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APN NewsletterVol.8, No.4 October 2002
My name is Sombo Yamamura and I arrived for my duties in July this year as the replacement of Dr. Ryutaro Yatsu, who performed an excellent role as director of the APN and on behalf of the Secretariat I wish Dr. Yatsu the very best of success and happiness with his new position at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Tokyo. Before coming to the APN, I was assigned to the United Nations University/Institute of Advanced Studies in Tokyo for one and a half years-and through this opportunity I have already met many APN colleagues, particularly at the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment/Asia Pacific Environ mental Innovation Strategy Joint Workshop last year. (I also had a chance to form relationships with researchers from the global change community during the APN Land Use Cover Change synthesis workshop in Kobe this September.) Incidentally, I am happy to say that former APN Directors, Mr. Takagi and Dr. Yatsu, were predecessors at the UNU/IAS as well and we share similar experiences. My experience in international activities accounts for one third of my working career as a governmental official in Japan, which included four years in Jakarta, two and a half years in Geneva, and over one year in London, and the work was mostly based in developing countries. I hope I will be able to make the most of those experiences for APN activities. Taking this opportunity, I would like to draw your attention to the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg which concluded one month ago and emphasized the importance of action. Despite of some critical comments from the media, the WSSD was surely a milestone event in this century, and the Summit, with its preparation process has been an amazing experience for the global environment and the sustainable global future. Now we should not waste anymore time and act now! The APN Secretariat dispatched Programme Manager, Martin Rice to the WSSD and is now organising a series of follow-up activities, which include a roundtable session on "Post WSSD: Sustainable Science and the Way Forward for Global Change Research" that is being jointly organized with the United Nations University, and will convene in Tokyo on 1st October. The WSSD was indeed a huge conference and included various important aspects. In this regard, it is important to examine the entire documents and discussion over the course of the WSSD in order to extract key messages that are relevant for our possible actions. That is why we organized a roundtable session on this issue. The specific focus of this session will be on ways to link sustainable science with global change research in addressing issues resulting from the WSSD. The summary of this roundtable session is to be published in the January edition of the APN newsletter, which will hopefully promote further discussions among APN partners through various opportunities in the near future, including the APN Scientific Planning Group meeting and Inter Governmental Meeting in Viet Nam in March 2003, and link the issues resulting from the WSSD with future APN activities for promoting global change research further.
Sombo T. Yamamura Back to the contents of APN Newsletters Oct 2002 WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND BEYOND The APN was invited by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, to present "how to build the scientific capacity of developing countries in the A-P Region" at the WSSD in Johannesburg: and in so-doing, provided an ideal opportunity to showcase the APN Networking and Capacity Building (N&CB) programme. The presentation traced the origins of the N&CB programme (targeting developing APN member countries with the least scientific capacity and links to the global change community), highlighted activities conducted (such as regional workshops that pin-point priority areas and develop research proposals) and outlined possible future options. Inci dent ally, one such option-in the form of a "type 2" partnership on "Scientific Capacity Building for Sus tain able Development in Develop ing Countries" -was presented to the United Nations by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, whereby APN was identified as a major partner. This is, however, subject to final approval by the 8th APN Inter-Governmental Meeting in March 2003. Overall, the WSSD was an ideal opportunity for APN to heighten its global profile. It also allowed APN to strengthen its network with organisations present at the WSSD, such as ICSU, IGFA, IHDP, TWAS, etc., and to further inform scientists, governmental officials, and the general public of APN activities. APN/UNU ROUNDTABLE SESSION Following the WSSD, as mentioned in the "Director's Message" on page 1, there will be an APN/United Nations University roundtable session on "Post WSSD: Sustainable Science and the Way Forward for Global Change Research" on 1 October in Tokyo. Key note addresses will be made by representatives from the UNU, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, (NIES), and the global change research community-the APN and IGBP's Land-Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone (IGBP-LOICZ.) Partici pants from Hyogo Prefectural government, Ministry of Environment, Japan, and the scientific community are invited to actively participate in a discussion session, after key note addresses, linking the outcomes of theWSSDand the future of global change research and sustainable science. The roundtable report will feature in the January edition of the APN newsletter. APN LUCC SYNTHESIS: Concept to Reality At the MA/APEIS workshop in Tokyo last year, Professor Sharifah Mastura Syed Abdullah (APN Project Leader) of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, outlined the utility of APN, and indeed the global change research community, coming together to synthesis LUCC activities in the Asia-Pacific region... and true to her word, Sharifah organised and chaired an APN synthesis workshop on "Land Use and Cover Change" in Kobe from 9-11 September. This workshop, in accordance with its original concept, brought together a solid group of highly experienced and able LUCC scientists involved in APN projects, as well as resource people well connected to various global change scientific programmes and networks. The outcomes of this initial LUCC synthesis activity will soon be distributed throughout the global change community. Sharifah will also report findings in the January edition of the APN newsletter. VEGETATION RECOVERY IN DEGRADED LAND AREAS WORKSHOP and SYMPSOIUM The "2nd APN Workshop on Vegeta tion Recovery in Degraded
Land Areas" will convene in Kobe, from 26-28 November 2002.
This Workshop will draw participants from the first workshop
held in Western Australia last year. The specific purpose of
the workshop is to develop suitable research proposals to be
submitted to the APN and/or other funding agencies. There will
also be a half-day symposium, which will link both APN Land
Use Cover Change and Vegetation Re covery activities on the
afternoon of 28 November. It is planned to attract participants
from the local research community, as well as the general public
in Hyogo Prefecture to promote APN in its own back yard. Back to the contents of APN Newsletters Oct 2002 FEATURED ORGANIZATION ICIMOD: The Mountain Knowledge Centre The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD came into being out of widespread recognition of the alarming environmental degradation of mountain habitats and consequent increase in impoverishment of mountain communities in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) Region. ICIMOD is the first international, independent "Mountain Learning and Knowl edge Centre" having eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas and the global mountain community. Founded in 1983, ICIMOD is based in Kathmandu, Nepal and brings together a partnership of regional member countries, over 300 institutions within and outside the region, and donors with a commitment for development action to secure the future of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas. The Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region extends for 3,500 km from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east sustaining over 150 million people. The HKH people are disproportionately vulnerable, poor, marginalised and cut off from access to markets and social services. Mountain areas of the HKH and the world are home to most of today's conflicts. Yet promising new opportunities exist for sustainable, community-based natural resource management, new products and incomes, hazard mitigation, social inclusion and empowerment, long-term sustainability and effective communication and knowledge sharing. As an applied research and developmental institution in the heart of the HKH, ICIMOD's strategy is based on working with its partners to identify, test, adapt and communicate opportunities for overcoming mountain vulnerabilities and transforming them into greater security and sustainability for poor and marginalised mountain people. ICIMOD seeks to build on its comparative advantage, as a regionally grounded mountain-specific institution with a wide network of partners, to serve as a Mountain Learning and Knowledge Centre that identifies and fosters solutions across the mountain world-and builds the cooperative networks and enabling environments through which these solutions can be implemented on a scale that will produce tangible results for the poor and marginalised of the region and beyond. ICIMOD builds institutional capacities and facilitates the development of mountain policy and regional cooperation through its main functions as a:
Programmes to overcome mountain vulnerabilities include:
Six of the world's largest rivers-the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yangtze, and Yellow River-originate in the mountains of the HKH and are vital for South and Southeast Asia. Water sustains agriculture, livestock, household needs, industry, energy, transportation, and all biological life. The storage of water in glacial ice, snow packs and underground aquifers provides the source of critical low flow in dry seasons. However, water creates mountain hazards such as landslides, floods and earthquakes that have a devastating impact on the lives and property of mountain people and the many millions living downstream. For this reason the programme focus of Water Resources & Hazard Management in decreasing the physical vulnerability of mountain people and downstream poor. Action initiatives include:
The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) has approved the proposal on the "Inventory of Glaciers and Glacial Lakes and the Identification of Potential Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) Affected by Global Warming" (Incidentally, this Proj ect is managed in consultation with another regional project: APN 2002-03 Global Change Impact Assessment for the Hi malayan Mountain Region.) The Main Objectives of this project is to assure that mountain inhabitants in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region enjoy safe and sustainable livelihoods through a better understanding of environmental hazards associated with mountain glaciers and glacial lakes, with which to address sound environmental policy, planning and impact/ risk mitigation. The long-term objective is to establish an inventory and digital database on moun tain glaciers/ glacial lakes and of change due to global warming affecting poten tial glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and associated hazards. The database methodologies and information will be analysed, synthe sized and shared nationally and regionally among the collaborat ing national organisations and agencies, to form the foundations for both policy and planning (and, later, in a second phase under other funding.) Expected Outcomes:
