Measuring environmental performance in Asia

This paper synthesizes the results of a collaborative study conducted by ADB and Harvard University under ADB’s Regional Technical Assistance 5542 (RETA 5542)—Environmental Indicators and Indices. The three methodological tools (cost of remediation (COR), environmental elasticity (EE) and environmental diamonds (ED)) used in the study are described and tested using new data from 16 countries. The study formulates the three methods that can be used to arrive at approximate costs to remediate environmental damage to the air, water, land and the ecosystems; makes an assessment of the state of environment vis-a-vis economic change; and provides a graphical representation of the state of the environment. It also gives an initial validation of the utility of environmental indices for assessing/reassessing on a micro-level the eco-environmental impacts of ADB’s past investments.