Summary report on
The 6th International Coordination Group (ICG) Meeting of the GEOSS Asian
Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI)
held
at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel, Bali, Indonesia, 13 March 2010.
(Final draft: 2 June 2010)

The Sixth GEOSS AWCI ICG meeting was planned and undertaken to accelerate the
GEOSS/AWCI coordination focusing on promotion of regional cooperation on climate change
adaptations that was recognized as one of the main challenges of AWCI at the Fifth GEOSS AWCIICG meeting held in Tokyo, Japan, December 2009. About 40 participants from 16 countries
assembled during the meeting and discussed the topics included on the meeting agenda thatreflected the outcomes of the 5th AWCI ICG meeting. The result of those discussions is summarized inthis report. All of the presentation material provided by the participants at the meeting is available ontheInternetthroughthemeeting
home
page
at:
http://www.editoria.utokyo.ac.jp/awci/6th/presentation.html.
1. Executive Summary of Main Issues/Conclusions and Actionsth

The meeting was held in conjunction with the 4 GEOSS Asian Pacific Symposium that took
place at the same venue, 10 – 12 March 2010 and included a special parallel session on“Hydrometeorological-Related Disaster and Water Resources Management” to which AWCI
participating countries and working groups significantly contributed.
A brief executive summary of the AWCI ICG meeting and GEOSS AP water-related session is
given in this section, further details follows in sections 2.1 and 2.2 below.
1.1 Hydrometeorological-Related Disaster and Water Resources Management Session
The GEOSS Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI), including its four working groups on floods,
droughts, water quality and climate change, has been building a regionally cooperative framework by
involving experts from 20 countries. The focus is on sharing data, models, experiences andknowledge and on implementing capacity-development programs. Participants considered further
convergence and harmonization of observational activities, analytical and down-scaling techniques,interoperability arrangements, and effective and comprehensive data management as the mostfundamental elements for mobilizing the efforts by AWCI to create societal benefits.
The participants in the session on Hydrometeorological-Related Disaster and Water
Resources Management requests the Beijing Ministerial Summit to recognize the direction andachievements of AWCI as one of the most effective regional approaches for climate change
adaptation and to endorse its activities at the national and regional levels for improving the efficiency
of operational water resources management.
1th

1.2 The 6 GEOSS/AWCI International Coordination Group Meeting
The meeting reviewed accomplished and on-going activities and recognized good progress inall four working groups – flood, drought, water quality, and climate change. In particular,
demonstration project data submissions, data quality control, and also metadata registration has
progressed significantly since the last reporting period. The demonstration project activities inindividual basins have been launched and have advanced in concert with the GEOSS/AWCI
implementation plan. Also implementation planning in the three focus areas – (i) typhoon, cyclone,
and induced floods; (ii) drought; and (iii) snow, glacier, and GLOF – has progressed and concrete
activities are proposed aimed toward climate change impact assessment and adaptation strategies.
Owing to the well populated DIAS archive including the demonstration basin data, global datasets
and in particular climate projection model outputs, opportunities have arisen for climate change
impact assessment and adaptation studies. Implementation chart for such studies was proposed andagreed by the participants (Fig. 8 on page 15 below).
The GEOSS/AWCI capacity building program continues in successful implementation of anumber of training modules that are based on identified needs in the region as well as individual
countries. The web-based interactive repository of available modules and proposed seminars that wasdeveloped by UNU is a very supportive tool that facilitates better coordination in planning the events.
Also newly suggested web tutorials of individual training modules will be available through thiswebsite. The proposed further direction of the CB program is toward integration of research, capacity
development and applications including capacity development programs for training a large number ofcompetent persons and higher education research.
Two short training courses were held on the DIAS data quality check and metadata
registration tools and the ICHARM flood management system IFAS, respectively. Metadata
registration was accomplished for several basins during the practical exercise of the DIAS tool course.
th

The 4 Asian Water Cycle Symposium was proposed be held before the GEO Ministerial
Summit in November 2010, most probably in October in Tokyo, Japan, in conjunction with a related
ministerial-level meeting organized by MLIT, Japan. Confirmation and further details will beannounced in due course.
Concluding messages were formulated:
Although climate change adaptation requires socially and economically efficient andsustainable management of the world's limited supplies of freshwater, this precious resource cannot
be managed unless we know where the water is, its quantity and quality, and how its variability willchange in the future.
This knowledge base relies upon our ability to measure and monitor precipitation, water
quantity and quality and our continued efforts to improve our physical, chemical, biological, andecological understanding of the water cycle.
Based on the reports and discussions at the GEOSS-AP symposium and the ICG meeting,the participants recognized the commonality and regionality of water-related issues and socioeconomic impacts caused by water-related problems associated with the climate change in the AsiaPacific region.
It was agreed that well-coordinated scientific research initiatives along with a combination of
global Earth observations and integrated data provided by GEOSS are essential to adequately
address these issues.
Message to the GEO ministerial summit:
The Summit is requested to recognize the direction and achievements by GEOSS/AWCI as
one of the most effective regional approaches for climate change adaptations and to endorse its
activities in each country and the Asia-Pacific region in improving the efficiency of operational water
resources management.

