25. 4. 9.
The Mid-term Meeting of CASA Project
The Mid-term Meeting of Clean Air for Sustainable ASEAN (CASA) Project, led by Professor Lee Ki-Young of Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, was held on 8-9 April at the Koreana Hotel in Seoul. The meeting was well attended by the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities National Focal Point (AWGESC NFP), the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN-Korea Programme Management Team (AKPMT), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the embassies of AMS in Seoul, the Korea Institute for Health and Environment, international organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Green Growth Initiative (GGGI), and other national and international collaborating research institutions.
The CASA project, which is funded by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF) from 2023 to 2026, is an environmental health project that analyses the sources and health impacts of air pollution in 10 ASEAN Member States and provides various support to achieve cleaner air quality. The mid-term meeting aimed to review the key achievements of CASA project, identify challenges and solutions for project implementation, plan future activities, and visit the air quality monitoring and management system in Seoul.
Starting with the congratulatory remarks by H.E. Ambassador Park Yoon Joo, Head of Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN and Dr. Vong Sok of ASEAN Secretariat, the participants shared and discussed the progress and achievements of each project output and AMS. The participants discussed the issues, needs, and future improvements related to the research activities in each country, including the analysis of source apportionment analysis, health impact assessment of air pollution, and situation analysis of air quality. In terms of Air Quality Monitoring Station (AQMS) support, Lao PDR (4), Brunei Darussalam (2), Thailand (1), and Cambodia (3) have completed the installation of AQMS to date, and activities related to capacity building were shared, including high-level and practitioner-level forums and workshops.
The Mid-term Meeting reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN-Korea cooperation and the significance of the CASA project to the environmental sector, including climate change and air quality, in ASEAN Member States. In his closing remarks, Professor Lee emphasized the need for close cooperation among stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the CASA project and maximise its outcomes in the remaining period of the project.
