Participants of the tree planting ceremony

UNEP RRC.AP partnered with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) to celebrate World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June 2009 through a series of activities. The day kicked off with a tree planting ceremony at the AIT campus where over 70 staff, students and community members planted over 50 trees of 4 indigenous species. Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT President, opened the ceremony with an inspirational message and performed the ceremonial tree planting. Other activities which highlighted the celebration were a painting competition for the AIT Community School students and a photo contest for the AIT community members. The theme for both competitions followed the WED 2009 theme, “Your Planet Needs You -- Unite to Combat Climate Change”.

The awarding of winners was held during a short programme following the tree planting ceremony. Dr. Khin Ni Ni Thein, AIT Vice President for Development and Resources, gave the opening message in behalf of the President. Ms. Anna Stabrawa represented UNEP ROAP on the occasion and handed over the awards to the winners. The UNEP RRC.AP staff entertained the guests by performing an environmental song, entitled Paraiso (or Paradise). Mr. Mahesh Pradhan, Director of UNEP RRC.AP, gave the closing remarks. The celebration wrapped up with a Green lunch at the AIT Cafeteria.

The WED 2009 celebration formed part of the series of activities marking the 20 years of partnership between UNEP RRC.AP and AIT, moving Towards Green Pathways.

Prof. teruyuko Nakajima, delivering a public seminar on "Atmospheric brown Clouds" at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

A public seminar on Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC) was delivered by Prof Teruyuki Nakajima, Chair of ABC-Asia and Director of Center for Climate System Research, University of Tokyo, at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) on 8 July 2009. Attended by scientists, professors, staff and students of AIT, the seminar introduced ABC and explained the science behind the phenomenon. Prof. Nakajima stated that hot spots of ABCs include the Bangkok urban region, Pacific Ocean cities in Japan, the mega cities in China and the entire Indo-Gangetic plains in India.

Apart from Asian Brown Clouds, the world is now worried about African Brown Clouds and Latin American Brown Clouds. Hence, ABC has become a global issue and is no longer restricted to urban areas. ABCs have been found frequently occurring over heavily inhabited regions across the world. ABCs are trans-boundary, trans-oceanic and trans-continental in nature. They arise from aerosols resulting from biomass burning, industrial air pollution and indoor air pollution. While carbon dioxide is relatively easy to monitor, ABCs are different to monitor since there is a huge variety of aerosols which vary in size, apart from their physical and optical properties. Moreover, aerosols are a significant factor in climate change since they result in a cooling of earth’s surface temperature. “Future global warming issue is dependent on aerosols”, Prof Nakajima remarked. This phenomenon has a significant effect on climate, water cycle, vegetation, agriculture as well as health issues. Prof. Nakajima urged the audience to observe these brown colored clouds the next time they take a flight.

Mr. Surendra Shrestha, Director of Strategic Resource Mobilization/Special Initiatives, UNEP, gave a brief introduction on the topic and Prof.Nakajima. Dean S.Kuma, of the SERD handed over a token of appreciation to Prof. Nakajima, on behalf of the AIT President.

Participants at the Stakeholders Consultation Meeting

The Stakeholders Consultation Workshop on Scrap-Cloth Pilot Demonstration Project Proposal was successfully organized by the Ministry of Environment, Cambodia on 28 July 2009 in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia. The activity formed part of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 3R) promotional initiatives of the Ministry. About 20 participants representing various Ministries, concerned departments and institutions at national level, NGOs and academe participated in the consultation workshop. The main objective of the workshop was to explore the concrete feedback and comments in the development of a scrap-cloth demonstration project proposal. The Workshop was formally opened by Dr. Chrin Sokha, Deputy Director-General, General Directorate of Technical Affairs, Ministry of Environment. On behalf of UNEP RRC.AP, Mr. Guilberto Borongan also gave an opening message and a presentation on the 3R promotion under the Thematic Working Group on Solid and Hazardous Waste. The general overview of cloth scrap recycling business and the process of collecting information in Cambodia was discussed in the meeting. The workshop wrapped up with a field visit to Semaki Community Waste Recycling Development Center.

Representatives from UNEP IETC, RRC.AP and UN ESCAP

The Preparatory Meeting for the Regional 3R Forum in Asia Inaugural Meeting was organized by the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan, on 29-30 June 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The participants from 10 Asian countries (Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam), various international organizations and aid agencies and experts in the area of 3R/waste management participated in the meeting. The objectives of the Meeting were: a) to identify and agree on the priorities in the area of 3R/Waste management in Asia, to be addressed under the umbrella framework of the regional 3R forum in Asia; and b) to obtain inputs from countries on the draft “Tokyo Statement Towards the establishment of the Regional 3R Forum in Asia” which is to be adopted by the participating countries at the Inaugural Meeting of the Forum. Through the working group and plenary sessions, the participants finally identified and agreed on the meeting priorities to be focused under the Regional 3R Forum in Asia. Mr. Guilberto Borongan of UNEP RRC.AP participated the meeting, and provided support to UNEP DTIE/ICTC colleagues.

Technical experts and RRC.AP representatives

The Technical Meeting on the “Development of Options Analysis and Feasibility Study for the Long Term Storage of Mercury in Asia” was conducted on 15 June 2009 at UNEP RRC.AP, Pathumthani, Thailand. The meeting was primarily aimed at supporting the process of enhancing the capacity of Governments for the long-term mercury storage, mainly by elaboration of options and solutions for the long-term mercury storage as well as the global mercury binding instrument. More specifically, the Meeting was designed: a) to exchange information and expertise on the feasible options for the long term storage of mercury in Asia, b) to build the Problem Tree on the storage options and 3) to finalize the contents of the respective chapters of the Outline. The meeting was opened by the Mr. Mahesh Pradhan, Director of UNEP RRC.AP and attended by technical experts from around the region. The report outline and the project work plan were finalized and accepted by the participants in the meeting. Prof. Nay Htun, RRC.AP Advisor, also provided guidance and inputs to the meeting.

Participants at the Yunnan EPA consultation workshop

A series of consultation workshops to present the Core Environment Programme (CEP3) Environment Performance Assessment (EPA) was conducted in PR China in June 2009. On 10 June 2009, the first EPA consultation workshop was organized by the Yunnan Environmental Protection Department (YEPD) in Kai Wah Plaza International, Kunming, Yunnan, PR China. About 30 participants consisting of representatives from YEPD and other provincial governmental line agencies, national/provincial institutions and project team members attended in the one-day workshop. The workshop was designed to update the line agencies on the progress of the EPA activities in Yunnan province. The draft EPA report was discussed, and feedbacks and comments were received from the participants.

Subsequently, the draft EPA report was presented during the second EPA consultation workshop organized by the Guangxi Environmental Protection Bureau (GEPB) on 12 June 2009 in Nanning, Guangxi, PR China. The representatives from GEPB and other provincial governmental line agencies, national/provincial institutions, and project team members discussed the draft report and gave their feedbacks and suggestions. Mr. Tin Aung Moe and Ms. Liang Li from UNEP RRC.AP participated in both workshops.

Participants of the public awareness workshop

The National Workshop on Public Awareness on Acid Deposition in Mongolia was held on 11-12 June 2009 at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This workshop was organized by the National Agency for Meteorology and Environment Monitoring (NAMEM), Mongolia in cooperation with the Secretariat for EANET. The workshop was attended by approximately 60 participants which included: representatives from Government, academe, scientist and experts as well as the Secretariat and the Network Center for EANET. The following topics were discussed during the Workshop: scientific and technical issues of EANET; Mongolian activities on EANET; other air quality activities in Mongolia; training and public awareness activities of EANET. Discussion covering the partnership with the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism, as weel as UNDP Mongolia were also held. Mr. Mahesh Pradhan, Director, UNEP RRC.AP, delivered the Opening Address. Ms. Adelaida B. Roman, Coordinator of the Secretariat for EANET, UNEP RRC.AP, provided a briefing on EANET. Mr. Bayasgalan Sandujav also participated in this workshop.

