The 25th Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) (IG25) took place from 29 to 30 November 2023, in Hanoi, Viet Nam, and online. Over 70 representatives from EANET Participating Countries, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), the Secretariat and Network Center for the EANET, participated in discussions about the network’s 2024 activities and to address air quality issues in the region.
Regional cooperation to fight acid deposition and air pollution
Hosted and chaired by Viet Nam, the IG25 started with opening remarks by Le Cong Thanh, Vice Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), along with Marlene Nielsson, UNEP’s Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, and by Dr. Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General of ACAP.
Vice Minister Thanh emphasized the significant challenges of air pollution and acid deposition in Viet Nam and globally. He highlighted MONRE’s efforts in developing legal frameworks and a nationwide monitoring network, while expressing appreciation for EANET’s contributions over the past 20 years. Ms. Nilsson spoke of the significance of multilateralism in tackling environmental challenges, particularly acid deposition and air pollution, highlighting EANET’s expanded role in policy actions and capacity building for improved air quality. Dr. Hatakeyama cited the Hybrid Air Quality Monitoring Network (HAQMN) project’s positive results with low-cost sensors (LCS) as an example of success.
The IG25 Session was chaired by Viet Nam, vice-chaired by Lao PDR and Cambodia, and Thailand was elected Rapporteur.
Over US$600,000 allocated to build government capacity and address air quality issues in the region
The IG25 approved 11 EANET Projects in 2024 primarily focusing on capacity building for government officials as well as key air quality management-related issues. These include Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), low-cost sensors, emissions inventories, and source apportionment projects in the region.
The EANET Projects for 2024 received funding through the EANET Project Fund, EANET’s financial mechanism allowing collaboration with implementation partners and co-financing from outside the EANET Network.
The total funding for Project Activities in 2024 is $605,000, including funding from the EANET Secretariat and NC funds, additional financial support from Japan (MOEJ), and from the Republic of Korea (NIER).
Way forward
The IG25 approved several key documents, such as the Work Program and Budget of the EANET in 2024. It also greenlighted the Working Group Meeting in 2024 (WG2024), the 24th Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC24) and the 26th Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the EANET (IG26), as well as the process to finalize the revisions of the EANET’s Administrative and Financial Guidelines, and the EANET Project Fund and Project Guideline.
Read the Report of IG25 and discover the meeting’s pictures on Flickr.
