July Subject Letters of recommendation for Project Surya Atmospheric

							                                                                                                         30 July 2008

Subject: Letters of recommendation for Project Surya

Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC), layers of brownish haze, are results of air pollution
emissions containing aerosol particulates. The widespread nature of ABCs and
findings related to adverse effects on climate, water budget, agriculture and human
health have generated great concerns.

Recognizing the importance of the preliminary findings, UNEP commissioned Project
ABC in collaboration with a team of distinguished scientists from Asia, Europe and the
United States, with the Science Secretariat at the Center for Clouds, Chemistry and
Climate (C4), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) of the University of California
at San Diego; and the Secretariat for Impacts and Policy Components at the UNEP
Regional Office in Bangkok.

During Phase I, a number of achievements has been made; such as establishment of
much needed climate observatories and capacity building, identification of ABC
hotspots across the globe, formation of impact study groups and initiation of ABC
impact studies on regional climate, water, agriculture and human health, as well as
initiation of mitigation studies.

Based on the solid foundation laid by the Phase I, UNEP and the Science Team (ST) of
the project have now agreed to further advance the activities of the project into
Phase II. Mitigation of ABCs is one of the major components of the Phase II. This is to
confirm that Project Surya has been developed as part of the UNEP-supported
Project ABC to implement the mitigation component of the Project. The primary
focus of Project Surya is Asia. However, the problems discussed are germane to the
entire world.


                                                Yours Sincerely,




                                      Surendra Shrestha
                                            Director
                       Strategic Resource Mobilization/Special Initiatives
                        United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)




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