2.1 Hydrometeorological-Related Disaster and Water Resources Management – full report
Floods, droughts and water pollution are commonly severe problems in Asia-Pacific region. In
addition to the rapid population growth and urban expansion, climate change is changing the water2

cycle. The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
projected more frequent heavy precipitation events, an increase in the area affected by drought, andmore intense tropical cyclones (typhoons and hurricanes) associated with global warming (IPCC,
2007). Changes in water resources, from melting glaciers to increased floods, droughts, and sea levelrise, amongst others, will impact significantly on socio-economic development and the environment in
unprecedented ways. GEOSS is strongly expected to provide usable information for sound decision
making on climate change adaptations in the field of water resources management.
The objective of this parallel session was to review various plans and on-going actions in the
Asia-Pacific regions and discuss how to cooperate and coordinate regionally and globally in order toaccelerate sharing of implementation experiences, as well as data product availability andrequirements of contributing systems within GEOSS.
The session agenda
Morning session: Co-Chairs: Rick Lawford & Leonarda B. Ibnu Said
09:00-09:10
09:00-09:05
09:05-09:15

Opening Water Session
Welcome and introduction to session Objectives
Session Co-Chairs
Introduction to Hydrometeorological-Related Disaster and Water Resources
Management
Toshio Koike (University of Tokyo (UT))

09:15-09:50

Report form the 5th GEOSS/AWCI International Coordination Group Meeting
Drought
Rasul Ghulam (PMD)
Typhoon and Cyclone
Kazuhiko Fukami (ICHARM)
Snow, Glacier, and GLOF
Toshio Koike (UT)
Climate Change Adaptation
Mafizur Rahman (BUET)

10:00-12:00

Short country reports on “Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation”
GEOSS/AWCI participating countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia,
China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Afternoon session: Co-Chairs: Toshio Koike and Eddy Hermawan
13:00 – 14:00 Short reports on “What is on-going and/or planned”
Geo-Water
Rick Lawford (Canada)
Global Mapping
Shuhei Kojima (Japan)
Water Management
Hidayat Pawitan (MHI, Indonesia)
Indonesian Climate Model
Didi Satiadi (LAPAN, Indonesia)
14:00 – 15:40 Socio-Economic and Political Approach
APWF Water and Climate Change Steering Group
Policy-Science-Engineering Collaboration

Toshio Koike (Japan)
Wu Xun, Gopi Rethinaraj,
Priyanka Anand (NUS)
Water quality: an inseparable perspective of Disaster and Water Resources
Management
Bilqis A. Hoque (Bangladesh)
Discussion for Implementation
Moderators: Wu Xun, Gopi Rethinaraj (NUS)

15:40 – 16:00 Closing Session
Session summary
Closing remarks

Co-Chairs
Co-Chairs

Opening
The session was opened by session Co-Chairs Rick Lawford (GEO Water: IGWCO) andLeonarda B. Ibnu Said (Ministry of Public Work of Indonesia) who provided welcome remarks andstressed out the importance of regional collaboration for pursuing assessments of climate change
impacts on water resources and hydrometeorological-related hazards as well as for development andimplementation of adaptation plans.

3

Prof. Toshio Koike then introduced evolution of the Hydrometeorological-Related Disaster andWater Resources Management theme since the 3rd GEOSS Asian Pacific Symposium that was held in
Kyoto, Japan, February 2009. At that Symposium, participants discussed on how to cooperate andcoordinate among different societal benefit areas, Climate, Water cycle and Disasters, and to makeplans for carrying the ideas into actions. Four main focus areas were identified for collaboration
including: (i) Typhoon, cyclone, and induced floods, (ii) Drought, (iii) Cold surge, and (iv) Snow,glaciers, and GLOF. Nevertheless from the ensuing survey was concluded that the interest of
GEOSS/AWCI participating countries in the Cold surge is not as significant as in other three areas
and thus the Cold surge theme has not been considered for further discussion. On the other hand, theClimate Change adaptation issue has been brought up as an overarching, key focus of the
GEOSS/AWCI activities.
In general for all the proposed focus areas, key actions were proposed that included: (i)Activating modeling activity and accumulating knowledge, (ii) Promoting collaboration among data
integration centers, and (iii) Considering the characteristic meteorological environment in the
Equatorial region. Particular steps to implement the proposed activities were outlined:- Countries and organizations would submit proposal on the targeting topic(s)- A three-day workshop would be held in fall 2009 to discuss:
1. Sharing Societal Needs, Scientific Ideas, Observation Capability, Modeling Capability,
Experiences
2. Seeking Data Sharing Possibility: Data Policy, Meta Data Generation and Data Infrastructure
3. Establishing Cooperation Framework under GEO- Implementation Plan discussionth- Reporting to the 4 GEOSS AP Symposium in Bali, Indonesia, 2010
Per the proposed schedule, a four day meeting event was held in Tokyo, 15 – 18 Decemberth2009 that included the 5 GEOSS/AWCI ICG meeting, a part of which was the IWRA-GEOSS/AWCI
Joint Symposium, and the Joint Training Workshop on the Application of Remote Sensing Products
on Drought Monitoring in Asia. The meeting was directed “Toward regional and interdisciplinary
collaboration for addressing our common water-related issues in Asia by making maximum use of
GEOSS” and the discussion focused on collaboration with on-going AWCI Demonstration Projects
and with the Water Quality group, and on data and capacity building needs for promoting the activities.
The discussions were led in the context of Climate Change Adaptations and it was concluded that“End to End approach” (Fig. 1) was necessary for successful implementation of the envisioned
activities.
Further, Prof. Koike provided updated status of the GEOSS/AWCI Demonstration basins datasubmissions to the DIAS data system as well as the Demonstration Project implementation progress.
More than 70% of expected demonstration basin data has been submitted and quality-checked andmultiple studies have been carried out at these basins as part of Demonstration Projects. In addition,plenty of further data including in-situ and satellite observation data and model outputs is now
available at DIAS and can be exploited for implementing the GEOSS/AWCI activities.
thReport from the 5 GEOSS/AWCI ICG Meetingth
Outcomes of the discussions per individual focus areas at the 5 GEOSS/AWCI ICG Meetingwere presented during this session.
The Drought theme was represented by Dr. Ghulam Rasul who introduced its four main
objectives that include: (i) to build up a drought monitoring and researching network of member Asian
countries, (ii) to share and improve the drought monitoring data/capability in various Asian countries,(iii) to make a collaboration with the demonstration projects studying climate change, and (iv) to help
developing the early warning system of drought hazard in member countries. Objectives (i) and (ii) arenow being implemented using number of soil moisture observation stations in participating countries(Bangladesh, China, Mongolia, Pakistan, Vietnam) as well as satellite observation data (AMSR-E,
MODIS), while the latter ones will begin to be implemented in 2010. Closer collaboration withGEOSS/AWCI demonstration projects in participating countries is being sought and also linkages withthe water quality themes have been identified.
Dr. Kazuhiko Fukami presented the outcomes of the Typhoon and Cyclone theme
discussions. The targets and activities include: (i) to promote sharing state-of-the-art knowledge andcapacity building so as to reduce and mitigate flood disasters caused by typhoons/cyclones, throughFlood WG activities of GEOSS/AWCI, (ii) to promote climate change impact analysis on flood
disasters / water resources and policy-making for climate change adaptation strategy, (iii) to enhance
4

