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Chair's Summary
Seventh
APN Inter-Governmental Meeting
21-22
March 2002,
Manila, Philippines
Representatives attended the meeting from Australia, Cambodia,
China, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Lao P.D.R., Malaysia, Mongolia,
Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA, Viet Nam, and observers from the International
START Secretariat and SPREP, and by one Co-chair of the APN
Scientific Planning Group. The list of participants is given
here.
1. Opening
The APN Secretariat Director, Dr. Ryutaro Yatsu, introduced
Honoured Guest, Mr. Gregorio V. Cabantac, Undersecretary for
Legal and International Affairs, Department of Environment and
Natural Resources, Philippines, and invited him to make an opening
statement. In his speech, Mr. Cabantac emphasised the importance
of global change activities and the need for unified and concrete
regional and global collaborations in the interest of proactive
global change research. He also mentioned that the World Summit
for Sustainable Development taking place in 2002 is expected
to set sustainable development for decades to come. Mr. Cabantac
commended the APN for their noble objectives and pointed out
that the Philippines supports APN and acknowledges the significance
of APN as an inter-governmental organisation.
The Secretariat Director thanked
Mr. Cabantac for his comments and thanked the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources
and Mr. Celso P. Diaz for hosting the meeting and for their
organisational contributions. The Director also thanked all
delegates and observers for their participation in the meeting.
2. Election of Officers
Mr. Samuel Peñafiel
of the Philippines was elected as Chair. Mr. Kok Kee Chow of Malaysia was elected
as Vice-chair.
3. Adoption of Agenda
The
agenda was adopted as proposed.
4. Review of Activities 2001/02 from the Secretariat
The APN Secretariat gave a review of the year's achievements.
Since the 6th IGM the draft APN recognition document has been
prepared and will be discussed as a separate item at the present
IGM meeting. The second year of the Networking and Capacity
Building programme was completed. One symposium and two workshops
were held in Kobe. The Environmental Management of Coastal Seas
2001 (Asian Forum) conference was held, as was a vegetation
recovery workshop, Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategy
Workshop and a biodiversity training course. An APN awareness-raising
workshop was also held in the Republic of Korea.
APN entered discussions with
the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme concerning the possibility
of APN membership of Pacific
Island Countries. It was also reported that Viet Nam had appointed
an SPG member and that missions have been made to Australia,
China, Nepal, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Viet Nam.
A summary of the 2001/2002
funded projects was distributed together with the Liaison Officer (APN supporting
officer in
START regional centres) Reports. The IGM suggested the Secretariat
distribute the publications, results and outcomes of workshops
and training information on the APN website.
Action Secretariat
5. Financial reports and 2002/2003 budget
The Secretariat presented the Final 2000/2001 Financial Report
for the fiscal year ending March 2001, the Draft 2001/2002 Financial
Report and the proposed 2002/2003 Budget. Delegates were asked
to consider and approve each of these.
The IGM recommended that:
- more details be included for the loan interest item in the
Final 2000/2001 Financial Report;
- office equipment be clearly stated as "leasing of equipment"
so that depreciation costs need not be considered;
- future final Financial Reports contain 3 columns (instead
of 2) of draft budget, draft finances and actual finances to
facilitate the understanding of the report;
- the Secretariat work with the Japanese Ministry of Environment
to try and secure a consumption tax exemption.
Action Secretariat
The Secretariat explained that due to the depreciating
yen, an exchange rate of 135 yen to 1 US dollar had been used to
draw up the 2002/2003 budget. In the proposed 2002/2003 budget,
the Focal Point for USA stated that final approval of NSF/USGCRP
funds is forthcoming. The IGM also pointed out the importance
of the ratio between administrative expenses and funds reserved
for scientific activities. The IGM recommended that APN try
to keep their administration overheads to a minimum and emphasised
the need to secure increased funding support and in-kind contributions
from other organisations. Furthermore, concern was raised at
the increased number of projects now being turned down due to
APN limited funding and the IGM recommended that, in future
inter-governmental meetings, there be an agenda item for discussion
on resource development. As APN relies heavily on funding from
Japan and USA, and in order for all member countries to have
a sense of ownership, APN is encouraged to try and secure funding
from other member countries.