The main objective of the training cum workshop was to provide knowledge and skills in GIS and remote sensing and its application in the study of inventory of glaciers and glacial lakes. ICIMOD had carried similar studies for Bhutan and Nepal and published these recently (1999-2002) in collaboration with UNEP/RRC.AP in the form of books and CD ROMs. ICIMOD also plans to study the whole Hindu Kush- Himalayan region including Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The recently completed training cum workshop will lead to the project in the above theme for Tibet Autonomous Region of China, India, and Pakistan. Mountain Environment & Natural Resources Information Systems, MENRIS Programme at ICIMOD To promote the use of GIS appli ca tions in sustainable mountain de vel op ment, in 1991, ICIMOD established the Mountain Environment and Natural Resources' Information Systems (MENRIS). MENRIS focuses efforts on introducing the potential of GIS technology to partner institutions and strengthening their capacity to apply it. It also develops biophysical and socio-economic datasets relevant to the region and acts as a resource centre and clearing house for the exchange of information on GIS. Through its close contacts and collaboration with research institutions, space agencies and suppliers, especially its strategic alliance with the Environ mental Sys tems Research Institute, ESRI in Redlands, California, USA, MENRIS has fostered the establishment of a strong GIS network serving this vast and diverse region. The strategic objectives of MENRIS are to:
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Back to the contents of APN Newsletters Oct 2002 (PI: Dr. K. Koshy, University of the South Pacific, Fiji) This project, one of the pilot studies under START's CLIMAG project, was initiated through discussions held between the Climate Services Division of the Fiji Meteorological Services, the Sugarcane Research Centre (SCRC), and the University of the South Pacific with valuable scoping input from Dr. Roger Pulwarty (NOAA/OGP), and Candyce Clark (NOAA). Dr. Peter Thorburn (CSIRO, Australia) and Dr. Yvette Everingham (CSIRO, Australia) were later invited to assist with the project and have since contributed tremendously to its successful completion. Dr. Everingham assisted in the data analyses and produced the 'Case Study: Assessment of the Potential of Climate Forecasts to Im prove Decision-Making in the Fijian Sugar Industry'. The project proposal for funding applications was prepared by Dr. K. Koshy (START/USP) with inputs from project partners. A 'Scoping Workshop on ENSO Impacts on Sugarcane in Fiji' was held from 29-30 October 2001 at the Fiji Meteo rological Services, Nadi, Fiji in order to delimit the scope of the project. An overview of the Fiji START Project was given to present the problem statement, data availability and participants for the project. A further working group meeting was organised from 22 to 24 May 2002 to discuss the data analyses results and to interpret them in combination with sugar research industry personnel. Management options based on climate prediction were also produced using the Five Phase SOI Climate Forecast System used by CSIRO, Australia. Sugar is the most important export crop and in 2001 it was the third largest export earner for Fiji. As a result, greater understanding of the climatic conditions which influence sugarcane yields are critical to making informed decisions that will sustain the industry into the future. This project focused on the impacts of ENSO-related climate variability on sugarcane in Fiji with a view to assessing its influence on sugarcane yields and evaluating optional and sub-optional strategies for enhanced sugar production using climatological information. This was an empirical study, which used historical data for (1) meteorological variables such as rainfall and maximum temperature and (2) the agricultural variable, cane yield, to establish and understand the relationship between climate and sugarcane in Fiji. Three study sites (below) were selected for analyses: (1) Lautoka (2) Nadi and (3) Sigatoka based on best available data. The sugar yield data was restricted to the period 1975-2000. Taking into account the sugarcane-growing cycle, rainfall running means for 3-months and 5-months were used in the analyses. Regression analyses were done with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and SSTs against sugarcane yield. The SOI indices are a measure of the strength of ENSO (Everingham et al., 2001). Linear regression results show that rainfall is positively correlated to sugarcane yield for all sectors of the Lautoka district (r=0.54 and r=0.49) for September to December; moderately