Figure 1: Scheme of the End to End Approach on Climate Change Adaptation
integrated flood/water resources management based on combined use of a state-of-the-art modelwith GEOSS data and in-situ data, and (iv) to share long-term historical meteorological andhydrological databases to enhance climate change impact analyses and adaptation studies through
GEOSS. A flowchart of an Assessment of the climate change impact on flood disaster risk and its
reduction measures over the globe and specific vulnerable areas was introduced that involves
number of models from an atmospheric one to inundation and risk assessment models. To promote
its activities the Typhoon and Cyclone theme seek for: (i) long-term historical extreme data (flood andlow flow), (ii) most accurate DEM data (ASTER DEM), (iii) high quality in-situ hydrological data, and(iv) technical standards to determine a design flow (and/or rainfall) for planning river works.
The Snow, Glacier and GLOF theme outcomes were presented by Prof. Toshio Koike whoreported the need of scoping discussion among the involved members (Pakistan, Mongolia, Nepal
and possibly Bhutan, India, Uzbekistan), related projects (CEOP-HE, CEOP Cold regions, ICIMOD),and experts in this field. To activate the theme efforts, a model intercomparison project in various cold
regions was proposed that would include appropriate GEOSS/AWCI Demonstration projects or evendedicated cold region demonstration basins in participating countries. Existing tools/models will be
investigated and employed. The needed data include: (i) high special resolution without cloud for
glacier – for shorter period: ALOS; SPOT, Aster30, (ii) Longer-term Landsat data (by GEO), (iii) longterm in-situ data: temperature, precipitation; mountain reg. Data, (iv) DEM – from global data SRTM30+ more precise local data. Capacity building is desirable in the field of (i) glacier physics andmodeling, (ii) spatial distribution of snow model, and (iii) satellite remote sensing application to glacierand mountainous regions.
Overview of the Climate Change Adaptation focus was given by Prof. Mafizur Rahman whoemphasized the relevance of the IPCC climate change projection scenarios for climate change impact
assessment. Climate change impact assessment studies are proposed as part of the GEOSS/AWCI