Eminent Persons and Regional Forum members of the Environment and Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) held its International Conference on Children’s Health and Environment (CEH 2009) in Busan, Republic of Korea on 8-10 June 2009. The Conference aimed at providing a forum for new knowledge exchange, interactive discussion, reflection and experience sharing, with special emphasis on policies that will reach to the most vulnerable group - the children, their families and communities. The conference highly recognized the support and active contribution of UNEP in terms of the partnerships on the importance of children’s environmental health issues. WHO expressed high support to the global mercury partnerships initiative and committed to work with UNEP on the crucial issue on children’s health and environment. One of the outputs of the conference was the draft “Busan Pledge of Action”. The 2nd Regional Ministerial Forum on Environment and Health which will be held in Republic of Korea on July 2010 was announced during the conference. A joint Thematic Working Group (TWG) meeting was also held right after the conference. About 20 participants of the regional forum members participated in the joint TWG meeting. Dr. Young-Woo Park, Regional Director of UNEP ROAP and Mr. Guilberto Borongan of UNEP RRC.AP participated in the conference.

Technical experts and participants from UNEP, RRC.AP and AIT

The 9th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) was held on 7-12 June 2009 in Guiyau, Guizhou province, PR China. The Conference which was attended by over a thousand participants worldwide was aimed at adopting a new “ecosystem approach” and developing a consensus on informed policy approaches for stemming the rise in mercury pollution in both developing and developed world. Currently, all applications researches rely on local and regional studies.

The ICMGP was formally opened by Dr. Xinbin Feng (Institute of Geochemistry, China), followed by a keynote presentation on Mercury Pollution in China by Mr. Guibin Jiang (Research Center for Eco-environmental sciences, China). Ms. Sheila Logan from UNEP Chemicals(Geneva) made a presentation on “Mercury as global solution for a global change” and stressed the need for partnership on five priority areas for cooperation within Mercury program, namely, on artisanal/small-scale gold mining; coal combustion; chlor-alkali sector; reduction in products air transport and fate research. The UNEP’s Chemicals Branch of DTIE also presented its Mercury program.

The ICMGP is held periodically and become the preeminent international forum for formal presentation and discussion of scientific advances concerning environmental mercury. Preparations for the ICMGP Conference and the reporting approaches included the brainstorming discussions on the experience of the USA, EU and Asia on the long-term storage options and “burying” of Mercury. Dr. Aida Karazhanova represented RRC.AP at the Conference.

Technical experts and participants from UNEP, RRC.AP and AIT

The National Workshop on Acid Deposition Issues and Problems and its Impact Management was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 27-28 May 2009. This workshop was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Indonesia in cooperation with the Secretariat for EANET. The workshop was attended by approximately 65 participants which included representatives from Government, academe, scientists and experts, Non Governmental Organization (NGOs) and media/journalists. The Secretariat and the Network Center (NC) for EANET also participated in the workshop. The two-day workshop discussed the following topics: scientific background of acid deposition and its impact management; international/regional cooperation for acid deposition and air pollution; regulation on air pollution in Indonesia; acid deposition management in Japan; public participation for acid deposition impact management; public awareness activities of EANET - joint project on environmental study in Thailand and Japan ; and acid deposition and its impact management/monitoring in Indonesia. On behalf of the Secretariat for EANET, Ms. Adelaida B. Roman, Coordinator of the Secretariat for EANET, UNEP RRC.AP, delivered the Opening Address. Mr. Apipong Lamsam also attended this workshop.

The Asian Development Bank organized a launching workshop for the clusters 1, 4 and 5 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 27-29 May 2009. With the recommendation of Working Group on Environment (WGE) of GMS countries, ADB Environment Operation Center (EOC) had prepared the new implementation approach which is called a “clusters approach” focusing on the BCCI corridors and the Economic Corridors across the GMS countries. There were 5 clusters identified and cluster No. 1 to 4 are targeting to the ground implementation and cluster No. 5 is capacity building for all other clusters. UNEP RRC.AP was invited to said workshop for a possibility of collaboration on activities under cluster 5. Mr. Tin Aung Moe represented UNEP RRC.AP in the workshop.

