Green Clean Guide in conversation with Sameera Kumar, CleanAirAsia

About CleanAirAsia – Clean Air Asia was established in 2001 as the premier air quality network for Asia by the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and USAID. Its mission is to promote better air quality and livable cities by translating knowledge to policies and actions that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transport, energy and other sectors.

Since 2007, Clean Air Asia is a UN recognized partnership of almost 250 organizations in Asia and worldwide and 8 Country Networks (China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam), and is supervised by a Partnership Council.

The Clean Air Asia acts as the Secretariat of the Clean Air Asia Partnership and is a registered non-stock non-profit organization headquartered in Manila, and with offices in Beijing and Delhi. The Clean Air Asia is governed by its Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and Operations Manual approved by its Board of Trustees (BoT).

Mr. Sameera Kumar is working on the position of ‘Transport Researcher’ at Clean Air Asia-India office. 

(1) How did CleanAirAsia evolve?

The Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID) established Clean Air Asia (then known as CAI-Asia) for International Development as a project, in 2001. In 2007 we became independent. We are headquartered in Manila, Philippines and have offices in Delhi and Beijing and network offices in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia.

We have nearly 250 members across Asia and we run an UN registered type II partnership network of experts, researchers, corporates, governments, academe which is probably the largest in the World. (You may consider joining it too; its free)

The India Office has been working with various Government and Private agencies as well as NGOs.

(2) Tell us about some of your projects?

Few of the prominent projects are:

1.  The ‘Walkability Study’ in Asian cities http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/projects/WalkabilityAsian which are 25 cities, out of which 8 are India cities http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/projects/India-walkability

2.  Clean Air Asia is the first NGO in world to develop a walkability App.  We would like to highlight the walkability app here, which has been used in more than 22 countries and 73 cities across the world. It is a quick and easy way of carrying out an audit of a walking space and is based on the Clean Air Asia’s popular and widely accepted Asian Walkability Index. The app has also been rated as one the top 3 urban apps in the world.

3.  We were in the committee of the 12th Five-year plan of planning commission, which is looking after urban transport, and also in discussion with the MoUD for the implementation and advocacy of the walkability and Non Motorized Transport (NMT).

4.  We are working with bus fleets to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, in which KSRTC was one of the three SRTUs that were studied, and was also consulted as a stakeholder and was part of the Roundtable organized in association with BMTC.

5.  We are working towards establishing a ‘Green Freight’  Program, that will work on reducing emissions and improve efficiency of the freight sector  and we are working with the private sector too.

6. We are working on a study on I&M across Asia with the support of MAHA.

7. We work on Air Quality and have one of the largest databases on Asian cities.

(3) Are you also in touch with such other international groups/ communities?

The Clean Air Asia receives funding from over twenty development agencies, foundations and the private sector. As a result, the Clean Air Asia Center maintains an independence from any one country, stakeholder group or funding source, and is thus able to provide a neutral voice for cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

(4) Tell us about the Better Air Quality (BAQ) Conferences?

Clean Air Asia organizes the Better Air Quality conference (www.baqconference.org) every two years since 2002 and is Asia’s leading conference on the topic of air quality, climate change, transport, energy and cities, bringing together more than 600 practitioners, policy makers and the private sector.

(5) Tell us about your India profile-

We work with diverse partners in India such as NGO’s, city governments, government agencies and also the private sector. Visit the India section her- http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/countrynetworks/India?page=2

To know more about CleanAirAsia, click here- http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/

Are you someone or do you know someone who is active in the field of environment for the larger benefit of communities? Drop us a mail at greencleanguide@gmail.com with a short introduction and contact details. We will get in touch with you for an interview.