SIXTH SHARING & LEARNING SEMINAR Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation

into River Basin Planning and Development:

Challenges and Opportunities

Monday, 27 June 2011Bangkok, Thailand

SYNTHESIS REPORT

The sixth bi-monthly Sharing and Learning Seminar of the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asian (Adaptation Knowledge Platform) and Asia Pacific Adaptation Network was organised in collaboration with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI) on the theme of how climate change adaptation can be mainstreamed into river basin planning and development. The seminar brought together participants from government and intergovernmental agencies, NGOs, academia, the private sector and UN agencies working on adaptation to climate change.

The seminar was chaired by Mohazarul Alam, UNEP Regional Office for Asia-Pacific (ROAP).

Photo credit: MRC

33

KEyNoTE ADDRESSES AND CASE PRESENTATIoNS

Chongchit Chantharanonh, Acting Secretary-General of the Lao National Mekong Committee (LNMC) and current member of the MRC Joint Committee, gave the welcome address. Noting that the impacts of climate change are unavoidable, she called on participants to prepare for change. She emphasised that adapting to climate change will require planning, and that while government systems need to adapt, much can also be done by local communities and agencies working at the policy and sector level to address the issues through IWRM and integrated river basin management and development, bringing together science, practical experiences, expert knowledge and “learning by doing”.

Andrew Noble, outgoing Regional Director for Southeast and Central Asia of the IWMI, presented the keynote address on “The role of river basin planning and development in climate change adaptation: Experiences in Asia”. Introducing the link between water, food security and economic development, he presented options for basin planning and development, and made a case for prioritising water storage options in the Mekong basin.

On the consequences of climate change in the Mekong River Basin, he noted an increase in average temperatures, but stressed that no significant changes in rainfall had been observed and that climate unpredictability will be an ongoing issue. He commented that projected rises in sea levels and temperatures,

44

as well as the likelihood of increased variability in rainfall, imply that we cannot continue to simply “rely on the past” in designing water-related infrastructure or planning allocation.

U n d e r s t a n d i n g variability will be key to developing appropriate adaptation responses.

On the evolution of the water sector in the basin, he commented that water management in the Mekong river basin is evolving towards a more complex arrangement of public and private services as well as more complex hydrology. He noted that public discourse has focused on large-scale infrastructure options in water use, namely dams and reservoirs, while groundwater storage has been relatively neglected. He suggested that the natural flood-pulse of the Mekong offers opportunities for surface storage as well

as recharge of groundwater aquifers when flows are abundant, offering this as part of a ‘water balance’ approach that could potentially meet seasonal agricultural demand for water. Examples were mentioned from the Syrdarya River Basin in

...adapting to climate change will require planning, and that while government systems need to adapt, much can also be done by local communities and agencies working at the policy and sector level to address the issues...

Photo credit: AIT-UNEP RRC.AP

55

Central Asia, where winter excess flows are stored underground and pumped out for use in summer; and from India, where water storage is undertaken through a mixture of small-scale surface storage, large dams and managed aquifers. He flagged that storage should be considered at the basin level, and that the management of transboundary groundwater aquifers would become important in the future.

Regarding the mainstreaming of climate adaptation responses, he noted that the water sector in the Mekong region is relatively unregulated: while Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is enshrined in law in many jurisdictions, it is yet to turn into practice. He highlighted that for IWRM to work at a range of scales, planners will need to understand how water supply and demand will change at the national and local levels in the future. Water flow and balance data will be critical to determining environmental flow needs and managing allocation. At present, national-level data is often available, but local-level information is sketchy.

Noble identified the drivers of water demand in the Mekong River Basin as population growth, dietary change, urbanisation, globalisation and increasingly, demand from biofuels; climate change is only one among several drivers policymakers take into account in decision making.

