Rationale
Strategic and inclusive partnership is a fundamental component to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SEI Asia, with support from the Swedish government (SIDA), launched the Strategic Collaborative Fund Phase 2 (SCF2) programme in 2018 to enhance the current 2030 Agenda efforts in Asia and the Pacific. SCF2 aims to foster regional cooperation and policy dialogue for sustainable development and environmental sustainability, through capacity building, knowledge sharing and increased collaboration.
Human rights and gender equality are central to SCF2, as it champions regional and inter-regional collaboration for transboundary environmental policy development.
Objectives
From 2018 to 2022, SCF2 will create long-term partnerships to enhance policy development and institutional capacity building in Asia, under the framework of regional integration and the SDGs. It will hold strategic events that seek to build more effective regional policies that contribute to SDG achievement.
Components
Component 1: Inter-regional cooperation with China and Europe
Improving cooperation between ASEAN, China, and Europe is key in trade expansion and greater multilateral understanding.
SCF2 is using the China-ASEAN Environment Cooperation Forum (CAECF) and the Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ASEF) as platforms to facilitate policy dialogues and knowledge exchange between ASEAN, China and Europe to address regional sustainability.
Component 2: Regional cooperation within Asia-Pacific
SCF2 supports the ASEAN in increasing regional collaboration on key transboundary environmental issues, such as pollution, water governance, energy flows, natural resource use efficiency and climate change.
The project will provide support for initiating, organizing, and hosting events that highlight key issues that are linked to the 2030 sustainable development agenda. The goal is to build regional capacity to lead efforts toward collaborative policy development.
Component 3: Learning and capacity development
SCF2 will develop open online courses on gender equality and rights-based approaches to enhance institutional capacity and knowledge of regional partners. The courses aim to encourage gender, human rights and poverty reduction-centric policies on environmental and climate change issues and the SDGs.
Component 4: Programme management
SCF2 aims to improve project management through enhanced programme monitoring and evaluation and strategic communication. Partners will be assisted in identifying target policies and tracking new knowledge application in policy formulation.
This component will also support the institutionalization of gender and rights-based approaches into partners and participants’ current and future programmes and operations, as well as encourage improved efforts toward SDG and Agenda 2030 achievement.
Video: SEI / YouTube.
2023 Partners
SCF is pleased to announce the selected partners for 2023 working towards building climate resiliency in Asia through inclusive approaches.
Grow Asia
(Theme: Bridging climate finance gaps through inclusive approaches)
Transitions Research
(Theme: Catalysing biodiversity conservation through nature-based solutions)
Intellectuals Center
(Theme: Regional policy initiatives for circular economy transition)
Thailand Environment Institute
(Theme: Partnerships for climate actions)
The Community Self-reliance Centre (CSRC)
(Theme: Rethinking climate adaptation and mitigation through gender transformative approaches and amplifying local agency)
- Perspective
- Land
- Water
- 25 November 2022
- Asia
Read three takeaways from a youth-led report calling for action towards a rights-based and gender-equal circular economy in Asia.
- Perspective
- Air
- Economy
- Health
- 9 November 2022
- Asia
- South-eastern Asia
Small island communities in the Philippines reflect on their efforts to cope with loss of culture, identity and other intangible climate impacts.
- Perspective
- Climate
- 19 September 2022
- Asia
- South-eastern Asia
- Philippines
When |
Events and Themes |
Partner |
April-May, 2023 | Unlocking Inclusive Finance for Food System Transformation through Multi-Stakeholder Action
(Theme: Climate Finance) |
Grow Asia |
April-August, 2023 | Bringing people and policy together for coherent actions towards achieving Inclusive Circular Economy Transition in South Asia and South-East Asia
(Theme: Circular Economy) |
Intellectuals Center |
June, 2023 | Integrating Equity and Reframing Urban Nature-based Solutions in Growing, South Asian Cities
(Theme: Biodiversity) |
Transitions Research |
June, 2023 | ASEAN-China Dialogue on Climate Change and Environment 2023
Indonesia & China |
Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
June, 2023 | ASEAN-China Green Value Chain Partnership: Capacity Building for Green Value Chain of Typical Agricultural Products | Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
June, 2023 | ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Week 2023 | Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
July, 2023 | Strengthening Regional Knowledge-Policy-Practice Networks for Inclusive and Equitable Climate Resilience Actions in the Mekong Region
(Theme: Partnerships) |
Thailand Environment Institute |
August, 2023 | Nature-based Solutions: ASEAN-China Mangrove Conservation Cooperation | Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
September, 2023 | ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Forum 2023 | Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
October, 2023 | ASEAN-China Initiative on Climate-resilient Cities: Community capacity Building for Addressing and Adapting to Climate Change | Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
When |
Events and Themes |
Partner |
4-6 April, 2023 | Securing Land Rights of Women and Indigenous Peoples in the Face of Climate Change in South Asia | National Land Coalition Nepal, Community Self-Reliance Centre |
28 March, 2023 | Strategic Partnerships for Policy Impact: Multi-Stakeholder Engagement for Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia
Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) |
Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) |
2022 |
||
16 December | Democratizing and re-Indigenizing Water Resources Management and Climate Resilience in the Lower Mekong River Basin
(Theme: Circular economy) |
National University of Laos |
25 October | Raising Equitable and Sustainable Finance: Understanding sustainable finance taxonomy | AVPN |
24 October | ENVForum Spin-Off Conference Circular Industry: Innovation and Digitization as Enablers for SMEs | Asia-Europe Foundation
(ASEF) |
21 – 22 October | Pathways to Climate Resilience: Forward Family Farmers for a Healthy People and Planet
