9-1 ESTABLISHING OF THE EAST ASIA CENTRE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE

9-1

Project Scope and Relationship to China's Agenda 21

This project, based on programme area 2B of China's Agenda 21, will contribute to international cooperation on global environmental change with relevance to capacity building for sustainable development by providing training, research, technology, and information systems (Chapters 6 and 20E).

1. Background

Global environmental change poses a challenge for the sustainable development of human society. To maintain the earth as the global life-support system needed for human survival will require international and interdisciplinary cooperation, and cooperation between scientific communities and governments.

In recent years, the international scientific community has developed three major research programmes which address the needs to reduce scientific uncertainties related to global environmental change: the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change Programme (HDP). These organizations have developed a Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training (START) to promote the participation of all nations of the world, especially developing countries, in work on global environmental change. One of the main aims of START is to establish a series of regional research centres mainly in the developing countries to build the capacity of these countries to deal with regional and global environmental problems through regional and international cooperation. The East Asia Centre for Global Change proposed in this project is one of 14 regional centres of START.

East Asia, due to its unique geographical and social-economic conditions, constitutes one of the most sensitive regions in relation to the global climate and environmental changes. Enhancing the monitoring and analysis capacity in this region has global significance for the prediction of future environmental changes. Furthermore, this region is one of the most densely populated areas of the world and human activities in this region may have significant impacts on the global environment.

China has been involved in the international global change programme and has contributed to the development of these programmes. Over the last decade, China has established a national network of meteorological satellite receiving stations and has aircraft equipped for remote sensing. Scientific research includes a series of important projects in global change under the national fundamental science program, for example "Prediction on the future trend of living environment changes in China during the next 20-50 years," and "Global climate change: prediction, impact, and measures." These projects address problems not only important for China but also for the globe. These long-term efforts have laid a solid foundation in China for monitoring, measuring, analysing, and modelling of global changes at the national, regional, and global levels.

2. Objectives

• Long-term Objectives
  • The East Asia Centre for Global Change will promote collaboration on common environmental problems restricting sustainable development for the countries in the region, the networking of existing monitoring systems, and sharing of data and information.

• Immediate Objectives

  • To establish the East Asia Centre for Global Change.
  • To establish a networking monitoring system for global change in the region.
  • To develop a high resolution climate-ecosystem-economic interaction model with the capacity to simulate the regional environmental changes and their impacts on the development of social economy.
  • To develop strategic proposals for the major issues of regional environmental problems.

3. Activities

• 3.1 Promote the planning activities of the START Regional Committee for Temperate East Asia (TEACOM) and develop a detailed plan and implementation strategy for the establishment of the East Asia Centre for Global Change, which include:
  • Strengthening and speeding up full operation of the TEACOM Secretariat in China;
  • Compiling an inventory of global change projects for dissemination to all countries in the region;
  • Compiling an inventory of institutions and agencies which are currently involved in global change research and management in all countries of the region;
  • Compiling an inventory of key individual scientists and senior managers in the region who are working in the area of global environmental change;
  • Developing an implementation project for the establishment of the East Asia Centre and the regional network;
  • Forming an international scientific steering committee for the East Asia Centre.

  To implement these activities, the State Science and Technology Commission (SSTC) will organize the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to take charge of this activity in collaboration with TEACOM.

  The duration of activity will be 12 months.

• 3.2 Network the monitoring systems for regional and global environmental changes based on space and ground observation stations in the region.
  • A communication networking system, based on satellite monitoring (GMS/Japan, FY/China, METEOR/Russia, and NOAA/USA) and ground receiving stations in the region, will be established to enable the countries of the region to share remote sensing products for monitoring and research.
  • To implement these activities, the SSTC will organize the Space Remote Sensing Centre of the CAS and the Meteorological Satellite Centre of China Meteorological Administration (MSC/CMA), which will work in collaboration with countries of the region and related international organizations. The duration of activity will be 48 months.
  • A ground monitoring system will be established, and will be based on the existing ground stations sited on land, islands and oceans over the countries of the region. The regional networking system will work through a high quality communications system to allow the countries of the region to share data and information from all stations of the region for environmental monitoring.
  • To implement these activities the SSTC will organize the CMA, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), and National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), which will work in collaboration with relevant agencies of the East Asia countries. The duration of activity will be 48 months.
  • The terrestrial ecosystem observation network will be established based on the existing ecological research network operated by CAS. Other representative ecological stations under the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Forestry, etc. and representative stations in other East Asia countries will be included. An East Asia terrestrial and coastal zone ecosystems network will also be established.
  • To implement these activities, the SSTC will organize the CAS and related ministries, which will work in collaboration with relevant agencies of the countries in the region. The duration of activity will be 48 months.

