1. The Early Years (1993-1997)

The East Asian region, as a result of rapid industrialization, faced increasing risks of problems related to excess atmospheric deposition of acidic substances in the 1990s. The World Bank estimated in 1995 that by 2020 if present energy and environment policies remain unchanged, sulfur dioxide emissions in the region would almost triple the 1990 level. Thus, the adverse impacts of acid deposition in East Asia were considered a critical problem. In light of the above, Japan coordinated four expert meetings between 1993 and 1997 to discuss the state of acid deposition in the region, its effects on ecosystems, and future steps toward regional cooperation on this issue. At these meetings, participants shared the view that a comprehensive approach was most appropriate for assessing the impacts because of the multiple factors involved, including deposition acidity, chemical components, and soil sensitivity. The experts recommended that acid deposition should be improved and strengthened to cover chemical components in addition to the measurement of pH. The expert meetings also agreed on the necessity of establishing a regional monitoring network with standardized monitoring methods and analytical techniques.

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2. Preparatory Phase Activities (1998-2000)

The First Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG1) of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) held in March 1998 in Yokohama, Japan, discussed the fundamental characteristics of the proposed network such as objectives, activities, schedule for establishment, institutional and financial matters. It developed the Tentative Design of EANET and decided to start the preparatory phase activities of EANET on an interim basis from April 1998 to provide useful inputs to the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG2) of EANET for the formal establishment of the network. Ten countries participated in the preparatory phase activities: China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The Environmental Agency of Japan functioned as the interim Secretariat for the Network, the Acid Deposition and Oxidant Research Centre of Japan was designated as the interim Network Center, and an interim Scientific Advisory Group was established to advise on the scientific aspects of the preparatory phase activities.

The Objectives of the Preparatory Phase Activities were the following:

  • to examine the feasibility of the designed Network activities and relevant guidelines and technical manuals
  • to provide time for Participating Countries to further develop national monitoring systems for the Network
  • to formulate policy recommendations for the further development of the Network

During this period, the technical manuals and guidelines for monitoring wet deposition, soil and vegetation, and inland aquatic environment were developed and adopted at the Second Interim Scientific Advisory Group Meeting of EANET in March 2000.

The IG2 held in October 2000 in Niigata, Japan concluded that the preparatory activities of EANET had been successful and decided to start EANET activities on a regular basis from January 2001 based on the Joint Announcement on the Implementation of EANET and the Tentative Design of EANET.

The IG2 designated the United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP RRC.AP) (the former Environment Assessment Programme for Asia and the Pacific (EAP.AP)) in Bangkok, Thailand as the Secretariat for EANET and the Acid Deposition and Oxidant Research Center (ADORC) in Niigata, Japan as the Network Center for EANET.

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3. Regular Phase Activities (2001 - onwards)

Under the Regular Phase Activities, the ten countries agreed to establish an institutional framework comprising the Intergovernmental Meeting, the Scientific Advisory Committee, the Secretariat, and the Network Center to support the Network and promote its activities in close communication, coordination, and collaboration with the Participating Countries. The Third Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG3) of EANET held in November 2001 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, adopted the Rules of Procedure for EANET.

Since then, meetings of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG) and Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) have been held annually. Three subsidiary bodies were renewably established under the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), namely, the Task Force on Dry Deposition Monitoring, the Task Force on Soil and Vegetation Monitoring, and the Network of Soil and Vegetation Specialists. It was also decided that the senior technical managers (National QA/QC Managers) from the Participating Countries should meet to discuss important technical issues related to the Network and exchange information on their monitoring activities from 2001.

The Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG5) held in November 2003 in Pattaya, Thailand, decided to establish a Working Group on Future Development of EANET (WGFD) to review the performance of the Secretariat and Network Center and develop guidelines on the administrative and financial management of the Secretariat and Network Center. The WGFD may meet once or twice during a year, depending on its tasks. In later years the functions of this Working Group were expanded to develop a five-year Medium Term Plan for EANET. The IG5 also decided that Participating Countries should make efforts, on a voluntary basis, to make financial contributions to the budget of the Secretariat.

By 2005, the number of countries in East Asia participating in EANET activities had increased to 13. Cambodia and Lao PDR joined in 2001 and 2002 respectively, and Myanmar joined in 2005. Since then, the Participating Countries are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand and Viet Nam.

A High-Level Segment was held with the Seventh Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG7) in November 2005 in Niigata, Japan, during which the Report for Policy Makers: Goals, Achievements and Way Forward was launched. The IG7 also adopted Decision 1/IG7 (Niigata Decision) which decided that the Participating Countries of EANET should begin a process to discuss an appropriate Instrument and legal status to provide a sound basis for financial contribution to EANET and would report the results of the discussion to the Tenth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG10) for its consideration. The IG requested the WGFD to discuss the establishment of an appropriate Instrument to provide a sound basis for a financial contribution to EANET.

