Bangkok--9 Jul--Asian Institute of Technology
The Asian Institute of Technology on 9 June 2015 renewed its partnership with Japan by signing a landmark Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with H.E. Hideka Morimoto, Deputy Vice Minister, Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ).
Japan's Ministry of Environment to second new director to RRC.AP, and fund US$ 1.2 Mil to AIT in 2015 . Through the agreement, MOEJ will second one of its top professional executives to serve as the Director of AIT's Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP) for a term of three years.
In addition, MOEJ will fund more than US$ 1.2 million worth of projects in 2015, including capacity building activities under the Asia-Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN), of which RRC.AP has been a core technical partner since its inception. Other partners of APAN include the Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and UNEP.
Set up in 1989 as a collaboration between AIT and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), RRC.AP has served for 25 years as a cost-effective outreach center of the United Nation's specialized agency.
It has developed and disseminated environmental and statistical datasets and prepared quantitative assessments, state of the environment reports, scientific reports and reports for policy matters linked to environmental issues.
Starting in July, RRC.AP will be integrated into AIT operations at the same level as its other institute centers such as AIT Extension, AIT Consulting, the Nanotechnology Center of Excellence and the Geoinformatics Center.
The new RRC.AP Director funded by the MOEJ will assume office on July 20, after completing an official overseas posting at the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) based in New York City.
"We should be thankful to AIT Vice President for Resources Development, Professor Kazuo Yamamoto, who spearheaded the deal leading to this landmark agreement," said AIT President Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai.
"Not only it will bolster operations at the RRC.AP, now operating as an AIT institute-wide center, but it serves as a significant starting point for renewed partnership with the Government of Japan," the president added.
Photo caption: Professor Kazuo Yamamoto