Action Secretariat
All financial items were accepted and adopted.
6. Proposals Process
The
Secretariat reported on the pre-proposal and full proposal stages in the assessment
of 2001 proposals and the recommendations
for confirmation of multi-year projects. A total of 99 pre-proposals
were submitted in the June 2001 pre-proposals round and, although
this stage is viewed to be successful, the APN would follow
SPG recommendations and investigate the success of this stage
further.
The Secretariat received 78 full proposals in the September
2001 proposals round. In the rapid assessment stage 4 proposals
were considered "non-suitable" and
rejected. The remaining 74 proposals proceeded to the first stage of the review
process
by the SPG. Of these, 32 proposals advanced to the final stage
of the proposals process. It was noted that the number of developing
countries involved in APN proposals has increased, which is
a positive trend.
It was reported that the SPG had recommended restricting
the number of multi-year projects to be considered for funding
to 20-30% of the total funded activities budget and, based on
SPG recommendations, the Secretariat will modify the "Call
for Proposals - Guide for Proponents" to include: "Proponents
should be aware that although APN will consider multi-year projects
(maximum 3 years), due to budgetary concerns only a limited
number of multi-year projects may be funded. Continued funding
will not be guaranteed and these proposals will be subject to
rigorous review."
The IGM suggested that the SPG keep in mind the need to assure
appropriate reviews in the scientific theme areas and that a
balanced scoring system of cross-disciplines is implemented.
The IGM recommended that the Secretariat and the SPG work together
on this and present ideas at the 8th IGM.
Action Secretariat and SPG
All items were accepted.
7. Scientific Planning Group Report
Dr. Subramaniam Moten, Co-Chair of the Scientific Planning
Group read through the Co-Chair Summary of the 7th SPG Meeting.
The following
points were clarified for the IGM:
For the Annual Report, an ad hoc committee
will be established to ensure that the report meets the needs of readers in terms
of both language and content. The work of the committee is expected
to be conducted electronically and should, therefore, not have
financial implications. Further arrangements will be subject
for discussion at the Steering Committee Meeting following the
present IGM.
The SPG's interest in including other member countries is
purely from a scientific viewpoint and recognises the right
of the IGM to approve membership.
Action Secretariat and Steering Committee
8. 2002/03 Funded Activities
The
Secretariat Director presented the procedures used to select the 13 projects
out of the 78 proposals received under
the Call for Proposals 2001 that are recommended for funding.
He outlined the SPG rating for scientific excellence and average
score were used as the main basis for the funding recommendations.
Additional factors included budgetary aspects, the number of
high scores, number of workshops and meetings proposed, regional
and thematic distribution. Five continuing multi-year projects
were also recommended for funding.
The IGM asked that in future, the Secretariat
compile the proposals tables and the recommended projects for funding tables
so that they also include any in-kind support received.
Action Secretariat
The delegates approved the funding of 13 new projects (9
one-year and 4 multi-year) and 5 continuing multi-year projects.
In addition, the IGM agreed that the Secretariat seek the possibility
of merging one of the recommended new projects (p51) with a
current multi-year project (2001-17) with the aim of not only
economising on the joint budget but also to improve the scientific
outcomes. In doing this, however, the IGM agreed that the science
should not be compromised. A list of approved projects for funding
is included here
Action Secretariat
9. APN Networking & Capacity Building Programme
The Secretariat reviewed the two-year trial period (2000-2002)
and the IGM acknowledged that the programme was very successful.
The Secretariat
explained that the following possible future directions were recommended by the
SPG:
- Continue workshops in the same targeted countries in Indochina
and South Asia.
- Partially fund scoping workshops or proposals submitted to
APN using networking and capacity building funds.
- Hold awareness raising symposia in IGM/SPG host countries
between SPG and IGM meetings.
- Consider providing seed money from the networking and capacity
building fund to proponents of similar proposals with potential
who received a low proposal rating to hold a meeting and develop
a stronger proposal to be submitted in the next call for proposals.
