27 March 2015, Kathmandu, Nepal —The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) celebrates its accomplishments made in the past two decades and launches a new five-year strategic plan at its 20th annual Inter-Governmental Meeting/Scientific Planning Group (IGM/SPG) Meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Government of Nepal from 25–27 March 2015.
The IGM also approved new and continuing activities to be implemented in fiscal year 2015 (April 2015 to March 2016) that will connect researchers in the region in their effort to examine solutions to tackle the multiple challenges of global environmental change.
Third Strategic Phase Report
The IGM reviewed and approved the final draft of the APN’s Third Strategic Phase Report, which takes stock of the accomplishments from 2010 to 2015 and outlines the challenges it faces as it moves into the third decade of operations.
During the Third Strategic Phase the APN provided support for 132 projects, by which it has not only improved the research capabilities of nations in the region, but also connected researchers across border in underpinning policy-relevant research — over 69% of the activities had some form of science-policy mechanism to engage and connect scientists and decision makers.
Fourth Strategic Plan
The IGM approved the draft text of the Fourth Strategic Plan (2015-2020), laying out the science and institutional foundation for APN to continue playing an active role in the global endeavour of bringing countries together to take science-informed action in the face of global environmental change, the APN approved
The Strategic Plan, to be published together with the Third Strategic Phase Report soon after the IGM, presents an action agenda and a set of management approach that will support the implementation strategies toward achieving the goals set forth in the new Strategic Plan.
New Activities under the Climate Adaptation Framework and CAPaBLE Programme
The Meeting approved funding for 11 new projects (from 12 proposals) under the Climate Adaptation Framework and 8 new capacity development projects under its capacity building programme CAPaBLE, based on recommendations from its Scientific Planning Group (SPG) and Capacity Development Committee (CDC). The full results will be officially announced in April 2015. Funding for thirteen continuing ARCP projects and one continuing CAPaBLE projects were approved.
Celebrating 20 Years of Accomplishment
An interactive session entitled “Celebrating APN’s Accomplishments in its Third Strategic Phase (2010-2015),” where representatives of a number of outstanding APN-sponsored projects presented highlights of their projects and discussed with IGM participants how the outcomes contributed to the advancement of action-oriented science and policy development in addressing global change issue in the region. Representatives from IGPB, IPBES, and LCS-RNet/LoCARNet also provided updates on their respective organisations.
Poster Session and the Mitra Award for Global Change Research
A poster session was organised on Day 1 of the Meeting to provide an opportunity to fourteen Nepalese young scientists to present their work to the prominent experts and policy makers attending this international event. “Integration of object-based image analysis with machine learning algorithm for forest type classification in Nepal.” presented by Mr. Khanal Shiva was awarded the “Mitra Award for Global Change Research” in recognition of his outstanding work.
The Mitra award was created to honour the late Professor Emeritus Dr. Ashesh Proshad Mitra, a prominent member of the APN and SPG member for India from 1996 to 2007, who provided excellent scientific advice to the APN, particularly for its Science Agenda.
Strengthened Online Presence
To mark the beginning of a new Strategic Phase, the APN launched a new online service – Friends of APN (currently called “APN Alumni” at http://alumni.apn-gcr.org/), presenting a new way for hosting online researcher profiles and exchanging knowledge and ideas. The first activity to be organised using the platform, a global change photo contest, will be launched shortly after the IGM.
The APN website (www.apn-gcr.org) and E-Lib (www.apn-gcr.org/resources) were also redesigned to convey the message of a new beginning with the start of the Fourth Strategic Phase.
A number of interactive visualisations and multimedia content (www.apn-gcr.org/visual/) were released as part of the 20th anniversary celebration.
For more information please contact:
Dr. Linda Anne Stevenson, Head, Division of Communication and Scientific Affairs, APN Secretariat, email:[email protected]
Mr. Yukihiro Imanari, Head, Division of Development and Institutional Affairs, APN Secretariat, email:[email protected]
Mr. Xiaojun Deng, Programme Officer for Communication and Development, email: [email protected]
