Tag: capacity-building

Nations re-affirm their engagement to improve air quality globally through a new resolution at UNEA-6

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

Bangkok, 28 March 2024

The 6th edition of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) took place from 26 February to 1 March 2024, at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, gathering over 6,000 delegates. The Assembly adopted 15 resolutions, including a resolution on Promoting Regional Cooperation on Air Pollution to Improve Air Quality Globally.

.

What is UNEA?

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) was created in 2012, as an outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). UNEA is the world’s highest-level decision-making body for matters related to the environment. Usually held every two years, the Assembly includes the universal membership of 193 Member States. It sets the global environment agenda, provides policy responses to environmental challenges, and provides strategic guidance on the future direction of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNEA has adopted many important resolutions over the years, including a resolution in 2022 that called for a legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution.

.

UNEP video “The world is in Nairobi – day one at #UNEA6″

 .

Taking Action to Fight Air Pollution

Recognizing that air pollution is a major threat to the environment and to human health, with more than 7 million people dying prematurely due to air pollution every year, Member States adopted a resolution 1/7 on strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in promoting air quality at UNEA-1 in 2014. A second resolution was adopted at UNEA-3 in December 2017 on Preventing and reducing air pollution to improve air quality globally. Following the adoption of these two resolutions, UNEP implemented numerous activities creating awareness, building capacity and partnerships. These included strengthening cooperation with existing regional and global initiatives such as the EANET, as mentioned specifically in resolution 1/7.

.

UNEA’s Third Resolution on Air Quality

At UNEA-6, Member States adopted 15 resolutions aiming to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, including the resolution on Promoting Regional Cooperation on Air Pollution to Improve Air Quality Globally.

This new resolution builds on Resolutions 1/7 and 3/8 and encourages Member States to continue their efforts to improve air quality by working on national air quality programmes and standards, bearing in mind the WHO global air quality guidelines. In addition, Member States requested UNEP’s Executive Director to form an air quality cooperation network to work with governments, UN organizations, multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), international and regional initiatives, including the EANET. This network’s tasks will include raising awareness on air pollution’s impacts and the importance of mitigation actions, supporting capacity building, and encouraging collaboration with Member States with advanced air quality management capabilities to enhance national monitoring using low-cost sensors, satellite data, and other digital solutions, sharing knowledge, facilitating expertise exchange including on nitrogen management, and regional air quality programs, and building an updated global online platform for information-sharing and communication on air quality.

.

How the EANET can contribute to the implementation of this resolution

Just as in Resolution 1.7, this latest Resolution directly references the EANET and its role alongside various other key regional air quality initiatives: “Acknowledging the progress achieved by existing bodies and initiatives that facilitate cooperation on in-country and transboundary air pollution, including the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (…) and the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia”.

The EANET, as a robust regional intergovernmental body with standardized monitoring methodologies, already significantly contributes to UNEA Resolutions 1/7 and 3/8 on air quality. Since 2001, the network has developed open access high-quality datasets through centralized and government-approved data collection, publishes Periodic Reports on Acid Deposition in East Asia, leads joint research projects, offers capacity-building activities to enhance its Participating Countries’ technical capabilities, raises public awareness and strengthens cooperation with regional and global initiatives.

The EANET coordinates with other global and regional networks and initiatives to promote cooperation. In May-June 2024, the EANET, together with UNEP and ESCAP, are organizing the Workshop “Unlocking and Future-Proofing Air Quality Management in Asia”. The Workshop will provide a venue for EANET National Focal Points to discuss the future direction of its network and inputs for the development of its next Medium Term Plan for 2026-2030.

.

Photo credits: UNEA-6, the Opening plenary of the MEA day, 28 February 2024, ©UNEP / Francis Kiguta on Flickr.

Advancing Emission Inventory Management for Combustion Sources: Insights from the EANET Workshop

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

Bangkok, 22 February 2024

The Network Center for the EANET organized a virtual Emission Inventory Workshop on Combustion Sources on December 11, 2023. The event featured expert lectures and brief participant presentations. The first session covered key topics such as the importance of emission inventory in managing atmospheric environmental issues, methodologies for estimating emissions from stationary sources and the transportation sector, and the framework of national emission inventory. Participants also shared the status and pertinent data on emissions from combustion sources in their respective countries and discussed ideas for EANET’s involvement in addressing combustion emissions. Approximately 60 participants attended the workshop.

