Tag: particulate matter

Highlights from the EANET National Stakeholder Awareness Workshop in Cambodia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

Bangkok, 17 April 2024

The EANET National Stakeholder Awareness Workshop in Cambodia – Understanding Air Pollution and its Sources, Weather, Climate, and Topography in Cambodia, was held in Phnom Phen, Cambodia, on 19 March 2024, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Cambodia, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), back-to-back with UNEP’s Cambodia Clean Air and Sustainable Transport Workshop, held on 18-19 March. About 30 participants joined the Workshop. The workshop aimed to promote the EANET’s achievements, gain insight into Cambodia’s specific needs related to air quality management, and foster the development of additional initiatives to assist in addressing acid deposition and air pollution.

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Opening Session

The meeting started with Opening Remarks from Dr. Chou Monidarin, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Environment Cambodia, and the National Focal Point of Cambodia for the EANET, followed by an introduction to the EANET and to the objectives of the meeting by Mr. Bert Fabian, Coordinator, Secretariat for the EANET. Prof. Meng Fan, Deputy Director General of the Network Center for the EANET, the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP) then presented the activities of the EANET on air quality and acid deposition management, air pollution trends in the region, and the main activities of the EANET including monitoring, capacity building and technical support to Participating Countries.

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EANET National Stakeholder Awareness Workshop in Cambodia
Group photo of participants on the first day of the workshop (photo by Clean Air Asia)

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Assessing Cambodia’s Air Quality Landscape, Dynamics and Initiatives

Mr. Chandath Him outlined Cambodia’s air quality, citing primary pollution sources as older vehicles and industrial plants. With over 6.6 million registered motorcycles and cars since 1990, along with 1,859 operational industrial plants, pollution also stems from construction activities and agricultural practices. He highlighted the significance of airborne dust due to unpaved streets and construction, and discussed ongoing initiatives on monitoring like satellite projects and Low-Cost Sensors (LCS). Cambodia is updating its air pollution laws, including new vehicle emission standards, fines, and industry controls, with Euro 5/V standards enforced from January 2027. He introduced Cambodia’s Clean Air Plan, analyzing pollutants and proposing mitigation measures to reduce air pollution and combat climate change, aiming for integrated planning and coordinated management efforts.

Dr. Chanmoly OR, Director of the Research and Innovation Center at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia presented an analysis of the complex interplay between topography, weather, and air pollution in Cambodia. Favorable wind circulation aids in pollutant dispersion, while factors including humidity, temperature, and precipitation also influence air quality. The presentation underscored the need for comprehensive research to understand pollution sources better coming mainly from the the transport and construction sectors in urban areas, and from open-burning and agriculture, in rural areas, including emerging concerns such as microplastics particle pollution.

Dr. Anantaa Pandey outlined the Global Green Growth Institute‘s (GGGI) efforts to enhance air quality in Cambodia, focusing on emissions inventories, public transportation improvement, and capacity building. The program aims to address challenges such as equipment maintenance, expand monitoring infrastructure, and develop emission control strategies tailored to Cambodia’s context.

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Strategies for Effective Air Pollution Management

The discussion segment saw active participation from experts and policymakers, emphasizing the urgency of addressing air pollution through multifaceted strategies. Participants highlighted the importance of upgrading vehicle emission standards, promoting cleaner fuels, and regulating industrial emissions. Challenges such as economic constraints and the high cost of fuel upgrades were acknowledged, with suggestions for phased transitions and international support.

The EANET meeting concluded with a consensus on the need for concerted efforts to combat air pollution in Cambodia. Key takeaways included the importance of robust monitoring infrastructure, innovative solutions tailored to local contexts, and international collaboration. The meeting underscored the critical role of initiatives like EANET in guiding Cambodia towards a cleaner and healthier future.

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Useful Resources

-Read the Panelists’ Presentations:

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Photo credits: cover photo of Phnom Penh (2022) by allPhoto Bangkok, group photo by Clean Air Asia.

 

The State of Acid Deposition in East Asia – from data to policy

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

29 June 2022 – Bangkok, Thailand

The EANET Awareness Workshop in 2022 “The State of Acid Deposition in East Asia – from data to policy” was organized virtually on Monday, 20 June 2022. It gathered participants from 17 different countries, scientists, and policymakers who discussed the biggest challenges and successes in acid deposition management in East Asia in the last 20 years.

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Opening Session

Dr. Isabelle Louis, Deputy Regional Director of UNEP Asia Pacific office, opened the EANET Awareness Workshop in 2022 by delivering the opening remarks, followed by welcome remarks from Mr. Kenichiro Fukunaga, Deputy Director General in charge of Administrative Management at the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP).

Key messages conveyed in the remarks celebrated the imminent release of the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4) and the opportunities ahead for the EANET, in line with the expansion of its scope to air pollution, including the launch of the EANET Project Fund.

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General Lecture – Key Findings from the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4)

Since 2006, the EANET has been developing Periodic Reports on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSADs), published every five years, and aiming at providing high-quality data to be used for research, formulation of policies, and measures to reduce the impacts of acid deposition and related air pollutants on the environment. In 2022, the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4), will be released.

Prof. Meng Fan, Former Chairperson of the PRSAD4 Drafting Committee and Deputy Director General in charge of the Network Center for EANET, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), presented the General Lecture: Key Findings from the Fourth Periodic Report on the State of Acid Deposition in East Asia (PRSAD4). Findings and recommendations from the PRSAD4 highlighted the improvement of sulfur dioxide-related air pollution mostly in North-East Asia, while nitrogen deposition, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and ozone-related pollution were detected at a high level in the EANET region. The importance to continue deploying more monitoring sites was expressed.

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Panel Discussion – From data to policy, good practices for evidence-based and data-driven policies in East Asia

The Panel Discussion gathered renowned scientists and key policymakers from the EANET Participating Countries. Discussions focused on the importance of regional cooperation and multilateralism to address global environmental problems including acid deposition and air pollution. Findings from the PRSAD4 were also discussed, in the specific context of Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Most panelists highlighted the incredible capacity-building efforts led by the EANET in the past twenty years, on emission inventories, acid deposition regulations, and monitoring support which have indirectly contributed to the development of regional policies. Finally, the panel also shared thoughts on the role EANET may play by helping fill the gap of the right to information on air pollution, as the right to a clean environment and clean air was recently included as a human right by the United Nations.

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Useful Resources

Read a more detailed summary of the Workshop’s content in the EANET Awareness Workshop in 2022 Event Report.

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View all Workshop’s recordings on the Secretariat for the EANET’s YouTube channel and the Workshop’s photos on Flickr.

 

 

 

 

 

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Photo credits: All rights reserved to EANET.

EANET kicks-off its first Project Fund Activity on Volatile Organic Compounds

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

16 February 2023 – Niigata, Japan

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment of Japan and with the technical support of the Network Center for the EANET, the first EANET Project Activity launched its online kick-off meeting on 15 February. It gathered over 40 participants mainly from Japan, Mongolia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand, involved in sharing or receiving technical assistance related to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) monitoring.

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Why Volatile Organic Compounds?

Since the recent expansion of the scope of the EANET from acid deposition monitoring to wider air pollution action, the Network has started to carry out activities related to additional chemical species, including Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

VOCs are “compounds that have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals that are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, and refrigerants” according to the US-EPA. In addition, several emission sources such as biogenic emissions, forest fires, waste burning including plastic, automobile exhaust, fossil fuel burning, and stock farming can produce VOCs. Exposure to VOCs may have various dangerous health effects from eyes, throat, and nose irritation to more serious conditions such as liver, kidney, or central nervous system damage, sometimes leading to cancer.

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Representation of PM2.5 and Ozone Co-contrail, by Prof. Hajime Akimoto (all rights reserved).

