Partners
UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific, Asian Institute of Technology

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. In the Asia-Pacific Region, UNEP’s Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA) is implemented through the facility of UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and Pacific (RRC.AP), which is situated within the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand. AIT is an international graduate institution of higher learning with a mission to develop highly qualified and committed professionals that will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy. RRC.AP envisions being the key agency to service the needs on environment data and information in the region. Towards this goal, RRC.AP's three necessary elements for implementation include: the establishment of a collaborative assessment network; technical backstopping on information technology for the network and data archiving dissemination; and assistance with State of the Environment reports (SoE's) at national, sub-regional, regional and global levels, as well as the establishment of knowledge base as emerging issues of concern. At present, RRC.AP is focusing on four early warning issues including glacial lake outbursts and flooding (GLOF), water, land cover and air. In addition RRC.AP produces assessment reports and developes Early Warning Systems. Web address: www.rrcap.unep.org Component Areas: At the RRC.AP, there are three components in the DEWA programme that is carried out, they include: Assessment and reporting: In partnership with sub-regional institutions, regular sub-regional State of the Environment (SoE) reporting and assessment aggregated from national SoE reports are being prepared to identify common issues of concern and emerging issues that cut across national boundaries. Based on the recommendation of the RRC.AP Advisory Committee, knowledgebase is being established for the four early warning issues: GLOF, water, land cover and air pollution. Land cover assessment analysis is directed towards the detection and monitoring of ecologically important vegetation types, and the detection of "hot spot" areas. Capacity building and servicing: Capacity building activities at the national level are aimed at developing, strengthening and making operational the decentralized networks of distributed database. National activities are implemented in collaboration and partnership with the Collaborative Assessment Network (CAN) composed of Partners, Subregional Intergovernmental Bodies, GRID Centres, and Collaborating Institutions. Data management: The center is continuously strengthening its facility and provides assistance to improve accessibility and availability of reliable data in the region. SUMERNET representative: Mr Surendra Shrestha Regional Director Surendra.Shrestha@rrcap.unep.org

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