Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest Vol. 5 Issue 10

[sudhir]

Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest
Vol. 5 Issue 10
16 June 2008

SUMA News Digest is a free weekly e-mail publication that features
news, information, and events related to sustainable urban
transportation in Asia.

*** VISIT THE SUMA PAGES:
http://www.cleanairnet.org/suma ***

SUMA PARTNERS ON THE MOVE!

Mass Transit and BRT planning two-day workshop / training course under
SUMA GTZ SUTP, WRI Embarq, ITDP, Indore Transport Services June 27 –
28, 2008 Indore, India
GTZ, Embarq-WRI, ITDP and CAI-Asia will jointly organize a 2-day
workshop / training course on Mass transit and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
and related measures in Indore on 27-28 June 2008 as part of the SUMA
program. The event will be hosted by Indore City Transport Services
Ltd.
http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1163&Itemid=1&lang=uk

The training activities held during April 18-26, 2008 in Jinan has
been drafted into a report and is available online at
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72749.html

GTZ-SUTP Travel Demand Management (TDM) Specialized Training under
SUMA-Project (Chinese future trainers) in Singapore has been drafted
into a report and is available online at
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72734.html

GTZ Train the trainer NMT specialised course for Indian future
trainers held in Delhi has been drafted in a report format and is
available online at
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72733.html

Title: Chinese translation of module 5e (Transport and Climate Change)

Module 5e of the GTZ Sourcebook on Sustainable Urban Transport for
Policymakers (Climate Change and Transport) has been translated into
Chinese by Xiaojia Bao and Yan Peng of the CAI-Asia China Project
Office and published today. The module has been originally written by
Holger Dalkmann and Charlotte Brannigan. It provides an overview of
the challenges related to climate change and transport, and describes
measures to mitigate the impact of transport on climate change. The
document can be downloaded in the links below from either CAI-Asia's
or SUTP's website.

SUTP link: LINK (free registration required)
http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=314&Itemid=54&lang=uk

CAI-Asia link: http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72196.html


HEADLINES

CHINA: Beijing game for Clean Air Challenge 23 MAY 2008

In this news report, the authors have indicated the issues pertaining
to the air quality in Beijing. It reports that Wen-Xing and his
colleagues measured the concentrations of well-known air pollutants in
Beijing in August and September 2007, the same summer period the
Olympic Games will be taking place this year and reported that average
daily concentrations of sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide were lower
than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for China. This study
was undertaken to measure the efficiency of air pollution reduction
strategies adopted by the government. Read More
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72740.html

INDIA: Kolkata is now India's pollution capital 28 MAY 2008

Rapid motorization and urbanization and its subsequent overload on
system has imposed some enormous load on Kolkata with it upstaging
Delhi as the most polluted capital city in India. In this news report,
some of the people have been interviewed and the repercussions of
pollution on health of people living on the cities have been
summarized. Read this report to know about this development…
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72744.html

INDIA: None for the road 29 MAY 2008

In this report, the author urges the government and pitches the need
for scaling up the charges for offences pertaining to negligent
driving such as drunken driving etc.. Under the new act in planning
process, the driver who drinks and drive and commits an accident, it
will be constructed not as an act of negligence but as a premeditated
crime. Read more of this article to know as to how accidents can be
decreased with the help of tougher laws….
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72752.html

GLOBAL: Children with asthma affected by `safe` levels of air
pollution 30 MAY 2008

A new research has reported that “safe” level of air pollution which
we all are striving for is still hazardous to the health of children
affected by asthma. This research reawakens and questions us to the
fact that what level of pollution is safe for us? What should be our
goal and what new efforts are required in our struggle against air
pollution. Read More…
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72753.html

ASIA: Asia powers, US voice 'serious concern' on oil spike 8 JUNE 2008

If you assumed that you were the only one who got bugged by raising
fuel prices than you are wrong. Senior officials from the United
States, Japan, China, India and South Korea said in a joint statement
after talks in Aomori, Japan that they "share serious concerns" about
the current level of oil prices. They called on oil producing
countries to "increase investment to keep markets well supplied in
response to rising world demand." Read More…
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72757.html

ASIA: Soaring Energy Prices and Climate Change spurs calls for clean
energy financing 6 JUNE 2008

More than 500 key stakeholders met in Manila in an ADB forum to
discuss ways and means of addressing global warming by utilizing the
cleaner fuels. It was acknowledged during the meeting that the region
is estimated to need up to $6.4 trillion in new energy infrastructure
by 2030 and unless there is a move away from the dependence on oil and
coal, countries will continue to be vulnerable to price hikes in these
commodities and will further contribute to climate change. Read more
to know more about the forum…
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72758.html

PHILIPPINES: Palace: Walk, bike, or carpool 8 JUNE 2008

In this news report, the government deputy spokesperson suggested
Filipinos reeling from high fuel prices to consider walking, using
bikes instead of cars, or car pooling. The mantra of energy
conservation may boost our chances of having clean air. Read More….
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72759.html

More air quality and sustainable mobility news at
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-14783.html

* * * *
INTERESTING FINDS

REDUCING TRANSPORT CO2 EMISSIONS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES
By : S. SUNDAR & Chhavi DHINGRA

In this research paper authors research upon the issues of policy
options available for the developing countries to mitigate GhG
emissions from Transport Sector and their subsequent economic and
clean air impacts. The research has been modeled on the data sets
extracted from the emerging economies such as India and China. The
paper explores all facets of Transportation and their potential
viability in improving the air quality. Read More to know as to what
options are available to the governments…

