27 April 2017, New Delhi, India — Hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, the APN 22nd Joint Inter-Governmental Meeting and Scientific Planning Group Meeting successfully concluded in New Delhi, India.
The Inter-Governmental Meeting and Scientific Planning Group Meeting (IGM/SPG Meeting) is an annual meeting of national Focal Points who are government representatives and global change experts to review the implementation of the annual work programme in the past fiscal year and decide on activities for the coming fiscal year.
The IGM/SPG Meeting approved the work programme for fiscal year 2017 which includes: nine new projects under the Collaborative Regional Research Programme (CRRP); eight new capacity development projects under the capacity building programme (CAPaBLE); and three new projects under a special call for proposals on collaborative research open to young and early career scientists (CRYS). The full list of projects to be funded in fiscal year 2017 will be announced in May 2017.
The IGM/SPG Meeting also considered and approved plans for other new activities, including the international Satoyama workshop jointly organized by the Hyogo Prefectural Government, and engagement and collaboration with international science-policy bodies. The Subregional Committee for Southeast Asia agreed to organize a subregional cooperation meeting to be held in Viet Nam back-to-back with the annual Proposal Development Training Workshop, and a workshop on technology needs assessment on climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Subregional Committee for South Asia decided to hold a workshop on climate resilient agriculture to exchange knowledge on the latest research, policy and practices in South Asia related to agriculture sector’s response to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. This workshop is to be held in the latter half of fiscal year 2017 in Hyderabad, India, in collaboration with the SAARC Agriculture Centre and Government of India.
Members met in subregional sessions to consider future activities of common relevance to policy needs. Important areas identified includes policy-relevant research on: the implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs); climate change effects on the global supply chain; and energy and ecosystems in the changing climate etc. The research topics will be announced separately as part of the prioritized areas for the annual call for research and capacity-building proposals, which will be launched in the second half of 2017.
The IGM/SPG Meeting approved the consolidated report and a set of concrete recommendations authored by the task force for the future development of APN by improving the effectiveness of APN in addressing the needs of member countries in relation to policy-relevant research on global change. The recommended actions are expected to: further empower national Focal Points; increase the value of IGM by strategically steering APN; strengthen sub-regional committees; and enhance scientific and capacity development mechanisms by exploring new schemes of programmes. The IGM also approved the recommendation that the task force is to further examine the modalities of improved and/or new mechanisms for research and capacity development in the coming fiscal year.
A special interactive session themed “Climate friendly sustainable lifestyles” was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. Speakers from WWF-India, UNDP India, GIZ India and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) made a compelling case for India’s leading action on promoting sustainable lifestyles and consumption, and other climate actions towards fulfilling India’s commitments to the Paris Agreement and realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.
The young scientist poster competition, the Mitra Award, named after the renowned atmospheric physicist Dr. A. P. Mitra, former Director General of CSIR-India and former APN Scientific Planning Group Member for India, was held in his home country for the first time since the award was created in 2010. On the theme of “Challenges, gaps and solutions for climate change adaptation in water and agriculture sectors”, the competition invited young scientists from academic and research institutes across India to submit their research. Fourteen young scientists were shortlisted to present their research to global change experts and government representatives attending the IGM. Dr. Shaikhom Inaotombi, ICAR-Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research, received the Mitra Award for 2017 for his team’s research on the impacts of climate change on aquatic ecosystem in central Himalayas.
For more information please contact:
- Ajay Raghava, Deputy Director (Climate Change), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, email: [email protected]
- Yukihiro Imanari, Head, Division of Development and Institutional Affairs, APN Secretariat, email: [email protected]
- Linda Anne Stevenson, Head, Division of Communication and Scientific Affairs, APN Secretariat, email: [email protected]
- Xiaojun Deng, Programme Officer for Communication and Development, email: [email protected]