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United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific rather than just read about it. In short: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP or UNESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic activity in Asia and the Far East, as well as to foster economic relations between the region and other areas of the world.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific — main illustration
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific — illustration

Key takeaways

  • United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP or UNESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic activity in Asia and the Far East, as well as to foster economic relations between the region and other areas of the world. The commission is composed of 53 member states and nine associate members, mostly from the Asia and Pacific regions. In addition to countries in Asia and the Pacific, the commission's members include France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. The region covered by the commission is home to 4.1 billion people, or two-thirds of the world's population, making ESCAP the most comprehensive of the United Nations' five regional commissions.

History The commission was first established by the Economic and Social Council on 28 March 1947 as the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) to assist in post-war economic reconstruction. Its main mandate was to "initiate and participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for the economic reconstruction and development of Asia and the Far East." On 1 August 1974, the commission was renamed to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) by the Economic and Social Council to reflect both the economic and social aspects of the Commission's work, as well as geographic location of its members.

Member states There are a total of 53 full ESCAP member states and nine associate members, four of the member states are not geographically located in Asia or Oceania.

Full member states The following countries are the full member states of the commission:

Notes: * Not geographically located in Asia or Oceania # Least Developed Country † Continuation of membership of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ǂ Continuation of membership of the Republic of China (ROC) ^ Continuation of membership of the French Fourth Republic

Associate members The following countries and territories are the associate members of the commission:

Notes: * Not a member state of the United Nations † Change of name from Hong Kong to Hong Kong, China (01 July 1997) ǂ Change of name to Macau, China (20 December 1999) and further changed to Macao, China (04 February 2000)

Former member states United States of America (the) (28 March 1947 - January 2026)

Locations

Headquarters

The commission was originally located in Shanghai, China, from its foundation until 1949, when it moved its headquarters to the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.

Subregional offices The commission maintains five subregional offices in order to better target and deliver programs, given the large size of the region. The subregions and their headquarters are as follows:

East and North East Asia (ENEA) subregional headquarters – Incheon, Republic of Korea North and Central Asia (NCA) subregional headquarters – Almaty, Kazakhstan South and South West Asia (SSWA) subregional headquarters – New Delhi, India South East Asia (SEA) – Bangkok, Thailand The Pacific (PACIFIC) subregional headquarters – Suva, Fiji

Executive secretaries The following is a list of the executive secretaries of the commission since its foundation:

Themes and programmes

Implementing Sustainable Development Goals The road map of ESCAP on coherent implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals has not prioritized specific SDGs, but rather it has identified priority areas. Third-party consultations have fed into this road map, which also aimed to activate third parties, such as UN funds, specialized agencies, and regional organizations, to provide more support to Member States. The commission furthermore engages with other regional actors to link their agendas to the SDGs. One example is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community Vision 2025. However, regional agendas outside the SDG framework are continually evolving, as exemplified by the new ASEAN Recovery Framework and ASEAN’s Vision 2040. ESCAP has also established novel tools to structure its support to its member states and others. Examples include ESCAP’s SDG Rapid Response facility, used for individual and shared support requests, and its SDG Helpdesk, which offers a platform with tools, knowledge products, expertise, good practices, advice, opportunities for peer learning, and regional South-South Cooperation. ESCAP also seeks to create interaction between debtors and creditors with a focus on the small island states in the Pacific. To date, this has been done through a Regional Debt Conference, rather than some more permanent tool.

See also United Nations System United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (overlapping membership) United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (overlapping membership) Trans-Asian Railway Network Agreement Asian Highway Network

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific illustration
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: Map showing the member states of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Map showing the member states of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific illustration
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: The commission's headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand
The commission's headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

In research
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Development economics, Organizations based in Bangkok, Organizations established in 1947, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in simple terms?

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP or UNESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic activity in Asia and the Far East, as well…

Why does United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Tags

  • Development economics
  • Organizations based in Bangkok
  • Organizations established in 1947
  • Politics of Asia
  • Politics of Oceania
  • Thailand and the United Nations
  • United Nations Development Group
  • United Nations Economic and Social Council
  • United Nations Secretariat

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