Birgit Vogel, former officer of the International Commission for Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and Chief Technical Advisor of the Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management project, MRC, presented the European experience

66

of mainstreaming adaptation to climate change into river basin management. She highlighted key points in the European policy process, from the 2005 Stern Review, the 2007 European Commission Green Paper on adaptation; and the 2009 European Commission White Paper on climate change, which recommended the issue be integrated in river basin management under the EU Water Management Framework.

She outlined the impacts of climate change in Europe as: increased water shortages and drought conditions in Southern and South-eastern Europe; a possible decrease in summer precipitation in Central Europe; greater frequency of flood events in Eastern and Northern Europe; increased flood events in winter and increased drought events in summer in Western Europe; loss of snow and ice in the Alpine regions, and an overall increase in sea levels.

Vogel described the work of the ICPDR, a coordination platform for the Danube River Basin involving 15 countries, of which nine countries are EU members and six are non-members. The ICPDR is the coordinating body for the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Floods Directive, which provide for transboundary cooperation and climate change adaptation in the water sector, in territory stretching across Europe from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. Six-year planning cycles for the development and update of river basin management plans and flood risk management places have been adopted, and there is a legal

77

requirement to coordinate planning across the whole river basin, including public participation requirements.

Vogel highlighted that the first of the Danube river basin management plans came out in 2009, noting existing challenges from pollution and hydro-morphological changes in the river. A study of climate change impacts in the Danube River Basin is currently under way in 2011, with a Climate Adaptation Strategy expected by 2012, and integration of climate issues into Danube and EU plans by 2015. She noted that among the concerns of water managers were the effects of climate change on ecology and water availability.

Chaiyuth Sukhsri, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, presented research from the Plaichumphol/Phitsanulok and Wang Bua Irrigation Projects, Thailand. The study, carried out by the Royal Irrigation Department and the Japanese Institute of Irrigation and Drainage, analysed the impacts of climate change on agricultural and irrigation systems through field surveys, interviews, questionnaires and simulations.

Noting that the Chao Phraya river system covers one-third of Thailand, he described community-based adaptation measures undertaken by local people using shallow groundwater wells and flooded irrigation (Colmatage) systems, concluding that self-help systems were already in place even before the climate change issue was raised.

He highlighted that the average rainfall has not altered greatly; however there is now greater

Photo credit: MRC

88

fluctuation in rainfall distribution. He concluded that there would be less water availability in the future, including more serious water deficits in the dry season. He recommended: rotation measures in water management using water control facilities; control of cultivation areas to match water resource availability, and measures for water retention and storage, including groundwater conservation.

G. Karma Chhopel, Water Resources Coordination, National Environment Commission (NEC), Bhutan, introduced the conditions in Bhutan, where abundant water resources in four river basins – the Amochhu, Wanchhu, Punatsangchhu and Manas – are glacier-fed and offer hydropower potential, noting that the population of half a million may have the highest mean annual flow per capita of any country in the world. He highlighted strong political commitment to maintain a large area of the country under forest cover, with designated biodiversity conservation areas to maintain many species endemic to Bhutan.

Chhopel briefed participants on Bhutan’s new Water Act, enacted on 31 May 2011, which agreed to: grant equity in water allocation and use; respect traditional water rights that are based on equity and social justice; ensure the licensing of water sales for commercial uses; and support water usage allocations through secondary legislation and upholding of international conventions.

He identified current needs to: coordinate IWRM at the national level, carry out an inventory of water resources, produce river basin management plans,

99

set water quality standards, and establish minimum environmental flow requirements. He noted that despite high water availability, dry-season flows need to be ensured, as there is little flow during these periods; challenges include unpredictability of flows, population increases and the unsustainable development of hydropower.

Chhopel outlined measures for adaptation in Bhutan that may include: investment in alternative energy such as solar, wind or biogas; establishment of Early Warning Systems for flood events; building of check-dams and reservoirs using the natural contours of riverbeds; promotion of rainwater harvesting and water-sensitive urban design; and adoption of drought-resistant crops. He announced that Bhutan will host a Climate Summit for the Eastern Himalayas southern watershed that will support the growth of upstream-downstream relationships, noting that

funds are needed for mitigation and adaptation measures, including the transfer of knowledge and technology.

