APAN Hari kesatu

Day 1: Monday, 8 March 2021

10.00-10.15 Plenary Session Inauguration of the 7th APAN Forum 

Nadya Hutagalung

Hiroyoshi Sasagawa

Dechen Tsering

• Nadya Hutagalung, Environmental Advocate & TV presenter and UN Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador
• Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, State Minister of the Environment at Ministry of the Environment Japan
• Dechen Tsering, Regional Director and Representative at UNEP, Asia and the Pacific Office

Nadya Hutagalung,  the Master of Ceremony, opened the Inauguration of the 7th APAN Forum. 

The Welcoming Remarks on behalf of Host Government was delivered by Hiroyoshi Sasagawa. He thanked to UNEP, APAN and the partnering organizations for supporting this forum. APAN Forum is now a major event with some 1.000 participants from governments, academia and the private sector.

The effects of climate change are threatening human society everywhere. Now we must urgently sclae-up concrete actions for adaptation. Japan launched AP-PLAT, the Asia Pacific Adaptation Information Platform, facilitating Asia-Pacific countries to develop adaptation-related policies. He hoped that this forum will share examples of best practices, deepening discussions on international cooperation to promote adaptation.

The Introduction by UN Environment Programme, as APAN Secretariat, was delivered by Dechen Tsering. She welcomed all the participants to the forum which was held virtually for the first time due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. She hoped that this forum will help tackle the crisis with the set of recommended action on how to expand the climate change adaptation in Asia and Pacific.

10.15-11.15 High-Level Plenary Session

Resilience for All: The Critical Decade to Scale-up Action

The High-Level Plenary Session was moderated by Rico Hizon, Senior Anchor and Director for Content Development at CNN Philippines.

Due to the crisis of Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, Ban Ki-Moon, 8th Secretary General at UN and leas of the Global Commission on Adaptation, asked us to acting now to protect our future for everyone. Mitigation and adaptation are two equal important building blocks. So they must be prioritised both in action and financing. Through this forum he hoped that we must achieved three things:

1. A step change in ambition to allow others in need receive the funding
2. A step change in financing 
3. A stronger partnership to make a better solution

Meanwhile, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-general of the United Nations at UN Environment Programme,  demonstrated the urgency of action, if the Asia Pacific region fails to adapt, then we will see a rising poverty such as hunger and inequality. So we need to take action fast. And to address the climate change crisis, Joyce suggested that we must pay attention more to Nature-based Solution because it has link to jobs, to green infrastructure,  to restoring wetland, risk from flooding, and it greens all the stakeholders together.

UN Secretary General Envoy for Youth at United Nations,  Jayathma Wickramanayake, said that young people in Asia and Pacific belongs to the generation that have been affected by the crisis of the climate change. The climate change have affected their education and job's opportunity. So we need to be supporting them by creating safe spaces, giving them the funding, capacity building, and access to network.

Furthermore, Hussain Rasheed Hassan, Minister at Ministry of Environment Maldives, suggested us that we must be considered the impact of Climate Change to our country. We must take step to address the problem, to protect our environment, to protect our island, protect the biodiversity, protect the coastal area.

Issa Barte, Co-founder at For the Future, presented her visual story telling that told about a local community in Philippines who got the impact of typhoon, deforestation, dry river, pandemic, storm, etc. She took action by mobilizing young generetion to act to stop stop all the disaster and to build space for children to play. 

At the end of this session, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State for Business at Energy and Clean Growth of UK, hoped that by working collectively we can help the world to adapt and build much resilience to the impact of climate change.

11.45-12.45 Plenary Session 

Policy and Climate Governance

Veronica Pedrosa

Loren Legarda

Datin Sunita Rajakumar

Syed Rizwana Hasan

Batjargal Zamba

Veronica Pedrosa, Independent Broadcast Journalist, moderated the Plenary Session: Policy and Climate Governance. She asked some questions to the panelists regarding the resilience of human as the impact of climate change. 

Loren Legarda,  Deputy Speaker and Antique Congresswoman Philippines, answered that to build resilience against disaster and this pandemic situation, we can cooperate with solidarity, environment  education among the youth, adoption of nature-based adaptation and solution, unity behind the science, making science work for us, identifying the specific risk in addressing this challenging, and ecosystem restoration.

To strengthen the cooperation in this pandemic situation, many policies have made for people. So as leaders, policy makers, implementor gave the best to cop with this climate crisis. And through this summit we can support each other.

Meanwhile, Dr Datin Sunita Rajakumar, Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) Malaysia, recommended that the involvement of private sector, government priority, and government policy play important factor to galvanize to act in pioneering and crucial to adapting the action. Her recommendation are the urgent need to action to maintain the biodiversity and to transform the world system.

Other recommendation was from Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Environmental Lawyer and Chief Executive at Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA). She recommended to understand that the climate change was created by more than one factor. Transformation in government is a must. She also recommended that we must change our thinking and behaviour. She recommended to less consumptive, to work together, to grow the nature product, to find the solution from bottom up level.

