champasak province, which is an economic powerhouse of southern Laos. Despite being a major city, Pakse did not have a central wastewater system or wastewater treatment facilities. Insufficient budgets to establish and improve facilities had resulted in untreated or partially treated wastewater being discharged directly into the river. Once the wastewater is discharged, it flows into the Mekong River, located less than 500 meters from the water supply of the city. This has become an imminent threat to the health and hygiene of locals. Also, there was frequent leakage due to the poor level of wastewater treatment in each household. The flooded river during the rainy season impacted not only the city s drainage system but the village s environment, which can threaten residents health. To resolve such issues, the project suggested including the improvement of urban hygiene strategies at the national level, establishing wastewater management strategies in Pakse, and establishing scattered wastewater and manure sludge treatment facilities. Previously, the government of Laos had already established the Urban Wastewater Strategy and Investment Plan (2015-2030). KOICA decided to add more details related to hygiene and health to the existing strategy in discussion with relevant government departments. This led to the establishment of a new strategy called the National Urban Hygiene Development Strategy (2022-2030), which has helped the country improve vulnerabilities in wastewater-related hygiene. While supporting strategy development at the national level, KOICA has also established necessary strategies and regulations regarding wastewater and manure sludge management in Pakse. That includes the development of (1) a wastewater management strategy and (2) management regulations of manure sludge and wastewater in Pakse by considering local circumstances. In particular, the management regulations of manure sludge and wastewater were first established in Laos. This was made based on the local conditions of wastewater management, which provides institutional grounds in order to properly operate future distributed wastewater treatment facilities and manure sludge treatment.In addition, programs were conducted such as the capacity-building workshop for central and local government officials in the field of wastewater management and a South-South cooperation knowledge-sharing program for best practices within Laos. KOICA set the goal of hosting the second knowledge-sharing program in the second half of 2022 with the objective of learning best practices from Indonesia.Furthermore, KOICA is planning to establish pilot facilities for distributed wastewater treatment facilities and manure sludge treatment facilities through discussions with stakeholders of wastewater treatment in Pakse City and other parts of Champasak. One distributed facility is designed to be connected to 250 to 300 households to share a joint septic tank. Thanks to its benefits of the smaller volume of the initial investment and the inexpensive maintenance fee, it is an ideal type of wastewater treatment that is more suitable for developing countries. The facilities are scheduled to be complete after 9 months of construction after its groundbreaking in the 4th quarter of 2022. Simultaneously, there will be a treatment facility for manure sludge, which can cover 25 tons a day. Twenty-five tons a day can cover the entire discharge of Pakse City.Other projects of KOICA in the same context of the project include the response to COVID-19 by supporting the establishment of hygiene-focused facilities. As a result, there is now a total of 42 handwashing stations in Vientiane and Pakse, as well support with masks and hand sanitizers. Upon completion of this project in 2024, the cities are expected to experience significantly improved capability to manage green city policies. Some environmental and health risks are expected to be reduced, such as the inappropriate management of solid wastes and wastewater. In particular, this project is expected to play a greater role as best practices that have solved similar issues that cities of Laos face with the green city development strategy, the pilot projects, and the relevant infrastructure coming from this project. Once the project is completed, there will be possible options to expand the same project model to other major cities after reviewing the expandability and ripple effects.This project has a direct impact on the accomplishment of the UN s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation for All), Number 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and Number 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). While many developing countries are going through rapid industrialization and environmental issues at the same time, KOICA hopes this project can serve as a milestone. KOICA will also continue to respond to the climate crisis as well as support developing countries strengthen their capabilities to manage environmental and pollution issues by utilizing advanced technologies and knowhow from various countries.1) The Global Green Growth Institute is an international organization that supports the green growth of developing countries since its establishment in June 2010 as a non-profit foundation in Korea. It has become recognized as an official international organization through the UN Sustainable Development Summit (Rio+20) on June 20, 2012.