positively correlated for Nadi for November to March (r=0.57 to r=0.50) and is weakly correlated for Sigatoka for November to March (r=0.40 to r=0.45). Likewise, the SOI has a moderately positive correlation to sugarcane yield (r=0.51 for Lautoka) though weaker for Nadi (r=0.45) and Sigatoka (r=0.41). This pattern develops as early as August and tends to strengthen as the year progresses. SST indices are negatively correlated for Lautoka (r= ・・.68), Nadi (r= ・・.49) and Sigatoka (r= ・・.49), though Lau toka was more strongly negatively correlated than Nadi and Sigatoka. Hence, the SOI was used as a predictor for cane yield when studied in relation to key periods of the sugarcane growth cycle. The Five Phase SOI Climate Forecast System (Stone et al., 1996) was used to predict rainfall and hence suggest possible management options to the sugar industry. The five phases of the SOI are taken to be: (1) Consistently negative SOI phase-where the SOI stays
negative from one month to the next Owing to the increased chance of high rainfall, industry representatives have identified that it could be advantageous to modify planting strategies (encourage rapid germination, delay planting) in years when the February SOI phase is consistently negative. The industry requires 80mm of rain, in October, for the planting season. The Five Phase SOI Climate Forecast System shows that following a consistently positive SOI phase in June, the chance of receiving more than 80mm of rain, in October, is higher than normal. Thus, in these years the option to plough-out and replant would be more favourable than in other years. Whilst there are some signs of different rainfall patterns for the different SOI phases, it would seem that climate information is unable to definitively address the issue of whether more (less) cane should be harvested from the hills (flats) at different times of the season. This increased capacity for utilising climate predictions in management decisions is beneficial to the sugarcane industry in Fiji and should be further pursued, given the present and anticipated impacts on sugarcane and other agricultural crops from climate variability (IPCC, 2001 and Rosenzweig and Hillel, 1998). As a follow-up, in collaboration with NOAA-OGP, planning is underway to organize a major international workshop to bring together scientists, industry personnel and farming representatives from the sugar producing countries of the world. This would be a rare opportunity to share the knowledge and experience from different sugarcane growing regions, and to assess the state of knowledge on Sugar and Climate-related issues of concern.
(Source: Fiji Meteorological Services, 2002)
Back to the contents of APN Newsletters Oct 2002 OCEANIA Climate Change Roundtable Meeting (Part II) Rarotonga, Cook Islands. 13 July, 2002 Following on from the Climate Round table meeting in Nadi on 18-19 May, a second meeting convened in Raro tonga to further deliberate on a detailed matrix and summary sheet of on-going and new climate projects in the region (copies available from the START-Oceania website, http://www.usp.ac.fj/start/) The matrix of activities and Terms of Reference for the roundtable were considered at the Cook Islands meeting, and after re-working and editing, particularly with the matrix of activities and summary sheet, both documents were accepted. Gap areas were then identified where more work is needed to be completed. These factors will guide future project proposals in climate change and variability studies. Pacific-Asia Biodiversity Transect (PABITRA) Initial Synthesis Meeting, Suva, Fiji. 15-19 July, 2002 (PI: Prof. D. Mueller-Dombois, USA, APN 2002-17) The meeting was held at the University of the South Pacific with about ten participants from the USP, WWF-Pacific, National Trust of Fiji, Native Land Trust Board and Fiji's Department of Environment. Leigh-Anne Buliruarua represented APN and START at the meeting. The meeting decided on the steps needed to operationalize PABITRA including existing data elements that need to be analyzed. Participants were then assigned responsibilities for the data compilation, and decided on the Joint workshop for November 20-30, 2002 at USP. Prof. Mueller also made a presentation on the PABITRA/APN relationship with a specific focus on island landscapes under global change. 13th SPREP Meeting, Majuro, Marshall Islands. 23-26 July 2002 Items discussed at the meeting included the SPREP 2003-2005 Work Pro grammes, Institutional matters, Policy and regional coordination and Re gional conventions. Mr Asterio Takesy was appointed the new Director designate of the South Pacific Regional Environment Pro gramme (SPREP). Currently the executive director of Federated States of Micronesia's (FSM) Joint Committee on Compact Economic Negotiations, Mr Takesy will succeed Mr Tamari'i Tutangata of the Cook Islands, who is completing two terms and will leave the post in January 2003. The ACP-EU Forum on Research for Sustainable Development, Cape Town, South Africa. 