S. Korea-funded monitoring stations to improve air quality in Laos

The government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) is supporting the government of Laos with the provision of air quality monitoring stations(AQMS) as a part of its comprehensive strategic partnership cooperation between ASEAN and the ROK.
Under the Clean Air for Sustainable ASEAN (CASA) project funded by the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund (AKCF) launched from January 2023, the initiative aims to ensure a good quality environment and healthy populations in the ASEAN region, including in Laos.

Director General of the Natural Resources and Environment Research Institute of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Lienxay Bounmanivanh (centre), leads a ribbon-cutting at the handover ceremony of the air quality monitoring station in Vientiane on Wednesday.

The project has allocated four stations for Laos, with the first station being located in Vientiane, the second in Vangvieng district of Vientiane province, and the other two in Luang Prabang and Pakxe City of the province of Champassak.
The Vientiane-based AQMS was officially handed over on Wednesday (August 14), with senior ministry officials, officials from the Vientiane Capital office, CASA Project Management Unit, and representatives of the Embassy of the ROK in Laos attending the event.
The Minister-counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Mr Jongmin Kim, said the government of the Republic of Korea places a strong priority on addressing pollution in ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific region.
ASEAN and the ROK have a longstanding relationship which has been upgraded to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership and there will be an important celebration this October to mark ASEAN and RoK as dialogue partners.
“RoK plans to further contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth in the ASEAN region and the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund is one of the tools for implementing cooperation in the years ahead,” he said.
He also hoped that the project would help to provide a better quality of life for everyone in the ASEAN region, especially for the people of Laos.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Director General of the Natural Resources and Environment Research Institute of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Lienxay Bounmanivanh, said “This station will play a vital role in monitoring air quality in Vientiane and will provide real-time data and accurate information about environmental conditions in Vientiane.”

Prof. Kiyoung Lee,Professor, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University Principal Investigator of the CASA project.	Mr. Kim Jongmin, Minister-Counsellor.

In addition, the Principal Investigator of the CASA project from the Graduate School of Public Health at Seoul National University, Professor Kiyoung Lee, mentioned that the CASA initiative is supported by the government of the Republic of Korea for ASEAN member states, including Laos.
“Our goal is to provide clean air in all ASEAN member states and to provide comprehensive support to all governments to ensure cleaner and healthier air. ASEAN is heavily populated and faces a lot of challenges with respect to air quality, so the CASA project will use scientific approaches to mitigate air pollution in this region,” he said.
The newly-allocated AQMS in Laos will enable the collection of information about the impacts and accuracy of air quality and are expected to ensure cleaner air and better health for the Lao people.
The four monitoring stations, funded by the government of the Republic of Korea and valued at over US$100,000, will all be operational in September, according to Mr Lienxay. Also, there will be additional capacity building and training activities to strengthen the air quality management capacity of the ASEAN member states as part of the CASA project.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update August 15, 2024)