Tag: ROK

Workshop on National Air Quality Monitoring Systems and Methodologies with Related Partners

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

27 July 2022 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Network Center for the EANET organized the Workshop on National Air Quality Monitoring Systems and Methodologies with Related Partners online on 6 July 2022. It gathered scientists and researchers, government officers, technicians including Quality Assurance/Quality Control managers, and representatives of international organizations who discussed how to improve the EANET monitoring system. 180 participants from 17 different countries and regions joined the Workshop.

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Opening Session

Moderated by Ms. Yao Dong, Assistant Deputy Director General of the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP) in charge of the Network Center (NC) for the EANET, the Workshop started with Opening and Welcome Remarks by Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General of ACAP in charge of the NC for the EANET and followed by Mr. Toshiyuki Yamasaki, Director of the International Cooperation Office, Environmental Management Bureau, the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama and Mr. Toshiyuki Yamasaki delivered the opening remarks.

Remarks emphasized the introduction of new monitoring substances such as (but not only) ammonia, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds, following the expansion of the scope of the EANET as decided by the IG23, and the need to adapt EANET’s monitoring system accordingly. The new EANET Project Fund mechanism, allowing the EANET and other organizations to collaborate on acid deposition and air-quality related projects, was also introduced.

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Lectures and panel discussion

Among its key activities, the EANET is currently monitoring atmospheric substances at 64 monitoring sites in the EANET Participating Countries. The monitoring focuses on five items – wet deposition, dry deposition (air concentration), soil and vegetation, inland aquatic environment, and catchment-scale monitoring.

The Workshop on National Air Quality Monitoring Systems and Methodologies with Related Partners was funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, and implemented by the Network Center for the EANET. Its goal was to share a wide range of national and international experiences in the field of atmospheric monitoring while discussing the current development and future challenge of monitoring systems and related methodologies in the EANET region.

Panelists during the discussion sessions.

The first session introduced the EANET monitoring activities and was followed by case studies from Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China. In addition, specific monitoring methodologies including QA/QC activities were also introduced.

Dr. Meng Fan delivered the closing remarks.

In the second session, a panel discussion, followed by an open discussion, took place to exchange ideas on specific country challenges and discuss how to link EANET’s work with urban monitoring. Members of the EANET Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and from other organizations, such as Clean Air Asia, joined the discussion.

Closing remarks were provided by Dr. Fan Meng, Deputy Director General of ACAP in charge of the NC for the EANET, who summarized the highlights of the Workshop and thanked all speakers and participants for their active contribution. Among the key outcomes of the Workshop, Dr. Meng emphasized the question of linking EANET’s work with city-level monitoring and the challenge to measure volatile organic compounds and secondary pollutants.

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Useful Resources
  • View the full recording of the Workshop on the EANET Secretariat’s Youtube channel
  • Download the Workshop’s Program
  • View the Workshop’s photos on Flickr
  • Download the Workshop’s presentations:

–Development and role of monitoring system in EANET and the case study of Japan

–Latest National and Local/City Monitoring System in the Republic of Korea

–Study on the Co-control of PM2.5 and Ozone Pollution in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Surrounding Region of China

–Monitoring methodologies and QA/QC activities in the EANET

-Introduction to EANET Project Fund and Project Activities 2022-2023

  • Find out more on the topic of the nitrogen cycle, touched upon during the panel discussion, by reading Prof. Akimoto’s et al. related research papers:

–Review of Comprehensive Measurements of Speciated NOy and its Chemistry: Need for Quantifying the Role of Heterogeneous Processes of HNO3 and HONO (2020)

–Rethinking of the adverse effects of NOx-control on the reduction of methane and tropospheric ozone – Challenges toward a denitrified society (2022)

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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.

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).

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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

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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.

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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’’)

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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’’)

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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.

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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).

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

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.