.

Exploring Emission Inventory Strategies: Insights from Expert Lectures

Dr. Toshimasa Ohara from the Center for Environmental Science in Saitama, Japan delivered a lecture on the significance of emission inventories in managing atmospheric environmental issues. The presentation began with an overview of air pollution status and historical trends of emissions in East Asia. It then covered fundamental aspects of emission inventories such as estimation methodologies, types, target species, and their role in atmospheric environmental management. Additionally, examples were provided on how emission inventories are applied, including assessing the impacts of control measures and utilizing them as input data for air quality model simulations.

Dr. Jun-ichi Kurokawa, from the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research, delivered two lectures. The first focused on methodologies for estimating emissions from stationary sources. It began with an introduction to the basic principles of developing emission inventories and included examples of calculating emissions from a coal-fired power plant. The lecture then detailed the actual procedures for estimating emissions, following the process flow of emission inventory development: defining scope and structure, designing methodology, collecting necessary data (e.g. activity data, emission factors, and reduction rates), and finally calculating emissions and creating final products. A case study on the evaluation of emission controls for SO2 in Japan was also presented. The second lecture covered various issues related to emission inventory, including methodologies for developing gridded emission data, evaluating uncertainties in emission inventories, and inverse modeling. Additionally, the lecture explored the interrelationships among emission inventories, monitoring, modeling, and stakeholders, including policymakers.

.

Figure 1- Screenshot of some participants during the Workshop

.

Dr. Didin Agustian Permadi, from the National Institute of Technology in Bandung, Indonesia, delivered a lecture on emission inventories for the transport sector, focusing on on-road mobile sources, civil aviation, and shipping. For on-road mobile sources, the lecture covered methodologies for estimating emissions from road vehicles, including both basic approaches using bulk emission factors and advanced methods accounting for running and start-up emissions. The presentation also introduced on-road transport emission models such as the International Vehicle Emission Model (IVE). Regarding civil aviation, the lecture discussed emissions from airport activities and during cruising, presenting three levels of methodologies to estimate these emissions. Procedures for estimating shipping emissions were also provided. Case studies demonstrating the calculation of emissions from airports and major harbors in Indonesia were presented to illustrate the application of these methodologies.

Dr. Jongmin Joo, from the National Air Emission Inventory and Research Center in the Republic of Korea, presented a lecture on the national official emission inventory, focusing on the National Air Pollutant Emission Inventory of the Republic of Korea. The lecture began with an introduction to the Clean Air Policy Support System (CAPSS) of the Republic of Korea, an air pollutant emissions estimation system operating at a national level. The framework of the CAPSS system was outlined, followed by discussions on methodologies for estimating emissions from point sources, mobile sources, and area sources. The presentation included emission estimation results for 2020, as well as procedures for emissions recalculation for the years 2016 to 2019. Future plans for CAPSS were also discussed, which involve identifying previously unaccounted sources such as small and medium-sized businesses and fertilizers in farmland. Additionally, plans were presented for establishing a Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) emissions inventory and developing a health risk assessment system.

 .

Addressing Combustion Emissions: Participants’ perspectives

During the second session, participants exchanged information on significant combustion sources, discussing the air pollution status and control measures in their countries. They also highlighted ongoing activities related to emission inventories. In the ensuing discussions, many countries identified the continuous enhancement of national emission inventories as a challenge and expressed the desire for additional EANET projects focusing on capacity-building activities. Suggestions included not only webinars but also on-site training courses. The Network Center for the EANET, as the workshop organizer, will assess potential future activities through the EANET Project Fund.

.

Find out more about the EANET Project Fund.

.

Useful Resources

Download the Workshop’s presentations

.

Photo credits: featured photo by Eduardo Cano Photo Co. on Unsplash, free of copyrights; other pictures: all rights reserved to EANET.

EANET and NIER’s Technical and Training Capacity Building Program in 2023

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

13 November 2023 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Technical and Training (TNT) program of the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), Republic of Korea, and the EANET Capacity Building Program have joined forces in 2023 to provide training on acid deposition and air quality management in the EANET Participating Countries.

.

Background

Since 2002, the EANET has trained over 200 government officials and researchers, on acid deposition and air quality management through its individual training and capacity-building activities conducted mainly at the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP) in Niigata, Japan, which hosts the Network Center for the EANET.

