AP-PLAT Welcomed Delegates from Bhutan's National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology, and Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources

Date	15-17 April and 25 April 2025
Venue	National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Tsukuba, Japan
Organizer	National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan （OECC）

In April 2025, AP-PLAT welcomed delegates from Bhutan’s National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM), and the Department of Forest and Park Services, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MoENR). This was NCHM’s second visit to the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) within the past year.

The delegation was welcomed by Dr. Yasuaki Hijioka, Director of the Center for Climate Change Adaptation (CCCA), NIES. Dr. Yuji Masutomi from AP-PLAT then introduced the training schedule and activities planned for the visit.

On the afternoon of 15 April, researchers from NIES shared their latest work on modeling and monitoring the physical environment. Presentations were given by Hideo Shiogama and Tokuta Yokohata from the Earth System Division, along with Naota Hanasaki and Noriko Ishizaki from CCCA. Topics included global climate modeling, permafrost monitoring, water resource simulations, and downscaling techniques, followed by discussions on how these research outputs could be applied in the Bhutanese context.

The morning of 16 April focused on the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. Wataru Hotta and Dai Koide from CCCA, Fumiko Ishihama from the Biodiversity Division, and Qinxue Wang from the Regional Environmental Conservation Division presented their recent studies on forests, biodiversity, and environmental change.

In the afternoon, Takahiro Oyama and Yuki Yoshida from CCCA, together with Akane Matsuo from the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), introduced climate change adaptation frameworks and demonstrated online adaptation platforms A-PLAT and AP-PLAT.

On 17 April, a hands-on training session was held on generating high-resolution climate data for Bhutan. The session introduced a practical and efficient downscaling method using Climate Data Operators (CDO).

Participants learned how to download low-resolution data from A-PLAT Pro and convert it into higher-resolution datasets using CDO commands, enhancing their ability to generate climate data suited to Bhutan’s national needs.

With active exchanges between researchers from NIES, IGES, and the Bhutanese delegation, the visit provided a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and experiences on climate change and biodiversity. We look forward to further collaboration with NCHM and MoENR.

(Posted : 13/Jun/2025)