5

activities. In addition, Prof. Rahman introduced a complex climate change adaptation strategy of
Bangladesh, very vulnerable country to the climate change impacts.
Short country reports on “Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation
Representatives of GEOSS/AWCI participating countries, namely Australia, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, introduced their country activities focused on Climate change
impact assessment and adaptation. A wide range of water-related risks associated with climatechange was reported. All countries also reported that climate change impacts and need of adaptation
measures were understood by their governments and dedicated national climate change adaptationplans and strategies have been proposed and their implementation set off.
Short reports on “What is on-going and/or planned”
Four presentations were provided in this session that introduced on-going and planned
activities focusing on further convergence and harmonization of observations, analytical and downscaling techniques, improvement of modeling capabilities, interoperability arrangements, and effective
and comprehensive data management. These included GEO Water by Dr. Rick Lawford, Global
Mapping by Dr. Shuhei Kojima, Water Management by Dr. Hidayat Pawitan, and Indonesian Climate
Model by Dr. Didi Satiadi. It was stated that the IGWCO activity had provided a framework fordeveloping and advancing GEO Water and that the progress had been satisfactory, although unevenin some areas. Importance of the role AWCI plays in GEO Water and IGWCO was mentioned.
Capabilities provided by Global Map (www.iscgm.org) were found very usable for sound decision
making on GEOSS SBAs. In addition, further encouraging of collaborative research and informationexchange among scientists as well as water resources professionals in Asian-Pacific region is highly
desirable. Certain specifics of continent-maritime region climate were introduced that are posing
special requirements for climate models, including need of high-resolution observation, dynamical
modeling and improved representation of convection in the models.
Socio-Economic and Political ApproachThis session initiated discussion on strategies on how to bridge policy, science, andengineering arenas for effective collaboration that is essential for improving the efficiency ofoperational water resources management and for climate change adaptation plans preparation andimplementation.
The session was opened by Prof. Toshio Koike, who introduced the Asian Pacific Water
Forum (APWF) framework and its mission and goals and mentioned upcoming Asia-Pacific Water
Ministers’ Forum that will take place in Singapore, on 28 June 2010. He further explained the roles of
the APWF Water and Climate Change Steering Group that include advising leaders, guiding
knowledge networking, and progress reporting. The steering group’s composition of about 15
members including: (i) experts in water and climate change projections, impact assessments,
technical and socio-economic aspects of adaptation, and capacity development; (ii) leaders fromgovernment and civil society, from two large and two small countries; and (iii) representatives frominternational and bilateral funding agencies, will assure good collaboration among the science,engineering, and policy arenas as well as funding agencies.
A team of experts from the Institute of Water Policy, National University of Singapore including
Drs. Priyanka Anand, Gopi Rethinaraj, and Wu Xun, delivered a very informative talk focusing on (i)relationship between climate change and urbanization and implications for city planning strategies; (ii)relevance of science and technology inputs for policy making; and (iii) Integrated Policy-Making for
Sustainable Development – a process by which governments translate the objectives of sustainable
development into policy actions in a given policy environment. At the end of this session, the teammoderated the “discussion for implementation” to discuss next steps for developing better
communication methods for more informed and effective policy making for the future.
Dr. Bilqis A. Hoque introduced Water quality aspect as an inseparable perspective of Disasterand Water Resources Management and emphasized conjunction of water quantity and water quality
issues especially in the context of climate change impacts on water resources. Dr. Hoque presented
examples of studies focusing on flood/drought events considering both water quantity and water
quality aspects.
Closing session

6

The meeting presentations and discussions were summarized and overall message proposed
and agreed:
GEOSS Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI), including four working groups, flood, drought,
water quality and climate change, has been building a regionally cooperative framework by
involving experts from 20 countries in sharing data, models, experiences and knowledge andimplementing capacity development programs.
The participants considered further convergence and harmonization of observational
activities, analytical and down-scaling techniques, interoperability arrangements, and effective
and comprehensive data management as the most fundamental elements that can mobilize theefforts by GEOSS/AWCI to create societal benefits.

th

2.2 The 6 International Coordination Group Meeting of the GEOSS AWCI ICG – full report
To accelerate the GEOSS/AWCI coordination, it was discussed how to promote regional cooperationand coordination on climate change adaptations.
The meeting agenda
09:00 – 9:20

Opening
Hirota Tani, Director, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT), Japan
Koki Iwao, GEO Representative

09:20 –10:00

AWCI Activity Reports
Summary Report including Updates of the Demonstration Projects
Working Group Reports (Flood, Drought, Water Quality, Climate Change)

10:10 –10:25

Welcome a new member
Australia

Dr Stuart Minchin

10:40 – 11:40 “Capacity Building” Implementation Plan Development
Srikantha Herath (UNU), Chu Ishida (JAXA)
11:40 – 12:00 Breakout Sessions for Implementation
1. Climate Change Adaptations – Drought
2. Climate Change Adaptations – Snow, Glacier and GLOF
3. Climate Change Adaptations – Typhoon, Cyclone, and Induced Floods- Basic Strategy- Technical Approaches- Political Approach
13:00 – 14:00 Breakout Sessions for Implementation – continued
14:00 – 14:45 Short Plenary for Breakout Session Reports
15:00 – 16:00 Short Training Course 1: “Data quality check and meta data registration”
16:00 – 16:30 Short Training Course 2: “Flood Management”
1
16:30 –17:30 General Discussion
17:30
Closing

Opening
The meeting was opened by Dr. Hirota Tani, Director, MEXT, Japan, and Dr. Koki Iwao, GEO
Secretariat.
Dr. Tani acknowledged the progress of the AWCI activities and emphasized the importance ofregional collaboration as well as collaboration between GEOSS, AWCI, and DIAS that has already7

resulted in development of approaches for addressing water-related issues associated with climatechange. He also regarded the transferability of these approaches that is demonstrated by thedeveloping African Water Cycle Coordination Initiative.
Dr. Iwao mentioned the GEO ministerial summit in Beijing, November 2010 and introduced
potential GEO success stories to be presented at the summit. One candidate is the Asian regional
showcase that includes GEOSS/AWCI. This high evaluation of AWCI activities is true
acknowledgment of great efforts contributed by participating countries and collaborating organizations

Figure 2: Status of the AWCI demonstration project data submissions and quality control
and initiatives.
AWCI Activity Reports
Prof.Toshio Koike provided an overview of the 11 years GEOSS Water and the 5 years of
AWCI history pointing out the main achievements of these initiatives. In case of AWCI, it included avery important agreement on data policy, adopting the demonstration project (DP) approach andinitiating their implementation in 18 river basins in participating countries, data collection activity incooperation with DIAS (UT), and the capacity building program with its number of accomplished aswell as on-going and planned activities. In particular, he mentioned that more than 50% of the data
commitments for the DPs had been submitted and quality checked through the DIAS tools andreported on the status of DPs (Fig. 2 and 3). In addition, opportunities for climate change impact
assessment studies in the AWCI participating countries were introduced that have arisen due to the
DIAS stored data, especially climate projection models outputs.
Flood group: Dr. Kazuhiko Fukami reported on the major activities of the AWCI flood group that
included generic template for demonstration projects in GEO on use of satellite information for floodrisk management, flood-focused demonstration projects update, identification of member countries’
needs and resources for capacity building, and the 2-year APN funded project under the ARCP
program that aims “To build up a scientific basis for sound decision-making and developing policy
options for most suitable flood risk management for each country and region in Asia, through the full8