The five-year Medium Term Plan, renamed Strategy on EANET Development (2006-2010), was adopted during the Eighth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG8) held in November 2006 in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

The categories of activities of the Strategy on EANET Development (2006-2010) were:

  • Promotion of acid deposition monitoring
  • To provide useful inputs for decision-making at local, national, and regional levels aimed at preventing or reducing adverse impacts on the environment caused by acid deposition; and
  • To contribute to cooperation on the issues related to acid deposition among the Participating Countries

The Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia was produced by the Scientific Advisory Committee of EANET in late 2007. The Periodic Report consisted of 3 volumes: Executive Summary, Part I: Regional Assessment, Part II: National Assessments.

At the Ninth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG9) several new subsidiary bodies were established under the Scientific Advisory Committee of EANET:

- Task Force on Monitoring Instrumentation
- Task Force on Research Coordination
- Expert Group on Dry Deposition Flux Estimation under the Task Force on Dry Deposition Monitoring
- Expert Group on Revision of Technical Manual on Wet Deposition Monitoring
- Expert Group on Revision of Technical Manual on Inland Aquatic Environment Monitoring
- Expert Group on Preparation of the Second Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia

The IG9 also decided that Participating Countries could, on a voluntary basis, make financial contributions to the core budget of the Network Center as of 2008.

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4. Adoption of the “Instrument for Strengthening the EANET”, the “Annex” to the Instrument, and of the “EANET Project Fund”, for wider Air Pollution Action (2010-2021)

The Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on EANET (IG12) held in November 2010 in Niigata, Japan adopted Decision 1/IG12 on “Instrument for Strengthening the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET)”. The following were stipulated in the Decision:

  1. "Adopts the “Instrument for Strengthening the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET)” for signing in the High Level Segment during IG12 and thereafter;
  2. Decides that the Instrument will become operational on the date on which all participating countries have signed it, or on 1st January 2012, whichever is earlier;
  3. Encourages participating countries that will not be able to sign the Instrument by the specified date to communicate in writing with EANET Secretariat before IG13 expressing their willingness to continue their EANET activities."

The objectives and scope of this Instrument stated in [Item 2] are: "a) to create a common understanding of the state of acid deposition problems in East Asia; b) to provide useful inputs for decision-making at local, national, and regional levels aimed at preventing or reducing adverse impacts on the environment caused by acid deposition; and c) to contribute to cooperation on the issues related to acid deposition among the Participating Countries." The scope of this Instrument may be extended, as decided by the IG.

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In 2020, the Twenty-second Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Intergovernmental Meeting on the EANET (IG22) agreed to expand the activities of the EANET to wider air pollution action and decided to:

“a. Recognize that some activities relating to air pollution are a major interest to Participating Countries but may be beyond the current scope of the EANET. This includes types of activities and/or substances or targets areas that are related to air pollution beyond acid deposition. b.Therefore, agree to start to expand the scope of the Instrument. »

In 2021, in a landmark decision, 20 years after the establishment of the EANET, the Twenty-third Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the EANET (IG23) adopted the text of the « Supplementary Document (Annex) to the Instrument for Strengthening the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia ».

The “EANET Project Fund and Project Guideline”, a new financial mechanism allowing EANET to build co-financed projects with partners outside of the EANET was also adopted at the IG23.

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5. “Strategy on EANET Development” and “Medium Term Plan for EANET”

The Strategy on EANET Development (2006-2010) which was approved by the Eighth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG8) in November 2006, focused on the whole activities of EANET with clearly stated targets, activities to be undertaken, and expected results. The implementation of the Strategy activities since 2006, and the regular activities of the Secretariat and the NC since the start of EANET, have brought EANET closer to achieving its objectives.

The EANET began the discussion of its second medium term plan, Medium Term Plan (MTP) for the EANET (2011-2015) in 2009. The discussion was made by referring to the Review on the Implementation of the Strategy on the EANET Development (2006-2010).

After a series of discussions on content and budget, the Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG12) on the EANET in 2010 adopted the second MTP for the EANET (2011-2015). It included 22 activities implemented from January 2011 to December 2015. Similar to the development process of the second MTP, the third MTP for the EANET (2016-2020) was developed by taking into account the results and recommendations of the review of the activities of the second MTP. The EANET also considered the outcomes of the Feasibility Study on the Expansion of the Scope of the EANET conducted by the Network Center (NC) for the EANET in developing the third MTP (2016- 2020). The third MTP (2016-2020) was approved at the Seventeenth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG17) on the EANET in 2015. The Twenty-second Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the EANET (IG22) approved the fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP) for the EANET (2021-2025) in November 2020.

The MTP focuses on the enhancement of the monitoring network, supported by the Participating Countries, through the implementation of strategic activities to improve geographical coverage, ensure site representativeness, and strengthen monitoring procedures, particularly sampling and analysis, to achieve more comprehensive and precise data. It also includes capacity-building activities, activities for the promotion of research on acid deposition and other priority chemical species, including activities relevant to the modeling and emission inventories, public awareness activities, and activities for the future development of EANET.