ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CROSS-COUNTRY RESEARCH PROJECT
Enhancing Household and Community Adaptive Capacity in Dealing with Climate Change in South East Asia
Context
Climate changes are significantly impacting Southeast Asian countries and are likely to result in reduced economic growth and exacerbation of poverty in the region. It is anticipated that the traditional coping mechanisms of developing countries to natural calamities will be seriously inadequate to cope with the negative impacts of climate change, thus increasing the vulnerability of the poor to such impacts. Communities in coastal and lowland areas of Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, in particular, are very vulnerable to climate change-induced natural hazards such as storms, typhoons, floods and sea level rise.
Adaptive capacity is defined as the ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes), moderate potential damages, take advantage of opportunities, or cope with the consequences of climate change (McCarthy et al 2001).
Enhancing the adaptive capacities and resilience of the communities at risk is one of the top priorities in the national climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies of the governments of Southeast Asian countries along with implementing measures to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Given its mandate to provide evidence-based information as a basis for decision-making, EEPSEA is initiating a cross-country research project focused on adaptive capacity for climate change.
Theme for Proposals
The theme of EEPSEA’s cross-country project is: “Improving the adaptive capacity of households and communities vulnerable to climate change impacts in Southeast Asia” and this call is to invite proposals for research studies on this theme. The proposed project is expected to contribute to policy discussions on how the adaptive capacity of such households and communities can be enhanced. At the same time, it is expected to contribute to theoretical discussions on the measurement of adaptive capacity.
The important questions the proposed research should address are:
1.What is a theoretically acceptable and useful measure of adaptive capacity?
2.What is the level of adaptive capacity of households and communities in climate change-vulnerable study areas?
3.What are the determinants of the adaptive capacity of households and communities living in vulnerable areas (such as coastal and lowland areas prone to sea level rise impacts)?
4.What are the measures/policy options that could enhance the adaptive capacity of vulnerable households and communities in dealing with climate change impacts?
5.Are there differences in the determinants and levels of adaptive capacity across countries?
Eligibility
Researchers from Southeast Asian countries are eligible to apply. We encourage research groups to be interdisciplinary in their approach in order to allow for a holistic analysis of the topic. Proposals with a strong theoretical foundation are preferred. Qualified research teams from several countries will work together, allowing for learning across countries and greater policy value of the research findings.
Submission and Deadline
Proposals should be sent via email attachment to [email protected]. The file name for the attachment should include the author’s name and date. Please visit the EEPSEA website at www.eepsea.org for guidelines on research proposals submitted to EEPSEA.
The deadline for the proposal is September 1, 2008. .
Contact for Further Information
Dr. Herminia A. Francisco
Director, EEPSEA
22 Cross Street, #02-55
South Bridge Court, Singapore 048421
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (65) 6439-6882
Fax: (65) 6438-4844
Website: www.eepsea.org