Chair Mohazarul Alam summed up the key points from the presentations, noting that: (1) past hydrological data cannot be relied upon for future planning; (2) an incremental or stepwise process for change has been recommended; (3) groundwater recharge and storage could be considered as a future option; (4) hydrological boundaries as well as political ones are important in planning; and (5) there is a great need for data to inform current planning.

Photo credit: MRC

1010

PANEL DISCuSSIoNS

Panel facilitator John Dore, Senior Water Resources Advisor of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), introduced a panel of speakers who made introductory comments prior to group discussions.

Dang Thuy Trang, Manager, Sustainable Hydropower and River Basin Management, WWF Greater Mekong Programme, presented an ‘integrated approach’ to climate change adaptation that would integrate consideration of community needs and livelihoods with improved ecosystem management and protection of ecosystem services. She stressed that the management of transboundary landscapes requires regional cooperation, citing the Mekong River Commission’s current Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative (CCAI) as an example, and recommending a regional Climate Change Agreement as a basis for future work and cooperation. She also cited an example of positive linkages between adaptation and socio-economic planning at the local level in Quy Nhon, where the Vietnamese government chose to maintain a lagoon as a protective wetland for the city, abandoning earlier development plans for it when the city experienced serious flooding earlier in the year.

Photo credit: AIT-UNEP RRC.AP

1111

She proposed that a Regional Climate Change Strategy or Agreement between Mekong countries would: strengthen regional collaboration and cooperation; stimulate additional funding by strengthening investor confidence in regional commitment to adaptation planning and REDD+; provide a platform for national governments to negotiate joint solutions for displaced peoples; provide a framework for regional standards and certification of environmental best practice; and allow for integrated planning and coordinated investment.

In response to a question about why WWF’s approach was not referred to as an ‘ecosystem-based approach’, Trang noted that other formulations had been proposed including a ‘community-based approach’. She observed that there had been past failures of looking mainly at ecosystems without regard to livelihoods, and vice versa; the ‘integrated approach’ aims to put together both kinds of considerations.

In response to a question about how the proposed Climate Change Agreement would be different from the existing 1995 Agreement for Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin, Trang commented that it would potentially encompass a broader geographic area and would also highlight the climate change aspect of cooperation.

Bounyaseng Sengkhammy, Water Resources and Environment Administration, Lao PDR, commented on the impacts of changing temperature, rainfall, and water availability on the agricultural sector in Laos, describing current preparations for adaptation at the national level, as well as community activities under a CCAI local demonstration project. These included an impact and vulnerability assessment, testing of flood-tolerant rice varieties, participatory small-scale irrigation, and a survey of soil quality. She emphasised

...there had been past failures of looking mainly at ecosystems without regard to livelihoods, and vice versa; the ‘integrated approach’ aims to put together both kinds of considerations.

1212

that adaptation knowledge is lacking and that there is a need for capacity building.

HE Kol Vathana, Deputy Secretary-General, Cambodia National Mekong Committee (CNMC), highlighted a number of national-level activities relating to climate change adaptation: a socio-economic assessment regarding impacts of drought and flood on livelihoods undertaken as part of the National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA), a national vulnerability assessment, and a survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice

(KAP) on adaptation, conducted with the BBC Trust Fund. In addition, he mentioned USAID support for climate adaptation in the agricultural sector in Cambodia, projects undertaken with the Cambodian Climate Change Alliance, and a pilot programme on climate resilience, supported by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank with the Cambodian Ministry of Finance.

In response to a question on data issues and the connection from national to regional levels, Kol Vathana responded that the current socio-economic study aims to provide baseline data for adaptation planning, and that areas most affected by climate change have

already been identified for pilot activities. He stressed that proposals brought to the region by the CNMC need to reflect the thinking of line agencies, so as to ensure cooperation in implementation. Bounyaseng Sengkhammy advised that Lao PDR has appointed a Climate Change Office to develop a strategy and act as a focal point for its NAPA.

