KOICA-Environmental Science Institute-UNESCAP-Korea Environment Corporation 4-Party Partnership Agreement
Ground Observation Network Construction and Technology Transfer Planned for Joint Use of Environmental Satellite Observation Data
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA signed a four-party partnership on the 27th at its headquarters in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do to fully promote the ‘Asia Environmental Satellite Joint Utilization Platform Construction Project’ with the National Institute of Environmental Research, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), and the Korea Environment Corporation.
The ‘Asia Environmental Satellite Joint Utilization Platform Construction Project’ is a project to jointly utilize observation data from the world’s first geostationary environmental satellite, ‘Chollian Satellite 2B,’ independently developed by Korea and launched last February, with 13 Asian countries to improve air quality. Participating countries include Nepal, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Chollian Satellite 2B continuously observes the occurrence and movement of air pollutants such as fine dust over the Korean Peninsula and East Asia, with an observation range extending east to Japan, west to eastern India, north to southern Mongolia, and south to Indonesia.
According to this four-party partnership, KOICA plans to promote the ‘Asia Environmental Satellite Joint Activity Platform Construction Project’ with a budget of 4 million USD (approximately 4.5 billion KRW) from this year through 2023, in cooperation with the National Institute of Environmental Research, which oversees the Environmental Satellite Center, the Korea Environment Corporation, which has expertise in the environmental field, and UN ESCAP, which has networks and experience in economic and technical support within the Asia-Pacific region.
As part of the project, KOICA will install a total of 20 ground observation devices called Pandora in 13 countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mongolia to establish the Pandora Asia Network. The information collected through Pandora will play a key role in enhancing the accuracy of regional air environment research data along with satellite data.
Additionally, KOICA plans to dispatch domestic and international experts to support policy research and development for air quality improvement in the 13 partner countries and build software for equipment operation. Environmental experts from these countries will also be invited to Korea to transfer satellite data utilization, air quality management technology, and know-how.
Im Ki-young, President of KOICA, stated, “Air pollution ranks as the fifth leading cause of death among residents in the Asia-Pacific region, significantly threatening the quality of life in the area,” and added, “Since it is difficult to improve the air environment through the efforts of a single country, I hope this project will contribute to restoring blue skies on a global scale beyond Asia.”
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