2022.11.14
TRENDS

ESG, common ground for sustainable development

Amid unprecedented crises arising from COVID-19 and delays in efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is estimated that some 2.5 trillion USD in additional finances are needed to overcome global challenges. Accordingly, there is growing social demand for the practice of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) management and taking on of corporate social responsibilities. Korea is also accelerating its efforts to introduce ESG in various aspects of the society in order to achieve the national goal of 2050 Carbon Neutrality and to transition into an inclusive and fair economy. Obligations of ESG disclosure have been systemically incorporated into public organizations, while ESG criteria have been included in management evaluation. This article delves into the government s ESG management mandates for domestic public organizations as well as ESG practices required for development cooperation projects. ESG, a philosophy for sustainable development While the role of companies in the post-industrialization era was to maximize profits for shareholders, severe side effects such as climate change, air pollution, wealth gap, and discrimination occurred in the process. As corporate social responsibility began to be increasingly emphasized, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) was established in 2000 to encourage companies to adopt sustainable management. Since then, the UN has been spreading and promoting a culture of ESG by proposing the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006 and involving numerous global investment firms. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance, indicating non-financial values that should be considered by companies in addition to financial elements. Upon aggregating the variety of definitions, we can define ESG as a philosophy underlying investment and management. At the same time, it also acts as an index to measure companies non-financial performance, which considers corporate sustainability and social impact, as well as financial aspects including financial statements, capital flow, and the decisions of investors. ESG is being increasingly emphasized and adopted by various organizations. Globally, there currently exist over 600 organizations that evaluate ESG and review corporate ESG activities based on significant criteria, give grades, and disclose the results. At the same time, evaluations for the same company may diverge widely based on the evaluating organization due to difficulties in establishing a unified index for evaluation. Korea has sought to minimize confusion through evaluation guidelines announced by the Korea Exchange (KRX) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. KOICA s preemptive adoption of ESG criteria, integration of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) management systemsAmong public organizations in Korea, KOICA has preemptively adopted ESG management and established the KOICA ESG Management Implementation Strategy in 2021. As a leading organization in development cooperation that realizes global values, KOICA defines its ESG management as decision-making that considers various stakeholders in order to enhance organizational sustainability and the sustainability of the global environment and society. KOICA s ESG management directions are the following: (1) Environmental management for carbon neutrality in both Korea and partner countries and climate response, expanding green/climate response ODA to strengthen climate resilience(2) Sustainable management by enhancing social values related to the development cooperation field through job creation, human rights protection, local development, shared growth, ensuring safety (3) Transparent and accountable governance through strengthened communication among stakeholders, expanding trust-based relationships and cooperative governance, and realizing integrity and anti-corruption The agency has reaped numerous meaningful achievements in terms of governance. KOICA is the first ODA organization in Korea to be recognized for operating according to the ISO37301 (Compliance management system) and ISO37001 (Anti-bribery management system) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). KOICA has also been selected as an outstanding organization in its provision of public data for three consecutive years, and continues its efforts to strengthen data-related management. ESG in development cooperation: Expanding environment-focused, private sector partnerships KOICA is striving to consider ESG in the implementation of its projects as well as in organizational management. Other donor organizations such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are emphasizing the role of the private sector by supporting the linkage of corporate ESG activities or initiatives with the introduction of ESG management into local businesses in developing countries. Such links contribute to reductions in carbon emissions, protection of workers rights, job creation among socially vulnerable groups, and the establishment of transparent and sound governance. One key example is Green Invest Asia (GIA), a blended finance platform that connects investors seeking to invest in sustainable agriculture and forestry in Southeast Asia and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) established the Guidelines for Environmental and Social Considerations (ESC Guidelines) that screen and evaluate environmental and social impacts. JICA places emphasis on environment and is pursuing partnership projects with the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Examples include the project for community-based landscape management to enhance climate resilience and reduce deforestation in Timor-Leste, and the project for strengthening climate resilience and establishing a safe island in the Maldives, both approved in 2021. As the agency expands its environment-related projects, KOICA is supporting the adoption and implementation of ESG management among Korean companies through public-private partnership models. As a GCF-accredited organization, KOICA is bolstering its climate change adaptation and mitigation projects, in addition to carbon neutrality projects, in developing countries, and is also considering environmental and social impacts through the application of Implementation Guidelines on Environmental and Social Safeguards. For example, KOICA carried out a project to restore a 4,311ha forest in three areas in Northern and Central Guatemala, 15 the size of the Yeouido district in Korea. As a result, the project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 44,196 tons. KOICA s public-private partnerships, which seek to at once contribute to the development of partner countries while meeting the business needs of corporations, was reformed into a KOICA-corporate platform initiative model in 2022. KOICA is also expanding cooperation with social ventures in partner countries, thereby diversifying its project models. In 2021, KOICA newly established a Blended Finance Solution (BFS) model, building upon projects involving ESG management and impact investment. The agency plans to continue fully considering ESG aspects in its management and projects going forward. This content has been edited based on Volume 74 of Issues in Development: ESG in the Perspective of Development Cooperation published by KOICA. For further information on the research, please refer to the KOICA ODA Library at https://lib.koica.go.kr/.

2022.11.14