The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), part of the Ministry of Environment in the Republic of Korea, was established in 1978. It serves as the country’s primary research institution for various environmental aspects. NIER is based in Incheon and operates 12 air quality monitoring stations and 4 river research centers. The institute conducts extensive research and policy development on environmental health, climate, air quality, water resources, and energy, and collaborates on international projects aimed at global environmental protection.

The combined TNT and EANET Capacity Building Program in 2023 has been approved at the Twenty-fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG24) on the EANET, as a Project Activity, co-funded by the EANET Project Fund and the Republic of Korea.

 .

NIER’s TNT and EANET’s Capacity Building Program in 2023

In 2023, the Program was organized in two sessions. Each session was divided into two parts happening alternatively in the Republic of Korea and in Japan. Eight government officials and researchers (four per session) from the EANET Participating Countries were selected to participate in the training, based on their submitted applications that indicate their professional backgrounds, technical implications in monitoring activities, and motivation.

.

Lecture at the Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Health

.

Session 1 took place in Japan from 14 to 20 May 2023, and in the Republic of Korea, from 20 May to 2 June 2023.

During the training in Japan, participants visited the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, in Tsukuba City, where they received briefings and tours of the Earth Area Study and regional study laboratories. While at the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), in Niigata, participants attended lectures covering various atmospheric environmental issues. The training program included lectures on various topics, such as the ecological impacts of atmospheric deposition and air pollution in Europe, the USA, and Asia. It also covered methods for monitoring soil, vegetation, inland aquatic environments, and catchment areas. Furthermore, the program included lectures on quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) activities in EANET, data reporting procedures, an inter-laboratory comparison project, the analysis of EANET monitoring data (Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia), and an introduction to emission inventory and air quality modeling. Finally, participants also visited the EANET Niigata-Maki monitoring site.

In the Republic of Korea, participants received the training in the NIER premises, in Incheon, where lectures were delivered by senior researchers from NIER’s Climate and Air Quality Research Department. These experts provided insights into their main responsibilities, ongoing projects, and the specialized tools and instruments used in their divisions. Additionally, the trainees had the opportunity to visit the Atmospheric Environment and Climate Change Laboratory at Seoul National University (SNU) and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). During these visits, they attended lectures conducted by professors from the Graduate School of Public Health, SNU, focusing on international projects like CASA, which is a clean air initiative for ASEAN member states. The trainees also explored NIER’s Jeju monitoring station and the National Air Emission Inventory and Research Center under the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea. At these locations, they received presentations on the Republic of Korea’s policies and strategies for managing air pollution, emphasizing comprehensive monitoring, analysis, and forecasting of air pollutant sources.

.

Hands-on experiment at the Laboratory of Seoul National University

.

The Second session started in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 10 to 24 September 2023 and in Niigata, Japan, from 24 to 30 September 2023.

In the Republic of Korea, the program included visits to key organizations under the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea, including the National Air Emission Inventory and Research Center and the Jeju Island Air Quality Monitoring Center. Participants also visited University laboratories actively involved in air pollution research. To address trainees’ requests for hands-on experience, the 1st program was arranged by the Atmospheric Environment and Climate Change (AECC) Lab at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Health, which has been collaborating with NIER on Korea-China joint research since 2017. During this session, trainees conducted pretreatment and analysis of air pollutant sources, collected samples, and analyzed monitoring results using analytical instruments. They also explored UNIST’s facilities for monitoring and analyzing air pollutant sources and learned about various international projects related to air pollution research in the East Asia Region. The National Air Emission Inventory and Research Center provided insights into forecasting air pollutant movement and related policies, while the Jeju Island Air Quality Monitoring Center introduced its monitoring and analysis instruments and cooperative efforts with other NIER monitoring centers across the country, as well as the Korea Meteorological Administration, to improve the accuracy of forecasting the concentration of particulate matter.

Session 2 at ACAP was designed to offer hands-on training in wet and dry deposition monitoring. The aim of the training was to enhance participants’ expertise and skills in atmospheric deposition, specifically focusing on the filter pack method and ion chromatography. The laboratory sessions included various technical exercises covering topics such as pH and electrical conductivity measurements, filter pack sampling, and the standard operating procedures for inorganic ions analysis. The exercises were complemented by practical demonstrations of laboratory techniques.

