Tag: Participating Countries

The Twenty-first Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

29 October 2021 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) held its Twenty-first Session of the SAC (SAC21) Meeting from 26-28 October 2021, to discuss acid deposition monitoring data provided in 2020.

 .

Reporting on Acid Deposition Monitoring in 2020

The Session was organized virtually by the Secretariat and the Network Center (NC) for the EANET. Over 60 members of the SAC and/or their representatives from the Participating Countries of the EANET joined the meeting.

Scientists from the NC presented the results from activities of acid deposition monitoring, based on data provided by the EANET Participating Countries and retrieved from their national monitoring sites for 2020.

The Draft EANET Data Report 2020 was presented to the Session, showcasing different results and trends in the region since 2000. In addition, the Draft Report on the Inter-laboratory Comparison (ILC) Projects 2020 was also introduced, and it showed that most samples submitted by the participating laboratories met the Data Quality Objective (DQO) of EANET.

.

Scientists from the EANET Network Center presenting several acid deposition monitoring data reports

.

Discussing EANET’s Future Activities for 2021-2025

The NC presented an overview of the National Monitoring Plans of the Participating Countries for 2021, based on the submissions made during the recent Twenty-second Senior Technical Managers’ Meeting (STM22) on the EANET.

As part of the ongoing process of expansion of the scope of the EANET, as decided by the IG22, the SAC21 members were also invited to share their comments, from the scientific viewpoint, on the draft Annex to the EANET Instrument, for consideration and approval at the IG23 of EANET, in November 2021.

.

Some participants during the SAC21 virtual meeting

.

Other important administrative documents and publications such as the Summary of the 20th Anniversary of the EANET and the Draft Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4) were also discussed during the SAC21.

.

EANET Data Reports can be accessed on EANET’s website and 2020 data will be available soon.

.

Photo credits: All rights reserved to EANET.

The Twenty-third Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

30 November 2021 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Twenty-third Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (IG23) took place from 24 to 25 November 2021, virtually, and gathered over 70 representatives of the EANET Participating Countries, Secretariat, and Network Center for the EANET, to make important decisions on the expansion of the scope of the EANET, among other topics.

.

The IG23 Meeting

Chaired by Japan and co-chaired by Malaysia and Viet Nam, the IG23 started with the Opening Remarks from H.E. Mr. Yutaka Shoda, Vice-Minister, Ministry of the Environment, Japan, followed by Opening Remarks by Dr. Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, United Nations Environment Programme for Asia & the Pacific, and by Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research.

.

Welcome and Opening Remarks delivered during the IG23 meeting.

.

Historical Decisions on the Expansion of the Scope of the EANET

Following the decision of the Twenty-second  Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG22), held in November 2020, the EANET Participating Countries’ representatives have been working relentlessly on the process to expand the scope of the EANET, from acid deposition to also include a wider scope of atmospheric environment-related substances.

This historical progress required the EANET to develop a text supplementary document to the EANET Instrument, to define the scope of expansion and the target substances to be included in the EANET activities. In a landmark decision, 20 years after the creation of the Network, the IG23 has adopted the text of the Supplementary Document (Annex) to the Instrument for Strengthening the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia.

.

Discussions among participants during the virtual IG23 meeting.

.

The EANET Project Fund and Project Guideline, a new financial mechanism allowing EANET to build co-financed projects with partners in the region and beyond, has also been approved by the IG23.

.

Ways Forward

In addition to these major decisions, the IG23 has also approved several important documents, including the Work Program and Budget of the EANET in 2022, and the Summary of the Twentieth Anniversary of the EANET publication, a new outreach document detailing the EANET’s past achievements and future opportunities.

As an important way forward for 2022, the EANET Participating Countries and partner organizations will be invited to start preparing and submitting project proposals for the pilot implementation of new EANET projects, in line with the EANET Project Guideline.

.

Read the IG23’s Report of the Session (including the Decisions of IG23 in Annex 2), and discover the virtual meeting’s pictures on Flickr.

.

Photos credits: all rights reserved to EANET.

