APN’s Capacity Development Programme:

CAPaBLE

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5th International Coordination Group (ICG) MeetingGEOSS Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI)Tokyo, Japan 15-18 December 2009

Ms. Kristine GarciaCoordinator

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN)kgarcia@apn-gcr.org

Brief Overview of the APN

The CAPaBLE Programme

APN Capacity Building Activities

APN Activities in GEOSS

The Future

Outline

Brief Overview of the APN

Network consisting of both policy-makers and scientists to enhance research

APN decision-making always after thorough discussion among/with scientists

Collaborative research projects by or withthe participation of developing countries

Enable and encourage research and capacity building/enhancement projects based on both policy needs and scientific gaps.

AustraliaBangladeshCambodiaChinaFijiIndiaIndonesiaJapan*Lao PDRMalaysiaMongoliaNepal

New Zealand*PakistanPhilippinesRepublic of Korea*Russian FederationSri LankaThailandUnited States of America*Viet Nam

APN Members

*Financial contributorsPacific Island Countries and Singapore are

approved countries whose scientists are eligible to receive funding under APN awards.

APN Scientific Pillars

Annual Regional Call for Research

Proposals (ARCP)

Scientific Capacity Building and Enhancement for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries

(CAPaBLE) Programme

What is CAPaBLE?

Programme for Scientific Capacity Building and Enhancement for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries (CAPaBLE)Programme

A concrete initiative introduced by Prime Minister Koizumi through the Ministry of the Environment to realise parts 107 to 114 of the Plan of Implementation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD

Registered as a WSSD Type II Partnership/Initiative by the Japanese Government in Johannesburg, September 2002.

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CAPaBLE supports capacity development projects/ activities

Build the scientific capacity of aspiring

scientists through sharing of knowledge, experience,

scientific information and data collection on global change

impacts, vulnerabilities, adaptation and

mitigation

Improve informed decision-making in developing

countries by disseminating outcomes of research

activities to policy-makers and civil society

Enhance the capacity of leading

researchers in developing countries to produce

comprehensive scientific results on global change impacts, vulnerabilities,

adaptation and mitigation

OBJECTIVES

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Types of Activities Eligible for Funding:

Scientific capacity development for sustainable development

Scientific policy interfacing

Awareness raising activities

Dissemination activities

Since it was established, a total of 64 projects have been funded under the CAPaBLE Programme, 35 of which were evaluated during the CAPaBLE Phase 1 Evaluation and APN Second Strategic Phase Evaluation.

Currently, 12 projects are on-going including the 2 comprehensive research projects

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3 Years of Capacity Development and Research in under CAPaBLE

“In Review” highlights that CAPaBLE isPolicy relevant, developing capacity, creating partnerships, 

raising awareness, promoting sustainable societies. 

Trained over 300 scientists

Raised awareness of over 4000 people

Published over 50 peer-reviewed papers

CAPaBLE Phase One Evaluation

APN Completed Activities in Global Earth Observations

• In the GEOSS 10-year implementation plan endorsed at the 3rd EO Summit (2005), the APN noted that “….specific capacity building activities needed to be tailored to suit regional or local requirements…..”

• Based on this principle and following the GEO 2006 work plan, the APN organized 2 capacity building scoping workshops (climate SBA focus)

APN Activities in Earth Observations

The main objectives of these two Scoping Workshops were:

• To identify capacity building needs of the Asia-Pacific region necessary for research and monitoring related to global earth observations as well as climate change and its impacts;

• To identify the role of the APN in such research; and

• To underpin systematic observations and create road maps for designing ideas appropriate for capacity building activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

APN Activities in Earth Observations

Problematic situations related to global earthobservations and climate change research wereidentified:• Still considerable lack of observational data (meteorological, oceanographic,

socio-economic, etc.);• Lack of accessibility to existing data for researchers of the region;• Scarcity of experienced scientists, lack of scientific infrastructure; and• Lack of familiarity with relevant methods and models; and• Lack of outreach of policy makers.

Sectors identified as most vulnerable (not in any priorityorder):• Food and fibre; Biodiversity; Water resources; Coastal ecosystems; Human

health and settlements; and land degradation.

APN Activities in Earth Observations

The outputs of the scoping workshops were incorporated into the GEOSS “First One Hundred Steps”

presented at GEOIV in Cape Town, November 2007

APN Activities in Earth Observations

APN’s Exhibition at GEO III

28-29, November 2006, Bonn, Germany

APN Activities in Earth Observations

APN’s Exhibition at GEO VI Plenary

17-18 November 2009Washington, DC

APN-funded Project: International Integrated Water Data Access and Transfer in Asia (IIWaDATA)

Project

Project Leader: Toshio Koike (Univ. of Tokyo)

APN Activities in Earth Observations

• Led by Professor Koike of the University of Tokyo and funded for two years by the APN.

• The AWCI IIWaDATA project established a mutual consensus among participating countries and organizations that defines data sharing and exchanging policy and responsibilities for data processing, management and archiving.

• This strong cooperative framework was recognized by GEO as a GEOSS activity, incorporated into the GEOSS framework and is being developed further in the 2009-11 GEOSS Work Plan.

• This initiative has resulted in strong collaboration with APN and GEOSS/AWCI not only via APN’s funding mechanisms but through regular communications and dialogue.

APN Activities in Earth Observations

1st Joint APN & GEOSS/AWCI Scoping Workshop (April 2008)

• Proceedings (draft) published January 2009• Objective was to align water & climate

activities related to GEOSS • Focus quickly steered towards capacity building

needs of the region rather than research activities

• Potential for us to further enhance the dialogue, particularly in the area of the new WG Climate Impacts & Adaptation –focusing on training in model downscaling from global to basin-level.