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72750.html

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF PEDESTRIAN WALKING BEHAVIOR
By: Winnie Daamen & Serge P. Hoogendoorn

Researchers from Delft University of Technology has recently carried
out experimental pedestrian flow research to assess the design of
walking infrastructure, support planning of timetables for public
transit and to identify the tools to aid the designer. The main
objective of such an action was to calibrate and validate the
microscopic and macroscopic pedestrian flow models. Interesting first
results pertain to the way in which the narrow bottleneck is used
under saturated flow conditions, and the use of the space (or rather,
width) upstream of the bottleneck in case of congestion. For the
purpose of investigation the pedestrians were observed using a digital
video camera mounted at the ceiling of the building in which the
experiments were carried out. The resulting video footage was analyzed
using specially designed pedestrian detection and tracking software,
yielding detailed microscopic pedestrian data.Read More..
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72751.html

NEGOTIATING A POST-KYOTO CLIMATE REGIME: ARE WE HEADING TOWARD SUCCESS
OR FAILURE
by Miriam Lev-On

In its fourth assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) is stipulating that there is a more than 90%
probability that human action has contributed to recent climate change
and therefore precautionary and prompt action is necessary. Taking
this idea the author access the post Kyoto period to reassess as to
whether we are on right track. Read this interesting piece to know
more about the post Kyoto challenges and actions….
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72737.html

Fuel Efficiency Standards and Labeling of Vehicles in India – Indian
Workshop (From Archives)

Petroleum Conservation Research Association has taken the initiative
to develop fuel efficiency standards for India in association with
Bureau of Energy Efficiency. On December 2007, they conducted an
International Workshop where International and Indian experts had an
extended interchange of views and presentations. Access the
presentations to know as to what the Fuel Efficiency Standards are all
about and how it affects India.

http://www.pcra.org/English/transport/preschn.htm

* * * *
Tid-Bits

In this feature of SUMA newsletter on the occasion of World
Environment Day-2008, we have included a short poem from Deepak
Waikar
Climate Change

Poisonous gases are filling atmosphere
Creating havoc in ozone layer
If clean air becomes thinner and thinner
Climate change will be here for forever

Green forests are rapidly vanishing
Brown deserts are quickly expanding
If sand storms get stronger and stronger
Climate change will be here for forever

Enjoy this poem by accessing..
http://www.theinternetmarketinghelp.com/energyandenvironment

* * * *
MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Towards Carfree Cities VIII, Rethinking Mobility, Rediscovering
Proximity 16-20 June 2008, Portland, Oregon, USA,
http://www.carfreeportland.org/

World Cities Summit 2008,
Livable and Vibrant Cities,
23-25 June 2008, Singapore,
http://www.worldcities.com.sg/

Fourteenth International Conference on Urban Transport and the
Environment in the 21st Century, 1 - 3 September 2008, Malta,
http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2008/urban08/

PODCAR City Sustainable Transport Conference,
14-16 September 2008, Ithaca, New York,
http://www.podcar.org/ithacaconference/

UITP 2nd Sustainable Development Conference
Making tomorrow today
22-24 October 2008, Milan, Italy
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72425.html

Better Air Quality (BAQ) Workshop 2008
12-14 November 2008 Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72312.html

See more SUT events
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-27089.html
See CAI-Asia's events calendar
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-13577.html

* * * CONTRIBUTE * * *

To contribute articles, news items, or event announcements for the
next issue, send an email with the complete details and URL source
to
suma-ne...@googlegroups.com with subject "FOR SUMA NEWS".

mailto:
suma-ne...@googlegroups.com?subject=FOR_SUMA_NEWS<
suma-ne...@googlegroups.com?subject=FOR_SUMA_NEWS>.
Past issues from March and April 2008 are found at
http://groups.google.com/group/suma-news

* * * ABOUT SUMA * * *

The Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) program of the Clean
Air
Initiative for Asian Cities ( www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia), Asian
Development Bank
( www.adb.org), EMBARQ-the World Resources Institute Center for
Sustainable Transport ( http://embarq.wri.org ), GTZ Sustainable
Urban Transport Project ( www.sutp.org), Interface for Cycling
Expertise ( www.cycling.nl), Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy (www.itdp.org), and United Nations Center for
Regional Development (www.uncrd.or.jp/est) is made possible through
the generous support of the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency ( www.sida.se).
SUMA works with Asian countries and cities to strengthen then
formulation and implementation of sustainable urban transportation
policies, specifically in
(i) Improving urban air quality by adopting AQM
planning in sustainable transport policies and promoting public
transportation,
(ii) Improving road safety by encouraging non-motorized
transport and public transport, and
(iii) Reducing transport's contribution to climate change
by adopting a co-benefits approach with urban air quality management.

RENOVATING SUMA

SUMA news digest has been released diligently from past 16 months by
CAI-Asia center. During the period there have been widespread changes
in mindsets of policy makers / people and CAI-Asia center received a
lot of support from its patrons. In order to revamp the news digest
the CAI-Asia center requests for support and suggestions from its
patrons. Any suggestion that you may feel may enhance the quality of
digest is most welcome. Please mail your suggestions to sudhir@cai-
asia.org or bert....@cai-asia.org. We hope that your suggestions
may help us in our endeavor for achieving sustainable transportation.