Dr. Batjargal Zamba,  Special Envoy of Mongolia on Climate Change, gave recommendation to educate local community, to organize workshop and seminar, to have more understanding about the climate change, to bring local circumstances, to live a traditional life for the local community, to cope with climate change to do some exercises or action, and to bring modern science to local community.

The last recommendation was given by Muhammad Irfan Tariq, Director General at Climate Change Department Pakistan. He recommended that we must do a very vocal agenda and the linkages from sub national up to government in Asia Pacific region.

15.45-16.15 Key Messages from the Day

Mozaharul Alam, Regional Coordinator, Climate Change Sub-programme at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) captured 5 key messages and summary:

1. Climate crisis, we need a strong commitment to implement Paris, to plan and implement of adaptation action, to empower local government to do the adaptation action on the ground.
2. Engagement of youth,  youth are supporting action in addressing climate issue.
3. Nature based solution, nature is important for the best solution.
4. Innovation
5. Partnership and knowledge exchange

Raphael Glemet recommended that the best solution on how to adapt to the climate change is nature based solution (managing and conserving the ecosystem). The next step to do was to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. He reminded us that the nature gives back to what we have done.

Nicole Anschell talked about three key messages:

1. Resilience
2. Open up more political spaces 
3. Social equity

Dr. Linda Stevenson proposed three key messages:

1. effective best practices for adaptation-mitigation synergy drawing on NDCs/NAPs can be taken up by other stakeholders
2. strengthening science-policy-action interlinkages
3. local and community level engagement

Arghya Sinha Roy proposed three key messages;

1. system thinking, focus on delivery system or how we implement the solution
2. economic sector
3. engagement with the private sector

Based on the mentimeter survey: nature-based solution is the key takeaway from the participants opinion.

16.30-18.00 The Role of Women In Climate Change Adaptation. A commemoration of the International Women's Day 2021 through inspiring talks and artistic performances.

Lorenzo Galanti

Sarah Knibbs

Jyotsna Mohan

Kalpana Giri

Titi Soentoro

Francesca Zoppi

Supatchaya Techachoochert

In commemorating the International Women's Day 2021, the forum discussed about the role of women in climate change adaptation. In this forum we could hear some panelists proposed their ideas on how to allow women in adaptation. 

The first panelist, Lorenzo Galanti, Ambassador of Italy at Embassy of Italy - Bangkok, recommended three  dimensions:

1. Allowing young people to step forward in the climate change
2. Adaptation is how we deal with the climate change
3. Women also plays important role in climate change adaptation

Sarah Knibbs, Deputy Regional  Director at UN Women, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, said that women stand in the frontline in this pandemic situation. Climate change impact the role of women, not only the pandemic situation. Women have unique capability. We need consider women to play important role in this pandemic and climate change situation. The voice of women must also be considered to take part in this situation. She recommended three key messages: 

1. Women play significant role in climate change policy n program. 
2. Women as leader an agent of change
3. Partnership with women in all level and respect women 

Jyotsna Mohan, Regional Coordinator for Asia at Asia Development Alliance (ADA), recommended the key role of women in overcoming of pandemic Covid-19 situation and climate change. Women must spend more time in this situation. The commitment can not reach without the involvement of women. Holistic approach to overcome the challenges faced by women. UN SDG framework must be adapted to improve women. Education, mutual cooperation, target initiative, confidence, invested resources, human right, gender, and equality must be ensured to accessible to women. 

Ms. Titi Soentoro, Board member at APWLD, Indonesia. In most of developing country, the impact of climate change to women and men usually different. Climate  Change impacts the women resilience. How women deal with the situation? Women participation in developing country is low. that is why ApWLD program together with other organisation conduct the activity to build women capacity (knowledge and skill) in order women can speak what they need. 

Supatchaya Techachoochert (Committee Member at Green World Foundation) and Siripannee Supratya (Journalist at Freelance) told the story how women in Bangkok to be brave enough to go on the road by cycling to reduce pollution, to be strong, and thoughtful.

Francesca Zoppi, Sustainable Development Specialist at ASviS-Alleanza Italiana per lo Sviluppo Sostenibi, recommended some key messages:

1. Using advocate the activity: sustainability
2. Top to down approach
3. Women in climate change play  a critical role due to their knowledge
4. Women are decision making, contribute to climate change
5. Women innovation has transformed the wellbeing. 

Kalpana Giri, Senior Program Officer, Social inclusion and Gender at RECOFTC, promoted the role of RECOFTC to the local community, women's role, gender equality, women's right and access to adaptation and forest resources. 

As a conclusion of this session, the panelist concluded that we must take action:

1. Establish gender equality as the business norm of forestry and the environmental sector
2. Focus on structural relations & root barriers
3. Increase investment for gender programs and leaders on the frontlines.