7th APAN Forum Theme

The 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum is organised under the overall theme “Enabling Resilience for All: The Critical Decade to Scale-up Action”. The Forum is built around four thematic streams: Inclusive Resilience, Nature-based Resilience, Economic Sector Resilience, and Community 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.

Definition of Resilience: “The capacity of social, economic and environmental systems to cope with a hazardous event or trend or disturbance, responding or reorganizing in ways that maintain their essential function, identity and structure, while also maintaining the capacity for adaptation, learning and transformation” (IPCC, 2014) [1].

 

Human societies have long demonstrated resilience in the face of ever-changing environmental, political, and technological circumstances, although climate change is testing human capacity to adapt, particularly where communities are also struggling to address poverty, environmental degradation, and conflicts over land and natural resources. Resilience strategies must tackle the social drivers of vulnerability, further reflecting inter alia the special considerations associated with gender and the special needs of highly vulnerable groups in society (children, elderly, differently-abled, indigenous groups, migrants, etc).

This stream will focus broadly on how specific actions and strategies can deliver resilience benefits, emphasizing the linkages between governance (institutions), policy, technology, and finance and how the resilience of human and social systems can be enhanced and built on demonstrated resilience in other areas. Important sub-themes will include climate change and food security, health, education, migration, and conflict resolution.

Key aspects under this topic may include gender perspective; indigenous communities and local knowledge; disabilities; human rights-based approaches; equity; migration; social protection; health; and education.

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Day 1. Enabler: Policy and Climate Governance

Envisioning Resilient and Inclusive Futures for Asia and the Pacific: the Role of Policy and Climate Governance in Securing More Inclusive Resilience Practices

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Day 2. Enabler: Planning and Processes

Supporting Human Rights-based Inclusive Resilience for All

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Day 3. Enabler: Science and Assessment

Enhancing Resilience Across Borders: Using Science to Call for Regional Action in the HinduKush Himalaya

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Day 4. Enabler: Technologies and Practices

Building Community Resilience by Scaling-up Women’s Access to Technologies and Strengthening Voice and Leadership

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Day 5. Enabler: Finance and Investment

Climate Finance in Flux: How Can Finance Flows Steer Resilience Pathways that Truly Leave No One Behind?

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Natural ecosystems can support human resilience through a range of functions and services; however, ecosystems are themselves under threat from climate change and variability. Wise management of the existing ecosystems, as well as human-induced modification, can improve ecosystems’ resilience. Reciprocal resilience-building provides the basis for ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and other nature-based approaches, which can be implemented as stand-alone resilience strategies or in synergy with infrastructure-based approaches (“grey-green”). Potential benefits include disaster risk reduction, livelihood, and food security, community health, and economic diversification in both urban and rural settings.

Significant learning exchange has taken place in recent years within the region concerning the effectiveness of EbA and nature-based resilience strategies. Sessions under this theme will explore that evidence.

Key aspects under this topic may include food systems and food security; disaster risk management and reduction; urban resilience; biodiversity and ecosystems management; benefits of nature-based adaptation for mitigation; water systems and resources; and restoration.

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Day 1. Enabler: Policy and Climate Governance

Fostering Inclusive and Cross-Sectoral Governance Processes for Nature-based Solutions for Resilience

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Day 2. Enabler: Planning and Processes

Integrating Nature-based and Ecosystem-based Elements in National Adaptation Planning

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Day 3. Enabler: Science and Assessment

Closing Adaptation Knowledge Gaps to Scale Up Nature-based Action in the Asia-Pacific Region

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Day 4. Enabler: Technologies and Practices

Harnessing Climate Technologies and Practices to Strengthen Nature-based Resilience

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Day 5. Enabler: Finance and Investment

Financing and Investments: Complementary Roles of Public and Private Sources of Climate Finance for Nature-based Solutions

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Asia-Pacific’s rapid urbanization, catalysed by economic growth and increasing demand for goods and services, represents both concentration of risk and an opportunity to invest in resilience-building at a large scale. Many organizations are currently working to understand what makes the economic sectors and the built environment – including critical infrastructure – resilient to a changing climate and are putting this knowledge into practice. Examples of approaches already under implementation in Asia-Pacific include water-sensitive-, “sponge -” and green cities. Development banks and bilateral development finance organizations have also established extensive portfolios of climate-resilient infrastructure investment.

Sessions under this theme will take stock of these experiences and good practices to support climate resilience investment in the built environment.

Key aspects under this topic may include climate-proofing infrastructure (such as ports, roads, power, sanitation, sewer, and communications systems); labour market; industrial development; and economic diversification.

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Day 1. Enabler: Policy and Climate Governance

Moving from ‘Form to Function’ for Strengthening Climate Policy and Governance in Economic Sectors

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Day 2. Enabler: Policy and Climate Governance

Overcoming the ‘Tragedy of Horizon’ through Climate Resilience in Economic Planning Processes

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Day 3. Enabler: Science and Assessment

Status and Challenges for Linking Scientific Knowledge to Strengthening Socio-economic Resilience to Climate-related Disasters

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Day 4. Enabler: Technologies and Practices

Taking Climate Resilient Economic Development to Scale through Technologies and Practices

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Day 5. Enabler: Finance and Investment

Climate Finance for Catalysing Transformative Economic Development

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International assessments consistently find that island states and rural communities are among the most vulnerable to climate change and disasters. Islands are highly exposed to stronger cyclones, sea-level rise, saline intrusion, and coastal erosion among other impacts. At the same time, these communities have shown over time and again their remarkable capacity to survive and rebound from catastrophe, and to adapt and thrive under new conditions. In this way, island and rural communities can be seen as learning “laboratories” of adaptation practices and approaches.

Key aspects under this topic may include tourism and destination resilience; integrated landscape management; rural and coastal communities; community participation and grassroots movements, including volunteerism; indigenous communities, and local knowledge.

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Day 1. Enabler: Policy and Climate Governance

Linking Adaptation and Mitigation: The role of National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Processes in Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Implementation towards Climate Action for Inclusive and Enhanced Local resilience in South and Southeast Asia

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Day 2. Enabler: Planning and Processes

Collaborating Efforts to Strengthening Cities Resilience to Climate and Disaster Risks

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Day 3. Enabler: Science and Assessment

Toward Locally Led Adaptation: Fusion of Local and Scientific Knowledge and the Role of Universities in Strengthening Community Resilience

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Day 4. Enabler: Technologies and Practices

Inclusive Community-focused Adaptation Efforts for Sustained Resilience and Development

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Day 5. Enabler: Finance and Investment

Partners not Beneficiaries – Empowering Local Communities as Climate Finance Actors

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[1]  IPCC, 2014, Annex II: Glossary:  https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/01/SYRAR5-Glossary_en.pdf