7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum
Enabling Resilience for All: The Critical Decade to Scale-up Action
8-12 March 2021

The Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN), developed and launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2009 under the Global Adaptation Network (GAN), is the first regional adaptation network. APAN is an open network that strives to equip adaptation actors in the region with the knowledge to design and implement climate change adaptation measures, access to technologies and finance, and capacity building for integrating climate change adaptation into national development policies, strategies and plans. The network’s goal is to assist countries to build climate change resilient and sustainable human systems, ecosystems and economies. APAN has established close partnerships with key sub-regional organisations and has become an important adaptation knowledge mobiliser in Asia and the Pacific Region.

The Ministry of the Environment Japan (MoEJ), as the lead environmental policymaking body of the Government of Japan, has the mandate to create a sustainable society that is healthy, pollution-free, rich in biodiversity, and resilient. The MoEJ has the mission to “redesign” the socio-economic system in collaboration with international society in order to overcome the current dual crises the world is facing, the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan has a dedicated law on adaptation, the Climate Change Adaptation Act. This Act requires a whole of government approach to incorporate the adaptation perspective in every relevant policy. Moreover, one of Japan’s key strategies is to enhance the synergy between climate action and disaster risk reduction with the concept of “Adaptive Recovery”. It is the resilience measures that take into account adaptation needs, including the control of land use for communities to better adapt to climate change. To further enhance the most vulnerable countries coping and adaptive capacity in the region, Japan has established a science-based knowledge platform on adaptation called Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (AP-PLAT). With the aim to support the private sectors, MoEJ initiated collecting and sharing best practices of adaptation to assist them both in avoiding supply chain risks and in creating new business opportunities.

The Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum (APAN Forum) is the flagship event of the APAN Secretariat. It is the primary regional platform for adaptation practitioners to meet, share their learning and experiences, and work together towards the pertinent outcomes and practical solutions needed to address the challenges of climate change. The APAN Forum was active from 2010, hosted and sponsored by different governments and agencies, and with varying themes of focus. Since 2010, the APAN Forum has grown and became a space for scientists, financing institutions, youth, civil societies, international organisations, the private sector and government representatives from various line ministries from over 50 countries to meet, discuss and work together for greater partnerships for adaptation action.

Timeline of the APAN Forums and Events

1st APAN Forum | 2nd APAN Forum | 3rd APAN Forum | 4th APAN Forum | 5th APAN Forum | 6th APAN Forum | Virtual Dialogue Series | 7th APAN Forum

Originally scheduled to take place in October 2020, the 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum (7th APAN Forum) was postponed. In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic and growing public health concerns, in preparation for the main event, a Virtual Dialogue Series for Enabling Resilience and Scaling-up Action on Climate Change Adaptation was organised over four weeks during October and November 2020.

The 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum is held virtually from the 8th to the 12th of March 2021 and hosted by The Ministry of the Environment Japan (MoEJ) together with the APAN Secretariat. This year the forum is organised under the overall theme “Enabling Resilience for All: The Critical Decade to Scale-up Action”. Resilience is the unifying theme of the Forum and thus, the forum was built around the following four thematic “streams”: Inclusive Resilience, Nature-based Resilience, Economic Sector Resilience, and Communities and Local Resilience. Furthermore, discussions for each stream were structured on five enabling conditions through which resilience may be built, maintained, and strengthened, identified as Policy and Climate Governance, Planning and Processes, Science and Assessment, Technologies and Practices, and Finance and Investments.

Objectives 

The 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum aims to:

  • Address the capacity building needs and priority issues in the Asia-Pacific region that would enable the scaling up of tools and mechanisms to build resilience and to equip human systems, particularly vulnerable communities, with the capacity to withstand and moderate adverse impacts arising from climate change
  • Act as a platform for discussions to accelerate action and facilitate the “how” part of adaptation knowledge and programmes, with actionable, scalable “next step” guidelines for communities, stakeholders and governments.
  • Report on specific actions taken and the progress made since the last APAN Forum on addressing the identified priority knowledge, policy and funding gaps.
  • Formulate a set of recommendations on how to expand current efforts on adaptation in the Asia-Pacific region and provide the basis for the region’s contributions to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom and the 2021 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Kunming, China.

Participation

The 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum brings together:

  • Multilateral and regional organizations;
  • Government agencies (e.g. environment, planning and finance ministries);
  • Academia;
  • Engineering and other professional associations;
  • Donor and financing institutions;
  • Relevant private sector and business;
  • Non-governmental organizations;
  • Media;
  • Youth and community-based practitioners