Figure 3: Status of the AWCI Demonstration Projects
utilization of new opportunities on global, regional and in-situ dataset under the scheme of
GEOSS/AWCI”. Specifically, the project addressed the following objectives: (i) converting
observations and data, both through space-borne platforms and data integration initiatives, to usable
information for flood reduction; (ii) improvement of quantitative forecasts for coupled precipitation flood-forecasting systems; and (iii) facilitate risk assessment through the provision of scenarios anddata for exposure estimation. Enhancement and utilization of regional cooperation using theresources and knowledge available at various specialized institutions was pointed out. Training
programs on the use of tools and data formed the basis for capacity development activities. These
included IFAS and GFAS training workshops in 2008 and 2009.
In a short-term perspective, the group plans to: (i) continue in-situ observations to getenough validation data; (ii) improve the demonstration systems/scenarios and to make final
validations of them with the archived & analyzed data; and (iii) develop capacity building tools for
shifting the demonstration systems to operational ones for the next-stage AWCI. In addition mid-termplans were outlined as to: (i) promote each demonstration project of each member country according
to its own specific objectives and the dissemination of its achievements through papers/presentations;(ii) identify and share any problems to promote demonstration projects, and to support how to copewith them through our mutual cooperation, so that we will figure out what the next action should be,
toward their operational uses; and (iii) ask each AWCI member to give us any materials, including theinformation of presentations & submissions of papers, to summarize final achievements for two-year
activities related to flood issues for the APN-ARCP project around December 2010 (TBD). The
importance of intense communication between the AWCI meetings was emphasized.
Drought group: Dr. Ghulam Rasul reiterated the objectives of the AWCI Drought working group (seeSection 2.1 above) and explained linkages of drought group activities with demonstration projects thatprimarily address hydrological drought phenomenon, i.e. lesser flow in streams than long-term
9average, yet other drought phenomena including meteorological, agricultural, and socio-economic
droughts are closely related and can/will be covered by the drought-oriented DPs. The group had
several opportunities to meet and discuss the achievements and plans at several meeting events in2009 including: the 4th AWCI ICG meeting in Feb 2009 in Kyoto, the Drought group scientific meetingin Bangkok on 15-16 May 2009, the Drought group scientific meeting in Chiang Mai on 1-2 Oct 2009,
the 5th AWCI ICG meeting in Tokyo, on 15-17 Dec 2009, and the Joint drought training workshop in
Tokyo, on 17-18 Dec 2009.
The group is currently working on a data bank including soil moisture, temperature andmeteorological observation data from selected stations in Bangladesh, Mongolia, Pakistan, China,
and Vietnam. In addition, supplementary data, in particular soil properties, is being collected whereavailable. Further, the group is working on soil moisture retrieval and drought indices determination
using remote sensing data, especially MODIS and AMSR-E data. Certain water quality issues
associated with drought conditions have been identified and are the group plans to address some ofthese in collaboration with water quality group. An APN CAPaBLE program proposal was submitted in2009 for the drought-oriented project “Drought monitoring system development by integrating in-situ
data, satellite data and numerical output“, led by Prof. Ichirow Kaihotsu, and has been approved forfunding.
Plans for 2010 and 2011 were introduced that include, among others: (i) continuing in building
up the drought monitoring and researching network for AWCI and providing and sharing the soil
moisture and other metrological data of the ground-based and satellite monitoring including
development of a mechanism to share the data (data bank); (ii) building a closer collaboration withother AWCI groups and reviewing demonstration projects to step in their adaptation activities; (iii) callfor contributions for the drought working group report; (iv) improving standard of drought monitoring
and assessment; (v) organize workshops in member countries to develop capacity and exchanging
the experience and expertise; and (vi) providing the trial early warning system for drought hazard in
related countries.
Water Quality group: Dr. Petra Koudelova presented updates of the Water quality working group on
behalf of Dr. Hoque and Prof. Furumai. It was emphasized that a demonstration project in the Huong
river basin in Vietnam had been initiated under the leadership of Prof. Furumai. The project focuseson sustainable water management in the basin and in particular in the Hue city including water quality
issues under the flood conditions. In addition, a study on associations between drought and water
quality in a rural coastal area in Bangladesh is being prepared in cooperation with Environment andPopulation Research Centre (EPRC), Bangladesh, and may be expanded to include climate change
adaptation, health impacts, and other aspects if funds are available.
The group’s activities further include: (i) identification of hydrological models that can becoupled with water quality models, (ii) exploring possibilities to use remote sensing data for water
quality issues and an access to such data for watershed management monitoring, and (iii) utilizing ongoing capacity building initiatives to help water quality experts to use satellite data/explore
collaboration with other Groups. It was also noted that communication through conference calls wasfound very useful for advancing the group activities.
Welcome New Member
A new member, Australia, has joined the AWCI community and Dr. Stuart Minchin introduced
the Australian approach to a deepening problem of water scarcity in the country that arises mainly due
to 8 factors including: warming and drying climate due to global climate change, environmental flows
imperative, growing urban demand, over-allocation to irrigation, uncapped groundwater extraction,
expanding plantations, expanding farm dams, and bushfire recovery impacts. Dr. Minchin pointed outthat in Australia, major part of precipitation - the only water supply of the country - evaporated anddam reservoirs were essential components of the water resources system. Water has become aproperty right and the ability to adequately measure it is essential for its management. The Australian
Bureau of Meteorology has devised and implements an ambitious plan of water data integration thatposes a great data interoperability challenge since the data are provided by more than 600 agencies.
A system for water resources management has been developed through fusion of in-situ observation,satellite observation, and biophysical models. With this system, for example, the Murray-Darling Basin
Sustainable Yield Project is examining security of water supply for every demand node in the river
basin under 16 future scenarios over 150 years. The Bureau of Meteorology is responsible for data
integration as well as operational delivery of the information. An advanced visualization tools involving
Google Earth maps and Google earth interactive interfaces have been developed to present the water
resources related information to decision makers and public.