The Working Group Meeting of EANET in 2022

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

29 August 2022 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Working Group Meeting (WG2022) of EANET in 2022 was organized virtually from 24 to 25 August 2022. It was attended by over 70 National Focal Points and representatives from the 13 EANET Participating Countries, and from the Secretariat and Network Center for the EANET, to discuss proposed projects submitted to the EANET Project Fund and other matters related to the expansion of the scope of the EANET.

.

Opening Session

Chaired by Japan and co-chaired by Malaysia and Viet Nam, the WG2022 started with Opening Remarks from Dr. Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, United Nations Environment Programme for Asia & the Pacific, and by Welcome Remarks from Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research.

.

From left to right Mr. Bert Fabian, Dr. Dechen Tsering, and Dr. Hiro Hatakeyama, during the Opening Session of the WG2022 meeting

.

EANET Project Fund

In November 2021, the Twenty-third Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (IG23) approved a new financial mechanism, the EANET Project Fund. The Working Group meeting of the EANET was organized for the EANET National Focal Points and representatives from the 13 Participating Countries to discuss the EANET Project Plans, which are project proposals, to be submitted for funding from the EANET Project Fund.

.

Discussions among participants during the WG2022 meeting

.

During the WG2022, eight EANET Project Plans were presented and discussed by the Session. These project plans focus mainly on the effects of atmospheric deposition on ecosystems, capacity building (related to Volatile Organic Compounds – VOCs, monitoring activities, emission inventories, and PM2.5), and research fellowship programs.

.

Ways Forward

After the WG2022, the EANET Project Plans will be reviewed and discussed in October 2022 by the EANET Twenty-second Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC22) meeting, and finally submitted for approval to the 24th Intergovernmental meeting of the EANET (IG24) in November 2022.

Other important topics in line with the expansion of the Scope of the EANET adopted by IG23, were also discussed during the WG2022 and will be considered further by the IG23 in November 2022.

.

Read the Report of the WG2022 and discover the virtual meeting’s pictures on Flickr.

.

Photos credits: all rights reserved to EANET.

The Twenty-second Senior Technical Managers’ Meeting of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

3 September 2021 – Niigata, Japan

The Twenty-second Senior Technical Managers’ Meeting (STM22) of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) was held online on 1 and 2 September 2021, gathering over 40 senior technical officials from the 13 EANET Participating Countries to discuss the status of the EANET monitoring activities.

.

EANET Monitoring Activities in 2020

Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), delivered the Opening Remarks, followed by Welcome Remarks by Mr. Tomi Haryadi, Coordinator, Secretariat for the EANET.

After presenting the progress of EANET activities in 2020 since STM21, the Network Center for the EANET (NC) shared the results of various important reports on acid deposition and related substances monitoring activities. STM22 participants were invited to discuss and share important knowledge and experience to collectively review these draft publications.

.

Figure 1: Discussions and presentations during the STM22

.

 

Overview of the Preliminary Draft Data Report 2020 and Evaluation for the Results of the Inter-laboratory Comparison (ILC) Projects 2020

The NC presented the Preliminary Draft Data Report 2020. This report focuses on wet deposition, dry deposition (air concentration), soil and vegetation, inland aquatic environment, and catchment-scale monitoring. It includes a summary of the monitoring data in 2020 and related information submitted by the Participating Countries.

The NC also introduced the preliminary draft Report on the Inter-laboratory Comparison Projects in 2020 for wet deposition, dry deposition (filter pack method), soil, and inland aquatic environment.

.

Consideration of the National Monitoring Plans (NMPs), Current Monitoring Activities for the EANET and Overall Air Concentration Monitoring Status of the Participating Countries

In line with previous STM meetings’ process, representatives of the Participating Countries presented their National Monitoring Plans (NMPs) and current EANET activities, including monitoring capacities, technical challenges, and future plans, while focusing on the general improvement of the activities of the EANET.

Other important matters were also discussed, including the progress on the Revision of the Technical Manuals for Dry Deposition Flux Estimation and Air Concentration Monitoring.

Dr. Erdenebat Eldev-Ochir, Deputy Director General, ACAP, delivered the Closing Remarks. He expressed his great appreciation for the improvement of the data quality due to the efforts of the Participating Countries. He highlighted that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the EANET has been continuously strengthening the capacity of the Participating Countries through online training, research fellowship, public awareness workshops, and joint research.

