Tag: open burning

The EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

8 December 2022 – Niigata, Japan

The Network Center (NC) for the EANET organized the EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning on 5 December 2022 gathering expert panelists from Japan, Thailand, the USA, and about 50 participants from the EANET countries. Starting with lecture presentations on methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning sources, evaluate uncertainties in estimated emissions, and analyze influences of emissions using air quality models, the Workshop also included, in the second session, presentations from participants on open biomass burning emissions in their respective countries, concluded by discussions on the EANET’s potential role and activities related to open biomass burning.

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Expert Lectures and Use Cases on Open Biomass-Burning Emission Inventories from Asia and Beyond
Screenshot from some panelists and participants during the virtual Workshop

Dr. Savitri Garivait from the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Centre of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand, presented a comprehensive lecture introducing basic knowledge and information related to open biomass burning emissions. First, Dr. Savitri introduced various types of open biomass burning, namely, forest fires, agricultural waste burning, and solid waste burning. Then, she presented methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning such as basic equations, how to collect activity data as well as information necessary for spatial distribution and temporal variation, and selection of emission factors. To produce activity data, Dr. Savitri emphasized the importance of questionnaire surveys on local and specific data, in order to reduce uncertainties. She finally presented detailed case studies on the evaluation of the contribution of emissions from open biomass burning to the overall emissions and air pollution in Thailand and the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.

 

Dr. Kristofer Lasko, from the Geospatial Research Laboratory, at the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), United States, provided a lecture focusing on uncertainties of open biomass burning emission inventories, especially on the amount of burned dry matter based on satellite observation data, emission factors for different biomass burning types, and land cover type maps to determine which emission factors to be applied. In his presentation, he explained the major causes of uncertainties based on satellite data including influences of cloud coverage at or near the time of burning, the insufficient spatial resolution to detect agricultural fires, and the limitation in determining actual burned amounts in the field via remote sensing data. For emission factors, Dr. Lasko emphasized the difficulty is not only the uncertainty of each factor but also the variations due to aspects such as variation in burning practices (e.g., piled residue burn vs. open field burn) and moisture. In his presentation, case studies for PM2.5 emission inventories of Viet Nam and the Southeast Asian region were also showcased.

Dr. Katsuhige Uranishi, Department of Life and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, the University of Kitakyushu, Japan, provided a lecture about how to evaluate the influences of emissions from open biomass burning on the air quality of neighboring areas using air quality models. First, Dr. Uranishi introduced the basic knowledge and settings of an air quality modeling system by using the Weather Research and Forecasting model and Community Multiscale Air Quality model (WRF/CMAQ) system as an example. He then also presented the Brute-force method, a typical methodology to estimate the contribution of PM2.5 sources using an air quality modeling system. Finally, Dr. Uranishi explained simulation examples for the evaluation of PM2.5 transboundary transport, through case studies in Japan. Because uncertainties are not only in open biomass burning emissions but also in the modeling systems, Dr. Uranishi emphasized that the model performance must be evaluated with observation data prior to estimating air pollution levels or impact. He also recommended reviewing past studies to find appropriate settings of air quality modeling systems to target specific problems.

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Open Biomass-Burning Emissions Status and Control Measures in East Asia

Participants, in the second session, shared various information about open biomass burning emissions in their respective countries. The presentations covered major sources of open biomass burning emissions and how the emissions are estimated or evaluated in each participant’s country. They also considered how open burning influences air quality and what current control measures are in place in each represented country. These presentations and practical activities were followed by discussions on the EANET’s Project Activities related to open biomass burning emissions including national emission inventories to be organized in 2023.

Participants expressed interest to attend future capacity-building activities related to emission inventories not only from open biomass burning but also from other sources. The monitoring of emission sources to determine local emission factors was also suggested. The NC for the EANET, the organizer of the Workshop will consider the possible future activities to the EANET Project Fund.

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Useful Resources

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Photo credits: featured photo of Pom Coong Village, Viet Nam (2020) by Patrick McGregor on Unsplash ; other photos: all rights reserved to EANET.

EANET Seminar: Learnings on Reducing Emissions from Open Burning

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

7 September 2022 – Niigata, Japan

The Network Center for the EANET organized the Seminar « Learnings on Reducing Emissions from Open Burning » in a hybrid format, in Suwon, Republic of Korea, and online, on 6 September 2022, with the Asia Pacific Clean Air Partnership (APCAP) (UNEP) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategy (IGES) as co-organizers. The Seminar focused on good practices to reduce emissions from open burning and presented sustainable alternatives to improve air quality in the region. 144 participants from 17 countries from the Asian region and beyond joined the Seminar.

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Opening Session

Moderated by Ms. Maria Katherina Patdu, Associate Programme Officer – Asia Pacific Clean Air Partnership (APCAP) (UNEP), the Seminar started with the Opening and Welcome Remarks by Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General of the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP) in charge of the NC for the EANET, and by Dr. Mushtaq Memon, Regional Coordinator for Chemicals and Pollution Action Subprogramme, UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Dr. Memon also co-moderated the second part of the Seminar.

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Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama and Dr. Mushtaq Memon delivered the opening remarks.

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Remarks emphasized the new role of the EANET with the expansion of its scope from acid deposition to air pollution (including PM2.5), and the technical and financial challenges leading to open burning practices in the region.

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Open Biomass Burning and Regional Challenges

Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana, a Senior Instructor of the Faculty of Public Health, at Thammasat University, Thailand, presented the various causes of open burning in Thailand, with a particular focus on Northern Thailand’s situation and showed the direct impacts on air quality, the environment, and public health. In his presentation, he highlighted the challenges and needs for more government-driven incentives, policies, technical assistance, and education toward non-burning agricultural practices.