26-30 July, 2002 The African Caribbean Pacific and European Union Forum on Research for Sustainable Development, attended by Dr. Koshy, took place in Cape Town, South Africa, 26-30 July, 2002. Senior officials from the ACP group of states and EU member states including researchers and policy planners attended the meeting. As a final output, the Forum adopted three major documents-the ACP-EU joint vision, the Cape Town Declaration, and the Cape Town Plan of Action for Sustainable Development. The opportunity now exists for USP researchers to have a closer look at the 'Type 2' initiatives and the ACP-EU vision for research, from a common platform and to develop a research agenda that will be broad enough to accommodate the overall regional research demands while at the same time being specific enough to suit in-country development priorities. High Level Pacific Regional Consultation on Water. 29 July-3 August 2002 The meeting was organised by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Com mission (SOPAC) in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and co-sponsored by a number of other agencies with interests in the water sector from an international or regional perspective. The purpose of the meeting was two-fold: (i) to allow Small Island Developing States to strengthen their policies and approaches for sustainable development in the water sector and (ii) to prepare for the Third World Water Forum, to be held in Kyoto, Japan, during 16-23 March 2003. About 150 participants representing delegations from Small Island Dev eloping States, regional and international organisations and donor agencies attended the meeting. SIDS included those that are members of the ADB and SOPAC as well as other Pacific Island Countries who are not members, and the Caribbean, Maldives and East Timor. The meeting was organised around six themes: Water Resources Management, Island Vulnerability, Awareness, Technology, Institutional Arrangements, and Financing. Training Workshop for the Pacific Island Countries to Enhance Skills in Global Change Negotiations and Synthesis Activities. 23-27 September 2002 (PI: Koshy, APN 2002-08) A timely five-day, APN sponsored, workshop following the WSSD, held in Suva, Fiji, seeking to improve the capacity of Pacific Island Countries in carrying out synthesis type activities required to produce national communications to UNFCCC COPs, IPCC, GEO and other similar reports including research proposals. Mr. Martin Rice represented APN at the meeting. The workshop was intended to train participants in international negotiations of various treaties and conventions that pacific island countries have signed. The workshop attracted about 20 participants from all Pacific Island nations. The workshop was essential ly a "train the trainers" exercise, and the outputs will feed directly into in-country and regional V&A training programs, IPCC activities, and initiatives under the Barbados program of action. The workshop report will feature in the January edition of the APN newsletter. Compiled from report by APN Liaison Officer Ms. Leigh-Anne Buliruarua
SOUTH ASIA SASCOM meeting. Dhaka, Bangladesh. May 25-26, 2002 The South Asia START Committee (SASCOM) was held in Dhaka. The meeting was inaugurated by Dr. Shamsher Ali, Acting President of Bangladesh National Academy of Sciences, and presided over by Dr. Amir Muhammed, Chairman, SASCOM. During the meeting, on-going global change related scientific activities in Bangladesh were presented to the SASCOM members. The SASCOM members also reviewed various global change related scientific activities being carried out in the SASCOM region and took decisions for further strengthening of such activities in this region. The major decisions include strengthening the regional information network and encouragement to regional scientists to submit proposals to APN (especially on sea-level rise, sundarbans, auto mobile emissions, and aerosols & respiratory diseases.) The minutes of this meeting are available on URL <www.npl-cgc.ernet.in> Program Initiation Workshop (APN 2002-03), Kathmandu, Nepal. June 20-22, 2002 A 'Program Initiation Workshop' was organized in Kathmandu, Nepal, under the APN sponsored project "Global Change Impact Assessment for Hima layan Mountain Region for Environ mental Management and Sustainable Development" (APN 2002-03.) The workshop participants selected three Himalayan mountain regions, namely Kali Gandaki in Nepal, Alaknanda Valley in India and Galis in Pakistan, as target areas to conduct case studies under the project. The participants also identified the kind of data needed and agreed on a common format for project reporting. Further information can be obtained from Dr. K.L. Shrestha, Principal Investigator of this project <klshrestha@wlink.com.np> 'Agenda for South Asian Journalists' Workshop on Global Environmental Negotiations. New Delhi, India. 