TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — NASA has certified its first Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) calibration and training center in Asia at Mount Lulin inside Taiwan’s Yushan National Park, reports said Thursday (Nov. 2).

The center will provide key information about air pollution and climate change in the Asia Pacific region, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment (MOENV) already operates seven aerosol monitoring stations around the country which have joined up with the NASA network.

The Mount Lulin calibration center is only the third in the world to be certified by NASA, in addition to centers in Hawaii and in Spain’s Canary Islands. The new status would turn Taiwan from a data client into a data provider for Asia and Southeast Asia, the MOENV said.

The center would teach experts in the region how to analyze and use pollution and climate change information, thus making an important contribution to global environment studies, according to the ministry.