Participants at the workshop

The UNEP Regional Workshop on Scenarios and Modeling for Integrated Environmental Assessment in Asia and the Pacific was successfully held from 25 to 28 May 2009 in Hua Hin, Thailand. The event was organized by the UNEP’s Division of Early Warning and Assessment Asia Pacific (UNEP/DEWA AP) in order to respond to the need expressed by many of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Collaborating Centres (CCs) in the region for building capacity in scenario development and the use of modeling to conduct the "Outlook" analysis and synthesis. DEWA AP had kind contribution and cooperation from Millennium Institute and National Institute of Environmental Studies in delivering substantive programme to the workshop and leading technical discussion among participants. On the last day (29 May), UNEP DEWA team, GEO CCs and assessment partners discussed mechanisms to strengthen the network of South-South Cooperation, and exchanged experience on assessment impact on national environmental policy in the region. Ms.Anna Stabrawa, Mr. Jinhua Zhang, Mr. Purna Chandra Lal Rajbhandari and Ms. Tunnie Srisakulchairak represented UNEP RRC.AP at the workshop.

The Regular Interstate Sustainable Development Commission (ISDC) meeting was convened at Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan on 26 May 2009. The ISDC Members from Central Asia (CA) consisting of Ministers of environmental agencies and deputy ministers of economy, the Regional Environmental Action Plan Focal Points (REAP FP), representatives of the Scientific Information Center of ISDC (SIC ISDC), Public Council and Central Asia Youth Environmental Network (CAYEN), and representatives from Worldwide Fund, Central Asia Regional Environmental Center and Central Asia Regional Mountains Center attended the event.

The Ministerial segment was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, H.E. Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoev. The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the ISDC and congratulated the ISDC on its 15th anniversary. He stated that the ISDC was an important and well recognized mechanism for subregional cooperation. On behalf of UNEP, Mr. Bakary Kante, Director of Environmental Law and Conventions Division, delivered the keynote address. He conveyed the warm wishes of the UNEP Executive Director to the Central Asian Ministers. He commended the ISDC for their many achievements and also stated that one of the important milestones of the ISDC was the development of the Central Asia Framework Convention.

During the meeting, participants discussed issues on: establishment of permanent Secretariat of the Framework Convention on Environmental Protection for Sustainable Development in Central Asia; Preparation to the Ministerial Forum of Asia and the Pacific on Climate Change (Turkmenistan, 2012), Conference on Environment and Development for Asia and the Pacific (Kazakhstan 2010) and to the 7th Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Kazakhstan 2011) and others.

Additionally, prior to ISDC meeting, a sub-regional inception workshop on the project “Enabling environment for Climate Change Mitigation and Carbon Markets in the Central Asian Sub-region” was conducted on 23-24 May 2009. The workshop was attended by lead experts on climate change from Central Asia and international organizations. The workshop resulted in the detailed work plan of the project for 2009-2010 and its official approval by the ministers.

RRC.AP serves as the Secretariat for ISDC. Ms. Aida Karazhanova, Mr. Batyr Hadjiyev, Mr. Jacob Kurian and Mr. Grigoriy Samoylov represented UNEP RRC.AP at the meetings.

The EPA First Consultation Workshop and Training Program was hosted by the National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA), Ministry of Forestry, Myanmar on 20-21 May 2009 at the International Business Center (IBC) in Yangon, Myanmar. Mr. San Lwin, Secretary of NCEA, Director-General of Planning and Statistics Department of Ministry of Forest, Myanmar, delivered the opening remarks. Over 40 participants from the government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academes and environmental groups attended the meeting. At the workshop, participants discussed on data availability and identified indicators for selected priority concerns and the responsible agencies involved. Moreover, during the training program, the national focal points and local consultants presented the EPA process and demonstrated the indicator selection exercises. Mr. Tin Aung Moe from UNEP RRC.AP participated in the workshop.

The East Asia Sub-Regional Workshop on Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles was held on 15th May 2009 at Pathumthani, Thailand. The event was jointly organized by Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP). The workshop served as a significant step in engaging participating countries in assessing their needs with respect to implementation of the regional resolutions and declarations, including those from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Ministerial Conference on Global Environment and Energy in Transport (MEET) meetings, at the national level, all of which aimed at achieving better air quality. Specific objectives of the workshop included: i) better understanding of the current state of fuels and vehicles emissions and challenges in participating countries on this issues as well as ongoing initiatives and plans, regionally and nationally; ii)creating an awareness of PCFV’s work and the technical support available to countries for national clean fuels and vehicles program; iii) building up the knowledge base of policy and decision makers on clean fuels and vehicles and their health and environmental benefits; and iii)developing national level contacts for follow up on the implementation of national action plans.