1-2 August, 2002. This workshop was organized by the 'Centre for Science and Environment', New Delhi for journalists of the South Asian Region. The workshop participants discussed various issues, which were scheduled for discussions during the Johannesburg WSSD, and the stance taken by different countries on these issues. Compiled from report by APN Liaison Officer Dr. C. Sharma SOUTHEAST ASIA 12th Asia-Pacific Seminar on Climate Change, Bangkok, Thailand. 30 July-2 August, 2002 In August the 12th Asia-Pacific Semi nar on Climate Change convened in Bangkok. International scientist and policy makers from Asian and Pacific Island Countries, as well as representatives from international agencies and networks, including APN (thanks to sponsorship by the Ministry of Envi ron ment, Japan and IGES) and START, attended the meeting. During the seminar the latest global dialogue on climate change conventions was addressed with the promotion of regional cooperation in order to develop national legislative processes towards the implementation of UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The seminar was organized in several sessions addressing the issues and constraints of climate change and sustainable development. It was another step after the Bonn and Marrakech Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC to address climate change related issues particularly on regional cooperation and guidelines for the preparation of national communications and support for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) by UNEP, UNIDO, and SPREP. There were discussions on an update of the latest progress in scientific assessment on climate change research from APN: Overview of APN activities (Martin Rice); the impact of climate change on freshwater resources (Amir Muhammed); agriculture and forestry (Jim Salinger); and the network system for monitoring and predicting ENSO events (Yihui Ding.) Furthermore, the multi-stakeholder approach was used to develop national and regional adaptation strategies, to address issues and experiences that scientists encountered in their respective regions. Through networking, it fostered capacity building, data exchange and information dissemination on climate change. The workshop also addressed the "success stories, lessons learned" which had helped to build up capacity and technology transfer in order for scientists to tackle the continuing and emerging challenges. Also during his time in Bangkok, Mr. Martin Rice, APN Programme Manager, visited the APN Liaison Office/START Southeast Asia Regional Centre. Martin had discussions with Dr. Snidvongs (APN Liaison Officer), Prof. Boonjawat (APN SPG member for Thailand), and Ms. Suleeporn (Media and Communications Officer.) Discus sions focussed on global change activities in Southeast Asia, scientific capacity of countries within the region, Liaison Officer and SPG member roles, and future activities in the region. GIS Workshop in Support of the UNEP/GEF Project: "Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand", Bangkok, Thailand. 7-9 August 2002. UNEP and SEA START RC co-organized a GIS Workshop, in support of the UNEP/GEF Project: "Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand." The workshop was held on 7-9 August 2002 in Bangkok. In the opening session of the workshop, the Director's of both parties, Drs. John Pernetta and Anond Snidvongs, signed the Memo randum of Understanding between UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project and Southeast Asia START Regional Center respectively. Accord ing to the MOU, SEA START RC will provide technical support, especially on data and information system, to the South China Sea Project. During the Workshop, the importance of GIS Database and its roles within the framework of the UNEP/GEF project were addressed with the objectives to reach for an agreement on regional and national GIS metadata format, and considering the requirements of the potential technical assistance needed for the implementation of relevant components of the project. The participants were invited to identify the potential sources of data and information, and to provide necessary information on the establishment of a national meta-database. During the session, SEA START RC's Director, Dr. Anond Snidvongs presented the structure of the South China Sea GIS database, its contents and sources and has suggested further improvement of database operations with input from experts from participating countries. During the workshop participants from South China Sea coastal countries, namely, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philip pines, Thailand and Viet Nam discussed-and agreed-on regional and national formats of databases for coral reefs, seagrass, wetlands, mangroves, fisheries and land-based pollution components of the project. Base maps for the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand had been discussed and agreed upon. This data will be incorporated into the GIS Database for the region. More information about the UNEP/GEF South China Sea project can be found at <www.unepscs.org.