Secretariat / Resource Persons

Duangchai Paungkaew (Pla) is Programme Assistant for ASEAN ESC Model Cities Programme at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).  She manages overall coordination, logistics and project implementation to ensure smooth delivery of the programme.

She graduated in Fisheries Science (B.Sc.) from King Mongkutt Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Law (B.L) from Thammasat University.

Dr. Junichi Fujino recently joined IGES as Principal Researcher and Senior Coordinator for City Taskforce, IGES since this April 2016. He also serves as Senior Researcher, NIES and is one of the main members to develop the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM) to assess policy options for stabilizing global climate. He was lead author of IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN).

Mr. Augustine Kwan is Programme Manager, Knowledge Management and Outreach at the IGES Regional Centre based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is leading knowledge management, communications, and outreach activities for the USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific project and the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN). He is also supporting the IGES Headquarters in Hayama, Japan with media engagement. Prior to IGES, Mr.

Simon is currently based in Japan as well as in IGES Regional Centre in Bangkok interchangeably, where he works as a senior policy researcher for IGES. Since 2010 he has researched and published papers on environmental governance, as well as institution building for cooperation on environment and sustainable development, both globally and regionally for Asia and the Pacific. He was a contributing author to UNEP’s Fifth Global Environmental Outlook Asia-Pacific, where he had the opportunity to co-author the Asia-Pacific chapter’s section on governance.

Mr. Ridronachai or “Luck” has joined IGES Regional Centre in Bangkok as Logistic and Administrative Assistant. He has an experience in coordinating with government/national agencies and institutions and non-governmental organizations as well as administrative, logistic, and secretary experiences. Before joining IGES, he worked as Training Coordinator at International Training Center (ITC), Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand where he coordinated and organized training section with other experts from public health area.

Shom's research focuses on policies to enable sustainable and low-carbon development in cities. She leads the ASEAN ESC Model Cities programme, which provides technical assistance, seed funding and other forms of support to ASEAN's frontrunner green cities. Prior to IGES in May 2010, she has conducted research on solid waste management policies and legislation in Japan and Southeast Asia. She previously worked as a journalist and as a Communications Officer for Energy and Environment issues in UNDP Malaysia.

Toshizo Maeda is the Director of the IGES Regional Centre specialized in urban environmental management and local environmental policies (P. E. Jp (Environmental Engineering). Before joining IGES, he worked for UNDP Malaysia Office as a program manager of the Energy and Environment Cluster, CTI International Co., Ltd. as a civil engineer and Japan Overseas Cooperative Volunteers program as a high school teacher in Ghana. He graduated from Sanitary Engineering Division, Hokkaido University, and obtained a Masters Degree on Environment, Development and Policy from Sussex University.