Cities And Climate Challenges In Southeast Asia

The Climate Change in Southeast Asia Workshop and Compendium Series is a platform to facilitate and promote research on climate-related issues in the Southeast Asian region. Organized by the Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme at the ISEAS ‒ Yusof Ishak Institute, the objective of this platform is to facilitate knowledge exchange and share best practices to deepen understanding of the complex and multidimensional nature of climate change. This inaugural publication sheds light on varied and contextual experiences of Southeast Asian urban communities in addressing climate challenges and scenarios for future policy making.

This volume explores how climate change impacts interact with poverty and vulnerability to increase the risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia. It combines knowledge from both academic literature and action research to explore the creation of climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable. The book contains contributions from researchers in different cities in Southeast Asia involved with the major research project Building Urban Climate Change Resilience in Southeast Asian Cities (UCRSEA). The authors respond to three urgent questions: How does climate change interact with poverty and vulnerability to create risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia? What does knowledge, from both academic literature and action research, tell us about creating climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable? How can we strengthen the agency of individuals, groups and institutions to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change? The book hopes to answer to current challenges posed by climate change. In the volume, the authors discuss how the agency of individuals, groups and institutions can be strengthened to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change.

Urbanization occurs in tandem with development. Countries in Southeast Asia need to build - individually and collectively - the capacity of their cities and towns to promote economic growth and development, to make urban development more sustainable, to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to ensure that all groups in society share in the development. This book is a result of a series of regional discussions by experts and practitioners involved in the urban and planning of their countries. It highlights urbanization issues that have implications for regional - including ASEAN - cooperation, and provides practical recommendations for policymakers. It is a first step towards assisting governments in the region to take advantage of existing collaborative partnerships to address the urban transformation that Southeast Asia is experiencing today.

This volume explores how climate change impacts interact with poverty and vulnerability to increase the risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia. It combines knowledge from both academic literature and action research to explore the creation of climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable. The book contains contributions from researchers in different cities in Southeast Asia involved with the major research project Building Urban Climate Change Resilience in Southeast Asian Cities (UCRSEA). The authors respond to three urgent questions: How does climate change interact with poverty and vulnerability to create risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia? What does knowledge, from both academic literature and action research, tell us about creating climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable? How can we strengthen the agency of individuals, groups and institutions to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change? The book hopes to answer to current challenges posed by climate change. In the volume, the authors discuss how the agency of individuals, groups and institutions can be strengthened to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change.

Climate change is a global phenomenon that is being experienced by all levels of society, regardless of race and species, and in all types of ecosystems, regardless of geographic location. It will have diverse effects on biodiversity which will directly impact on food security, water supply, and livelihood among others, especially for the poor and more vulnerable sectors of human society. More importantly, all forms of life including human society are trying their best to adapt and survive. This book explores the two-way link between climate change and the state of biodiversity in Southeast Asia. By drawing on the experiences and lessons shared by representatives from research and development agencies, academic institutions, donors, and other organizations; and the crosscutting issues contributed by experts, this book aims to provide insights, lessons, and perspectives on how Southeast Asia is dealing with these twin concerns. This book is invaluable to all who are interested in assessing research gaps, identifying future research areas, drafting effective policy agenda, and implementing critical activities at the community, national, and international levels.

This book highlights the current issues, challenges, and priorities for climate change adaptation in the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The status of each country was prepared by a consortium of researchers in consultation with National Focal Points of the ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change (AWGCC). National documents on adaptation actions, including local scenario and priorities, were reviewed where available and supplemented with an assessment of scientific publications to identify vulnerable ecosystems and regions. Adaptation needs and priorities were determined through stakeholder consultation in the respective countries. This allows for local-level perspectives to be captured and brought to the attention of policy and decision-makers at the national and regional levels. An important lesson from this exercise is that universities and research institutions at the national level have a critical role to play in bridging the gap between science and policy in climate change adaptation. These institutions also have the capacity to continuously facilitate transfer of the best available science for advancing climate change adaptation at the local level.

This volume discusses environmental change, natural resource exploitation and the prospect for ecological sustainability in Southeast Asia. The contributors including sociologists, geographers, anthropologists, economists, political economists and historians, presents the findings of recent archival and field research mainly from ongoing programmes of team research based in European universities and institutes. Among the themes discussed are European and indigenous perceptions of the environment; historical processes of environmental change; the politics of resource use; ecotourism and development; deforestation and smallholding land-use strategies; migration and environmental degradation; disease environment and human geography; demography, sustainability and resource exploitation.

This book makes an important and timely contribution to debates about the relationship between climate change and security in Southeast Asia. It does so through a human security lens, drawing on local and regional expertise to discuss the threats that climate change poses to human security in Southeast Asia and to show how a human security approach draws attention to the importance of adaptation and strategies for social resilience. In doing so, it exposes the consequences of climate change, the impact on community rights and access, the special problem of border areas, before going on to investigate local and regional strategies for addressing the human security challenges of climate change.

The ten essays in this book engage with some of the most critical urban questions of the near future across Asia.

The role of cities in addressing climate change is increasingly recognised in international arenas, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the New Urban Agenda. Asia is home to many of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts and, along with Africa, will be the site of most urban population growth over the coming decades. Bringing together a range of city experiences, Responding to Climate Change in Asian Cities provides valuable insights into how cities can overcome some of the barriers to building climate resilience, including addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. The chapters are centred on an overarching understanding that adaptive urban governance is necessary for climate resilience. This requires engaging with different actors to take into account their experiences, vulnerabilities and priorities; building knowledge, including collecting and using appropriate evidence; and understanding the institutions shaping interactions between actors, from the national to the local level. The chapters draw on a mix of research methodologies, demonstrating the variety of approaches to understanding and building urban resilience that can be applied in urban settings. Bringing together a range of expert contributors, this book will be of great interest to scholars of urban studies, sustainability and environmental studies, development studies and Asian studies.