New programme on climate adaptation in Asia

Friday, 21 August 2009 14:02

SEI will undertake a three-year programme on climate adaptation in Asia in partnership with the Swedish government and UNEP. The programme, called the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia, aims to help countries in Asia take action on climate change.

Action to address climate change is not only about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is a pressing reality, and people must find new ways to adapt to the changing seasons, weather patterns, and their consequences. Climate change is bringing about such impacts as reduced agricultural productivity, migration across borders, or cities and towns being eaten away by the rising seas.

Impacts of climate change in Asia
Glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region are melting much faster than usual, bringing risks of downstream flooding and changes to mountain living. On the other hand, river deltas, the rice baskets of Asia, are experiencing water stress, threatening food security.

- The knowledge platform will support countries in Asia to assess their own situations, finding out what we don’t know and sharing what we do. It will enable countries to carry out a stock take of national policies and institutions, promote existing knowledge, and support research in areas where it is needed. Many actions on a small scale are already taking place; the platform will help us to learn from each other, says SEI Asia Research Fellow Kai Kim Chiang.

Start-up activities
The first phase of the Adaptation Platform focuses on 13 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Current activities are in the areas of research, training and knowledge sharing. A first event was held in Kathmandu in July 2009 to discuss how mountain ecosystems and livelihoods are being affected by climate change.

Meanwhile, two researchers from Thailand and Vietnam have been supported to attend a ‘winter school’ crash course in Cape Town this year to learn about climate risk assessment. A new website and online database for shared information are being developed.

- From these beginnings, we hope that many people will benefit. The immediate beneficiaries will be civil servants, researchers and development workers, who will be equipped with the knowledge, tools and opportunities to promote climate adaptation strategies in their work. Eventually, the beneficiary pool will be very wide as climate knowledge is applied for the public good in diverse areas of work, Chiang says.

Funding
SEI and the UNEP/Asian Institute of Technology Regional Resource Centre for the Asia Pacific have received 4 million Swedish kronor each (more than half a million USD) for start-up activities in 2009. The Swedish Environment Secretariat in Asia (SENSA), a Swedish government agency, and UNEP’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific are partners in these activities.

High-level delegates from the Swedish and Thai governments will attend a launch event for the Adaptation Platform on 3 October in Bangkok, timed to coincide with the presence of many government and civil society representatives in Bangkok at the final negotiation meeting before the UNFCCC event in Copenhagen this December.

For further information, contact SEI Asia Research Fellow Kai Kim Chiang.