Asia Pro Eco is one of the four Asia-wide programmes* that are implemented supplementary to the EC Bilateral initiatives in a) individual countries b) in every country. It is a five-year multi-country European Union initiative, launched in 2002, which is based on experience and inputs provided by the former Asia Eco Best Programme, building on the world's growing concerns about environmental issues. Asia Pro Eco is designed to strengthen the environmental dialogue between Asia and Europe through the exchange of policies, technologies and best practices that promote more resource-efficient, market driven, and sustainable solutions to environmental problems in Asia . The programme aims to support a series of preventive and corrective actions, which materialise in technical solutions that contribute to both quality of life and economic prosperity in Asia .