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PROJECT #2002-IEA
APEIS Capacity
Building Workshop on Integrated Environmental Assessment in the Asia-Pacific
Region
| Project Leader |
Prof. P.R. SHUKLA
Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad, India 380015
INDIA
Tel: +91-79-632-4827
Fax: +91-79-630-6896
Email: shukla@iimahd.ernet.in
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| Funding |
US$ 12,100
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| Participating countries |
Participants from the following countries were funded: India, Japan,
and Nepal. The participant from Nepal was funded by APN directly. Indian
participants were funded from funds provided to organizers by APN. All
Japanese participants/trainers from National Institute of Environmental
Studies (NIES), Japan were funded by their own institution.
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Brief introduction and background
The Asia-Pacific region houses over a half of the global population
and has diverse development patterns. The nations are experiencing rapid
economic growth and rising GHG emissions. Climate change would affect the
region's diverse ecosystem and human health. Thus, there is a need for
integrated environment assessment modeling and policymaking in the region.
In the Asia-Pacific region, this field has been advanced significantly
by the modeling research and assessment studies conducted by the NIES.
The APEIS Capacity Building Workshop on Integrated Environmental Assessment
in the Asia-Pacific Region is a part of an initiative to build capacity
for co-operative assessment of environment policies in the Asia-Pacific
region. This has been done by providing exposure to state-of-the-art knowledge
about model structures and their applications, and hands-on experience
with important Integrated Environment Assessment (IEA) models used in the
Asia-Pacific context.
Outline of activities conducted
The workshop had an intensive schedule and was attended by 40 participants
from India, Japan and Nepal. They included experts, modelers and researchers
from diverse disciplines and institutions. The workshop discussed the significance
of adopting integrated modeling approaches for environmental assessment.
The integrated model adopted during these discussions was the Asia-Pacific
Integrated Model (AIM), which is an important tool for integrated environment
assessment in the region, developed by NIES researchers. The modelling
team from NIES, supported by researchers from the Indian Institute of Management
(IIMA), made presentations on the structure, and use of different component
models of AIM, which include the energy model, economic assessment model,
climate model and impacts model. They also discussed the strengths and
weaknesses of these models, the recent developments and future work required.
Case studies were used to bring out the policy applications of AIM models
in the Asia-Pacific region. Experts presented the modelling exercises undertaken
and results obtained in their national contexts. A training session was
organised solely to give hands-on-training of the component models to the
participants. It was organized in two parallel sessions, each of one-hour
duration. NIES and IIMA modellers made detailed presentations on the installation,
operation and applications of the models, and in-depth discussions were
held during these sessions. One session of the workshop was held as a COP
8 side event. It was an open session on the 'Asia-Pacific Forum for Collaborative
Modeling of Climate Policy Assessment'. This session was attended by 72
participants from several countries. While, the closed session of the workshop
centred on integrated environment assessment modeling, the open session
focussed on policy dimensions in modeling. The strengths and limitations
of models and the need to address policymakers' issues were discussed.
The aim of this active dialogue between policy makers, modelers and participants
was to bridge the gap between model capabilities and assumptions of the
modelers and the policy needs as perceived by the policy makers.
Outcomes and products
Products
The following products were distributed during the workshop:
- Hard copies of presentations, exercises, and other materials;
- CD-ROMs, which include workshop presentations, papers on integrated
environment assessment models and their applications, climate change papers
and related web links, and exercises of the training programme. Subsequent
to the workshop, the updated contents of the CD-ROM are uploaded on Web
and are available at URL: http://www.nies.go.jp/social/aim/india0210/index.html;
- Three books, containing information on the scientific and policy
aspects of integrated environment assessment and their applications in
the Asia-Pacific region.
Outcomes
- The workshop created awareness about the significance of Integrated
Assessment Models (IAMs) in environmental assessment;
- It brought out the need to develop models in local-specific contexts;
- It created an understanding of the need for appropriate model assumption,
data requirements, and data validation;
- The direct exchange of information and views amongst policy makers,
model users, modelers and other climate change researchers brought about
an understanding of the capabilities and use of IAMs in specific policy
contexts;
- The dissemination of workshop material helped enhance the capabilities
of other researchers who work in the participating institutions;
- The workshop built the ground for further collaborative research
in the Asia-Pacific region on climate change related issues; and
- The capacity building and networking from the workshop will assist
in developing innovative environment strategies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Future directions and follow-up work
The activities highlighted below are proposed as follow-up activities
to the Workshop:
- Further collaborative modelling for developing appropriate modelling
structures and data validation;
- Comparing AIM results with those of other IAMs to enhance credibility;
- Studies on vulnerability and adaptation issues in the Asia-Pacific
region;
- Greater understanding of country-specific issues from the policymakers'
perspective; and
- Establishing capacity-building centers for integrated environment
assessment in developing countries.
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