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Seventh APN Scientific Planning Group Meeting
18-19
March 2002, Manila, Philippines
Summary Report
from Co-Chairpersons
Dr. Subramaniam Moten and Dr. Graeme Pearman
The SPG meeting was attended by experts and members from
Australia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao P.D.R.,
Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines,
Republic of Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, USA, Vietnam, SARCS, SASCOM,
START Oceania, TEACOM, the International START Secretariat and
observers from IAI and the Philippines. The list of participants
is given here.
1. Opening
The APN Secretariat Director,
Dr. Ryutaro Yatsu, opened the meeting by inviting Honourable Rogelio A. Panlasigui
to offer
some welcoming remarks. Dr. Panlasigui, Undersecretary for Research & Development, Department of Science & Technology, Philippines,
welcomed participants and emphasised that the Philippines commends
and supports the work of the APN in global change research and
other related issues. Dr. Yatsu expressed sincere gratitude
to the Philippines for hosting the meeting and for their organisation
and hospitality.
2. Adoption of Agenda
The
agenda was adopted as proposed.
3. Review of Activities in 2001/2002
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 presented at the 7th IGM. 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.
The SPG recommended
that the APN create a web page within the APN website with links to publications
that derived from
APN funded activities.
Action Secretariat
A summary of the 2001/2002 funded projects was distributed.
The SPG emphasised the need in reviewing project reports, of
some method of assessing the outcomes and success of the investments
made despite the recognised time constraints and APN Secretariat
resource limitations. It was, however, noted that there is a
need to gauge the success of APN projects and distribute project
outcomes.
The Liaison Officer (APN supporting officer in START regional
centres) Reports were also issued.
4.
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. The SPG
suggested that the Secretariat investigate the success of this
stage.
Action Secretariat
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, but there is still a need to encourage more
project leaders from developing countries although there is
evidence of a positive trend here too.
Concern was raised by the Small Group
at the high number of multi-year projects that the APN are already committed
to,
and the need to establish guidelines. It was reported that the
Small Group had recommended restricting the number of multi-year
projects to be considered for funding to 20-30% of the total
funded activities budget.
The Secretariat is to 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."
Action Secretariat
The Secretariat presented the revised APN Conflict of Interest
Policy. This was accepted by the SPG with minor modifications
and is included in this summary report here.
The proposals review system and in particular options to
reduce the burden on reviewers was discussed. The SPG recommended
that:
- The pre-proposals stage remains unchanged.
- The Small Group continue to conduct the Rapid Assessment
Stage as before but proponents would be requested to complete
an additional page to the existing one-page cover sheet providing
a summary of proposal methodologies, the proposed mode of operation
of the project team, and an extended description of outputs
and timelines. The possibility of reviewers intervening and
merging some projects with potential and even providing seed
money to develop a stronger proposal for the following year
will be explored. The intention is to strengthen the intervention
at this stage to assist proponents to overcome shortcomings
of their proposals and to encourage more proponents to resubmit
as full proposals.
- Continue with current first stage assessment but target SPG
members to review proposals in their fields of expertise. The
Secretariat will contact SPG members and identify their fields
of expertise.
- Second assessment stage as before but with a maximum of ten
reviewers (flexible) per proposal.
The SPG recommended that the proposed system
be implemented this year. Action Secretariat, Small Group and SPG
5. APN Networking and Capacity Building Programme
The Secretariat reviewed the two-year trial period (2000-2002)
and the SPG acknowledged that the programme had generated a
lot of interest and was considered very successful.
The following possible future
directions were agreed upon:
6. 2002/2003 APN Funded Activities
The Secretariat Director announced that the total budget
available for APN funded activities would be approximately US
$963,000 in the next fiscal year. The budget includes networking
and capacity building funds and a contingency fund.
Dr. Pearman, as SPG Co-Chair,
explained the rationale behind the Small Group recommendations. 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.
The Small Group also presented
to the SPG for their approval recommendations, based on progress reports submitted,
regarding
the multi-year projects for which funding should be continued.
Several procedural
considerations were raised:
- The SPG recommended that the Secretariat check to see
if procedures exist for determining if a project leader
has secured the stated additional funds. If no such system
exists, such a procedure needs to be established.
