Venue: ICIMOD Headquarters, Kathmandu, Nepal

Date: 13–14 June 2019

Contacts: Parth Sarathi Mahapatra and Siva Praveen Puppala

Type: Workshop

Programme: Atmosphere

Background

Recent advances in the field of air pollution research, specifically in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), highlight the fact that the problem extends beyond local concerns to transboundary issues. With pollutants reaching alarming levels, there are far-reaching and hazardous consequences on environmental and human health. Although air pollution has caught the attention of the public and policymakers, a considerable gap still exists in the general understanding regarding the health impacts of air pollution in the HKH region, considering the wide range of air pollution sources, pollution transport, exposure patterns, and the region’s complex geography. The lack of coordination among different organizations working on similar air pollution-related research is a significant problem. Further, the research being undertaken within the region at times is so incoherent that it is difficult for policy makers to formulate impactful, focused policy. Accordingly, it is necessary to facilitate a platform for collaboration and sharing among relevant stakeholders and researchers in different aspects of air pollution and public health, primarily in Nepal and broadly in the HKH region.

A regional workshop on air pollution and health in Nepal and the HKH is therefore being organized by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) – an intergovernmental organization focusing on regional issues in the mountains and downstream areas of the HKH and the Tibetan Plateau – and the University of Nottingham from 13 to 14 June 2019 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop will bring together medical practitioners, atmospheric scientists, sociologists, and policy makers from across the region to discuss and communicate the current scientific consensus on air quality and the health impacts of air pollution.

Objectives

• Gather existing knowledge on air quality and health within Nepal and facilitate South–South learning from elsewhere in the HKH
• Identify the research gaps in air quality and health in Nepal
• Build future collaborations with likeminded people to strengthen air quality and health research in the HKH

Proposed Sessions

• Indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and health
• Occupational exposure to air pollution and health impacts
• Interdisciplinary approaches to air quality and health research
• Relation between air pollution and inflammation and oxidative stress

Abstract submission

Deadline: 10 May 2019

To participate in the workshop, applicants must submit an abstract by email to parth.mahapatra@icimod.org or nirmala.baduwal@icimod.org

All abstracts will be reviewed by a selection committee at ICIMOD’s Atmosphere Initiative. Only successful applicants will be notified via email by 15 May 2019.

Note: Enquiries regarding the status of application will not be entertained.

If you have any questions specific to the workshop, please write to: parth.mahapatra@icimod.org

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