SEARCA and Partners hold Regional Consultation Workshop on Climate Change

The Umbrella Program is envisioned as a platform for convergence and collaboration at the regional and sub-regional levels, where institutions can work together, pool resources, and address gaps or move in directions where their joint efforts provide a strategic advantage for climate resiliency in SEA. It is hoped that the synergy created by the Umbrella Program can produce added value in terms of new knowledge, technologies, capacities, and processes than what is currently being generated by institutions working on their own specific research agenda.

SEARCA spearheaded this regional workshop with partners and co-organizers CGIAR Research on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Southeast Asia Program (CCAFS-SEA) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and with the support of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, the University Consortium, and the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN).

The regional consultation workshop was attended by 59 participants from the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources, or the University Consortium (UC), selected partner universities in the Greater Mekong countries, relevant government agencies from Southeast Asia, Non-government Organization, research and development organizations/programs, donor or funding agencies, and the organizing agencies.

At the end of the consultation workshop, participants had a more focused perspective and understanding of issues and gaps in climate change policy, research, capacity development, and knowledge management (KM) in the context of Southeast Asia and/or the ASEAN region; agreed on the conceptual framework for collaborative research, capacity development, and knowledge management (KM) on CChAM; developed the Umbrella Program on CChAM for SEA 2015 – 2020 in its draft form; mapped capabilities and needs of institutional partners to optimize synergy and support, and maximize benefits; and discussed resource mobilization strategies to implement the program.

The major thematic areas identified for collaboration in the Umbrella Program are the following: Theme 1: Assessing climate change impacts and risks for policy, plans, and investments; Theme 2: Advancing low-carbon agriculture and rural development; Theme 3: Enhancing pro-active adaptation to climate change variability and extremes; and Theme 4: Enabling policies and governance for climate-resilient agriculture and rural communities. Overall, the draft Umbrella Program on CChAM consists of four thematic areas, 21 sub-themes, and around 70 projects/activities.

SEARCA was represented in the consultation-workshop by its Director Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr.; Program Heads — Drs. Bessie M. Burgos, Maria Celeste H. Cadiz, and Maria Cristeta N. Cuaresma; Workshop Technical Coordinator and SEARCA Adjunct Fellow – Dr. Juan Pulhin former Dean and Professor, College of Forestry and Natural Resources University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB); Dr. Mariliza V. Ticsay, Unit Head for Knowledge Resources; Ms. Carmen Nyhria G. Rogel, Program Specialist; and Ms. Rochella B. Lapitan, Program Support Staff.