Additionally, the training program featured a site visit to the Niigata–Maki Station. During this visit, participants had the opportunity to observe wet-only samplers (both weekly and daily), the filter pack system, automatic monitors for SO2, NOx, O3, PM2.5, and PM2.5 components, as well as meteorology monitors. This visit familiarized participants with the field equipment used in air quality monitoring.

The feedback survey indicated that all 8 participants found the program to be valuable and it is anticipated that the experience and knowledge gained from the program will be shared with their colleagues in their respective countries, further enhancing expertise in air quality management in the EANET Participating Countries.

.

The combined TNT and EANET Capacity Building Program in 2023 has been co-funded by the EANET Project Fund and the Republic of Korea. Find out more about EANET’s Project Fund and Project Activities.

.

View the photos of the training on Flickr.

.

Photo credits: all rights reserved to EANET.

Capacity Building in the EANET – The Individual Training 2022

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

12 January 2023 – Niigata, Japan

The EANET Individual Training in 2022 was successfully organized by the Network Center for the EANET (NC) in November and December 2022. It consisted of virtual lectures and in-person laboratory training and aimed at providing technical support and capacity building to participants from the EANET Participating Countries on acid deposition monitoring.

.

Strengthening the EANET’s Monitoring Capacities

The Individual Training has been a regular activity conducted yearly by the NC in Niigata, Japan,  to improve the various monitoring skills of the representatives from the EANET Participating Countries. In 2022, due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions, the EANET Individual Training took place online. 28 government officers and researchers from 7 EANET Participating Countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Russia, and Viet Nam) completed the online course, from November 1st to 18th 2022.

This year’s session started with Opening Remarks from Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General of ACAP, followed by an introduction of the participants and of the EANET. Lectures on atmospheric deposition (including wet and dry deposition), the effects on ecosystems, and related monitoring methods, were presented. The second week of the training focused on data monitoring including automatic monitor maintenance of particulate matter and ozone monitors, data analysis, sampling methods, pretreatment, and electric conductivity and pH measurement for dry/wet samples and inorganic carbon measurement. Finally, during the last week of the training, participants learned about the EANET quality assurance and quality control activities, data reporting, and data evaluation procedures. An introduction to the Inter-Laboratory Comparison Project 2021 was also provided. The virtual lectures were followed by onsite laboratory training in Niigata, Japan, in December 2022.

.

Participants during the EANET Individual Training 2022

.

The Individual Training allowed participants to deepen their knowledge of acid deposition monitoring, data evaluation, and reporting, in close relation to their on-the-ground laboratory work. In addition to matters specific to the East Asian region, broader topics, including lectures on atmospheric deposition, data management, maintenance of equipment, and coordination for monitoring activities, were delivered by scientists and researchers from the NC.

 .

Ways Forward

The expected outcome of the EANET Individual Training was for participants from both the virtual lectures and in-person laboratory training to disseminate experience and knowledge to colleagues in their country, allowing them to actively carry on monitoring acid deposition and air pollution activities. The NC continuously provides support in this dissemination effort.

The Individual Training program is a 2022 EANET Project activity, which received support from the governments of Japan and the Philippines.

.

Find out more about the EANET Individual Training through the Program of EANET Individual Training 2022 or contact the NC.

.

Photo credits: featured image of Niigata, Japan (2023) by snowdrop on Unsplash, other images: all rights reserved to EANET.

Capacity Building in the EANET – The Individual Training 2022 Laboratory Session

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

19 January 2023 – Niigata, Japan

As part of the EANET Individual Training in 2022, a session in the laboratory was held by the Network Center for the EANET (NC) in December 2022. It aimed at providing practical capacity building to representatives from the EANET Participating Countries on wet and dry deposition monitoring.

.

Practical Field Training

The Individual Training has been conducted as a regular activity yearly by the NC in Niigata, Japan,  to improve the various monitoring skills of the representatives from the EANET Participating Countries.

In 2022, the laboratory session of the training was held in person in Niigata, Japan, at the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP). A representative from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) from the Philippines completed the training.

Held from 11 to 17 December 2022, the training aimed at developing professional expertise and knowledge of wet deposition (precipitation sample) and dry deposition (4 Stage Filter Pack).