10

Figure 4: GEOSS/AWCI Capacity Building Needs vs. Resources Matrix
Capacity Building Implementation Plan Development
This session was organized by Prof. Srikantha Herath and by Mr. Chu Ishida, who firstly
reiterated the history of development of the Capacity Building (CB) program under the framework of
GEOSS/AWCI and highlighted the matrixes on CB resources in the Asia Pacific region. The updated
version of the CB matrix – needs versus resources – is provided in Fig. 4. He also reiterated that thegoal of the capacity development program of the GEOSS/AWCI was to facilitate and develop
sustainable mechanisms for the countries in Asia Pacific to use advanced earth observations systems,
associated data and tools for water cycle research and water resources management under the
GEOSS framework. The capacity development activities are designed and carried out concurrently insupport of applications in 18 Asian basins being studied within the GEOSS/AWCI for clarification ofbasin water cycle and the development of appropriate water management practices. Specificobjectives of the CB program include: (i) downscaling regional and global information to basin scale
and improving accuracy required by operational water management applications through a
combination of numerical forecasting and fusion of local observations; (ii) identifying reliable andefficient tools to convert the available observations and data to useful information for flood
management through data transformations, interpolation, classification, and estimation algorithms;and (iii) conversion of information to water resources management applications, both for operationaluse and scenario based assessments for planning purposes.
Prof. Herath clarified respective roles of and linkages among GEOSS/AWCI demonstration
projects, working group activities, and capacity development component, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The
effective strategy includes: (i) setting objectives of a demonstration project, (ii) proposing
methodology for achieving the objectives, (iii) identifying development needs for achieving theobjectives, and (iv) identifying and exploiting available resources for supporting capacity
11Figure 5: Linkages among GEOSS/AWCI demonstration projects, working group
activities and capacity development.
development. An example of a flood demonstration project was introduced with its priority areas:
National Database, Rainfall, Downscaling, Radar use, Satellite based data, Inundation modeling,
Flood forecasting, Flash flood forecasting, Risk assessment, Use of Space observation for analysis
data preparation, Use of Space Observation for post disaster response, and Land classification forrisk assessment. Based on these, requested training modules can be identified and a capacity
building plan for that specific project outlined.
In addition, Prof. Herath reiterated that an on-line repository of available training modules had
been devised by the UNU team and could be accessed and edited by all AWCI members(http://unufms.net:8080/seaside/gcs/AWCI). It includes a module information template fororganizations to provide information on available training modules. Any proposed training module
should include the following items:
1. Title
2. The component of the flood problem the module would solve
3. Suggested duration
4. Expected number of participants and the maximum number allowed
5. Data to be prepared by participants in advance
6. Type of facilities (please list OS and min. ram for PC machines)
7. Any background training the participants are expected to have
8. Resources to be prepared in country by hosting agencies to carry out training seminar
9. Any other materials providing detailed descriptions of the modules
10. Availability (tentative and if possible) schedule for 2009-2010 (2011)
Four basic types of training modules were recognized including:- Type A: Multi-country teams, use local data sets, long duration, generally a two-phase program.
- Type B: Demonstration data set. Short duration and participants are multi-country teams.
- Type C: Site (local) data for training and application. Participants are all from the host country.
- Type D: Training using a demonstration data set in a country. Program is of short duration andparticipants are all from the host country.
The overview of the accomplished training courses was presented that showed a wide range ofactivities provided by various organizations (Fig. 6). In addition other proposal for organizing so called
Roving Seminars (type D) by several countries including Indonesia, Lao PDR, and Philippines were
presented.
Further, Prof. Herath stressed out the need to integrate Research, Capacity Development andApplications including capacity development programs for training a large number of competentpersons and higher education research. Demonstration projects provide opportunities for suchintegration as shown in Fig. 7. Another opportunity for collaboration especially in the higher education
field is The University Network for Climate and Ecosystems Change Adaptation Research (UNCECAR; http://cecar.unu.edu) that was established in 2009 by leading universities in the Asia Pacificregion to strengthen the higher education sector to respond effectively to climate and ecosystems
change. UN-CECAR has been working on a common curriculum, joint research, and a needs
assessment.
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Figure 6: Table of the accomplished training activities relevant to the GEOSS/AWCI.

