Southeast Asia Region – The ASEAN Climate Leadership Programme (ACLP) kicked off with its first workshop on 6th October 2020. The ACLP invitation was disseminated via different ASEAN working groups last August 2020 and resulted in the selection of 26 participants from 9 ASEAN Member States. Participants are experts and decision makers working in the field of agriculture, forestry, land use planning, rural development, or climate policy in the ASEAN context.
The ACLP, which will be conducted within a span of two and a half months (1 October to 11 December 2020), aims to strengthen leadership skills in initiating and facilitating change processes and collective cross-sectoral transformative action in climate-smart land use. It will consist of several virtual exchange formats, group work and individual reflection time.
The participants were welcomed by ACLP organisers, Ms Hanna Reuter from Climate Smart Land Use (CSLU) in ASEAN of GIZ, and Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) during official opening of the program.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Margaret Yoovatana, Acting Director, International Agricultural Affairs Group, Department of Agriculture Thailand as chair of the ASEAN CRN, highlighted the importance of climate-smart land use in agriculture and forestry for enhancing food security in the region. She gave emphasis on the work of the ASEAN-Climate Resilience Network (ASEAN-CRN) for promoting initiatives which enhance climate resilience and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in the food, agriculture, and forestry sectors. The programme is designed as a contribution to the work of the ASEAN-CRN and will aid the implementation of ASEAN strategies.
“The ACLP is another example of how ASEAN-CRN and its partners continue to contribute to achieving ASEAN`s political goals. This way, the programme will empower the participants to become leaders who drive cross-sectoral transformative actions to tackle climate change and enhance food security in the region,” said Dr. Yoovatana.
This first workshop session laid the foundations for the upcoming leadership development of the participants. ACLP facilitators and leadership experts and Ms. Rejani Kunjappan, from RECOFTC, and Mr. Andre de Wit, from the Amsterdam Leadership Academy, introduced the participants to the ACLP leadership model, dimension of leadership, and the leadership development plan. Dr. Sridhar Gummadi, from the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) also gave a presentation on “Climate Change and Food Systems: Southeast Asia Assessment and Implications for Food Security”.
The ACLP is being supported by the CSLU in ASEAN project with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in close cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat. It is jointly organised with the SEARCA.
During the preparation phase of the ACLP, partner organisations have provided input and recommendations which were incorporated in the programme design. The organizations were, among others, the ASEAN Secretariat, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand as Chair of ASEAN-CRN, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC), SEARCA and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