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VOCs are also precursors of particulate matter and ozone. It is important to measure VOCs to better understand how to mitigate air pollutants emissions.

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Learning more about VOCs emissions in East Asia

VOCs monitoring is complex due to its complicated source characteristics and costly measuring technology. For this reason, its monitoring is still at an early stage in Asia.

The “Feasibility for Promoting VOCs related Capacity Building in the EANET” project is part of the first batch of EANET Projects funded by the EANET Project Fund. Supported by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, the project is coordinated by the Network Center for the EANET.

Through this project, experts in VOCs from the Center for Environmental Science in Saitama (CESS), in Japan will share their knowledge and assist the government officials from Mongolia and from the Philippines to develop their 3-year national implementation plan. During the kick-off meeting, Government representatives from the Philippines and Mongolia shared their plans and priorities for tackling VOCs.

Screenshot from participants during the kick-off meeting

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In addition, a VOC Advisory Group composed of experts from the NC and EANET countries has been brought together and will also give guidance on feasible measurement methods, data analysis, identification of the target species to measure VOCs, and feasible reduction measures.

At this stage, the implementation partners are environmentalists from Mongolia and from the Philippines. However, the project’s goal is to serve all the EANET countries and be further replicated.

The next meeting will take place in person in Manila in May 2023 to continue discussions on the feasibility and methodology of VOCs management.

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Interested in finding out more about the EANET Project Fund? Read more on how to fund or submit an EANET Project.

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Photo credits: featured photo by Anton Eprev on Unsplash (2019); other photos: all rights reserved to EANET.

Joint Projects of the EANET with Participating Countries – Development of an Emission Inventory Manual for Mongolia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

31 May 2021 – Niigata, Japan

Scientists from the EANET Participating Countries and the Network Center (located in Niigata, Japan) have been promoting joint research projects related to the EANET. In response to Mongolia’s request, an Emission Inventory Manual for Mongolia was developed and published in 2018 to provide key scientific data, including estimates of emissions of air pollutants, for policymakers to develop air pollution control measures.

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Assessing Air Pollution in Mongolia

Mongolia is facing serious air pollution problems, especially in the capital, Ulaanbaatar city, where the population density is high. Most emissions of air pollutants result from the use of coal in power plants and domestic cooking. The level of air pollutants is normally high during the winter season when coal is also used for domestic heating. Emissions of air pollutants from road traffic are also quite significant. The major air pollutants detected in Ulaanbaatar city are sulfur dioxides (SO2), particle matters (TSP, PM10, PM2.5), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

To assist Mongolia in tackling air pollution issues, several international donors and agencies (World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency) are developing and implementing projects for air pollution mitigation in Ulaanbaatar city. Since 2016, Clean Air Asia has been working closely with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia (MET) and the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring (NAMEM) on addressing air pollution at a national level.

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Developing Mongolia’s National Emission Inventory

In response to Mongolia’s request, the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), in collaboration with SUURI-KEIKAKU Co., Ltd, has developed an Emission Inventory Manual for Mongolia, as a part of the Integrated Programme for Better Air Quality in Asia (IBAQ Programme) of Clean Air Asia (CAA).

Available in Mongolian, English, and Japanese, the Emission Inventory Manual will be used for developing Mongolia’s national emission inventory of air pollutants and further support the formulation of effective air pollution control measures.

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Read the summary of the Emission Inventory Manual in the EANET Science Bulletin, Vol 5.

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The authors appreciated the cooperation and assistance received from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia (MET), the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring (NAMEM), Clean Air Asia (CAA), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

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Photo credits: Nogoonnuur, Mongolia, by Lightscape, free of the copyright license.

