2. Economic development in Asia is accompanied by adverse environmental impacts. More evidence is becoming available on the harmful impact of air pollution on public health in Asia and the associated economic and social costs. According to the Word Health Organization (WHO), the overall number of premature deaths due to ambient airpollution in Asia is about 500,000 peryear. The associated economic costs due to premature deaths and other impacts of air pollution run into hundreds of millions of dollars for each Asian mega-city Asian countries and cities have started to address air pollution They, however, in many cases continue to rely on the assistance of international development agencies and nongovemment organizations to address the challenges of local air pollution, transboundary airpollution, and the increase of greenhouse gases. The development community has responded positively Proof of this is the more than 20 regional initiatives and programs working on air quality issues in the asian region. There is little coordination and cooperation among these initiatives. It is not unusual to discover initiatives and programs implementing projects covering similar themes and focusing on similar cities or countries. In order to effectively address air pollution issues in Asia, there is a need for these initiatives and programs to coordinate and cooperate with each other and to start a dialogue on the air quality management priorities for Asia. The Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities(CAl-Asia) promotes the strengthening ofair qual ity management in Asia by sharing experiences and building partnerships. To promote dialogue among the regional initiatives and programs on aQM, CAl-Asia is organizing the First Coordination Meeting of Regional Programs and Initiatives on Air Quality Management in Asia. CAI-Asia collected in May-June 2004 information on the regional initiatives in Asia and their air quality projects The objective of the data collection was to determine the geographic and thematic scope of these intiatives, as well as possible overlaps. The results of the survey have been collated into the first draft of the Compendium of air Quality management Projects in Asia. The data collected will also be accessible through the CAl-Asia website at tupi//www.cleanairnet.org/calasla OBJECTIVES The objectives of the coordination meeting are to identify air qual ity management priorities for Asia and to strengthen the coordination and cooperation among regional EXPECTED OUTPUTS During the meeting, the results of the regional initiatives survey carried out by CAI-Asia will be presented. The presentation inchudes a geographic and thematic analysis of the regional air quality initiatives. Ample time is allotted for discussion on the expected outputs of the meeting: (1)the future AQM priorities for regional initiatives interms of thematic and geographical coverage, (2) mechanisms for better sharing of information between and among initiatives leading to a common knowledge base, (3)mechanisms for improved coordination in the implementation2．Economic development in Asia is accompanied by adverse environmental impacts. More evidence is becoming available on the harmful impact of air pollution on public health in Asia and the associated economic and social costs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the overall number of premature deaths due to ambient air pollution in Asia is about 500,000 per year. The associated economic costs due to premature deaths and other impacts of air pollution run into hundreds of millions of dollars for each Asian mega-city. Asian countries and cities have started to address air pollution. They, however, in many cases continue to rely on the assistance of international development agencies and nongovernment organizations to address the challenges of local air pollution, transboundary air pollution, and the increase of greenhouse gases. The development community has responded positively. Proof of this is the more than 20 regional initiatives and programs working on air quality issues in the Asian region. There is little coordination and cooperation among these initiatives. It is not unusual to discover initiatives and programs implementing projects covering similar themes and focusing on similar cities or countries. In order to effectively address air pollution issues in Asia, there is a need for these initiatives and programs to coordinate and cooperate with each other and to start a dialogue on the air quality management priorities for Asia. The Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) promotes the strengthening of air quality management in Asia by sharing experiences and building partnerships. To promote dialogue among the regional initiatives and programs on AQM, CAI-Asia is organizing the First Coordination Meeting of Regional Programs and Initiatives on Air Quality Management in Asia. CAI-Asia collected in May – June 2004 information on the regional initiatives in Asia and their air quality projects. The objective of the data collection was to determine the geographic and thematic scope of these initiatives, as well as possible overlaps. The results of the survey have been collated into the first draft of the Compendium of Air Quality Management Projects in Asia. The data collected will also be accessible through the CAI-Asia website at http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia. OBJECTIVES The objectives of the coordination meeting are to identify air quality management priorities for Asia and to strengthen the coordination and cooperation among regional programs and initiatives. EXPECTED OUTPUTS During the meeting, the results of the regional initiatives survey carried out by CAI-Asia will be presented. The presentation includes a geographic and thematic analysis of the regional air quality initiatives. Ample time is allotted for discussion on the expected outputs of the meeting: (1) the future AQM priorities for regional initiatives in terms of thematic and geographical coverage, (2) mechanisms for better sharing of information between and among initiatives leading to a common knowledge base, (3) mechanisms for improved coordination in the implementation [top] [top]