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Regional Workshop on Developing Partnerships for Water and Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is expected to have a major impact on Asia's water resources. Water resources managers of river basin organizations face the challenge of incorporating the impacts of climate variability and climate change on hydrological responses into decision-making process.

Efforts of various water institutions in the Asia-Pacific region on climate change are starting to converge, particularly in developing strategies for climate change adaptation. Some such institutions are the Center for River Basin Organization and Management (CRBOM), the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM), and the Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO).

CRBOM and NAHRIM are the Asia-Pacific Water Forum's water knowledge hubs for river basin organizations and management and climate change adaptation for Southeast Asia, respectively. NARBO, on the other hand, has considered climate change as a priority topic in its Action Plan for 2008-2009. These three organizations have agreed to carry out a series of three workshops on climate change that aim to develop strategies and a regional action plan for climate change adaptation. This is the first of the three climate change workshops.

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The goal of the workshop was to develop a strategy that would enable the region to come out with action plans on capacity building for climate change projection and adaptation leading to a series of climate change projection exercises and capacity building workshops and training.

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About 100 participants from 16 countries attended the workshop. Different country groups presented their project proposals for climate change adaptation, while NAHRIM and its partners, Team Japan, CRBOM, and ADB, presented their responses.

NAHRIM is also preparing the workshop report, and expects to sit together with ADB staff and Japan colleagues in January to map out a program of assistance. Priority activities may be processed for financing under ADB’s Water Financing Partnership Facility (WFPF).

View the presentations.

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NARBO, CRBOM, and NAHRIM, with support from ADB.

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Middle to senior-level representatives of NARBO member organizations, various government agencies, and other potential partners across the Asia-Pacific region.

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