Joint Projects of the EANET with Participating Countries – Catchment Analysis in Thailand

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

10 June 2021 – Niigata, Japan

Scientists from the EANET Participating Countries and the Network Center (located in Niigata, Japan) have been promoting joint research projects related to the EANET. Consequently, the Network Center, in cooperation with the Thai Royal Forest Department, and the Environmental Research and Training Centre (ERTC), Thailand, conducted a joint research project on catchment analysis in Thailand to understand atmospheric deposition and its effects from 2005 to 2015.

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Understanding Atmospheric Acid Deposition

Air pollution consists of significant amounts of aerosols (particulate matter) and trace gases (NOx, SOx, CO, and others). These air pollutants deposit on the earth’s surface through dry depositions and wet depositions (when dissolved in water droplets in clouds).

Wet and dry depositions of air pollutants cause detrimental impacts on the ecosystems and environment, including the acidification of the water bodies, such as rivers and lakes.

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Analyzing Acid Deposition and its Effects in Northeastern Thailand for Nearly 10 Years

The joint research project aimed to study the atmospheric wet deposition of acidic components and other relevant pollutants including elemental carbon, as well as their influence on water chemistry, chemical properties of soil, nutrient fluxes in soil-plant system, and sulfur dynamics in forest ecosystems.

For the catchment analysis, scientists from the Network Center established a study plot in a dry evergreen forest in Sakaerat Silvicultural Research Station, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand. The surveys on-site allowed researchers to accumulate nine full years of data, from October 2005 to December 2014.

Based on these results, several scientific papers were published in international journals focusing mainly on atmospheric deposition, soil and stream water chemistry. Ultimately, these scientific outputs significantly contributed to enhancing the global understanding of atmospheric deposition and its effects on forest ecosystems in the region.

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Read the Report of the joint research project on catchment analysis in Thailand in the EANET Science Bulletin, Vol 5.

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The authors acknowledged Jesada Luangjame, Thiti Visaratana, and Bopit Kietvuttinon, Royal Forest Department for their great contribution to the Sakaerat project including other colleagues who were involved in the project.  The study was supported financially by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (JP20120012) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), Japan, the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (C-052, C-082 and B-0801) from the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, and Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN).

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Photo credits: Sakaerat forest by Sase H., all rights reserved.

EANET Research Fellowship Programme – Study on the impacts of air pollution transport and its effects to human health in Cambodia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

17 February 2021 – Niigata, Japan

The Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET)’s fellowship programme aims at funding researchers from the EANET’s Participating Countries to carry out research pertaining to acid deposition at the Network Center in Japan. Kong Savuth, from Cambodia, was awarded the EANET fellowship in 2018. Mr. Savuth’s research described human health effects of exposure to air pollutants, namely, ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5) in reference to the WHO Air quality guidelines (2005).

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Impacts of air pollutants on human health

PM2.5 can penetrate deep inside the lungs and contribute to increasing the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases including lung cancer. According to recent epidemiological studies, reducing the annual average PM2.5 concentrations of 10 μg m-3 could result in a significant reduction of premature mortality.

Ground-level O3 can cause respiratory problems leading to asthma, cough, inflammation of the respiratory tract, chronic bronchitis, and lung damage. A high-level concentration of O3 also causes premature mortality.

WHO estimates that in 2016, some 58% of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease and strokes, while 18% of deaths were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute lower respiratory infections respectively, and 6% of deaths were due to lung cancer.

 

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Estimating premature mortality caused by PM2.5 and O3 in Cambodia

The researchers (Savuth and Yamashita) estimated premature mortality caused by the exposure to PM2.5 and O3 in Cambodia by using PM2.5 and O3 data simulated by CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality – a chemical transport model) and Concentration-Response (C-R) functions.

 

Read the full study and its results, published in the EANET Science Bulletin, Vol 5.

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Under the EANET Research Fellowship programme 2018, this study was conducted at the Asia Center for Air Pollution (ACAP), Niigata, Japan. The researcher, Kong Savuth, acknowledged the support and facilities provide by ACAP and by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan, for performing the research.

Photo credits: Cambodia by Daniel Kirsch, free of the copyright license.