Building and sharing knowledge for adaptation: Lessons from the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia

AKP grew out of a recognition that countries across the region faced potentially dramatic climate change impacts, but lacked the knowledge and capacity to effectively reduce vulnerability and plan for a more climate-resilient future. AKP set out to fill this gap by building a strong network of local researchers to gather new knowledge on the ground, bring international adaptation expertise to the stakeholders who need it, test new approaches, and share the results with their peers, decision-makers and civil society across the region.

The outcomes have been substantial: AKP supported an array of innovative research in 13 countries, including pilot projects in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam; scoping assessments in Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Laos, and the Philippines, and more limited work in Myanmar. Implementing partners in those countries were allocated a share of the budget to support work done directly by them.

This local engagement – involving speakers of at least a dozen languages, coming from different backgrounds and working in very different countries and organizations – made AKP a challenge in terms of coordination, technical support and capacity-building. Yet that was also AKP’s greatest strength: it has built a rich, diverse network with potential to effect change in the countries it serves, not through outsiders’ interventions, but through the empowerment of local experts and stakeholders.

Download the policy brief (PDF, 2MB)