Scoping Assessment on Climate Change Adaptation: Thailand By Dr. Louis Lebel (USER), SEA START and SEI-Asia

National Strategies Five‐Year Strategy on Climate Change (2008‐12) 10‐year Strategic Plan on Climate Change (2010‐2019) Three-year Action Plan (2010‐2012) 11th National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDB) ONEP acts as a formal contact and coordination point for climate change policy in Thailand Source: Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), 2007. Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, 2009.

Sectoral Policies (1) Ministry of Interior disaster preparedness and prevention capacity of people at local level Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives promote and support conservation of local plant varieties tolerant to variable conditions manage water resources for agriculture and also flood protection for many cities and towns Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment work on the climate change adaptation research Source: Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 2009. Department of Agriculture, 2009. Royal Irrigation Department, 2009. Department of Water Resources, 2009.

Sectoral Policies (2) Ministry of Science and Technology technical capacity for training and assessing adaptation options scattered across groups and departments develop a coherent plan to improve water resource management in Thailand creation of the Climate Change Knowledge Management Center under The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) Source: Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, 2010. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 2009. National Science and Technology Development Agency, 2010.

Local Initiatives Bangkok Metropolitan Administration: Climate Change Assessment Report 2009 Proposes to: undertake risk assessments at various administrative levels identify high risk areas incorporate potential climate change adaptation actions into strategic city planning, where appropriate Source: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Green Leaf Foundation and United Nations Environment Programme, 2009.

Non-state Actions (1) Raks Thai Foundation: introducing climate change adaptation into its disaster preparedness work with local communities, now they undertaking “Under Building Coastal Resilience to reduce Climate Change Impacts Project” in the South of Thailand supported by the European Union Thailand Environment Institute (TEI): contributed to the National Action Plan; leading an initiative to help cities in Thailand adapt to climate change as a contribution to the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. The project is implementing in Chiang Rai and Hat Yai Source: Rak Thai, 2011. TEI, 2011.

Non-state Actions (2) Sustainable Development Foundation (SDF): empowering non-state actors and their networks to pursue sustainable development; now working with local fishing community to reduce risks and vulnerability to climate change Oxfam in collaboration with EarthNet and SEA START: undertaken project on climate change adaptation with local communities in Yasothon Province to improve community risk management with respect to climate variability Source: Oxfam, 2009. SDF, 2011.

Source: START, 2009. Thailand Research Fund, 2011. State of Knowledge (1) Research SEA START is helping stimulate, coordinate and synthesize research on a wide variety of research program in the region including Thailand Thailand Research Fund (TRF) has “Adaptation to Climate Change” research funding program to support adaptation research projects throughout Thailand Source: START, 2009. Thailand Research Fund, 2011.

State of Knowledge (2) Key issues (1) Water resources: droughts, floods and storms already have major impacts in Thailand Biodiversity: shifts in amounts and patterns of rainfall could have major implications for species which often now have restricted ranges because of impacts of human activities; mangroves will be threaten by deforestation and habitat conversion Source: Greenpeace Southeast Asia, 2006, D. M. Alongi, 2008.

State of Knowledge (3) Key issues (2) Agriculture and rural livelihoods: change in water flow regimes and temperatures will likely impact freshwater fisheries an aquaculture; vulnerability of agricultural production to changes in climate may be quite high Human settlements, health and infrastructure: flood protection measures to protect central business districts may redistribute risks and burdens to neighboring urban areas or rural locations; climate change may also increase risk of food and water-borne diseases Source: FAO, 2008. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, 2007. Louis Lebel et al, 2007.

Challenges Climate change adaptation management and policy research Building adaptive capacity Resilience to climate variability and change Incorporate climate change in public policies Bring knowledge and practice together Capacity building to improve level of understanding of potential changes to climate and impacts as well as vulnerabilities Need improved coordination and collaboration among agencies, including, but not restricted to sharing of data Apply agencies’ experiences in linking knowledge with practice of other issues like disaster management

Stockholm Environment Institute Thank you very much Dusita Krawanchid Stockholm Environment Institute dusita.krawanchid@sei-international.org