To demonstrate new approaches for achieving impact on the ground, the Secretariat and other partners work with members to develop and implement pilot activities in priority areas guided by the rapid country program assessments.  Developed in partnership with local stakeholders, pilot activities promote  adoption of new policies, practices and systems, and link to capacity strengthening efforts and performance indicators.

Following are some of the country pilot initiatives undertaken by the network:

1. Jumpstarting Pollution Monitoring in Vietnam. To assist Vietnam in strengthening the capacity of environmental inspectors, AECEN facilitated cooperative exchange with counterpart members from Japan, Philippines and Singapore.   As a result of this cooperation, the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) trained 136 environmental inspectors, focusing on priority sectors, such as industrial zones, textiles, food processing, breweries, cement plants, and mining.
    
2. Creating New Incentives to Reduce Pollution in Sri Lanka. With AECEN assistance, the Sri Lanka Central Environmental Agency (CEA) has established a new legal and regulatory apparatus for reducing pollution from the textile industry, which can be expanded to other priority industrial sectors. The CEA is gearing up to implement the new program that both creates economic incentives for industry compliance, and generates revenues that the agency can use to strengthen its capabilities.  To help jumpstart the program, AECEN has organized a “twinning” partnership with the Laguna Lake Development Authority in the Philippines, to facilitate the sharing of lessons learned on program operations.
    
3. Protecting the Philippines Largest Lake. As a result of initial workshops where AECEN supported the participation of key personnel from the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) and representatives from industry, and where the US Environmental Protection Agency shared its experience, LLDA decided to establish compliance assistance centers (CACs) for the hog farm and slaughterhouse industries within the Laguna de Bay region. Formally launched in April 2008, the CACs aim to provide updated information on policies and regulation, viable technology options, possible funding sources and national and regional best practices for the regulated community.
    
4. Cleaning Up Thailand’s Rivers. The swine sector has long been a part of Thai agriculture. Beginning in the 1950’s, pig raising and processing became commercialized on a large scale and became a major contributor to inland water pollution.  To improve overall environmental compliance of the swine sector, the Thailand Pollution Control Department (PCD), with the assistance of AECEN, established a Internet-based center to assist farmers in complying with environmental regulations.  PCD works in partnership with industry, academia and environmental groups to assist regulated entities by providing relevant information on legal requirements, appropriate technologies and workable approaches to manage pollution from pig farms.
    
5. India Promotes Voluntary Compliance in the Sponge Iron Sector.  Based on the results of a rapid country program assessment in 2006 and a regional training at the 2007 AECEN Annual Forum in Beijing, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (PCB) decided to establish its own compliance assistance center.  In partnership with the World Bank, AECEN  has provided technical assistance and networking opportunities for WBPCB, leading to the establishment of an environmental compliance assistance center (ECAC) that serves enterprises in the sponge iron sector.