Photo credit: SEI

1313

In response to a question on how to operationalise adaptation, Chongchit Chantharanonh, LNMC, commented that an integrated approach is not easy in practice, as it means bringing different line agencies together to cooperate in relation to water demand and water balance, while data on local-level impacts is often not available. She said that the MRC’s approach is to select critical sites that are already experiencing various problems such as floods and drought, in order to understand climate change impacts and ways to adapt to the changing situation.

Yanyong Inmuong, Khonkaen University, presented adaptation initiatives in Northeastern Thailand. Among the issues he highlighted included the situation of farmers relying on rain-fed agriculture who are experiencing changes in the seasonality and distribution of rainfall, resulting in uncertainty about when to plant. He observed that transformation in cropping patterns from rice to sugarcane and cassava had reduced water use, but had also caused food insecurity as rice harvests are reduced. He described farmers’ coping strategies including pond construction on farmland, the use of local seed varieties that are more tolerant to extreme climate events and pest attacks, integrated farming in order to spread risk, and the use of household and locally-made organic fertilizer. On the efforts of government from the central through to provincial and local levels, he observed there has been a greater focus on mitigation than adaptation, that national and provincial academic institutes have carried out little research in this area, and that the focus in water resource development has been for medium to mega-scale projects. He emphasised that while

while some local authorities do intend to support small-scale water management projects, many are not aware of the need for climate adaptation strategies – although some farmers, in contrast, are well aware.

1414

some local authorities do intend to support small-scale water management projects, many are not aware of the need for climate adaptation strategies – although some farmers, in contrast, are well aware. He noted that at the national level, the central focus has so far been on a crop compensation scheme for farmers.

He recommended integrating climate adaptation strategies into provincial and local level plans, with consideration of low-cost investment options for solar and wind power, local weirs and ponds, as well as conducting more research and development on the policy-planning-practice cycle in adaptation.

Nguyen Thi Ky Nam, National Environment Programme Coordinator, Vietnam National Mekong Committee, presented the anticipated impacts of climate change on the Mekong delta, highlighting scientists’ projections that by the end of the century, a 2-3° rise in annual temperature will cause sea-level rise submerging 40 percent of the delta and flooding 20 percent of Ho Chi Minh City. She noted that effective responses to climate change in Viet Nam must be associated with sustainable development and local economies, observing that while inter-ministerial programmes on climate change have been established, there is still a lack of coordination between provinces. She emphasised that climate change is only one of a number of challenges and that other responses, for example on gender issues, must also be mainstreamed. She posed a number of questions on how to mainstream adaptation: how sectoral planning should be undertaken, modalities of operation, how much money should be invested for adaptation, and

1515

who would own the responsibility for setting time-bound targets.

Kathryn Elliott, First Secretary, AusAID Viet Nam, noted that, globally, there is a proliferation of financing for climate change initiatives, adding that Australia is providing AUD 599 “fast-start” financing for mitigation and adaptation, including AUD 44 million in Southeast Asia alone.

She outlined donor challenges in ensuring that: support is in harmony with government priorities for sound investment; climate change funding is well coordinated and integrated with other development assistance; governments have the relevant evidence to prioritise correctly; and funding is allocated without overwhelming local capacity. In Viet Nam alone, she observed that over 245 separate donor-funded climate initiatives are underway, and that this in itself presents a major coordination challenge. She recommended “delegated cooperation” as one way for donors to reduce the coordination burden on partner governments, through bringing together the resources and technical expertise to support larger programmes, with one donor taking the lead. She described how AusAID is currently working through a delegated cooperation arrangement with Germany to help the government in five provinces of the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam to identify practical approaches to climate change adaptation and coastal ecosystems management.

