A kickoff workshop of "A Study on Urban Air Quality Improvement in Asia" Focusing on PM2.5

Deteriorating air quality caused by rapid development has become a serious problem in many cities in Asia. The research will focus on particulate matter, or PM2.5, which refers to suspended particulate matter up to 2.5 micrometers (one one-thousandth of 2.5 mm) in diameter. These particulates potentially cause respiratory disease and circulatory disease. Despite the need to adopt measures to counter them, in determining the actual state of PM2.5 emissions, generation and airborne concentration, to date, no policy research specializing in PM2.5 has been carried out in the Asian region. For this reason, JICA-RI Director Ichiro Tambo explained that this project is "a highly significant study that focuses on a new issue common to all of Asia."

The authors include research fellows at JICA-RI, staff at the JICA Global Environment Department, researchers in Japan, and experts from China, South Korea, and other Asian countries. At the workshop, JICA-RI Deputy Director Naohiro Kitano gave an outline of the research, while participants discussed their research efforts to date, and their planned research framework and design. From these discussions, they concluded to have two research directions: the scientific data analysis and the policy research. Researchers will write working papers summarizing their research in their respective fields of expertise.