> Fifth Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC-V), Fremantle, Australia. 9-13 September 2002. The Fifth Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for Western Pacific (WESTPAC-V) was held in Fremantle, Australia from 9-13 September, 2002. This session was organized as a follow-up to the Fourth Session held in Seoul in March 1999. During the Session, the projects and programs for 1999-2001 were reviewed. The future work plan for 2002-2004 was concluded for the Sub-Commission. The Session also involved discussions to reform the current programme and project structure of WESTPAC with a view to strengthening and streamlining the mechanisms and modalities of the individual programmes to meet the needs of ocean-related conventions and programmes. APN was also invited to attend the Session and made several comments and suggestions especially those related to global change. More information about WESTPAC can be surfed at <http://ioc.unesco.org/westpac.> GCOS Regional Workshop for East and Southeast Asia, Singapore. 16-18 September 2002. The ASEAN Specialised Meteoro logical Center (ASMC) hosted the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Regional Workshop for East and Southeast Asia in Singapore from 16-18 September 2002 in collaboration with GCOS and with support from UNDP/GEF, Australia, China, Japan and the United States. The purpose of this workshop was to discuss regional deficiencies and needs in atmospheric, oceanographic, and terrestrial observing systems for climate and to develop a strategy for overcoming these deficiencies. Directors of National Meteoro logical Services and national climate change co-ordinators from seventeen countries in Asia attended the workshop, as well as APN Programme Manager, Dr. Linda Stevenson, and APN Liaison Officer/ START SEA RC Director, Dr. Anond Snidvongs. The Workshop was organized in response to Decision at 5/CP.5, adopted in November 1999, by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Con vention on Climate Change, and in association with the UNDP-GEF National Communication Support Programme. Decision 5/CP.5 specifically recognized the need to identify the priority capacity-building needs of developing countries related to participation in systematic observations and invited the GCOS Secretariat, in consultation with relevant regional and international bodies, to organize regional workshops on this issue. In this event, START also presented information from the UNEP/START/ TWAS Assessments of Impacts of and Adaptation to Climate Change (AIACC) Project. Compiled from report by APN Liaison Officer Dr. Anond Snidvongs
TEMPERATE EAST ASIA International Workshop on Air-Land Interaction in Arid Areas and its Impact on Climate (IWALI), Dunhuang-City, China. 18-21 August 2002. This workshop was organized by the National Key Programme for Dev eloping Basic Sciences: Research on the Formation Mechanism and Pre diction Theory of Severe Climate Disasters in China, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP), the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAREER/CAS), and was sponsored by the State Ministry of Science and Tech nology (SMST), and by the National Sciences Foundation of China (NSFC). The workshop addressed four issues:
The workshop provided a good opportunity to exchange advanced ideas and observed facts on land-surface processes and air-land interaction, the hydrological cycle and energy balance, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, to discuss and review recent studies on the impacts of land-processes and air-land interactions in arid and semi-arid areas on climate variability and climate change, and to promote international cooperation of observation experiments on air-land interactions in arid and semi-arid areas. 973 Project Academic Workshop on Integrated Analysis of the Environmental Effects of Orderly Human Activities. Urumchi, Xinjiang Province, China. 24-25 August 2002. This workshop was organized by the TEA Regional Center, and sponsored by the Xinjiang Meteorological Ad min istration. Over thirty par ticipants attended this workshop, including the Chief Scientist of this Project. As No. 8 sub-project of the National Key Basic Research Development Programme: Predictive Study of Ari dification in Northern China in Association with life-supporting En viron ment Change, this sub-project mainly focued on the research of "Integrated Analysis of the Environ mental Effects of Orderly Human Activities in Arid and Semi-arid Re gions in Northern China and Re com mendations of Policy-relevant Counter measures". This workshop summarized and exchanged research results of the past year and laid a course for the coming year. After the meeting, participants conducted field observations of arid and semi-arid areas. Proceeding for this workshop will soon be published. Compiled from report by APN Liaison Officer Ms. Yang Ying |