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Panelists during the Seminar. From left to right: Ms. Maria Katherina Patdu, Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana, Ms. Etwin Sabarini, Dr. Eric Zusman, Dr. Alison Simcox, and Ms. Azka Ghaida.

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Sharing Good Practices to Reduce Open Burning

Ms. Etwin Sabarini, Programme Coordinator, Measurable Action for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast Asia (MAHFSA), ASEAN Secretariat introduced the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. She explained the history, objective, and framework of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and focused her talk on the ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy (APMS) initiative aiming at conserving peatlands, the largest carbon store in the ASEAN region.

Ms. Do Van Nguyet, Director at Live & Learn for Environment and Community, then shared examples of good practices from Viet Nam, including their collective action to control open burning in Hanoi. These included: policy development, monitoring, and technical assistance with a special focus on multi-stakeholder engagement.

Dr. Eric Zusman, a Senior Policy Researcher and Area Leader at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategy (IGES), presented priority actions in Southeast Asia to reduce open burning, and possible solutions, while analyzing barriers to their implementation based on the example of Thailand. To deal with these barriers, he explained the polycentric system approach, where different governing authorities may organize themselves in non-hierarchical relationships, and he emphasized the need to mix solutions of alternatives to open burning.

Dr. Alison Simcox, from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), shared an overview of agricultural burning and smoke management in the USA. After explaining the history of agricultural burning practices, she detailed the recent changes in practices and the role of the Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) focusing on the Smoke Management Program (SMP) and on alternatives to burning in the USA, such as no-till farming.

Dr. Ken Yamashita summarized the Seminar.

Ms. Azka Ghaida, an Air Quality and Climate Research Analyst at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Indonesia, presented the use case of crop residue open burning in Indonesia by explaining the cause of the phenomenon, the government’s action, the barriers, and the solutions such as education and community involvement, sustainable farming and farm management practices.

Dr. Ken Yamashita who is Head of the Planning and Training Department at the Network Center for the EANET (ACAP) thanked all panelists and participants and summarized the Seminar by highlighting the key points of the challenges such as technical, financial limitations but also cultural barriers, and opportunities including mixed alternatives and operating in polycentric governance systems, to reduce open burning practices from ASEAN, Thailand, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and the USA.

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Useful Resources

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For further inquiries, contact the Network Center for the EANET.

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Photo credits: featured photo of Mù Cang Chai, Mù Cang Chai District, Yên Bái, Viet Nam (2020) by Hoach Le Dinh on Unsplash, other photos: all rights reserved to the EANET.

The EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning – Join us on December 5th!

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

 
1. Background

One of the key sources of particulate matter (PM) pollution in the EANET Participating Countries especially in Southeast Asia, is the open burning of biomass such as agricultural wastes, forests, and municipal wastes.

Open burning of agricultural crop residues is one of the key sources causing severe air pollution. Reducing emissions from agricultural waste burning is among the 25 recommended clean air measures in Air Pollution in the Asia Pacific: Science-Based Solutions (UNEP and CCAC, 2018).

It is essential to understand the current status of emissions from open biomass burning sources to consider effective mitigation ways. The emission inventory is a powerful tool for this purpose. However, methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning are much different from those for other anthropogenic sources.

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2. Objectives and Participants

The objectives of the Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop are to learn basic methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning sources including considerable uncertainties. In addition, application methodologies of the emission inventories to analyze influences of open biomass burning emissions will also be introduced. Furthermore, participants will share short presentations about issues related to open biomass burning in their country, and discussions with experts will be conducted.

Target workshop participants are technical officers, practitioners, and policymakers who are involved in air quality management issues, especially in charge of or interested in developing a national emission inventory.

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3. Agenda and Program

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4. Registration

If you would like to participate in the EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning, please send the registration form to the Webinar Workshop Secretariat (eiwws2022@acap.asia).

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For further inquiries, contact the Network Center for the EANET.

The 13th International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia – Join us on December 22nd-23rd!

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine
1. Background

The EANET has developed a close relationship with the community of Model Inter-Comparison Studies for Asia (MICS-Asia) which is a project aiming at improving air quality and climate models not only by enhancing scientific understanding of the atmospheric environment but also by developing a common scientific understanding for policy-making in Asia. The International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia is a regular workshop of MICS-Asia which has received support from the EANET throughout the previous Medium Term Plans. Summaries of previous MICS-Asia workshops are available in the Reports of the Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) on the EANET.

Air quality models are effective scientific tools to understand the status of the atmospheric environment and evaluate the effects of mitigation measures. However, extensive experience is necessary to utilize air quality models effectively, and participating in workshops led by experienced researchers is a practical way to develop skills and expertise on this matter.

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2. Objectives and Participants

The International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia provides capacity-building opportunities for air quality modeling to the EANET. Its goal is to allow participants to become familiar with a methodology to analyze the status of atmospheric environment-related substances, including processes of atmospheric chemistry and physics, using air quality models. In addition, participants will learn from examples of the application of air quality modeling systems to evaluate recent atmospheric environmental problems as well as from the latest information on air quality modeling systems including settings and model configuration.

This workshop targets participants from the EANET Participating Countries who are experts in air quality modeling and are willing to improve their knowledge of air quality models’ implementation and want to learn about the latest information on recent air quality modeling systems. The workshop is also suitable for technical officers, practitioners, and policymakers from the Region who are involved in air quality management issues and interested in utilizing air quality modeling systems.

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3. Agenda and Program

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4. Registration

If you would like to participate in the 13th International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia, please fill in and send the registration form to the Workshop’s Secretariat (modelws2022@acap.asia).

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For further inquiries, contact the Network Center for the EANET.