For the European Commission, STELLA prepared a Europe-Asia environmental cooperation strategy covering 17 Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Based on the overall objective of the EU environmental cooperation programme with Asia (assisting Asia in protecting its natural resources and abating its pollution), STELLA reviewed the environmental challenges in Asia, stakes for Europe, and existing environmental cooperation with Asia. After several internal consultation meetings with the European Commission's Directorate Generals and one public consultation meeting, STELLA established Europe-Asia environmental cooperation objectives. STELLA prepared a report summarising the results of its review and specifying criteria for selecting Europe-Asia environmental cooperation activities and for the strategy's implementation.

For the European Commission, STELLA prepared a proposal to finance Asia Pro-Eco, the second phase of the Asia Eco-Best (AEB) programme --a five-year programme to improve the environment in Asia and promote trade and investment in European environmental technologies. The proposal described the contents of Asia Pro-Eco, its organisation, operation, instruments, and costs. The team led by STELLA developed (1) the programme's objectives and content, (2) the institutional framework to implement the programme, and (3) the programme budget. Asia Pro-Eco aims at promoting economic co-operation between the EU and Asia in environmental technology transfer of European environmental know-how and technology, and co-operation among environmental business and institutions in the Asian region. The program design team met with the main stakeholders in Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, UK, and Ireland) and Asia (China, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines) to seek their inputs for developing Asia Pro-Eco.

For Slovenia's Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, STELLA developed a plan for implementing EU Directive 94/62 on packaging and packaging waste. STELLA assessed the quantities of packaging waste generated in Slovenia and the quantities of packaging waste currently recycled and recovered. STELLA then projected future packaging waste management practices in Slovenia and assessed Slovenia's legal and institutional backgrounds. Finally, STELLA reviewed the implementation of Directive 94/62 in four Member States: Austria, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. STELLA proposed institutional arrangements to achieve recycling and recovery targets specified in the Directive. In particular, STELLA proposed that the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning be responsible for monitoring and coordination. STELLA also proposed that a non-profit organisation be in charge of collecting fees from packaging producers and providing municipalities with these fees to help them segregate packaging waste. STELLA was responsible for estimating the costs of implementation.

STELLA staff has provided technical assistance to UNIDO and the Governments of Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria in establishing a programme to reduce industrial discharges and protect the Large Marine Ecosystem of the Gulf of Guinea. Textile, brewing, palm oil, rubber and petroleum are the primary industries of concern. STELLA staff visited seven plants in those industrial sectors as well as laboratories and discussed current industrial pollution prevention and control efforts undertaken by the Governments of Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Based on these visits and meetings, STELLA staff developed an action and monitoring plan to inventory and characterise industrial discharges and train local industrial managers in environmental auditing, wastewater pre-treatment and treatment, sampling and analysis, and clean technologies.

For UNESCO and Morocco's Ministry of Environment (Observatoire National de l'Environnement du Maroc), STELLA staff developed a national strategy for environmental protection and sustainable development. STELLA staff reviewed past, current, and future environmental policies and development programmes. STELLA staff estimated expenses associated with these policies and the costs of environmental degradation, such as health effects due to high ambient concentrations of lead and particulate matter, infant mortality due to diarrheic diseases, revenue losses from non-recycled materials, and loss of agricultural production due to erosion. Using an economic approach, STELLA staff evaluated the impact of these costs on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Based on this analysis, STELLA staff worked with the Ministry of Environment to establish environmental quality objectives that will ensure sustainable development and explained how environmental protection measures such as pollution prevention, economic incentives, and institutional strengthening will allow Morocco to reach these objectives.

STELLA staff provided technical support to the World Bank in drafting an urban environmental strategy for the Middle East and North Africa region. STELLA staff reviewed specialised literature (World Bank project documents, national environmental action plans, United Nations Development Programme reports, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements reports, World Health Organisation reports, Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Programme papers, etc.) and analysed trends in urban population growth and poverty. STELLA staff then prepared a regional urban environmental profile highlighting three priority issues: land use and coastal zone management, waste management, and air pollution control. For each priority issue, STELLA staff examined the nature, causes and impacts of environmental degradation, and formulated strategy options for improving the environment. STELLA staff prepared a draft strategy paper with specific recommendations to protect and improve the urban environment in the Middle East and North Africa.

For the World Bank, STELLA staff completed a study to initiate an Industrial Pollution Prevention programme in Vietnam. STELLA staff visited four industrial plants (two paper mills, a caustic soda plant, and a plywood plant) located in the two largest industrial zones in Vietnam: Viet Tri and Bien Hoa. STELLA staff also outlined a national action plan recommending both the creation of a Task Force led by the State Planning Committee and the Ministry of Environment and a training programme to initiate the managers of this entity to pollution prevention principles and techniques. For this study, STELLA staff reviewed the environmental standards promulgated by the Ministry of Environment in March 1995. These standards adapted from the Singapore standards distinguish between new and existing facilities.

STELLA staff assisted the Ministry of the Environment in preparing the Lebanon 2001 State of the Environment Report (SOER). The 2001 SOER used a "dual framework" methodology to describe and analyse environment-development linkages in Lebanon. It described the state of different environmental media (water, air, biodiversity, and soil/land) and the key linkages between them and various socio-economic development sectors (population, agriculture, industry, construction, transport, tourism and recreation, and energy). To prepare the 2001 SOER, STELLA staff met with more than 60 professionals and key stakeholders and reviewed about 150 new reports and references to provide the most up-do-date assessment of the state of the environment in Lebanon. STELLA staff prepared the 2001 SOER (240 pages) in English and Arabic, and in HTML format for easy browsing on the Internet.