Third Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum, 18-20 March, Incheon City, Republic of Korea
The Third Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum was held on 18-20 March 2013 in Incheon City, Republic of Korea. The event was hosted by the Korea Environment Institute (KEI) in association with the Korea Adaptation Center for Climate Change (KACCC) and co-organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Institute for Global Environment Strategies (IGES), the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP), and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). The Forum, with its 7 sponsors and collaborators, further enhanced the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) cooperation which characterises all adaptive actions. About 500 participants including adaptation practitioners, policy-makers, and specialists from various fields in climate change, as well as government functionaries and representatives of donor agencies across the world, participated in the event.
This year's Forum captured the same theme as the earlier forums in 2010 and 2012 which is "Mainstreaming Adaptation into Development", but the focus was geared towards "Strategies and Actions in a Changing Climate". The key selected topics relating to the theme were discussed at around 26 panel sessions and 6 plenary sessions with about 163 resource persons. At the end of the Forum, five take-home messages were delivered as a preliminary and selective synthesis, as follows:
Current adaptation strategies have their merits and limitations. Strategies that build resilience, consider opportunities as well as risks, and make governance more inclusive and adaptive could help societies better navigate unprecedented & uncertain climates;
The poor, vulnerable and often neglected groups need to be engaged more directly and meaningfully in adaptation conversations;
Different sectors and systems share many similar adaptation challenges. Higher level support is crucial, such that national level policies should enable adaptation actions at the local level; and the international mechanisms should support the national and local actions;
Effective adaptation knowledge management increases rates of learning and builds capacity; and
Unsustainable development is not a solution to adaptation. The role of natural and managed ecosystems as sources of resilience, and the interactions between climate and other sociopolitical and global environmental changes cannot continue to be ignored in adaptation.
First Working Group Meeting of the Green Development Initiative for Asia and the Pacific and the Thailand Green Development Index Seminar, 18 February, Pathumthani, Thailand
The Working Group for the Green Development Initiative for Asia and the Pacific and the Thailand Green Development Index Seminar was organized by the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific at the AIT Conference Centre on 18 February 2013. The main objectives of the working group meeting and seminar were to discuss the work plan, formulate the terms of reference of the steering committee and the working group, and solicit the involvement of Thai stakeholders and international agencies to develop the Thailand green development index. The event was attended by delegates from the Beijing Normal University, the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and Thai government representatives from the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board, and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning. Also present were representatives from international organizations, namely, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). The working group meeting and seminar proceeded smoothly and the expected outputs were successfully achieved.
Fourth Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality, 6 February, Bangkok, Thailand
Participants of the Fourth Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality in Asia
The Fourth Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality (UAQ) was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 6 February 2013. The meeting was jointly organised by the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (Clean Air Asia) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with support from the Sweden International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP). The event was a follow up of the Third Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality in Asia organised on 8 November 2010 in Singapore.
The Fourth Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality in Asia was attended by officials of the Ministry of Environment and other Ministries from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Representatives from international organizations were also present as observers, including, IGES, SEI, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat), International Cyrosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Environment Canada, US Agency for International Development (AID) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Ms. Adelaida B. Roman, Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana, Ms. Suwimol Wattanawiroon and Mr. Guilberto Borongan from RRCAP RRCAP participated in the meeting.
Mr. Iyngararasan Mylvakanam, Project Coordinator, UNEP Nairobi, Kenya, delivered his opening remarks.
He highlighted the need for regional and sub-regional cooperation to address air pollution quality issues and also mentioned several regional air pollution networks in Asia and the Pacific. Ms. Adelaida Roman, Head, Network Support, RRC.AP, presented the Joint Forum on Atmospheric Environment Issues in Asia and the Pacific (Joint Forum). She mentioned that there is an extensive range of regional and sub-regional networks on atmospheric issues in Asia and that the Joint Forum can be a mechanism to help share experiences and identify opportunities for effective collaboration. The joint plan for joint activities on air pollution in Asia and the Pacific, which was adopted by the participants of the Second Meeting of the Joint Forum was also highlighted including the vision, scope, goals, activities, and the terms of reference and structure. She also presented the updates for 2010-2012, including information sharing and capacity building.
The Meeting endorsed the development of the Guidance Framework and requested to be periodically updated regarding status of the development based on the time line proposed. In line with this, the Meeting recommended the following, among others:
call on development agencies to make urban air quality management a priority area in their work plans and development assistance;
call on collaboration between countries, organizations, networks and experts across Asia; and
seek collaboration with other initiatives, including Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to achieve Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP) reduction objectives.
The Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) released new publications
Mr. Nipu Kumar Nath is an MBA (Finance & Strategy) student at the School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. Prior to joining AIT, he had worked with Vodafone Essar Spacetel Limited in India. He had completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Telecommunication degree in 2008 from the Assam Engineering College, India. His areas of interest include financial analysis & management, corporate finance, investment banking, portfolio management, supply chain management and logistics management. He is currently assisting the climate change cluster at RRC.AP.