(Theme: Partnerships for Climate-Resilience Pathways in Asia) |
Asian Farmers Association
(AFA) |
6 October | Loss and Damage Financing in Southeast Asia: Current issues and ways forward Webinar
(Theme: Disaster Risk Reduction) |
Manila Observatory |
29 September – 1 October | Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Agriculture System – Together towards a Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, Zero Poverty Southeast Asia
(Theme: Agri-food systems) |
Convergences |
23 September | Waste Hero Alliance: Waste Workers & Youth Together for inclusive Circular Cities
77th United Nations General Assembly High Level Side Event for Social Business, Youth and Technology (Theme: Ecosystems) |
Yunus Foundation |
15 – 16 September | ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Forum | Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
22-25 August | Making Sense of and Responding to Loss and Damage in Southeast Asia
Field Visits to Bohol, community-led workshop on loss and damage (Theme: Disaster Risk Reduction) |
Manila Observatory |
28 – 29 June 2022 |
ENVforum Annual Conference 2022 – SMEs Going Circular: Decarbonisation of Food Supply Chains | Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) |
22 – 24 June 2022 |
ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Week 2022
|
Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO), Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China |
21 – 22 June 2022 | AVPN Global Conference on June 2022 | AVPN |
31 May 2022 | Centre for Finance for Sustainability Bangkok | AVPN |
2021 |
||
November–December 2021 |
Towards Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services In National Policies For Sustainable Management Of Freshwater Ecosystems In South And Southeast Asia (Theme: Freshwater Ecosystems) |
Asian Institute of Technology |
14–15 December 2021 |
Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity for Sustainable Food System in the ASEAN (Theme: Agrobiodiversity) |
Mekong Institute |
30 November–1 December 2021 | ENVforum Annual Conference 2021 – The Future of Food
|
Asia-Europe Foundation |
23–25 November 2021 | Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center, Inc. | |
15–19 November 2021 |
(Theme: Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management) |
Institute for Circular Economy Development (ICED), Vietnam National University |
24–26 October 2021 | The Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China | |
29–30 April 2021 |
(Theme: Disaster Risk Reduction)
|
Children and Youth International (CYI) |
2, 9, 20 April 2021 |
(Theme: Climate Change Adaptation)
|
The University of Auckland |
2020 |
||
4 December 2020 | Sustainable Business Awards | Global Initiatives |
24–26 November 2020 | Grounding and Empowering: Nourishing the Grassroots for Transformative Change An Asia Women Environmental Defenders Retreat
(Theme: Gender) |
Non-Timber Forest Products |
9–11 November 2020 | Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVforum) 2020
(Theme: Connecting the Dots: Creating an Enabling Environment for SDG 12 in ASEM) |
Asia-Europe Foundation |
4, 11, 18, 25 November 2020 | IPEN-SEA Virtual Conference 2020: Citizen Science in Southeast and East Asia
(Theme: Prevent and Reduce Urban Pollution from Toxic Chemicals) |
EcoWaste Coalition Philippines |
2–3 November 2020 | Women, Water, Climate: Tackling the Challenges
(Theme: Water) |
Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) |
6–7 October 2020 | Making Family Farming Sustainable and Viable in Asia: Strengthening Farmer-Led Multi Actor Partnership Platforms for Family Farming
(Theme: Agriculture) |
Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) |
8–12 June 2020 | The Climate Finance Track at the AVPN 2020 Virtual Conference
(Theme: Climate Finance) |
Asian Venture Philanthropy Network Limited |
21–22 January 2020 | Regional Dialogue Workshop on Green and Sustainable Agriculture
(Theme: Agriculture) |
Department of Policy and Legal Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Laos |
2019 |
||
2–4 December 2019 | Climate Smart Women Connect: Climate and Gender Justice for Indigenous Women in Asia
(Theme: Gender) |
CUSO International |
18–19 November 2019 | Responsible Business Forum
(Theme: Circularity 2030: Next generation leaders) |
Global Initiatives |
29 October 2019 | Roundtable on the Environment and Social Inclusion | Global Initiatives |
27–30 October 2019 | 9th Southeast Asian Human Rights and Business Conference
(Theme: Energy) |
Forest Peoples Programme |
16–18 October 2019 | Regional Consultation to Promote Actions to Improve Asian Deltas Resilience
(Theme: Water) |
WWF Greater Mekong |
13–17 October 2019 | Grassroots Community Resilience at the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum 7 (APUF-7)
(Theme: Disaster Risk Reduction) |
Asia Coalition for Housing Rights |
8–9 October 2019 | Challenges and Opportunities on Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices and Rights-Based Sustainable Development: A Southeast Asian Forum
(Theme: Climate Change Adaptation) |
Samdhana Institute |
17–18 September 2019 | China ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Forum
(Theme: Promote and Foster Regional Green Growth: Best Practices for Eco-city Development and Sustainable Ocean Ecosystem Management) |
Center for International Cooperation and Exchange, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) of the People’s Republic of China |
29–30 July 2019 | Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVforum) Annual Conference
(Theme: The Role of Consumer in Triggering Changes in Consumption & Production)
|
Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) |
Online courses
The integration of human rights and gender equality is central to the SCF2, as it champions regional and inter-regional collaboration for transboundary environmental policy development.
Through a collaboration with Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI) and Stockholm Environment Institute Asia gender cluster, evidence-based human rights and gender equality approaches are integrated into the programme implementation through capacity building such as direct coaching and providing open online courses.
This ensures that human rights and gender equality become central to regional environmental and climate change policy with the intent of achieving SDG integration.
Course 1: Rights-based approaches to environmental sustainability
Course 2: Gender, Environment and Sustainable Development
Guidance notes
These guidance notes support grantees to integrate human rights and gender equality, and monitoring, evaluation and learning in all steps of their events.
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