The laboratory session consisted of various technical exercises focusing on specific topics and practical outputs including pH and electric conductivity, filter pack sampling, and standard operating procedures of inorganic ions analysis. Through these exercises, laboratory work techniques were demonstrated and explained. These included maintaining a steady temperature during the measurements of pH and electric conductivity, how to clean laboratory wares, and understanding differences in the sampling when using a gas volume meter or a gas flow meter, for filter pack sampling.

.

The training also included a site visit at the Niigata – Maki Station, where the trainee observed automatic rainwater samplers, sampling setups for water-insoluble and water-soluble organic carbon, and filter pack samplers for particulate matter, gases, and carbons. This activity helped familiarize him with the field equipment used for air quality monitoring. In addition to the original training program, instructors shared knowledge on black carbon analysis (sampling, analysis, and instrument operation), atmospheric microplastics analysis, and PM2.5 data processing. (Figure 4 – Checking a rainwater sampler at the Niigata – Maki Station).

.

Ways Forward

The expected outcome of the laboratory session of the Individual Training is for the participant to disseminate experience and knowledge to colleagues in his country. The NC continuously provides support in this dissemination effort.

The  Individual Training program is a 2022 EANET Project activity, which received support from the governments of Japan and the Philippines.

.

Find out more about the EANET Individual Training through the Program of EANET Individual Training 2022 or contact the NC.

.

View the photos on Flickr.

.

Photo credits: all rights reserved to the EANET.

EANET joins forces in Mongolia with regional and global partners to fight air pollution at the High-Level Forum on Clean Air

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

9 March 2023 – Bangkok, Thailand

EANET, as one of the existing intergovernmental bodies in Asia, collaborated in the organization of the High-Level Forum on Clean Air, alongside the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asian and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 2 to 3 March 2023. The Forum supported the operationalization of ESCAP’s recently adopted Asia-Pacific Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution (RAPAP).

.

The High-Level Forum on Clean Air

The Forum gathered around 100 participants including high-level representatives from governments, national experts, researchers, and representatives from regional organizations working on air pollution.

Among key high-level representatives, H.E. Mr. Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, Prime Minister of Mongolia; H.E. Mr. Naseer Ahamed, Minister of Environment of Sri Lanka; Ms. Armida Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, and Ms. Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific Office, UN Environment Programme, joined the hybrid event.

Watch the Opening Session

.

The Forum aimed at presenting and discussing the implementation of the Asia-Pacific Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution (RAPAP), adopted at the 7th session of the ESCAP Committee on Environment and Development in 2022. Various sessions were organized, including a ministerial roundtable, sessions on air quality management, monitoring, best practices, capacity building, air quality data and standards, and partnerships through the RAPAP.

Stakeholders from a wide variety of countries, from Asia and beyond, organizations, and sectors shared their experience in actively leading air pollution-related actions, showing the abundance of expertise in the domain.

.

Sharing EANET’s Long-term Expertise in Air-quality Monitoring and Capacity Building

The EANET, as a key regional intergovernmental organization for East Asia, along with the North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP), was invited to share its expertise in several sessions.

Prof. Meng Fan, Deputy Director-General of the Network Center for the EANET, shared EANET’s two decades of experience during Session 2: Air Quality Monitoring Session. He highlighted the trends of air pollution and acid deposition in the EANET region, including the decrease of sulphur dioxide over time, and the increase of ozone, in Southeast Asia specifically. He also explained the impacts of acidification in forests and inland waters in the region.

Watch Prof. Meng’s presentation (at 35’06’’)

.

Mr. Bert Fabian, the Coordinator of the Secretariat for the EANET, was invited as a panelist in Session 3: Best Practice Sharing and Capacity Building. In his presentation, he explained the role of EANET in strengthening the data-science-policy link over the past two decades, highlighting the capacity-building and training activities achieved by the Network, and presented the new Project Activities in 2023. He called for increased cooperation amongst various partners in support of Project activities in 2024.

Mr. Kwon-Ho Jeon, a Senior coordinator at the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), Republic of Korea, presented NIER’s training activities particularly on the upcoming TNT and Capacity Building Program in 2023, a partnership between NIER and EANET.

Watch Mr. Fabian’s and Mr. Jeon’s presentations (at 4’20’’ and 11’53’’)

.

