Integrated highland wildfire, smoke, and haze management in the Upper Indochina region

Fire has long been used in Southeast Asia for the purposes of cooking, protection, and warmth. However, climate change and economic pressure have modified the life of locals, including fire practices in daily life and other fire uses. The land use of forest cover in highland area (mostly deciduous forest) has shifted to cultivation, with the application of slash-and-burn techniques. This results in frequent unplanned fires causing pollution in the form of smoke and haze. A zero-burn policy has been implemented to tackle this problem but such a policy may not be appropriate as people still need fire as a basic tool for agriculture land preparation. Moreover, the deciduous forest is a fire-dependent ecosystem to maintain its ecosystem. Frequent burning by local people or excessive government intervention in preventing fires can impact this ecosystem. In the highlands, shifting cultivation has gradually been replaced by rotational agricultural practice with a cycle of 2 to 5 years. However, the fuel load for a 2-year rotation period is only 0.25 tha-1 higher than that of a mixed deciduous forest. New fire risk maps classified according to forest types were produced for Thailand, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. We report that the mixing layer (ML) height in Chiang Mai Province was, on average, 500 m during March, with common occurrence of subsidence inversion resulting in further lowering of air quality during this month. A participatory process to develop a Community Based Fire Management (CBFiM) was undertaken and it was observed that a successful implementation would need a community with a strong leadership.

Co-production of knowledge and transformative learning towards a sustainable Asia

In Asia, sustainable development has yet to find its critical mass. Non-state actors have the opportunity to catalyse change by awakening their collective consciousness through mutual learning and shared experiences. Initiated by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) in Yogyakarta, a civic engagement project—involving partners and networks in Southeast Asia and Japan—was created to capture sustainable development initiatives from the ground, with a view towards strategic policy advocacy for a more sustainable Asia. The project aimed to bridge knowledge gaps by bringing together all relevant state and societal stakeholders to learn from one another and share their experiences, stories and narratives about change and self-transformation. Through a series of workshops, focus group discussions (FGDs), NGO fora and mayors’ symposia since 2015, the project resulted in an accumulation of knowledge that has the potential to galvanise the various efforts to push the sustainable development agenda forward on the ground. The collaboration of many partners and relevant stakeholders overall met its intended outcome by generating an ad hoc centre for the co-production of knowledge on sustainability and a “transformative learning” (Mezirow, 1991) platform. This was achieved by acknowledging the existence of various systems of knowledge, disciplines, and occupations while appreciating the tacit knowledge and unique insights coming from all participating partners, including the mayors, regents and local officials, and their civil society counterparts.

Capacity building at community forestry level for synergistic implementation of NDCs’ adaptation and mitigation commitments

Conservation, restoration and management of forest resources are critical for addressing climate change. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are a vehicle for targeted climate actions, including those related to forest management, by countries towards contributing global efforts agreed under the Paris Agreement. Operationalizing climate action stipulated in NDCs requires adequate preparedness and capacity, especially at the local level. This paper suggests a comprehensive framework of capacity building targeting at the community forestry level based on the findings of capacity needs assessments carried out in Nepal. The framework outlines a method to develop capacity among forest communities so they can carry out integrated assessments of the outcomes related to sustainable forest management, mitigation, adaptation and the quality of governance. Further, it outlines the capacity needed for integrated planning and implementation to consolidate the assessment process and make progress in an adaptive manner. By filling the capacity gaps at the community forestry level in a comprehensive manner, countries can narrow the existing divide between local-level climate actions and upper-level (national and international level) policy priorities, which is the major barrier for translating climate commitments into action.

Evaluation of prospects and barriers of biogas produced from livestock waste towards sustainable developmentand adaptation to climate change in Nghe An province, Viet Nam

The livestock sector is one of the fastest growing agricultural subsectors in Viet Nam, resulting in growing demand to sustainably dispose or re-use livestock waste. This research examined the current adoption of biogas digestion of livestock waste treatment at household farms in order to provide insights for policy towards effective implementation. A questionnaire survey was conducted in September 2019, with the participation of 120 livestock owners in Nghe An province, which focussed on accessing their perspectives on biogas and examination of factors impacting their decisions to utilize this technology. Most respondents determined biogas to be an attractive solution for improving the environment. However, several factors limited the development of biogas installation, including technical and financial barriers, awareness and capacity limitations, and financial support as the most significant of these. Government support and policies that encourage household biogas utilization as a sustainable energy source to combat climate change is recommended.

Climate change risk assessment and adaptation for loss and damage of urban transportation infrastructure in Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, climate change will potentially have negative consequences for urban transportation infrastructure (UTI). It is necessary to improve the understanding of climate change-associated loss and damage in relation to UTI to ensure the sustainability of existing transportation assets and for prioritizing future investments. However, there is currently limited knowledge on how to practically assess loss and damage for UTI in the context of climate change and then to incorporate appropriate adaptation measures and strategies to future-proof transportation planning. This study presents the results and experiences from assessing climate change-related loss and damage to UTI in six cities of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. One pilot city from each country was selected for assessment by applying NK-GIAS software to determine loss and damage for urban roads. It was found that the six selected cities were highly vulnerable to climate change given their location and exposure to sea-level rise, storm surge, flooding, and salinity intrusion. Through analyses conducted using NK-GIAS software, economic losses for different flood scenarios were determined. The linkage between flooding and road damage was demonstrated, with maximum damage estimations under the most extreme flooding scenario of approximately 20 million USD for Hoi An, 3 million USD for Kampot and 21 million USD for Samut Sakhon, corresponding to water levels of 3.4 m, 4.0 m and 2.7 m respectively. Damage to the road network was identified as a key impact related to climate change. Further research is recommended to develop appropriate damage curves through laboratory analysis, addressing both flood depth and duration, to strengthen the NK-GIAS analyses undertaken in this study.