Figure 7: Scheme of integration of research, capacity development, and application activities along DP.
Finally, the plans for 2010 and 2011 were introduced that include:
2010: (i) Development of web tutorials for the existing modules including theory, tutorial (data,
models), and an example to be followed by a participant (providing results for comparison).
(ii) Engagement of task groups in each working group to support the activity.
2011:(i) Conduct several roving seminars for application in selected demonstration basins.
Basic background will be covered through web tutorials and a number of resources
organizations will arrange with local proposals.
(ii) Selection of demonstration basin clusters (based on country and focus - 3 or 4) should bedone in 2010

This session was followed by a lively discussion that yielded several proposals for additional
training modules. In particular multiple countries (e.g. Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan,
Myanmar) reported the need of training in rainfall estimation and downscaling as well as setting
and running hydrological models. It was agreed that the country representatives provide descriptionof proposed modules in accordance with the list of 10 necessary information items listed above and13then potential contributors to these modules will be identified and tutorials prepared. It was alsosuggested that in case of hydrological modeling a certain sample dataset from the demonstration
project database be prepared for a tutorial example. The data in the tutorial should have the same
policy as the GEOSS/AWCI database. In this context, Dr. Minchin voiced that the Monash University
provided a Hydrological toolkit including 50 different models and related material for hydrologicalmodeling. Though developed for Australia, the toolkit should be applicable in the whole Asia Pacificregion.
The need of better rainfall forecast skills, in particular forecasting extreme events, was also
pointed out but the current GEOSS/AWCI network does not involve adequate experts in the weather
forecasting field. Nevertheless, Dr. Iwao mentioned that the GEO Weather group was focusing on
this issue and would be willing to collaborate with the AWCI community.
Policy Making Tool for Water Management
Prof. Seigo Nasu, Kochi University of Technology, Japan, presented their research devoted to
the water resources demand management and policy making. He introduced development of a tool
designed for policy making for water management that is based on equilibrium analysis andevaluation. The tool consists of a set of models including an End-to-End model of natural and social
phenomena, an application model to utilize the End-to-End model, and an implementation procedure
model and regional management model. The End-to-End model encompasses number ofcomponents including water demand model considering public awareness, water supply model,hydrological model, social welfare logic model, and equilibrium analysis model that considers multiple
water demand control measures such as infrastructure, pricing policy, laws and regulations, etc.
Prof. Nasu provided examples of practical application of their tool including equilibrium ananalysis of water demand and supply in future and an analysis and prediction of water demand in
Pakistan. In addition, he introduced their work on developing a water quality model using satellite datathat has a great potential for monitoring surface water quality.
At the end of his presentation, Prof. Nasu outlined a way forward for water resources demand
management that includes three aspects:
1. Policy: Effective water pricing policy. A plan for safe, adequate, equitable, sustainable, andaffordable water services.
2. Legislation: The extraction of groundwater should be regulated and more efficiently
monitored. Development of water quality and quantity standards.
3. Programme: Actions at regional, local and users levels. Building new social framework
including community participation. Capacity Building of institutions/NGOs & community.
Breakout Sessions for Implementation
Three breakout groups were organized to discuss and propose strategy for implementation ofactivities focusing on climate change adaptations. These groups, namely (i) Drought, (ii) Snow,
Glacier, and GLOF; and (iii) Typhoon, Cyclone, and Induced Floods, were provided with a flowchart
displaying a possible approach toward assessing impacts of climate change using the CMIP3/20 and
CMIP3/future climate projection scenarios and were asked to consider following questions:- What should be added, removed and modified in the provided chart?
- What are bottlenecks for implementation, e.g. data, models, capacity and/or funding?
- How to coordinate, especially with socio-economic partners in each country and in the region
as a whole?
- Schedule?
Drought group report
The Drought group proposed that water sharing models based on policy rules areincorporated in the assessment part of the scheme in order to clarify impact on individual water users
and determining socio-economic response. Changes in hydrograph itself do not reveal the real impact.
Also, the group felt that employing a range of scenarios instead of a single one would provide morereliable outputs through a range of possible responses. A watershed scale and water sharing models
were considered main bottlenecks in the flowchart. Coordination of implementation may be enhancedby an awareness campaign supported by policy. As for the schedule, the group recommended
systematic training as well as intensive work on the model during the first year. The suggestedchanges were incorporated into the final flowchart (Fig. 8).
Snow, Glacier, and GLOF group report
The Snow, Glacier, and GLOF group agreed with the overall structure of the flowchart but
recognized several bottlenecks for a study focused on the cold region features including insufficient
long-term monitoring system, in particular glacier and GLOF, and hydrological prediction models
14Figure 8: Flowchart of an implementation plan toward assessing impacts of climate change andpreparing adaptation strategy – resulting version from breakout group discussions.
suitable for snow and glacier phenomena. Limited funding was also mentioned as a constraining issue.
Since quantifying uncertainty and bias correction is difficult without long-term observation data, thegroup proposed to use satellite data for glacier change monitoring, namely Landsat data and the highresolution ASTER GDEM. Also collaboration with activities focusing on special dataset generation in
the mountain region (e.g. CEOP-High Elevation group or Dr. Yatagai’s group) was recommended. A
strategy for the model output quantification was suggested as: To generate a statistical value of asnow covered area from the output of climate projection model combined with hydrological modeland compare with Landsat data to evaluate climate prediction model. It is important to encouragecommunication between observers and modelers with focus on data interoperability.
The participants further concluded that the main socio-economic partners would be national
committees or institutions appointed to deal with the climate change related issues including
adaptation plans and policies. In addition, a need to communicate the issues on the regional level
was stressed out because in many areas the issues are of transboundary character and negotiation
among involved countries is essential. A rough schedule of the proposed activities was also outlined
up to March 2012:
1. -> September 2010: Hydrological model development for mountain regions (ongoing, by UTgroup).
2. -> December 2010: Collection of satellite (MODIS, Landsat, ALOS) data used for the Altai
mountain glaciers monitoring and assessment of their change (ongoing, under the frameworkof DIAS).
3. -> March 2011: Archive satellite data targeting 2 – 3 areas and develop monitoring system forthese areas based on satellite data coupled with recently established in-situ station in Mongolia;
Uzbekistan and other countries – possibly study in DP basin.
4. September 2010 – September 2011: Coupling climate projection model with the developedhydrological model.
5. September 2011 – March 2012: Generate the statistical value of a snow covered area andcompare with Landsat data –> climate projection model evaluation.

