Simple Interactive Model for Better Air Quality (SIM-air)

Schedule and Venue: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm; 11 November; Meeting Room 701

Organizer: The World Bank, Washington DC, USA

Description of the Event:
Air pollution, not only in megacities, but also in growing secondary cities, is an increasing problem in Asia. To better understand the sources of air pollution and the potential to reduce these emissions in a cost effective manner, there is a need to draw upon substantial information on the sources, dispersion, impacts, and control, and appropriate analytical tools need to be employed. Currently, there is little in the way of an organized knowledge base or analytical tools that may help support decision making in an integrated manner, since most available tools are complex and data-intensive; in addition, institutional capacity and financing challenges limit the sophistication of analysis that can be done in a reasonable time recognizing the scale of the problem.  There is a need for a new generation of simple & interactive tools that can be used recognizing the information and institutional challenges.  As cities differ substantially in their development stage, needs, and institutional setup, there is a need to be able to rapidly scale-up and customize these tools and use them to facilitate discussions across key stakeholders.

This session will focus on introduction of the tools and demonstration of applications based on experience from cities across the World.

For details on the tools and applications, visit www.sim-air.org


Objectives: This interactive session seeks to provide an introduction to simple and interactive models that can be used to assist stakeholders in shaping informed decisions for air quality management. This forum will:

 

  • Introduce types of tools for air quality management decision-support (tools that are simple, interactive, visual, accessible/public-domain, capable of integrated analysis of economic and environmental implications of various types of policy, economic, institutional and technical management options using appropriate simulation, optimization and sensitivity analyses methodologies)
  • Demonstrate the use of such tools to improve environmental assessments, better design air quality interventions and improve awareness
  • Present experience with practical use of such tools in building knowledge bases and decision support systems for air quality management in the developing world
  • Highlight the use of such tools to improve stakeholder interaction and shared vision integrated air quality management planning
  • Brainstorm on ways to scale up air quality analysis to the megacities and secondary cities of the developing world

Target Group:  
The target group for this training would be focused on those who have an interest in using appropriate analytical tools to facilitate stakeholder interaction and decision support for integrated urban air quality management in developing country cities.  This could include environmental regulators, city managers, researchers, financial institutions, private sector, and various government agencies and NGOs.  Prior knowledge of some aspect of air quality management or modeling/information systems would be useful.  

Introduction & Demonstration


10.00 am - 12.00 pm: Applications of SIM-air

  • Case studies from Hyderabad & Pune (India), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Bangkok (Thailand), Kathmandu (Nepal), & 2 Cities from Africa
  • Presentations on the methodology employed, results, & lessons learnt
  • Use of such tools to improve air quality stakeholder interaction

12.00 pm - 01.00 pm: Q & A - Clarification of methodologies & information sharing

01.00 pm: Close of session & Break for lunch

02.00 pm - 04.00 pm: Open discussions

Possible Topics:

  • Strengths and weaknesses of approach
  • Suggestions for future development/application
  • Alternative approaches
  • Institutional and Information challenges
  • Scaling-up analysis to meet the scale of the problem
  • How to apply this to your city of interest


Session Presenters: