The Inter-Institutional Research Center for Air Pollution Studies (IRCAPS), established at Osh State University in the Kyrgyz Republic as one of the outcomes of an international joint research project led by Professor Nawa of the Department of Global Environmental Health, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo), has been selected as a co-chair of the Development Partners Coordination Council (DPCC) Working Group on Air Quality (WG) in the Kyrgyz Republic for 2026. Together with the United Nations Environment Programme, IRCAPS held its first meeting as co-chair on April 17.
IRCAPS was established as part of the project "Development of a Satellite Data- and a Regional Chemical Transport Modeling-based Air Pollution Assessment System and Formation of a Research Center for Air Pollution Studies," led by Nawa. The project was selected for the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), a program through which the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provide research and development management and financial support for international joint research. IRCAPS serves as a research hub in the Kyrgyz Republic that promotes air pollution research, human resource development, and policy recommendations based on scientific evidence. Researchers from Japan and the Kyrgyz Republic are working together to continuously advance practical research that links regional health issues in the Kyrgyz Republic with environmental policy.
The DPCC is a coordination body in the Kyrgyz Republic that promotes cooperation among development partners, government agencies, and other stakeholders. Within the DPCC, the WG serves as a core framework supporting the country's clean air policies, with participation from numerous international organizations and research institutions, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the Asian Development Bank, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank.
In recent years, the WG also contributed to the preparation of the report Overview of Clean Air Actions in Kyrgyzstan 2018-2024 in June 2025. The report summarizes the outcomes of air quality assessments and policy dialogue in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, and includes the research achievements of the SATREPS project led by Professor Nawa as one of the key initiatives.
During the 2026 term, Aiperi Asanbek Kyzy, a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Global Environmental Health, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Science Tokyo, will serve as IRCAPS' operational contact point, coordinating communications and meetings of the WG together with representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme. Asanbek Kyzy is an alumna of Osh State University and, as a specialist with expertise in both environmental health research and the social and policy context of the Kyrgyz Republic, will play a key role in connecting the research outcomes of SATREPS project to international policy dialogue.
As co-chair of the WG, IRCAPS will draw on the scientific evidence and human networks developed through the SATREPS project led by Nawa as the principal investigator on the Japanese side. IRCAPS will work to ensure that research findings are shared and utilized in policy discussions and international coordination forums, thereby contributing to the improvement of air quality in the Kyrgyz Republic.