• 3.3 Establish an East Asia networking system for data and information on global change, based on the World Data Centre-D and Chinese Sub-Centre of CODATA, which includes:
  • Establishment of an inventory of environmental data (including air, soil, water, and living things) available in the countries of the region;
  • Establishment of an Electronic Communication Facilities for networking and sharing data and information in the region.
  • To implement these activities, the SSTC will organize the WDC-D and Chinese Sub-Centre of CODATA, in cooperation with CMA, SOA, NEPA, the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), and the relevant agencies of East Asia countries. The duration of activity will be months.

• 3.4 Further develop the high resolution regional climate model, coupled with ecological, hydrological, and economic models.

  • To implement these activities, the SSTC will organize the CAS to take charge of this project with cooperation of MWR, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and other relevant agencies, universities, and countries of the region. The duration of activity will be 36 months.

• 3.5 Plan an International School for Global Change based on Graduate Schools of both the CAS and CASS, in which a series of training course will be arranged at different levels, with the following suggested subjects: Frontiers of Global Change Science, methodology to develop regional data sets for global warming and its impact, application of satellite information for global change monitoring and research, and regional environment models.

  To implement these activities, the SSTC will organize the CAS and CASS to carry out this project with the support from international organizations, such as the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations University (UNU). The duration of activity will be 48 months.

• 3.6 Organize the studies in the preceding activity for comprehensive analysis on key environmental issues in East Asia.

  To implement these activities, the SSTC will organize the CAS and other relevant institutions to carry out this project in collaboration with TEACOM. The duration of activity will be 48 months.

4. Inputs

• 4.1 Chinese Inputs
  • Personnel, equipment and facilities of existing monitoring stations of satellite, land surface, ocean and ecosystems, and funds for activity 3.2;
  • Research staff and facilities in national laboratories and other institutions in the CAS and other ministries and universities;
  • Existing computer facilities which can be used for data procession and model computation, and funds for the establishment of high quality networking system of work stations for activities 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4;
  • Existing data and information system and funds for the establishment of the electronic communication facilities to be used for their networking;
  • Existing classrooms and dormitories in the graduate schools of both the CAS and CASS and funds for improving the training facilities and for running the courses.

• 4.2 International cooperation
  • Expense for experts (US$ 0.8 million), including cost for invited experts to work and deliver lectures in China and other countries of the region; costs for regional planning meetings, workshops, etc.
  • Instruments and facilities (US$ 3.6 million), including updating the instruments for measurement, analysis, communication, and data transfer and procession, computer work stations or model development, and office facilities and training facilities.
  • Data and information (US$ 2.0 million), including data collection, exchange, compilation, purchase, storage, publication, and information exchange, transfer and communication.
  • Personnel training (US$ 1.5 million), including cost for the delivery of all kinds of training courses, living and travel expenses for teachers and students, publication lecture materials, as well as includes fellowships for young scientists to work in some national laboratories and institutions.

This project will contribute to capacity building for global change and sustainable development in the East Asia region, primarily in the developing countries. It will establish a high level international agency -- the East Asia Centre for Global Change -- with capabilities to monitor, analyze, model, and predict important regional environmental problems which are the main constraint to sustainable development in the region. This will enable decision makers to make the relevant policy changes and responses. The project will also help train a large number of senior experts and managers who are qualified to have the responsibility for responding to environmental problems.