1. Research at AIT Sustainable Development in the context of Climate Change

2. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change I. Overview AIT has been involved in Technological and Developmental research of relevance to the region from its inception. Sustainable development of the region has been at the core of major projects carried out in various parts of Asia. www.ait.asia

3. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change I. Overview(Contd) More than 2000 graduate students carrying out research projects supervised by over 200 highly qualified and experienced faculty advisors 458 projects that are currently being conducted (June 2009) with a total budget of 1.8 Billion Thai Baht Bath staffed by 1,000 research and support personnel from 30 countries. 70% of these are developmental projects www.ait.asia

4. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change I. Overview AIT is striving for a distinct profile in certain strong niche areas. Maintaining a societal perspective on science, researchers at AIT produce knowledge for practical application with high relevance, utility and economic impacts. The Institute and its staff are in a position to work with local change agents and provide innovative solutions with the help of inter disciplinary teams www.ait.asia

5. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change Thematic knowledge area in Strategy Development Plan of Institute WHY “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE?” Based on : Considerable experience in the region Working in the area of sustainable development for more than 2 decades Consolidating this research for Climate Change under broader umbrella of Sustainable Development to strengthen contribution towards knowledge generation and development. A strong base composed of networking and collaborating partners focusing on the thematic area with broad support from various donor agencies and stakeholders www.ait.asia

6. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change II. Thematic Knowledge Focus Responding to the new challenges the region faces. Climate change is a global challenge and concerted trans-disciplinary efforts are required to develop new adaptation and mitigation strategies which will provide local communities more resilience while leading to a greener and better world. Institutional commitment to work towards this by forming strong teams, and networks and working in a collaborative manner with all stake holders. The Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Development in the Context of Climate Change will provide greater impetus to these goals by developing a research strategy for the near and middle term. www.ait.asia Institute wide thematic sub-groups under the broad area of SD in the context of climate

7. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change II. Thematic Knowledge Focus Vulnerability and Disaster Risk Reduction Water Resources and Coastal Adaptation Urban and Rural Sustainability Agriculture, Land Use and Forestry Low Carbon Society and Renewable Technology Cleaner Production and Waste Refinery www.ait.asia Institute wide thematic sub-groups under the broad area of SD in the context of climate

8. Water Resources and Coastal Adaptation The Wetlands Alliance is a process of regional collaboration to strengthen local-level capacity for sustainable, poverty focused wetlands management. Aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of the region’s rural and peri-urban poor based on improved management of wetlands and water/aquatic resources. It is on these resources the poorest people in the region depend most. The Alliance currently engages over 30 partner organizations in the Lower Mekong Basin region. At the provincial and district level, local partners develop and implement the work and are the direct beneficiaries of the capacity development efforts supported by the regional partners. The complementary strengths of the different partners offers a regional pool of knowledge and expertise. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change www.ait.asia

9. Wetlands Alliance The Alliance is currently operating in eight geographic locations in four countries. The Alliance consists of regional partners Coastal Resources Institute (CORIN) of Prince of Songkhla University, World Fish Center (WorldFish), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Over 30 local partners or Local Change Agents or LCAs. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change www.ait.asia

10. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change WATER RESOURCES One of the earliest programs at AIT Extensive work in the region in the area of integrated water recourses management and integrated coastal zone management Research projects An Assessment of the Socio-economic Impacts of Flood under Climate Change Conditions in Large Coastal Cities in South and South-east Asia Sediment Management in South and Southeast Asia Climate Change impact and Adaptation Study for Bangkok Metropolitan region UNEP Water Vulnerability Assessment in South and South East Asia New Report: “Freshwater Under Threat: South Asia” produced by UNEP and AIT. Identifies key threats to water resources development and management, and assesses the challenges the region faces in coping with these threats www.ait.asia

11. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change Rural and Urban Sustainability CIDA SEA-UEMA Southeast Asia Urban Environmental Management Applications (SEA-UEMA) Project Project Goal and Purpose Goal To improve urban environmental conditions in SEA region. To attain improved implementation and sharing of sound UEM policies and good practices. Project Focus 1. Water and Sanitation 2. Solid Waste 3. Air Pollution With Gender Equality as the Cross-cutting Theme www.ait.asia Number of projects in the areas of sustainable cities and Climate change

12. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change II. Current Research CIDA SEA-UEMA Southeast Asia Urban Environmental Management Applications (SEA-UEMA) Project www.ait.asia Major Activities in the new consolidation phase: » Awarding targeted scholarships to partner institutions – capacity building » Implementation of Flagship Projects » Identification of country nodes in target countries to develop and strengthen national networks, and conduct local training and disseminate lesson learned and good practices » Identification of anchor institutions in target countries to do policy campaign on identified focal policy issues » Strengthen integration of gender equality in UEM policies and practices Geographic Coverage: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam

13. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change RESEARCH GAPS IN CLIMATE CHANGE Climate Adaptation in Asia: Knowledge Gaps and Research Issues in South East Asia Project on “Adapting to Climate Change in Asia: Identifying Critical Knowledge Gaps” supported through the Joint DFID-IDRC Regional consultation to assess regional priorities, capabilities and research gaps on climate change and poverty reduction in Asia www.ait.asia

14. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change Low Carbon Society and Renewable Technology The Asian Regional Research Programme in Energy, Environment and Climate (ARRPEEC), started 1995 www.ait.asia MAIN OBJECTIVES Production of high quality policy oriented outputs in the selected areas of energy, environment and climate research. Capacity mobilization and enhancement at National Research Institute (NRI) level through project level joint activities and fellowships. Linkage of project level activities in the participating countries with national, regional and global initiatives for reducing GHG and other hazardous emissions. Dissemination of results of the programme among policy personnel with a view to creating an impact on policy making.

15. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change 1. ARRPEEC www.ait.asia Involved four regional research projects, namely: 1)Biomass Energy in Asia: Assessment and Strategy Formulation; 2)Small and Medium Scale Industries in Asia: Energy, Environment and Climate Interrelation; 3)Strategies for Promotion of Energy Efficient and Cleaner Technologies in the Urban Transport System; and, 4)Strategies for Promotion of Energy Efficient and Cleaner Technologies in the Power Sector. ARRPEEC Phase III involved 22 NRIs representing seven Asian countries

16. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change Cleaner Production and Waste Technology ARRPET The Asian Regional Research Programme on Environmental Technology (ARRPET) ARRPET involves 18 National Research Institutions (NRIs) from 8 Asian countries, namely, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The issues covered include wastewater, air pollution, solid and hazardous wastes. Experience will be used for the development of waste refineries www.ait.asia

17. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change Vulnerability and Disaster Risk Reduction DISASTER MANAGEMENT & MITIGATION The partners and collaborators of this program are: Coastal Resources Center (CRC), University of Rhode Island, USA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) www.ait.asia

18. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change DISASTER MANAGEMENT & MITIGATION AIT's Habitech Center assists in Post-Tsunami reconstruction work The Habitech Center of the School of Engineering and Technology (SET), AIT, is carrying out the construction of 56 houses in the Baan Nam Khem Village of the Phangna Province. Habitech Center is responsible for the design, training, construction, and supervision of the housing implementation for the EU-ASIA PRO ECO II B Post-Tsunami Project. USAID, AIT launch community learning center in Ranong as part of tsunami recovery www.ait.asia

19. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change 6. DISASTER MANAGEMENT & MITIGATION The partners and collaborators of this program are: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), the Netherlands International Center for Urban Safety Engineering (ICUS), The University of Tokyo, Japan University of Washington Extension (UWE), International Tsunami Training Institute (ITTI), USA www.ait.asia

20. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change III. Research Strengths in Thematic knowledge area www.ait.asia Inter-cross disciplinary Technology Socio-economic aspects Managerial aspects Policy development. Public sector Private sector Development agencies Government consultations. Intimate knowledge of region Strong network of collaborators and partners

21. Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change III. Future Plans INITIATIVES IN THE PIPE LINE 1.Dedicated post doctoral to strengthen research groups 2.Seed support to form close interdisciplinary teams and projects, e.g. Low Carbon campus 3.Start Masters course in Climate Change 4.Closer networking with regional and international partners www.ait.asia

22. Expectations from conference Inputs for future direction of research in SDCC leading to research strategy plans Learn better the expectations of developing agencies and other stake holders Strengthen networking with partners Research at AIT Sustainable development in the context of Climate Change

23. Thank you for your attention Contact for more information: Prof. Sudip K. Rakshit Asian Institute of Technology PO Box 4 Klong Luang Pathumthani 12120 Thailand Email: rakshit@ait.asia www.ait.asia