.

Find out more and access EANET monitoring data.

.

Photo credits: All rights reserved to EANET.

Updated EANET Monitoring Site Information Accessible Online

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

29 July 2021 – Niigata, Japan

To provide useful inputs for decision-making at the local, national, and regional levels, the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) has been monitoring acid deposition in East Asia for over 20 years. Recently, an updated version of the Site Information page has been released, displaying detailed information on each monitoring site.

.

Monitoring Acid Deposition across East Asia

With a coverage expanded through Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand, Philippines, and Viet Nam, EANET has assisted over the years in the deployment of monitoring stations in very diverse urban, rural and remote locations.

These monitoring sites gather high-quality data related to the deposition of major acidifying species and related chemical substances such as SO42-, NO3–, H+ in precipitation, SO2, NO2 ozone, and particulate matter (PM) in ambient air.

.

Figure 1 – Location of acid deposition monitoring sites in 2019 (access the most recent sites’ information on the EANET Site Information page)

.

Dry and Wet Deposition Monitoring

Among the EANET’s major activities, acid deposition monitoring consists mainly in the review and revision or establishment of national monitoring plans, as well as the deployment of monitoring equipment, using common methodologies, to measure wet deposition, dry deposition, analyze the impacts of these depositions on soil and vegetation as well as on the inland aquatic environment.

.

Comprehensive Monitoring Site Information Available Online

Recently updated in June 2021, the Site Information webpage displays detailed information about the current 66 EANET monitoring sites, including, among others, each site’s address and location, characteristics, the monitoring period and items, and monitoring instrument name.

To find out more about the results and data on each site, visitors can also access the sites’ data reports on the Monitoring System Data Report page.

.

Contact the Network Center if you wish to update any data from your monitoring site.

.

Photo credits: all rights reserved to EANET.

Third Meeting of the Lead Authors and Drafting Committee Members for the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

6 August 2021 – Niigata, Japan

The Third Meeting of the Lead Authors (LA3) and Drafting Committee Members (DC3) for the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4) was held from 4-5 August 2021, virtually.

PRSADs are published every five years as comprehensive scientific assessment reports describing the outcome of EANET’s monitoring activities.

.

Participants from EANET’s Research Community

The meeting was organized online by the Network Center (NC) for the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET), Niigata, Japan.

The Drafting Committee (DC) members of the PRSAD4, including the Lead Authors, participated in the meeting. The NC and the EANET Secretariat also joined the meeting to discuss the progress of the report.

Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, the Director-General of the NC, delivered the Welcome remarks and Prof. Fan Meng, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, delivered the Opening address as the Chairperson of the Drafting Committee.

.

Review of the detailed structure of the PRSAD4

The detailed structure and contents from each chapter of the Regional Assessment of the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia were presented and discussed with all meeting participants.

Figure 1- Screenshots from some presentations and discussions during the Third Meeting of the Lead Authors and Drafting Committee Members for the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia

.

Each chapter was presented by its lead author(s) including Dr. Erdenebat Eldev-Ochir (Mongolia) for Chapter 1, Dr. Sergey A. Gromov (Russia) for Chapter 2, Dr. Le Ngoc Cau (Viet Nam) and Prof. Kazuhide Matsuda (Japan) for Chapter 3, Dr. Park Jin-soo (Republic of Korea) and Prof. Fan Meng (China) for Chapter 4, Prof. Atsushi Kume (Japan) for Chapter 5 and Dr. Toshimasa Ohara (Japan) for Chapter 6.

Several other reports’ preparations were also discussed during the two-day meeting.

.

Next Steps Before Publication

The PRSAD4 is scheduled to be shared as a final draft with EANET Participating Countries in August 2021, before being reviewed by the Twenty-First EANET Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC21) in October 2021 and finally approved by the Twenty-Third Intergovernmental Meeting of the EANET (IG23), in November 2021.

.

Access and read the previous publications of the Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia since 2006.

.

Photo credits: Beppu, Japan, by Priscilla Du Preez, free of the copyright license; all other images: all rights reserved to EANET.