- Hold a regional meeting for North East Asia to be convened
in Russia.
- Hold a joint START/APN workshop in Central Asia and allow
participating country scientists to submit proposals to APN.
- Hold a joint APN/IAI workshop.
The IGM approved the SPG recommendations.
10. Membership Development
The Secretariat presented on membership development and explained
that the APN had entered into discussions with the South Pacific
Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) concerning possible options
that could assure the effective representation of Pacific Island
Countries in APN activities. The SPREP observer commented that
the Pacific Island Countries would be very interested in APN
membership; but would have to take into consideration financial
implications. The IGM delegates agreed that APN should attend
a SPREP meeting in 2002 to further explore the membership of
Pacific Island Countries. The possibility of future membership
of Central Asia and Singapore was also discussed.
Action Secretariat
11. APN Recognition Document
The
Secretariat explained the process of drafting the APN Recognition Document
in accordance with 6th IGM recommendations.
The 7th IGM Vice-chair, Mr. Chow, then presented the document
to the 7th IGM delegates. The document was re-named the "Framework
of the Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research" and
after extensive discussions and further revision the document
was adopted by the IGM. The document is attached here
During discussion several additional issues were raised for
action:
- The Secretariat is to draft a "Terms of Reference for APN
Liaison Officers" at the next meeting.
- The Ministry of Environment of Japan is requested to kindly
consider assigning the APN Director to his/her post for 2 or
3 years.
Action Secretariat
12. New APN Activities
The Secretariat introduced
three new activities, the Asia Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategy Project,
Vegetation
Recovery Workshop and an APN "Annual Report." It was explained
to the IGM delegates that the SPG, with support from the Small
Group, had recommended the Secretariat to proceed with producing
an annual report using existing publications of the APN, including
a special edition of the newsletter, focussing on sound scientific
products as well as performance indicators of the APN. An ad
hoc committee would also be set up to assist the Secretariat
to ensure the language and contents of the report matched the
target audience, such as policy-makers and the general public.
The Secretariat
suggested that a synthesis seminar will also take place in Kobe in 2002 with
a "Land-Use Cover Change" theme and stated that the SPG had agreed that this kind of synthesis
seminar take place annually with location and theme changing
each year.
These activities were accepted and approved by the IGM.
13. Next Meeting
The Viet Nam delegate, Mr. Xuan Bao Tam Nguyen, extended
an offer to host the 8th SPG/IGM in Viet Nam in 2003. This generous
offer was accepted by acclamation. The Secretariat will confirm
the date in consultation with the host country in due course.
14. Any Other Business
The IGM reiterated their concern that APN activities are
expanding without increased resources. The IGM proposed that
an ad hoc committee be established to mobilise resources for
the APN. This will be an agenda item at the next Steering Committee
meeting.
Resource options include:
- Member country co-sharing costs of APN activities;
- Utilising APN's governmental connections to seek multilateral
funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Global
Environment Facility (GEF), etc.
The IGM asked that the Secretariat investigate the options
and produce suggestions and solutions for the 8th IGM.
Action Secretariat and Steering Committee
15. Presentations
- Mr. Celso P. Diaz, Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, Philippines."State of Global Change Research in the Philippines."
- Prof. Roland Fuchs, Director, International START Secretariat,
USA."Update of Global Change Research Programmes."
- Dr. Andrew Matthews, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
Research, New Zealand. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions - How would
we know if we reduced them?"
16. Closing
The Chair invited the Secretariat
Director to make his closing remarks. The Director thanked all participants,
Chair Mr. Peñafiel
and Vice-chair Mr Chow and informed the IGM that a Steering
Committee meeting will be held following the IGM to discuss
the most effective implementation of the decisions taken. He
then thanked Mr. Xuan Bao Tam Nguyen for hosting the next meeting
in Viet Nam.
The delegates expressed their thanks to the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines for the excellent
efforts made hosting the meeting. The Chair acknowledged the
contributions of the delegates and the Secretariat and then
closed the meeting.
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