Participants from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam attended the workshop. Resource persons and experts from UNEP PCFV, United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), ScandEnvironment, Global Biofuels Center, Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia), Stockholm Environment Institute Asia (SEI-Asia), UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), RRC.AP, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as well as observers from Thailand Pollution Control Department (PCD), also attended the workshop.

Participants at the EANET workshop

The Secretariat for EANET organized the “Capacity Building Workshop for Policy Makers of the Participating Countries of EANET” on 13-14 May 2009 in Pathumthani, Thailand. Participants from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam attended this workshop. Presentations were made by several experts pertaining to various multilateral agreements related to air pollution. The participants engaged in two negotiating exercises and the results of the group discussion were reported and presented at the plenary session. The participants suggested that the capacity building workshop for policy makers shall be continued with the ultimate goal of facilitating international agreements/instruments. Mr. Mahesh Pradhan, Director of UNEP RRC.AP, delivered the Opening Remarks. Mr. Mylvakanam Iyngararasan, Ms. Adelaida B. Roman and Mr. Apipong Lamsam of UNEP RRC.AP participated in the workshop.

Participants at the inception workshop

The National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA), Ministry of Forestry, Myanmar hosted the EPA inception workshop in Yangon, Myanmar during 1-2 April 2009. Dr. San Lwin, Secretary of NCEA, Director-General of Planning and Statistics Department of Ministry of Forest, Myanmar, delivered the opening remarks. Over 45 participants from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academes and environmental groups attended the meeting. The concept of EPA was presented and the national environmental concerns and indicators were shared and discussed from different perspectives. There was also a briefing on the mechanism and institutionalization of the EPA. The deliverables and work plan were also discussed and confirmed by the participants. Mr. Tin Aung Moe and Ms. Liang Li from UNEP RRC.AP participated in the workshop.

Participants of the Regional Training Programme

The Seventh Regional Training Programme and Refresher Course on Malé Declaration was held in New Delhi, India on 16-19 March 2009. The training was jointly organized by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), New Delhi and the UNEP RRC.AP. Thirty two participants from six countries (Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka) drawn from the national implementing agencies and focal points supporting the monitoring programme under the Malé Declaration participated in the training. Aimed at strengthening the monitoring capacity of each country, the participants shared experiences and discussed issues relating to the operation of the monitoring stations. They also updated each other on the activities implemented under the Malé Declaration. The training wrapped up with identification and discussion of the priority activities for the Phase IV implementation of Malé Declaration. The resource persons were coming from Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden Environmental Research Inst. Ltd. (IVL), Monitoring Committee (MoC), CPCB, UNEP RRC.AP and AIT. Mr. Mylvakanam Iyngararasan and Ms. Naw Wah Wah Htoo represented UNEP RRC.AP in the event.

Participants of the First joint meeting of the Intergovernmental Networks

The First Joint Meeting of the Intergovernmental Networks on Regional Air Pollution in Asia and the Pacific Region was held in Pathumthani, Thailand on 09 March 2009. Representatives from the Malé Declaration and Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) participating countries, as well as from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Central Asian Environment Convention, Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) Secretariats, attended the meeting. Resource persons were coming from various institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It was agreed during the meeting that the initiative would be continued as the “Joint Forum on Atmospheric Environmental Issues in Asia and the Pacific”. The participants of the meeting agreed in principle on the cooperation and coordination mechanisms among networks, after which careful analysis will be conducted regarding the development of the future plans. The Forum requested the Secretariat to consult other relevant Intergovernmental Meetings, for the gap analysis and the subsequent development of the implementation plan.

Ms. Shammi Shrestha, a masters graduate from the School of Management in Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), is assisting the delivery of terminal report of the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) Project and the preparation of RRC.AP Office manual under the Institutional Component at UNEP RRC.AP.

Ms. Napamon Vonkdarunee, a master student of International Business at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok (Thailand), is assisting the DPR Korea Project and the Youth Programme at UNEP RRC.AP.

Ms. Ratri Sutarto, a graduate student in Climate Change Impact and Sustainability from the Brunel University of Uxbridge (United Kingdom), is assisting the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) Project at UNEP RRC.AP.