Transcript To facilitate climate change adaptation in Asia at local, national and

Regional Climate Change
Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia
Satya Priya, PhD
ISDR Asia Partnership Meeting
March 2010
Platform Goal and Purpose
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Goal:
To facilitate climate change adaptation in Asia
at local, national and regional levels and
strengthen adaptive capacity
Purpose:
• establish a regionally & nationally owned
information exchange mechanism
• facilitate the integration of climate
change adaptation into national &
regional economic & development
policies, processes & plans
• strengthen linkages with development
agenda
• enhance research & institutional capacity
Outputs and Specific Objectives
Regional knowledge sharing system
To promote dialogue and improve exchange of
knowledge, information and methods and link existing
and emerging networks and initiatives
Assimilation of current and generation of new knowledge
To generate new knowledge and promote understanding
and provide guidance relevant to development and
implementation of national and regional climate change
adaptation policy, plans and processes
Application of existing and new knowledge
Synthesis of existing and new knowledge to promote its
application in sustainable development practices at the
local, national and regional levels
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Phase 1 Geographic Scope (2009-2011)
 Greater Mekong SubRegion (Cambodia,
China PR, Lao PDR,
Myanmar, Thailand &
Viet Nam), and
 Other Asian countries,
including Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Nepal, the
Philippines & Sri Lanka.
2009 Inception Period: Lessons learned
• Need to establish an identity: in a crowded field the
Platform needs to be distinctive and specific on what it
does
• All parties consulted – at all levels – showed
enthusiasm for the general idea of the Platform
• BUT – they wanted to be clear what it would do and
how it would help them in their work
• This was especially true for people outside the ‘usual
suspects’ – people who are involved in development
planning – the ‘mainstreamers’
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2009 Consultations: Key Issues
• Awareness of the need to adapt was strong but
understanding of what adaptation is was generally weak,
at all levels
• Senior policy level: especially planning, finance,
development sectors such as industry, transport, energy,
agriculture
• Sub-national level: local government officials responsible
for development planning
• Community-level workers: NGOs and Government
• Something is happening in all countries: need to work with
and support these nascent efforts
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Knowledge availability vis-à-vis demand
Knowledge Available by
Science
Knowledge Demand by
Society and Politics
Good confidence in
regional climate trends
and projections
More robust national and
local climate trends and
projections
Observed regional
changes and plausible
projections
Probability and severity
(magnitude) of climatic
parameters
Knowledge and data
limited to historical
observation
Long term observations
Regional scale climate
Ready made information
information are available
is needed for decision
but not in a ready form for making
its direct uses
A major discrepancy between space and time
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Bottom Line:
DECISION MAKING MUST BE MADE UNDER UNCERTAINITIES
(Source: Adapted using Salzmann et. al.)
Climate Ladder for Action and Capacity Building
Step 4:
Redistribution of climate
responsibilities through
institutions
Step 3:
Options and resources for
individual transformation and
change
Step 2:
Incentives and
motives
Step 1:
Perception and
awareness
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(Source: Tabara and Serra)
Adaptation and Development – a perspective
• Energy, Water and Food Security
– The water – Regional – a trans-boundary issue (River Basins)
Challenge – competing demands - approach – to facilitate
south- south cooperation)
– The land and water challenge – National – Understanding
competing demands and provide knowledge to create
adaptation opportunities
– The energy challenges - Managing competing objectives and
creating a new comparative advantage (Not covered by
Platform)
• Managing Social vulnerability - helping people help
themselves
– Local remedies not only cope but to build resilience
Climate Change and Development Policy
• An International Architecture for Climate change and
Development
– Highlight development opportunities in the changing
competitive landscape that includes climate – and how to seize
them
– Harnessing Finance and Market Instruments for Mitigation and
Adaptation
– Harnessing Innovation and Technology Diffusion for Mitigation
and Adaptation
Climate Adaptation Policy and Decisions
• Global problem, local action: effective national and
community-level actions
• Getting to decisions - Managing the politics and socialpsychology of climate change
• Getting to good decisions – institutions and information;
Adaptive policies and governance
Response to Adaptation
• The Climate is changing and It is wiser and cheaper to act
now
• Not all but many of adaptation options are win/win and we
have a duty of care
• Build development linkages – Fostering a shared
understanding of the consequences of climate change
• Reflection in national policy, in 5 year socioeconomic
development and planning (top-down approach)
• Micro/macro linkages (bottom up approach)
• Catalyze -develop-build political will – long-term commitment
and planning
Initial key implementing partners:
 Asian Institute of Technology/UNEP Regional Resource
Centre for Asia and the Pacific (AIT/UNEP RRC.AP)
 Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
 Swedish Environment Secretariat for Asia (SENSA)
 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Working closely with national & regional partners to develop
and implement programme of activities
Secretariat
AdaptationKnowledgePlatform
Asian Institute of Technology/UNEP Regional Resource Center for Asia & the Pacific
Asian Institute of Technology, Outreach Building
P O Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
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