• Expected that this will cut across a number of tasks and sub-tasks outlined in the 2009-11 GEOSS Workplan

CAPaBLE Phase 1: In Review

• CAPaBLE “In Review” Brochure which not only highlights GEO as an important partner (page 10), but also dedicates a full page (Page 6) to GEO-related activities.

APN ON-GOING Activities in Global Earth Observations

APN Activities in Earth Observations (2009-11: WA-06-07)

GEOSS/AWCI Observation Convergence and Data Integration• 2-year funded project under the CAPaBLE

programme• Project Leader: Chu Ishida (CEOP/JAXA)

The project follows-up on the data focus of the IIWaDATA project and is contributing to the development of a sustainable scheme for water cycle data collecting, sharing, exchanging, and management at the regional level in Asia in cooperation with national governments, institutes and research communities and also international organizations.

AIMS:

Flood Risk ManagementDemonstration Project (Phase 1) under theAWCI/GEOSS (FRM/AWCI/GEOSS) • 2-year funded project under ARCP• Project Leader: Kazuhiko Fukami (PWRI)

1. To convert observations and data, through space borne platforms and data integration initiatives, to usable information for flood reduction

2. To improve quantitative forecasts for coupled precipitation -flood-forecasting systems

3. To facilitate flood risk assessment through the provision of scenarios and data for exposure estimation

AIMS:

APN Activities in Earth Observations (2009-11: WA-06-07)

Capacity Building for DroughtMonitoring and Studying inMonsoon Asia under AWCI• 2-year funded project under

CAPaBLE programme• Project Leader: Dr. Ailikun (MAIRS, CAS)

AIMS:

1. To share and improve the drought monitoring capability in various Asian countries such as China, Pakistan, Thailand, Nepal and Philippines

2. To set up a drought monitoring and research network in related Asian countries.

3. To help develop early warning system for drought hazard in related countries

APN Activities in Earth Observations (2009-11: WA-06-07)

THE FUTURE

Special Side Event on Research Needs relating to the Convention

UNFCCC SBSTA 24 (19 May, 2006, Bonn)

Dr. Andrew Mathews, Steering Committee Chair of the APN (3rd from the right) underscored the need for commitments to continuing capacity development

and training for developing states

Future collaborative activities for data-sharing Asia-Pacific

At the 3rd AP GEOSS International Seminar, highlighted areas where APN can assist and collaborate in earth observations for global change

• Funding support for research and capacity building activities through the annual calls for proposals (CB…/DA…/WA…)

• Establishing channel/mechanism for sharing research results/accessing data, etc. (DA-06-01/DA-09-01)

• Training activities and technology transfer in the region in cooperation with other institutions (CB-09-02/CB-09-03)

• Encouraging involvement of scientists, end-users, decision-makers in the region in research and CB activities (ST

• Facilitating science-policy linkages • Linking with partner research programmes and facilitating

regional collaboration (ISDE6, GEO, AWCI, ICSU-ROAP etc)

APN’s goals for GCR are aligned with many regional & international networks

• Goal 1: Supporting regional cooperation in global change research on issues particularly relevant to the region

• Goal 2: Strengthening appropriate interactions among scientists and policy-makers, and providing scientific input to policy decision making and scientific knowledge to the public

• Goal 3: Improving the scientific and technical capabilities of nations in the region

• Goal 4: Cooperating with other global change networks and organisations

• Goal 5: Facilitating the development of research infrastructure and thetransfer of know-how and technology

A small selection of APN activities – generating, training in/with usage of data at all levels

• Training in Persisent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (led by UNU)• Development of urban modelling in mega-cities (UNU)• Climate modelling (GCM, RCMs), downscaling (GCISC) – both research-based and training• Climate Model Intercomparison• Water & Food security in the face of climate vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptation• Land-use/Land-cover (SEARRIN, LUTEA)• Synthesis of APN projects on LUCC and Coastal Zone Management• Training in writing proposals for APN funding• Training for national communications and GHG inventories• Climate-related training in cooperation with NIWA, APEC, UNFCCC, NIES, BoM, AIT• Disaster Management• Monsoon studies in cooperation with MAIRS and START• Training in Climate impacts and extreme events• Air quality and impacts on health; • Plethora of data from ground data to RS/GIS; high-resolution to low resolution, covering all scientific

themes• Projects that cover a wide-range of activities cross-cutting most of the nine GEOSS SBAs• Constant cooperation with ICSU-ROAP, IGBP, WCRP, DIVERSITAS, ESSP, etc• Creating user-science-policy networks for sustainable agriculture management• Peer-reviewed scientific publications and policy briefs

The list is endless……….

This year APN is writing its third strategic plan and we believe that this provides the perfect opportunity for the APN to strengthen its data sharing commitment for GCR in the region.

Key to Success

Continued success throughContinuous dialogueStrengthened partnershipsAmong all stakeholdersAt all Levels

Current APN Efforts which are addressing and answering to the needs of decision-makers on climate and global-change issues

APN and Hyogo international Symposium on Low Carbon Society

Challenge 25 Beyond Borders?: Promoting a

Low Carbon Society23 January 2010

Kobe, Japan

APN Climate Synthesis

The purpose of this project is to undertake asynthesis and review of all APN supported projectsin which climate change is featured as a majortheme. This will allow for the identification ofknowledge gaps and help prioritize research goals

and programmes relating to climate change in theAsia-Pacific region as well as provide knowledge onclimate change issues for policy- decision-making.The expected outcomes of this project are asynthesis report and an academic book which areexpected to be published in 2011 and 2012respectively; prior to the publication ofIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change FifthAssessment Report (IPCC AR5).

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