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United Nations Environment Programme
  • Overview
  • Schedule
  • Documents
  • Background
  • Objective and Participants

When: Tuesday 30 May 2023, from 14:00-17:00 (ICT - Bangkok time)

Where: United Nations Conference Center (UNCC), UNCC Theatre, Thailand, and online

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EANET Regional Awareness Workshop in 2023 Banner

Session description

Session 1: Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a component of air pollution that includes a complex mixture of hundreds of carbon-containing gases. VOCs also include a wide variety of chemicals, some of which can cause short- and long-term adverse health effects. However, due to the unique characteristics of VOCs and the relatively high cost of measurement, VOC monitoring and its related activities in the EANET region are still at an early stage.

Session 1 will showcase issues and challenges on VOCs. Experts and stakeholders from the EANET Participating Countries will discuss how VOCs can be monitored and possibly mitigated. Two examples, funded by MOEJ through the EANET Project Fund and co-finance, of technical assistance to build implementation plans in Mongolia and the Philippines will be show-cased, considering how to replicate similar activities in the EANET region and beyond.

Session 2: The Low-cost sensor (LCS) technology to measure air quality has remarkably advanced in recent years and is now widely used by the private sector and provides information on the atmospheric environment to citizens through data communication networks. Noticing the cost-effectiveness of LCS, international organizations have started to promote the use of LCS in selected areas to strengthen the capacity of governments where official air monitoring networks are insufficient.

In Session 2, we will learn about the wide potential of Low-Cost Sensors (LCS), including the related limitations and opportunities. Panelists will discuss improving air quality monitoring networks, citizen-data, and the development of hybrid monitoring networks, such as through the HAQMN Project funded by MOEJ through the EANET Project Fund and co-finance, and finally data and quality standards’ requirements. A deployment plan in Viet Nam, in collaboration with the ADB and other partners, will be presented, allowing possible similar deployments in the region.

 

Programme

EANET Regional Awareness Workshop 2023 Programme-19MAY

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30 May 2023

Time & Place
Event Details
14:00
Opening Session Delivery of Welcome Remarks
Introductory Presentations: Two Decades of EANET
Ms. Marlene Nilsson Deputy Regional Director, UN Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Mr. Bert Fabian EANET Coordinator
Moderator of the EANET Regional Awareness Workshop
Prof. Fan Meng Deputy Director General in charge of the Network Center for EANET, ACAP
14:15
General Lecture Understanding VOCs impact in East Asia: building tools and capacity for better air quality management
Dr. Meihua Zhu Chief Senior Researcher in the Planning and Training Department & Atmospheric Research Department, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), NC for the EANET
14:25
Panel Discussion Importance and Challenges of VOCs Measurement and Control in East Asia
Prof. Fan Meng Prof. Fan Meng, Deputy Director General in charge of the Network Center for EANET, ACAP
Prof. Hong Li Prof. Hong Li, Professor, Institute of Atmospheric Environment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, China
Dr. Kessinee Unapumnak Dr. Kessinee Unapumnak, Environmentalist, Senior Profession Level at Air Quality and Noise Management, Pollution Control Department, Thailand
Mr. Jundy Del Socorro Chief of the Air Quality Management Section (AQMS) and a Supervising Environmental Management Specialist at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB)
15:15
Networking Break Networking and Coffee Break
15:45
General Lecture Introduction to LCS
Dr. Akie Yuba Dr. Akie Yuba, Researcher, Atmospheric Research Department, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), NC for the EANET
15:55
Panel Discussion LCS's role in air quality management in East Asia
Dr. Le Ngoc Cau Dr. Le Ngoc Cau, Deputy Director General, Center for Environmental Research, Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Prof. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh Prof. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, Emeritus Professor, Environmental Engineering and Management, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Asian Institut of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand
Ms. Dang Espita-Casanova Programme Manager, Clean Air Asia
Ms. Karine Léger Managing Director, Airparif
16:50
Closing Session Conclusion and Closing Remarks
Mr. Bert Fabian Mr. Bert Fabian, EANET Coordinator
Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP)
About EANET

EANET was established in 2001 as an intergovernmental initiative to create a common understanding of the state of acid deposition problems in East Asia, provide useful inputs for decision-making at various levels, and promote cooperation among countries. In 2021, EANET expanded its scope to cover wider air pollution issues. The Secretariat for the EANET is hosted by the UN Environment Programme.

 

Background

Due to rapid economic growth and industrialization, many countries in East Asia are still facing serious threats from air pollution and acid deposition, in a more global context where almost the entire global population (99%) breathes air that exceeds the World Health Organization’s air quality limits, hindering populations’ right to a healthy environment.

The Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) was established in 2001 as a regional intergovernmental network to promote cooperation among countries in East Asia to address acid deposition problems. In 2021, at the Twenty-Second Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG22), the 13 Participating Countries of the EANET agreed to expand its scope to address wider air pollution problems and launched the EANET Project Fund to encourage cooperation with partners outside of its network.

In this respect, and in line with the efforts to facilitate the sharing of a common understanding of air quality and acid deposition issues, the EANET Awareness Workshop in 2023 will be organized on Tuesday, 30 May 14:00-17:00 (ICT) at the United Nations Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand, and in a hybrid format, under the name “ EANET Regional Awareness Workshop in 2023: a focus on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Low Cost Sensors (LCS)”, as part of the Climate and Clean Air Conference: Air Quality Action Week, organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). The Workshop is held in cooperation with the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP).

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Objective: the EANET Awareness Workshop is expected to increase public understanding of air pollution and acid deposition issues through the lens of experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders from the EANET region and globally. The two sessions will focus on innovative and emerging topics, specifically on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Low-Cost Sensors (LCS) related opportunities, limitations, and good practices, and possibly generate future collaboration ideas.

Participants: the sessions will be attended online and/or in person by the EANET National Focal Points, Scientific Advisory Committee members, and other EANET members and partners, including policymakers, national researchers, and scientists mainly from the Network’s 13 Participating Countries. It will also welcome representatives of partner organizations working on related issues, as well as participants joining the Air Quality Action Week in Bangkok.

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Agriculture
Did you know?
80 per cent of agricultural land is used for livestock feed.

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