Second Lead Authors’ Meeting and Second Drafting Committee Meeting for the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

9 March 2021 – Niigata, Japan

The Second Lead Authors’ Meeting (LA2) and the Second Drafting Committee Meeting (DC2) for the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4) were held on 9 March 2021, virtually.

PRSADs are published every five years as comprehensive scientific assessment reports describing the outcome of EANET’s monitoring activities.

 .

Second Lead Authors’ Meeting and Second Drafting Committee Meeting

The meeting was organized online by the Network Center (NC) for the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET), Niigata, Japan.

Drafting Committee (DC) members from 13 participating countries of the EANET, namely, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand, and Viet Nam, participated in the meeting. The NC, the EANET Secretariat, resource persons, and observers also joined the meeting to discuss the PRSAD4 preparation.

Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, the Director General of the NC, delivered the opening remarks and Prof. Fan Meng, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, delivered the opening address as the Chairperson of the Drafting Committee.

.

Structure and Content of the Regional Assessment of the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4) Review

The lead authors of the respective chapters, among which Dr. Sergey Gromov (Russia), Prof. Kazuhide Matsuda (Japan) Dr. Park Jin-soo (Republic of Korea), Dr. Keiichi Sato (Japan), Prof. Atsushi Kume (Japan) and Dr. Toshimasa Ohara (Japan) presented and discussed with participants the planned detailed structure and contents of the PRSAD4. Main discussions concerned the usage of data, calculation methods, and the process to follow to submit questions to each lead author and contributor.

.

Additional Publications Discussions

The Drafting Committee’s Secretariat presented the Consideration on Further Process of Report Preparation, as well as the draft Summary of the Twentieth Anniversary of EANET, and the session discussed their content.

The Third Lead Author’s Meeting (LA3) and The third Drafting Committee Meeting (DC3) for PRSAD4 will take place virtually on August 4th and 5th 2021.

.

Access and read the previous publications of the Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia since 2006.

.

Photo credits: Niigata by Tokyo Kohaku, free of the copyright license.

The Working Group Meeting in 2021 Session 1

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

26 April 2021 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Working Group Meeting in 2021 Session 1 for the EANET (WG2021-1) was held virtually from  20-22 April 2021. The meeting made good progress on several key results concerning the  EANET’s expansion of scope.

.

The Working Group Meeting in 2021 Session 1

Nearly 70 participants, including members from the EANET Participating Countries, joined the WG2021-1 meeting.

At the meeting, the Participating Countries showed their keen interest in exchanging and brainstorming on the possible ways to prepare necessary arrangements for the expansion of the scope of the EANET.

Co-chaired by Thailand and by the Philippines, the session started with Welcome Remarks from Dr. Isabelle Louis, Deputy Regional Director, United Nations Environment Programme for Asia & the Pacific, followed by Opening Remarks by Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research.

 

From left to right, screenshots from Dr. Isabelle Louis, Deputy Regional Director, UNEP for Asia & the Pacific, Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, ACAP, and Mr. Tomi Haryadi, EANET Coordinator.
.
Drafting the Expansion of Scope of EANET Instrument

The Working Group Meetings in 2021 Session 1 and 2 were established, following the decision of the IG22, in November 2020, to facilitate the  Participating Countries’ work on necessary arrangements for the expansion of the scope of the EANET Instrument.

Screenshots from discussions during the virtual Working Group meeting.

In the meeting, the Participating Countries had the opportunity to share their views on the initial draft text of the Supplementary Document to the EANET Instrument. On the second and third days, the Participating Countries reviewed other key documents, such as the proposed arrangements for the EANET project fund.

The discussions held at this meeting will continue during the WG2021-2 in August 2021 before submitting the final documents to the IG23 in November 2021.

.

Discover the virtual meeting’s pictures on Flickr.

.

Photos credits: all rights reserved to EANET.

The Working Group Meeting in 2021 Session 2

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

23 August 2021 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Working Group Meeting in 2021 Session 2 (WG2021-2) took place from 18 to 20 August 2021, virtually, and gathered over 70 representatives of the EANET Participating Countries, Secretariat and Network Center for the EANET, to discuss the process of expansion of the scope of the EANET, among other important topics.

.

