[hepr-vn] CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Enhancing Household and Community Adaptive Capacity in Dealing with Climate Change in South East Asia

[Vern Weitzel]

Announcement Released Sat-19th-July-2008 09:25 GMT
Contact: Vivien Chiam Institution: International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CROSS-COUNTRY RESEARCH PROJECT
Science
Enhancing Household and Community Adaptive Capacity in Dealing with Climate 
Change in South East Asia

ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA
http://www.idrc.ca/eepsea/

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CROSS-COUNTRY RESEARCH PROJECT

Enhancing Household and Community Adaptive Capacity in Dealing with Climate 
Change in South East Asia

Context

Climate changes are significantly impacting Southeast Asian countries and are 
likely to result in reduced economic growth and exacerbation of poverty in the 
region. It is anticipated that the traditional coping mechanisms of developing 
countries to natural calamities will be seriously inadequate to cope with the 
negative impacts of climate change, thus increasing the vulnerability of the 
poor to such impacts. Communities in coastal and lowland areas of Vietnam, 
Indonesia, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, in particular, 
are very vulnerable to climate change-induced natural hazards such as storms, 
typhoons, floods and sea level rise.

Adaptive capacity is defined as the ability of a system to adjust to climate 
change (including climate variability and extremes), moderate potential damages, 
take advantage of opportunities, or cope with the consequences of climate change 
(McCarthy et al 2001).

Enhancing the adaptive capacities and resilience of the communities at risk is 
one of the top priorities in the national climate change adaptation and 
mitigation strategies of the governments of Southeast Asian countries along with 
implementing measures to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Given its 
mandate to provide evidence-based information as a basis for decision-making, 
EEPSEA is initiating a cross-country research project focused on adaptive 
capacity for climate change.

Theme for Proposals

The theme of EEPSEA’s cross-country project is: “Improving the adaptive capacity 
of households and communities vulnerable to climate change impacts in Southeast 
Asia” and this call is to invite proposals for research studies on this theme. 
The proposed project is expected to contribute to policy discussions on how the 
adaptive capacity of such households and communities can be enhanced. At the 
same time, it is expected to contribute to theoretical discussions on the 
measurement of adaptive capacity.

The important questions the proposed research should address are:
1.What is a theoretically acceptable and useful measure of adaptive capacity?
2.What is the level of adaptive capacity of households and communities in 
climate change-vulnerable study areas?
3.What are the determinants of the adaptive capacity of households and 
communities living in vulnerable areas (such as coastal and lowland areas prone 
to sea level rise impacts)?
4.What are the measures/policy options that could enhance the adaptive capacity 
of vulnerable households and communities in dealing with climate change impacts?
5.Are there differences in the determinants and levels of adaptive capacity 
across countries?

Eligibility

Researchers from Southeast Asian countries are eligible to apply. We encourage 
research groups to be interdisciplinary in their approach in order to allow for 
a holistic analysis of the topic. Proposals with a strong theoretical foundation 
are preferred. Qualified research teams from several countries will work 
together, allowing for learning across countries and greater policy value of the 
research findings.

Submission and Deadline

Proposals should be sent via email attachment to eepsea at idrc.org.sg.  The file 
name for the attachment should include the author’s name and date. Please visit 
the EEPSEA website at www.eepsea.org for guidelines on research proposals 
submitted to EEPSEA.
The deadline for the proposal is September 1, 2008. .

Contact for Further Information
Dr. Herminia A. Francisco
Director, EEPSEA
22 Cross Street, #02-55
South Bridge Court, Singapore 048421
Email: hfrancisco at idrc.org.sg
Tel:  (65) 6439-6882
Fax: (65) 6438-4844
Website:  www.eepsea.org

Associated websites:

ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA (EEPSEA)
http://www.idrc.ca/eepsea/