Climate change adaptation readiness in the ASEAN countries

The document evaluates the 'adaptation readiness' of ASEAN countries, categorizing them based on their policy engagement and institutional frameworks. It identifies the Philippines and Vietnam as pioneers, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar as emerging champions, and Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand as 'wait-and-see' adaptors. The analysis highlights critical gaps in funding, sub-national engagement, and the failure to address structural inequalities and the specific needs of smallholders. It recommends a regional agenda for smallholder adaptation, increased direct engagement with rural populations, and the establishment of regional knowledge-sharing and monitoring systems.

• ASEAN countries are categorized into three levels of adaptation readiness: 'adaptation pioneers' (Philippines and Vietnam), 'emerging champions' (Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar), and 'wait-and-see adaptors' (Laos, Malaysia and Thailand).
• The Philippines and Vietnam are identified as pioneers because they view adaptation as an urgent necessity and have established formal institutional and legal frameworks, such as the Philippines' Climate Change Act of 2009 and Vietnam's National Target Program to Respond to Climate Change (NTP-RCC).
• In 'wait-and-see' countries like Malaysia and Thailand, higher income levels and lower perceived risk indices have led to complacency, often resulting in adaptation being subsumed under broader economic development strategies.
• A significant deficit in regional adaptation readiness is the focus on national-level planning, which neglects sub-national action and fails to incorporate local knowledge, such as Indonesia's sasi and subak systems.
• Current adaptation planning often focuses on the physical impacts of natural hazards while ignoring cumulative indirect climate impacts, non-climate stressors, and the structural inequalities and poverty that drive vulnerability.
• Smallholders—defined as farms of less than 2 hectares using household labour—are critically vulnerable and underrepresented in decision-making, despite their essential role in Asian agriculture.

APA

Salamanca, A., & Nguyen, H. (2016). Climate change adaptation readiness in the ASEAN countries. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-DB-2016-Climate-adaptation-readiness-ASEAN.pdf

Chicago

Salamanca, Albert, and Ha Nguyen. Climate change adaptation readiness in the ASEAN countries. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2016. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-DB-2016-Climate-adaptation-readiness-ASEAN.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{salamanca2016climate, author = {Salamanca, Albert and Nguyen, Ha}, title = {{Climate change adaptation readiness in the ASEAN countries}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2016}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-DB-2016-Climate-adaptation-readiness-ASEAN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }