EEPSEA map showing vulnerability to climate change in Southeast Asia19 May 2009
Written by: Thin Lei Win
Numerous reports have named Southeast Asia as one of the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change. Most countries are emerging economies with the majority of their people living in poverty. They are home to mega-cities and coastal areas with high population density, rely heavily on agriculture, and have limited ability to adapt to weather-related disasters.
A new map launched this month in Indonesia by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), which is administered by the International Development Research Centre of Canada, aims to go one better than many on this issue by breaking vulnerability down into district and provincial levels.
Covering 530 sub-national areas of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it combines different elements that contribute to vulnerability - climate-related hazards, capacity to adapt and human and ecological sensitivity - using data from organisations such as the Center for International Earth Science Information Network and the World Wildlife Fund.
While the results largely correlate with commonly held views on vulnerability in the region, there are a few surprises.
Landlocked Laos and its neighbour Cambodia, for example, have a relatively low exposure to climate hazards but figure among the most vulnerable countries because they have such a low capacity to adapt.
The map also shows that mega-cities such as Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta are at extreme risk from the effects of climate change, mainly due to their high population densities and significant exposure to hazards.
Herminia Francisco, director of EEPSEA and co-author of the mapping report, says local governments should consider taboo issues including resettlement - moving people out of the city - and controlling the inflow of people.
All regions of the Philippines are at high risk from tropical cyclones, floods, landslides and droughts, but Jakarta is the most vulnerable city in the region - a victim of the intersection of all climate-related hazards except cyclones.
Other regions regarded as most vulnerable include Vietnam's Mekong River Delta and Bangkok, due to their exposure to sea-level rise.
One limitation of the map is that it's based on past data. It doesn't include projections, and some say analysing the situation as it is today won't be enough in the face of rising disasters.
But while these concerns may be legitimate, Francisco argues the map - unlike some of the countries it depicts - can adapt to changing realities.
"If we have newer data that will give us new information...we can easily generate the map that corresponds to (that)," said Francisco. "It shows the essence of what vulnerability is, but is simple enough to accommodate new information."
You can find the map in this report.
A new map launched this month in Indonesia by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), which is administered by the International Development Research Centre of Canada, aims to go one better than many on this issue by breaking vulnerability down into district and provincial levels.
Covering 530 sub-national areas of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it combines different elements that contribute to vulnerability - climate-related hazards, capacity to adapt and human and ecological sensitivity - using data from organisations such as the Center for International Earth Science Information Network and the World Wildlife Fund.
While the results largely correlate with commonly held views on vulnerability in the region, there are a few surprises.
Landlocked Laos and its neighbour Cambodia, for example, have a relatively low exposure to climate hazards but figure among the most vulnerable countries because they have such a low capacity to adapt.
The map also shows that mega-cities such as Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta are at extreme risk from the effects of climate change, mainly due to their high population densities and significant exposure to hazards.
Herminia Francisco, director of EEPSEA and co-author of the mapping report, says local governments should consider taboo issues including resettlement - moving people out of the city - and controlling the inflow of people.
All regions of the Philippines are at high risk from tropical cyclones, floods, landslides and droughts, but Jakarta is the most vulnerable city in the region - a victim of the intersection of all climate-related hazards except cyclones.
Other regions regarded as most vulnerable include Vietnam's Mekong River Delta and Bangkok, due to their exposure to sea-level rise.
One limitation of the map is that it's based on past data. It doesn't include projections, and some say analysing the situation as it is today won't be enough in the face of rising disasters.
But while these concerns may be legitimate, Francisco argues the map - unlike some of the countries it depicts - can adapt to changing realities.
"If we have newer data that will give us new information...we can easily generate the map that corresponds to (that)," said Francisco. "It shows the essence of what vulnerability is, but is simple enough to accommodate new information."
You can find the map in this report.
