Southeast Asia faces enormous environmental challenges possibly in the form of rising sea levels because of climate change, and also a degradation of its natural resources. These issues were dealt with in a special focus edition of the ASEAN Economic Bulletin (AEB) on “The Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources in Southeast Asia” (April 2008).
Managing environmental resources is not easy. Markets normally do a good job in dealing with scarcity — as things become scarcer, their prices increase, people consume less and producers invest more in producing them.
However, this does not happen when environmental goods and resources (global warming and sea level rises, climate fluctuations, nature conservation) became scarce, because few of them are bought and sold in markets. To overcome this shortcoming, economists and social scientists have devise methods to “price” environmental resources and to manage their impacts using markets.
Dr Herminia A Francisco will speak on “Adaptation to Climate Change: Needs and Opportunities in Southeast Asia”. The discussion will cover adaptation strategies and options for the impacts generated by climate change. Adaptation is important because sea-level rises and weather fluctuations will have widespread impacts on Southeast Asian economies and communities.
What are the adaptation options available to deal with climate change and sea-level rises? How costly are adaptation strategies?
Dr Orapan Nabangchang will focus on “Mobilizing Resources for Marine Turtle Conservation in Asia : A Cross-Country Perspective”. The presentation will discuss the results of a comparative study conducted in China, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam to assess the value placed by communities and individuals in marine turtle conservation.
Can communities in the region be entrusted to play an important role in financing conservation in the region? Or will reliance come from the international community as far as conservation issues are concerned?
More details and reply form on the ISEAS website
Time: 10am – 12 noon
Venue: Seminar Room II, Institute of South East Asian Studies
Website: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/
Contact: 6778 0955 or admin@iseas.edu.sg