Photo credit: AIT-UNEP RRC.AP

1616

Whether the water

balance issue can be conceived of as a

supply chain problem, in which pollution or waste problems could be seen

as obstacles to water provision

How to distinguish

between climate change and normal

weather fluctuations, when requesting public officials to

adapt

How to better

manage variability and uncertainty, for

example, through raising safety margins, adopting

flexible strategies, or building infrastructure that

can be taken apart and rebuilt as needed

Whether provincial

governments were being neglected in

discussion of adaptation especially in relation

to slow-onset conditions

The role of the

private sector in adaptation

Appropriate strategies for

inducing upstream involvement and

cooperation

Photo credit: MRC

1717

What can be learnt

from past responses to extreme events and

variability in climate, where and on what time scales

these may not suffice, and what innovative strategies

and options will be needed

How to scale up

good demonstration models to ensure

they become common practice, including “translating” such

learning for decision makers

Whether any insights

on adaptation are specific to river basin management,

or can be made so

Whether Thailand’s new

social and economic development plan,

currently in the drafting stage, would incorporate action on climate change

and receive public support

How to make

adjustments and changes within the

current flow regime, in which temporal

shortages are already being experienced

DISCuSSIoN PoINTS

The plenary discussion raised questions of:

1818

CLoSING

Louis Lebel, Chiangmai University, commented that planning for the future necessarily involves uncertainty regarding the extent of climate change and its impacts, but does not preclude action.

He added that more analysis and depth of discussion would be needed before strategies for mainstreaming adaptation in river basin management could be adopted. In an optional afternoon session, some participants remained to informally discuss adaptation on topics that Lebel identified:

1. Data and understanding (cooperation and building capacity)2. Coordination and integration of adaptation initiatives and plans

(lessons learned)3. Innovative responses to the adaptation challenge (strategies,

technologies)

In summarising the morning’s discussion, Kien Tran-Mai, Climate Change Programme Officer of MRC, noted that:

1. We need to plan for uncertainty as past data cannot be relied on as a guide.

2. Nevertheless, data is critical for planning purposes, for example in identifying areas of critical need.

3. We need to integrate our approaches, from livelihood or ecosystem-based approaches to considering both of these together in order to have a higher chance of successful adaptation.

4. The proposed Mekong Regional Climate Change and Adaptation Strategy is not just another agreement, but promises to extend the scale and scope of our collaboration through a particular focus on climate change.

5. Knowledge and skills relating to adaptation are still lacking at the sub-national and local levels; meanwhile transformation in the water resources sector is occurring as it moves from an informal to a formal economy.

Photo credit: MRC

1919

6. Climate change is one of a number of competing drivers of change in water resource management, and not necessarily considered to be the most urgent; all drivers should be considered in an integrated manner.

7. A good mechanism for climate change financing is needed; while donor support is crucial, aid needs to be coordinated and enhanced through the cooperation of all stakeholders and local communities.

8. Adaptation is a flexible learning process; we need to take many different lessons from people and places regarding wise use of resources. We need to encourage innovative approaches and methods, taking action now while remembering that strategies will also take time to evolve.

At the end of the morning, Roopa Rakshit, Senior Knowledge Management Officer, AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific, thanked colleagues and participants for attending, noting that interest in this topic had been overwhelming. She announced a further knowledge-sharing seminar on the theme of gender in two months’ time, and invited participants to the Adaptation Forum on 27-28 October.

2020

PARTNERS’ AND PRACTITIoNERS’ PERSPECTIvES

Participants split into small groups to discuss the most important points that they felt had been made by the speakers of the day, then reported back to the plenary. They also provided written notes that have been drawn on for compiling this summary of views.

Conceptual difficulties

Planning and action at the river basin scale are yet to be fully realised in the Mekong region. At the same time, there is widespread uncertainty regarding the impacts of climate change. The challenge of mainstreaming adaptation, in this context, involves conceptual and operational difficulties, not least the difficulty of persuading governments to take action based on vaguely-defined parameters.

It is unclear if measures to adapt to climate change are fundamentally different to those undertaken for development - whether these measures should run in parallel or if they are actually the same thing. This confusion is exacerbated since a frequent suggestion is to use poverty reduction as a starting point for adaptation measures.

Decision makers may stall due to high levels of uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of impacts from climate change, and the generalised nature of impacts across a whole range of sectors. It is difficult to argue against the need for more data, but more data will not necessarily remove uncertainty.

2121

Data and knowledge management

Knowledge management for adaptation needs to be well-coordinated, multi-disciplinary and shared at the regional level. Duplication of research efforts should be avoided.

Successful demonstration models should be scaled up and translated into common practice.

Evidence of climate change and impacts should be collected through monitoring stations, hydrological/meteorological systems, weather forecast information and early warning systems

Education and awareness

Public awareness of the need for adaptation should be given a high priority. Education and capacity building initiatives should be tailored for specific audiences, for example, the finance sector needs to know about climate change so that they can understand why financial schemes from banks are required to finance adaptation or mitigation projects, while public officials also need to be aware and be able to undertake effective coordination. For the private sector, there could be a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) aspect to their involvement.

Thai PBS offered to cooperate with TV networks in Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and South China to create a fund for creating local TV content on adaptation.

The river basin management community should also understand the climate change concepts and know the climate policy community a little better – for example, learning the difference between ‘mitigation’ and ‘adaptation’, and between ‘weather’ and ‘climate’.

2222

Capacity building

Decision makers need to learn how to work with uncertainty. National focal points should be established for capacity building

on climate change adaptation. Capacity should be built at the sub-national level to be able to

use some of the existing tools and methodologies for adaptation. In developing adaptation measures, take into account gender-

differentiated experiences in river basin development.

operationalising at the international level

Finance adaptation initiatives. Take an integrated approach, coordinating: policy

implementation and enforcement; regional transboundary data-sharing; relationships between institutions; and donor perspectives.

Note the important role of upstream countries in hydropower and other water resource use. Urge China to join the Mekong River Commission.

Incorporate urban issues into broader river basin planning – cities do not exist independently of river basins

Conduct a regional Strategic Environmental Assessment of water resource use

Inform multilateral diplomacy efforts, focusing on the final document of ASEM meeting in Hungary in June 2011, which dealt with climate change. The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is the only inter-regional forum which managed to discuss this issue very recently, at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, with the participation of the European Commission and ASEAN secretariat (there were 49 participating parties in all).

Conduct research and development for vulnerability assessment, mitigation and adaptation approaches.

2323

Working at national level

Start with poverty reduction. Focus on land use, planning and land access/rights. Figure out how to better utilise coordination bodies and

mechanisms at various levels (this is a chicken-and-egg question, as it requires coordination to identify the appropriate coordination body).

Note that water availability is only one of the resources that people need for their livelihoods, therefore undertake multi-sectoral discussions at the local, provincial and national levels; inform parties of what measures are mandatory under existing cooperation arrangements.

Reduce water use in agriculture; plant trees; reduce building of dams; and reduce usage of personal vehicles in favour of public transport.

Undertake better policy integration between climate and non-climate policy, promote decentralisation, and tailor adaptation approaches to the context at the local level.

Reduce building of dams because of the damage to forests and natural flood cycles.

Update Water Acts and re-engineer water governance. Prioritise working on the most manageable level of impacts. Combine community-level adaptation approaches and

traditional knowledge with national strategy, research and vision

Build on and expand existing DRR efforts. Adopt similar methodology as is applied to forest cover, to work

out how much surface water should be stored. Policies on adaptation should be action-oriented.

Working at sub-national level

Improve expertise in climate modelling at the sub-national level.

Promote ecosystem and area-based approaches, and improve coordination mechanisms for this to happen.

2424

Working with local communities

Promote participation, protection of rights, transparency and accountability

Value local and community knowledge in broader planning processes

Assess risk perceptions of climate change in local communities as well as all government levels

Use visualisation models and tools to capture local knowledge, generate discussions and communicate solutions. Incorporating local knowledge will help to differentiate between natural variation and longer-term changes in climate.

