Outcome of the 25th Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET)

(1) Date: November 29 and 30, 2023
(2) Venue: Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Online
(3) Participants:
Delegates from the 13 Participating Countries of EANET (Japan, Kingdom of Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Republic of Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Kingdom of Thailand, and Socialist Republic of Vietnam), UNEP, EANET Secretariat, EANET Network Center
From Japan, officials from the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan, participated in IG25.

(1) Adoption of EANET projects
At this meeting, ten projects, including the following three projects led and developed by Japan, were adopted as EANET projects.
(i) Promoting VOCs related Capacity Building in the EANET
(ii) Methodology Study for Development of LCS Hybrid Air Quality Monitoring Network (HAQMN)
(iii) Seminar on Sustainable Nitrogen Management

(2) Strengthening of the operating/administrative structure for the EANET
(i) Work Program and Budget for EANET Project Plans for 2024
Drafts of work program and budget for the EANET Secretariat and the EANET Network Center for 2024 were deliberated and approved.
(ii) Revised Guidelines on the Administrative and Financial Management for the Secretariat, the Network Center, as well as Project and Project Fund.
Japan proposed revision of these sets of guidelines, including performance-based management of projects and a simplified format for project proposals. An agreement was reached to revise the guidelines at the beginning of 2024, following the final confirmation by the Participating Countries.

(3) Medium-Term Plan (MTP)
The interim evaluation of the current MTP (2021-2025) was presented by evaluator and discussed among the Participating Countries.
Japan proposed to include climate change-related substances currently not covered in the scope of activities of the EANET, such as methane and black carbon, in the scope under the next MTP (2026-2030), and also proposed including capacity building as core activities of the EANET. A consensus was reached among the Participating Countries to consider Japan's proposal in the course of discussion toward formulating the next MTP.

(4) Outcome of the Tripartite Policy Dialogue on Air Pollution (TPDAP)
The outcome of the 10th Tripartite Policy Dialogue on Air Pollution (TPDAP) held in September 2023 was shared with the EANET Participating Countries.

(5) Next IG in 2024
It was announced that the next IG in 2024 will be hosted by Malaysia and held in Kuala Lumpur.

MOE Japan will continue to actively work to fulfill and strengthen the activities of the EANET as an important organization for atmospheric environment administration in the East Asia region.