The Working Group Meeting in 2021 Session 2

Following the decision of the 22nd Intergovernmental Meeting (IG22) held in November 2020, the WG2021-2 was organized in the continuity of the WG2021-1 that took place in April 2021.

Co-chaired by Thailand and by the Philippines, the session started with Welcome Remarks from Dr. Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, United Nations Environment Programme for Asia & the Pacific, followed by Opening Remarks by Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research.

Figure 1: Welcome, Opening, and Closing Remarks delivered during the WG2021-2 meeting.

.

Sharing views on the Draft Text to Supplement EANET’s Instrument

Participants discussed their views and ideas on the development of a Draft text of the Supplementary Document to EANET Instrument, in the form of an Annex. Several items of the draft text were discussed, allowing Participating Countries to share suggestions and comments on how to best reflect the Network’s intention regarding future activities in the Region.

Other important topics, such as the Project Fund Mechanism and the Work Programme and Budget for the EANET in 2022, among others, were also discussed.

Figure 2: Screenshots from discussions during the virtual Working Group meeting.

The meeting’s Closing remarks were provided by Dr. Isabelle Louis, Deputy Regional Director, United Nations Environment Programme for Asia & the Pacific, and by Dr. Erdenebat, ACAP’s Deputy Director-General. As Dr. Erdenebat’s role as Deputy Director-General is coming to an end, he thanked all Participating Countries and colleagues from the Secretariat and the NC for their constant support.

.

Given the importance of the task assigned to them, Representatives from the EANET Participating Countries have agreed to meet again for a continued WG2021 Session 2 before IG23 in November 2021.

.

Discover the virtual meeting’s pictures on Flickr.

.

Photos credits: all rights reserved to EANET.

The Working Group Session 2 Meeting on Drafting MTP (2021-2025) and on Reviewing Scope of Instrument for the EANET

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

26 October 2020 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Working Group (WG) Session 2 Meeting on Drafting Medium Term Plan for the EANET (2021-2025) and on Reviewing Scope of Instrument for the EANET was held virtually from the 20th  to the 22nd  October 2020, gathering over 50 representatives from the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET)’s Participating Countries.

.

Shaping the Network’s future in action

Following the Session 1 of the meeting held last July, participants met again online to work together on the Medium Term Plan for the EANET (2021-2025) defining the Network’s future activities for the next 5 years, while also discussing a possible expansion of the scope of the EANET’s Instrument.

For three days, from 20-22 October 2020, National Focal Points and representatives from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand, Philippines, and Viet Nam joined the EANET’s Secretariat, Network Center and the United Nations Environment Programme teams to discuss in detail how they envision the future of their Network.

The Session was initiated by the Welcome Remarks of Dr. Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, and Representative, United Nations Environment Programme for Asia & the Pacific, who emphasized the importance of the mandate of the EANET, as part of growing momentum for international cooperation on air quality in the region.

Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research, delivered the Opening Remarks and highlighted the importance of the 2nd Working Group Meeting to determine the future activities of the EANET. Mr. Yuichi Nagasaka, Director of the Air Environment Division, Environmental Management Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Japan, also delivered Remarks to greet participants and reaffirm Japan’s support to the EANET.

.

MTP for the EANET (2021-2025)

At the end of the 3-day meeting, the Session agreed on Recommendations to be submitted to the 22nd Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting, next November (IG22).

Screenshots from some participants and Network Center and Secretariat Team members, discussing the various Working Group Session 2 Meeting agenda items

In these Recommendations, it is suggested to adopt the final draft of Medium Term Plan (MTP) (2021-2025) as well as the final draft of Work Programme and Budget in 2021 (WP&B 2021) that will be prepared according to the discussion at the Working Group Meeting sessions and relevant follow-up discussions.

In addition, the Working Group recommended the IG22 to 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” and to “ Express support for the need to expand the scope of the Instrument.”

EANET National Focal Points will meet again at the IG22, from 25 to 26 November 2020 through an online platform and discuss the finalization of the MTP (2021-2025) and Work Programme and Budget for the EANET in 2021 by considering the Recommendations of the WG Meeting.

.

Curious about EANET’s activity? Find out more about the next EANET Meeting dates on the Event’s page and discover the pictures of the Working Group Meetings on Flickr.