In Asia, nonprofits are leading the way in developing green tech solutions to address water scarcity and pollution in the region. With technical and communications support from Google.org and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), AVPN’s APAC Sustainability Solutions Lab (SSL) is helping organisations across Asia-Pacific refine their communication strategy, secure funding, and drive visibility as they work towards fulfilling their missions. Here are some examples on how they support these nonprofits beyond funding.

Data for Clearer Skies: AIT’s AI Cross-Border Haze Monitoring System Provides Technical and Communications Support

The Lower Mekong Sub-region is home to more than 245 million people. For decades, communities have been plagued by forest fires that produce transboundary haze, typically occurring between February and April and peaking in March during the driest period of the year.

Exacerbated by large-scale agricultural burning, the haze releases greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon and methane, which pose serious health risks. Yet governments and organisations lack consistent data and standardised methods to track emissions across borders, making effective regional collaboration difficult, underscoring the need for technical and communications support.

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand is tackling haze reduction with an AI-driven monitoring system that uses satellite data to detect fires, track air pollution, and calculate emissions across the region. This includes a standardised method and a centralised emission inventory database that processes consistent and validated data. This helps policymakers to formulate evidence-based policies and fosters cross-institutional collaboration among government leaders.

To improve the accuracy of satellite-based wildfire detection, thus improving technical and communications support, SSL invited field experts to provide technical guidance to strengthen AIT’s data validation methods. SSL also organised a workshop to enhance AIT’s competencies in data sharing and incident response protocols and guide them how to use AI responsibly.

Through SSL, AIT received tailored assessments outlining practical steps to drive visibility and expand its audience beyond academia and government. The institute learned how to translate complex data into compelling narratives and communicate its initiatives better to a wider audience. This also helped them collaborate with communities and NGOs to co-design solutions and make their research more relevant to users on the ground.

Read the full article about technical and communications support for environmental nonprofits in Asia at AVPN.