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Typhoon, Cyclone, and Induced Floods group report
The group suggested several modifications to the provided flowchart that were incorporated
into the final version (Fig. 8). It was pointed out that an alternate approach to statistical downscaling
should be adopted if long-term observation data are not available. Such approach include (i) criteria
for sufficiency as long-term observation, (ii) methodology for supplementing/reconstructing/restoring
long-term observation data, and (iii) use of dynamical downscaling approach if the existing data does
not satisfy the criteria. Lack of data, manpower, and funding for capacity building and infrastructure
were felt as the main bottlenecks for the typhoon, cyclone and induced floods study.
As for coordination, raising awareness was emphasized for policy makers, the public, private
sectors, etc., about the importance of integrated flood management with climate change adaptation
strategy not only for disaster mitigation itself but also for nationwide economic/welfare development. A
two-year schedule was proposed considering capacity building for data arrangement, downscaling,modeling, etc. for the first year and first case studies in the demonstration project basins in the second
year.
Short training courses
Two short training courses were provided in the afternoon that included: (i) the Data quality
check and metadata registration course and (ii) the Flood Management course.
During the first one, Drs. Ikoma and Kinutani provided guidelines on how to perform data
quality check and metadata registration using the on-line tools provided by the University of Tokyo incooperation with DIAS that were designed taking into account the needs of the AWCI data providers.
The attendees actively participated in the course running the system on their own PCs connected to aserver that was brought and installed by Drs. Ikoma and Kinutani especially for this purpose. During
the course, several demonstration basins’ metadata were successfully registered.
In the Flood Management course, a demonstration of the Integrated Flood Analysis System(IFAS) developed at ICHARM was provided by Dr. Fukami for a real catchment in the Kyushu islandof Japan. The system enables to use available global dataset for both catchment settings and forcing
data and thus can also be used for basins with very limited observations. The system is available fordownload free of charge at the ICHARM website:(http://www.icharm.pwri.go.jp/research/ifas/index.html).
Closing session
At the end of the day, Prof. Koike summarized the outcomes of the GEOSS/AWCI ICG
Meeting as well as the preceding GEOSS Symposium. He acknowledged significant progress thatwas recognized during the meeting events, in particular great progress in data submission. He
summarized the evolution of the GEOSS/AWCI framework and activities reiterating that four target
groups had been established (flood, drought, water quality and climate change), objectives set up,
data policy agreed, 18 demonstration river basins selected, data from the basins archived, andmetadata registered. CEOP integrated datasets and DIAS archive including climate model projection
outputs are available, capacity needs have been identified and based on these a capacity building
program has been designed and needed activities launched. In addition, climate change adaptation
activities in countries have been identified, socio-economic aspects included, and linkages with policymaking experts established.
The meeting reviewed what has been done and is being done and a general implementation
chart toward climate change impact assessment and adaptation strategy (Fig.8) was proposed withcertain specifics for three focus areas, namely Drought; Snow, glacier and GLOF; and Typhoon,
cyclone and induced floods. Further convergence and harmonization of observational activities,
analytical and down-scaling techniques, interoperability arrangements, and effective andcomprehensive data management were considered as the most fundamental elements that canmobilize the efforts by GEOSS/AWCI to create societal benefits.
The list of past meeting events related to the GEOSS/AWCI was presented and the nextthevent was proposed be The 4 Asian Water Cycle Symposium was proposed held before the GEO
Ministerial Summit in November 2010, most probably in October in Tokyo, Japan, in conjunction with arelated ministerial-level meeting organized by MLIT, Japan. Confirmation and further details will beannounced in due course.
Concluding messages were formulated:
Although climate change adaptation requires socially and economically efficient andsustainable management of the world's limited supplies of freshwater, this precious resource cannot
be managed unless we know where the water is, its quantity and quality, and how its variability willchange in the future.
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This knowledge base relies upon our ability to measure and monitor precipitation, water
quantity and quality and our continued efforts to improve our physical, chemical, biological, andecological understanding of the water cycle.
Based on the reports and discussions at the GEOSS-AP symposium and the ICG meeting,the participants recognized the commonality and regionality of water-related issues and socioeconomic impacts caused by water-related problems associated with the climate change in the AsiaPacific region.
It was agreed that well-coordinated scientific research initiatives along with a combination of
global Earth observations and integrated data provided by GEOSS are essential to adequately
address these issues.
Message to the GEO ministerial summit:
The Summit is requested to recognize the direction and achievements by GEOSS/AWCI as
one of the most effective regional approaches for climate change adaptations and to endorse its
activities in each country and the Asia-Pacific region in improving the efficiency of operational water
resources management.

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