Posted on February, 18 2009

Coastal areas in the Greater Mekong are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, yet there has been little discussion of how to integrate climate-related concerns into the plans and policies that will shape future economic development. The WWF Greater Mekong Programme recently collaborated with WWF's Macroeconomics Programme and local climate researchers on innovative pilot studies that assessed climate change vulnerability and its implications for development in two coastal provinces that are priorities for WWF: Krabi in Thailand and Ca Mau in Vietnam.

Downscaled climate models were used to predict key impacts and identify the most vulnerable places and people. The team organized outreach workshops to engage local stakeholders, including government agencies, the private sector, and community representatives, to explore potential impacts on key economic sectors, such as agriculture, aquaculture, and tourism, and to discuss strategies that would improve resilience to expected impacts and shift future development planning onto a more sustainable path.

For more information, contact:
Geoffrey Blate, Ph.D.
Climate Change Coordinator
WWF Greater Mekong Programme
Tel:  +66 (0)2 218 9463
Fax: +66.(0)2.251.9416
Mobile: +66.(0)83.306.4411
gblate@wwfgreatermekong.org