Venturing sustainability: Political lessons from civic engagement and transformative learning in Asia

Current studies on civic engagement offer a critical examination of global civil society's struggles for a sustainable future. The liberal conception of civic engagement sees citizens as voluntary and participatory political subjects in their capacity to achieve a sustainability agenda. In Asia, such conceptions meet with the complex nature of power relations. Using a Gramscian approach and interpretive analysis, this paper draws on the struggles for hegemony, where power relations manifest subtly in state policy, market economy and civil society domains. Learning from the transformative learning experiences of various civil society actors, this study argues that in Asian realities, civic engagement is deeply concerned with the underlying structure of power, forms of negotiation and power dynamics. Political asymmetry is often made implicit by the privileged or uncritically internalized in civic life. There is a need to examine civic engagement as part of "the political", in which antagonism and contradiction are constitutive to social change. Furthermore, civic engagement can, and does, stimulate citizens' deliberate and concerted action against inequality, injustice and indignity.

Assessing potential loss and damage for flood hazard using an econometric modelling technique

Agriculture production largely depends on weather conditions and is extremely prone to natural hazards. A more frequent and severe occurrence of natural hazards such as storms and floods has put food security at increased risk in recent decades. Evaluating the true impact (loss and damage) of disaster in the agriculture sector is very challenging. The present study focusses on using a zrandomized field experimental approach at both district and micro agricultural-plot levels to investigate the impact of floods on agricultural yields in Sri Lanka and its effect on farmers who are averse to taking risks and those who are willing to take risks. A detailed site selection technique has been used in the study. The dissimilarity in difference estimates indicates that flood-affected households have experienced the loss of paddy and non-paddy crops. However, the net loss of non-paddy is higher than that in paddy. Farmers offset this loss by expanding crop cultivated areas zthat utilize soaked fields after the flood, though there are risks of pest attack and diseases. The results are not driven by household-specific characteristics and are robust to several specifications, different crop types and alternative flood-severity measures.

Climate Smart Actions “Saung Iklim” for Smallholder Farmers in Subang District, West Java, Indonesia

The implementation of climate change adaptation for crop production is often ineffective among farmers due to a lack of access to climatic data and inadequate knowledge on how to use the available data. The project introduced the utilization of climate data via the Climate Smart Action "Saung Iklim" application to targeted stakeholders (i.e., agricultural extension workers and farmer representatives) designed to improve farm management. The term “Saung Iklim” originally means a place where people can learn about the use of climate information for farming activities. Therefore, strengthening stakeholders’ capacity is an essential element of "Saung Iklim", which has been conducted via a series of training activities using various modules and focus group discussions. The project selected one of the major production centres of rice in Indonesia, namely the District of Subang. The district government formed a task force named “Tim Iklim”, consisting of the targeted stakeholders, to assist the project team in delivering the targeted project outputs. The project team, in collaboration with Tim Iklim, produced the modules on utilizing simulations of crop models for managing climate risks. The involvement of the stakeholders was to accommodate their input and understanding so that the modules are ready for practical purposes. The project also equipped Tim Iklim with a dedicated website, containing crop simulation model (CSM) outputs, modules, online surveys, and forums, to facilitate information delivery on managing farm risks to climate exposures.

Enhancing resilience through capacity building in LCCAP formulation in the local government of Aurora, Philippines

Climate Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) and Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) provide the scientific and legal platform for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Philippines. This APN CAPaBLE project responds to the limited technical capacity of local government units (LGUs) to comply with this requirement through collaborative capacity building. Evaluation of CDRA and LCCAP led to a National Interagency Technical and Policy Forum to formulate action plans and fast-track preparations. The initial stage of the project demonstrated collaborative advantage as a condition for mobilizing human and financial resources was enabled. Collaborative inertia set in once the technical limitations of Aurora LGUs surfaced to complete the CDRA. This mirrored the results of the institutional capacity survey, administered to 87 disaster risk reduction and management Technical Working Group (TWG) members, highlighting the LGUs limitations in data availability and functional knowledge on climate change. Thus, a shift in capacity building strategy through focused mentoring and managing LGU expectations was done. The Aurora LGUs successfully completed its CDRA and LCCAP requirements through a lengthy and arduous process. It was acknowledged that CDRA preparation has a steep learning curve and competes heavily with other multiple functions and pressing demands from the LGUs. The national interagency forum resolution suggested that the CDRA be assigned to another government agency while LGUs shift capacity development initiatives to understanding and mainstreaming scientific assessment into local plans. The project experience highlights the difficult, yet promising, path to human security development and resilience building and underscored prudence and urgency of adaptation planning at the local level.