Action Secretariat
- Reviewer guidelines are to be revised allowing for a
ten-point rating scale.
- The SPG suggested
that, in writing a proposal, proponents should clearly explain
the scientific contribution of each participating country.
After detailed discussions on the proposals and multi-year
projects requesting continuation, the Small Group recommendations
were approved by the SPG for presentation at the IGM. The recommendations
are 13 new projects (9 one-year and 4 multi-year) and 5 continuing
multi-year projects. This brings the total number of projects
recommended for funding to 18. In addition, the Secretariat
is to 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.
Action Secretariat
7. New APN Activities
The Secretariat introduced
three new activities, the Asia Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategy, Vegetation
Recovery
Workshop and an APN "White Paper". The first two activities
were accepted. The Secretariat was strongly advised to inform
the Steering Committee meeting and SPG members of other new
activities well in advance.
The SPG, with support from the Small Group, recommended
the Secretariat to proceed with producing an annual report (and
not call it a white paper) 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. The SPG recommended that an adhoc committee be set
up to assist the Secretariat to ensure the language of the report
is matched to the target audience, such as policy-makers and
the general public.
A synthesis seminar will take place in Kobe in 2002 with
a "Land-Use Cover Change" theme.
The SPG agreed that a synthesis seminar should take place annually with location
and theme changing
each year.
Action Secretariat and Small Group
8. Election of New Co-Chair
Dr. Subramaniam Moten explained that a new Co-Chair from
a developed country has to be elected since, according to APN
procedures, Dr. Graeme Pearman's two-year term is now at an
end. Dr. Pearman proposed Dr. Andrew Matthews of New Zealand
as his successor, outlining his extensive scientific knowledge
and active involvement in the APN, which makes him an ideal
candidate for the post. The nomination was seconded by Dr. Amir
Muhammed, strongly supported by the SPG members, and accepted
by Dr. Matthews.
9. Any Other Business
- The Secretariat discussed the per diem rates and pointed
out that there were no changes from previous years. Dr.
Moten also pointed out that these rates were recommended
by the Focal Points of the respective countries listed.
The SPG recommended, however, that the per diem rates
for Australia and New Zealand be reduced by about 20%. The
SPG recommended that the Secretariat change the wording
of the APN per diem guidelines to make it clear that all
participants are expected to seek lower rates than cited
in the per diem table. This revised document is to be presented
at the 7th IGM.
Action Secretariat
- As the 10th anniversary of the APN approaches (2005)
it is important to take action, for example, evaluate the
APN scientific activities since its establishment. As the
new APN Strategic Plan will be implemented in the same year,
this could be a joint undertaking.
Action Secretariat
- The Secretariat elaborated on progress made concerning
membership of Pacific Island Countries. The SPG felt that
it would be useful from a scientific perspective that the
Secretariat approach Pacific Island Countries and Singapore
concerning membership. It was, however, acknowledged that
such matters fall under IGM jurisdiction.
- The Secretariat to develop and distribute a template
and cover sheet for project reports to promote the character
of APN.
Action Secretariat
10. Science Presentations
Science presentations were made by:
- Dr. Gerhard Breulmann, Inter-American Institute for Global
Change Research (IAI). "About IAI."
- Dr. Rodel D. Lasco, University of the Philippines. "Carbon
Budgets of Forest Ecosystems in Southeast Asia."
- Dr. Kanayathu Koshy, Director, Pacific Center for Environment
and Sustainable Development. "Climate Change Impact, Vulnerability
and Adaptation Options for Pacific Island Countries."
11. Closing
Dr. Moten, as SPG Co-Chair, thanked SPG members,
the Secretariat and the Filipino Government for their contributions. The Secretariat
Director expressed his sincere appreciation to SPG members and
Co-Chairs for their active discussions and constructive suggestions.
The Director also thanked the Filipino Government for hosting
the meeting this year. Dr. Dung Le, the Vietnamese SPG
member, informed participants of the Ministry of the Environment
of Viet Nam's willingness to host the 8th Inter-Governmental
Meeting and Scientific Planning Group Meeting in Hanoi in March
2003. Finally, the Secretariat Director expressed sincere gratitude
for Dr. Pearman's excellent leadership and crucial role in
all APN activities and looks forward to his continuing support.
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