9th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation (APAN) Forum

Integrating top-down and bottom-up approaches for climate adaptation planning and resilient water management

Organizer: Centre for Water and Climate Adaptation (CWCA), Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

When: 14:00 – 15:30

Adaptation planning across the Asia-Pacific has often relied on top-down approaches that use climate projections as a starting point and prioritize largescale infrastructures. While these approaches provide a broad strategic outlook, they are constrained by large uncertainties and limited resonance with local contexts. In contrast, bottom-up approaches, exemplified by the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA), start with stakeholder-defined vulnerabilities and performance thresholds, providing robust and flexible solutions at local scales.

This session builds on the growing recognition that neither approach alone is sufficient to ensure success. Instead, integrating bottom-up and top-down approaches allows for bridging science with practice, uncertainty and diversity with decision-making, and global knowledge with local realities and social complexities.

SEI Senior Research Fellow Thanapon Piman and SEI Research Associate Parichat Pinsri will speak at this session.

From Fragmentation to Convergence: Indigenous and Local Action for Climate-Resilient, Nutrition-Sensitive Food Systems

Organizer: UNFS Coordination Hub, Adaptation Research Alliance/Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)

When: 14:00 – 15:30

Countries are integrating agriculture into NDCs, NAPs, and food system transformation pathways, but fragmented approaches across ministries continue to limit impact. At UNFSS+4 and the 2025 Regional Food and Sustainability Summit, participants underscored accountability, enabling policies, and smallholder support through robust data and monitoring frameworks. IPLCs reaffirmed their role as stewards of resilient, nature-based food systems critical for biodiversity, nutrition, cultural heritage, and the right to food.

Aligned with the Forum theme, “Resilience for All: Catalyzing Transformational Adaptation,” this session will explore how food systems transformation can drive inclusive adaptation—especially for smallholders, women, and Indigenous Peoples. Key areas include:

• Positioning food systems at the center of climate action.
• Advancing nutrition security as a resilience cornerstone.
• Strengthening cross-sectoral linkages (agriculture, water, health, nutrition, social protection).
• Promoting policy coherence across governance levels and sectors.
• Fostering inclusive, multi-stakeholder platforms that integrate Indigenous knowledge and community-led solutions.

SEI Senior Research Fellow Albert Salamanca will moderate this session.

Building Coastal and Community Resilience: From Inclusive Fisheries to Nature-based Solutions

Organizer: COBSEA Secretariat, Oxfam

When: 11.00 – 12.30

Where: Conference Room 4, UNCC

This session explores climate adaptation to support livelihoods and marine and coastal ecosystems.

On one side, it will focus on small-scale fishers in South Asia, who face disproportionate risks due to climate impacts, unsafe conditions, and depletion of resources. The session will highlight the need for inclusive policies, safety nets, gender equity, and recognition of indigenous knowledge.

On the other, it will showcase how Blue Carbon ecosystems (mangroves, seagrasses, coral reefs) act as transformational pathways for climate adaptation and mitigation, highlighting cases from Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. These ecosystems not only sequester carbon but also protect coastlines and sustain local livelihoods.

SEI Senior Research Fellow Sushmita Mandal will speak at this session.

For more information, please visit the session page here.