The High-Level Forum offered a meeting point for many organizations and government representatives. Several stakeholders mentioned ongoing participation in the EANET, such as Ms. Uranchimeg Tserendorj the Director-General of the Natural Resources Policy Coordination Department from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Mongolia, and Undersecretary Juan Miguel Cuna of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines.

EANET will explore opportunities to cooperate amongst various partners to complement the implementation of the RAPAP. EANET will continue to play a key role in Northeast and Southeast Asia in air quality and acid deposition management.

.

Interested in finding out more about EANET’s monitoring activities and findings? Read the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4).

.

Photo credits: Ulaanbaatar by duku photography, free of rights, all videos: all rights reserved to Orgil Media.

The EANET Emission Inventory Workshop in 2021

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

19 October 2021 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), the Network Center (NC) for the EANET, organized the EANET Emission Inventory Workshop on 18 October 2021, gathering over 50 participants from 9 countries, to develop regional air quality management skills.

.

Why are emission inventories important?

To tackle atmospheric environment problems, it is essential to understand the status of air pollutants’ emissions and consider mitigation measures’ effectiveness. The emission inventory is an essential tool to obtain such information and to build appropriate atmospheric environmental policies.

.

Figure 1 – extract from the Emission Inventory Workshop presentation introduction slides

.

Building Capacity at a Regional Level

The objectives of the EANET Emission Inventory Workshop were to understand the role of an emission inventory in air quality management, obtain general information on an emission inventory, and learn basic knowledge on the development and application of an emission inventory.

For this purpose, invited experts provided five lecture presentations on developing and applying an emission inventory. Furthermore, the participants, selected by the National Focal Points (NFPs) of each EANET Participating Country, delivered short presentations about issues related to national emission inventories in their countries.

.

Figure 2 – Presentation of the lectures that took place during the Emission Inventory Workshop, (including experts from the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI), the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan (NIES), and the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT)).

.

Through discussions among lecturers and participants, the event aimed to enhance participants’ knowledge and encourage the development of national emission inventories.

.

Ways Forward

In conclusion, participants emphasized the usefulness of such capacity-building activities and noted that it could be interesting, in the future, to focus the workshop’s content on regional specificities.

Participants also highlighted that both technical (such as providing guidelines) and financial aspects are necessary for conducting emission inventory activities. Taking these observations into account, it may be interesting to focus EANET’s future activities on this demand.

Furthermore, the participants pointed out the benefits of sharing emission inventories throughout the EANET region to better understand the atmospheric environment issues and compare methodologies, including emission factors.

.

Find out more about technical capacity building by contacting the Network Center.

.

Download the Workshop’s outline and key presentations.

.

Photo credits: All rights reserved to the EANET.

EANET Individual Training in 2021

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

19 January 2022 – Niigata, Japan

The EANET Individual Training in 2021 was successfully organized online by the Network Center, from 4th to 19th November 2021, and included the participation of China, through the presentation of two virtual lectures. It aimed at providing participants from the EANET Participating Countries with technical support and capacity building on acid deposition monitoring. 

 .

Virtual Individual Training in 2021

Individual Training is a regular activity conducted yearly by the Network Center for the EANET (NC) which aims at improving the various monitoring skills of Participating Countries’ representatives. Individual Training sessions are usually conducted at the Network Center in Niigata, Japan, and tentatively planned for five or six trainees from the Participating Countries.

This year, due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions, the EANET Individual Training in 2021 was held via an online platform. It gathered 14 trainees from 7 EANET Participating Countries (namely from Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam). Furthermore, in total, approximately 50 observers from the EANET Participating Countries took part in the program.

 .

Improving Regional Monitoring Capabilities

During the Training, Scientists from the Network Center’s Planning and Training, Atmospheric Research, Ecological Impact Research, and Data Management Departments, delivered daily lectures. The main topics covered, among others, included the ecological effects of atmospheric deposition and EANET monitoring methods, automatic monitor maintenance, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control (QA/QC) activities, and data reporting procedures.

On the 17th of November, lectures were presented by Ms. Wang Xiaofei, from the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, and by Mr. Li Jie, from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, on China’s Atmospheric Air Monitoring, and on the Development of an Atmospheric Environment Forecasting System and MICS-ASIA III Program, respectively.

Through this training, participants have deepened their knowledge of laboratory work, data evaluation, and reporting.

.

Interested in finding out more? Contact the Network Center for the EANET.

.

Photo Credit: All rights reserved to the EANET.