ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE SEMINAR SERIES
Abstract 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? Speakers Dr Herminia A Francisco is the Director of the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA). EEPSEA receives funding support from the International Development research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Dr Francisco leads the Program in developing capacity for environmental economics research to address priority environmental and natural resource use problems in the region. Prior to taking the post as Director of EEPSEA, Dr Francisco was stationed in Cambodia for two years where she managed the capacity-building training and research grant activities for select institutions in Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam. Dr Francisco taught for several years at the University of the Philippines at Los Banos and was also involved in providing consultancy services to several international organisations prior to joining EEPSEA. Her recent publication includes “Adaptation to Climate Change: Needs and Opportunities in Southeast Asia” in the ASEAN Economic Bulletin, April 2008. Dr Orapan Nabangchang is an associate professor at School of Economics, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, and a senior economist at EEPSEA. She obtained her M.A. in Rural Development from University of East Anglia, UK, and Ph.D. in Land Economics from University of Cambridge, UK. Her main areas of interest are natural resources economics, and resources valuation. Dr Nabangchang is currently working on the economics of soil erosion in Thailand, and application of environmental economic tools to estimate economic values of natural resources and the environment. Her recent publication includes “Mobilizing Resources for Marine Turtle Conservation in Asia: A Cross-Country Perspective” in the ASEAN Economic Bulletin, April 2008. You are cordially invited to the Seminar.
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