Focus on community action; don’t wait for the government and the budget to be provided.

Ensure water security for local people’s agriculture. Reduce water use in agriculture. Follow the example of the Thai King’s practice of working

with communities.

Working with the private sector

Involve the private sector in valuing water resources.

Adopt a supply-chain approach to water resource management.

Working at the basin level

Carry out further critical review and analysis of past attempts to take climate change adaptation into account in river basin planning and management

Explore proposed technical options and institutional initiatives to deal with sea-level rise and other climate-change related risks in the Mekong Delta

Continue to organise further sharing of experiences of developing and implementing adaptation strategies at the basin level

2525

TAKE-HoME MESSAGES

1. More analytical work needs to be done in order to deal with the vagueness and ambiguity in concepts of both ‘adaptation’ and ‘river basin management’. This should not preclude public action meanwhile in support of adaptation to climate change. In particular, there should be further analysis of past attempts to take climate change adaptation into account in river basin planning and management, with the aim of uncovering insights for policy and planning within the Mekong Region.

2. The reality of climate change is obscured by climate variability, uncertainty and

unpredictability, making it difficult to ‘sell’ the necessity of action to policy

makers. This could potentially be overcome by promoting new decision-making paradigms to favour ‘no regret’ options, incremental approaches, planning

based on shorter time horizons, reversibility and flexibility. Also

needed will be improvements in the understanding of projections and

approaches to decision-making in the context of uncertainties.

3. We need to rethink conventional water management approaches in the Mekong, moving away from a focus on expensive, long-lasting infrastructure, to adopt a diversity of approaches in order to spread risk and maintain flexibility.

Photo credit: AIT-UNEP RRC.AP

2626

4. While past data may be less relevant as a guide to the future, there is still a need for sound data collection and analysis in order to: verify current impacts of climate change at a river basin level, coordinate effectively between sectors and scales, and provide an evidence base for policy making.

5. Accountability and transparency in relation to hydropower and other infrastructure plans has become more important in view of climate risk.

6. Groundwater conservation, recharge and use should be considered as a way of addressing dry-season water demand.

7. Public awareness and education must take a high priority in order for coordination between sectors and scales to be fully realised, and messages should be tailored for specific audiences and interest groups, including public and private sectors; this will be an important part of capacity building for adaptation to climate change.

8. Donors must place a high priority on coordination in order for countries to fully benefit from the increase in financing for climate-related initiatives.

9. The discourse on sustainable development in river basins has mainly centred around water management and agriculture – land-use, access and land rights should be integrated into the picture when considering options for adaptation.

10. Many examples of adaptation at the local level already exist; at the same time there is high-level commitment to action on climate change. Now needed are meso-level initiatives that conceptualise appropriate actions that are properly costed, have targets and are owned by the relevant stakeholders.

ACRoNyMSAusAID Australian Agency for International DevelopmentCCAI Climate Change and Adaptation InitiativeICPDR International Commission for Protection of the Danube RiverIWMI International Water Management InstituteIWRM Integrated Water Resource ManagementKAP Knowledge, Attitude and PracticeLNMC Lao National Mekong CommitteeMRC Mekong River CommissionNAPA National Adaptation Plan of Action

AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the PacificOutreach Building, P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang

Pathumthani 12120, ThailandTel: 662 524 5386/5384

Email: info@climateadapt.asiaWebsite: http://www.climateadapt.asia

AUGUST 2011Photo credits

Cover: MRC

The regional C l i m a t e C h a n g e

Adaptation Platform for Asia (Adaptation Knowledge Platform) and

Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) work together in Asia and the Pacific to build

climate resilience of vulnerable communities, ecosystems and economies. They foster generation

and exchange of knowledge and practices on Climate Change Adaptation, increase adaptive capacities, and facilitate the integration of knowledge into decision making processes and adaptation actions.

By bringing together policy makers, researchers, development practitioners, private sectors and

communities, they build a bridge between knowledge providers and users and

promote partnerships for transformative actions.