Addressing Climate and El Niño-related Risks in Southeast Asia


Through an innovative partnership with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) and Geoneon, the SDC will support the creation of high-quality geospatial data products to support riskinformed and climate-smart decision-making in development cooperation and DRM in priority subnational areas in Lao PDR and Indonesia, contributing to and complementing efforts under the SERVIR Southeast Asia project implemented by ADPC and supported by USAID and NASA.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Asia
Climate change and environment
Disaster risk reduction DRR
01.02.2024 - 31.07.2025
CHF  310’000
Background Southeast Asia is already experiencing the impacts of climate change and is likely to experience further impacts from El Niño in the coming months. The gap between best practices in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) / Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) at regional and national levels and ground realities at community level remains a key challenge in Asia. In order to better prioritize scarce resources, design appropriate intervention strategies and effectively upscale risk-informed and climate-smart solutions, high-quality, operational geospatial data is key to better understand how, where and when climate and disaster risk manifest in specific locations. Probabilistic risk assessments, early warning systems, anticipatory action and forecast-based financing are conditioned by geospatial data.
Objectives The primary objective of this project is to empower subnational decision-making processes and strategies for DRR and CCA in Southeast Asia through the use of geospatial data based on Earth Observation and Artificial Intelligence. This will be achieved by understanding data availability and priority needs among key beneficiaries, and by utilising geospatial data and advanced modelling to generate actionable insights that focus on capacity building among beneficiaries. The project aims to foster the effective use of geospatial data, drive risk-informed initiatives, strengthen regional cooperation and enhance disaster and climate resilience at subnational level. The project will involve local governments, key decision-makers and SDC project implementers in Lao PDR and Indonesia and have implications for the Lower Mekong and Southeast Asian regions.
Target groups

The direct target groups include subnational authorities and stakeholders, concerned national government agencies (e.g., NDMAs and ministries in charge of natural resource and water management as well as climate change) and regional organisations (UNESCAP, ASEAN, MRC and ADPC).

Indirect target groups include populations at risk in priority provinces in Lao PDR and Indonesia.

Lao PDR: Campasak, Salavan, Attapeu and Sekong provinces targeted for the planned expansion of PIN’s EWS project from Cambodia to Laos2. The population of the four provinces in Lao PDR are approximately 1.5 million.

Indonesia: West Sumatra and Central Sulawesi targeted by SDC’s Direct Action Project with BNPB 3 . The population in the two Indonesian provinces is approximately 8.7 million.

Medium-term outcomes

Outcome 1: Capacity of subnational beneficiaries and other stakeholders to validate, operationalize and utilize geospatial data for development, DRM and climate purposes enhanced.

Outcome 2: Regional cooperation among the ASEAN and MRC Member States as well as between the Member States and Switzerland enhanced in the use of geospatial data for development and DRM purposes. The regional component will be supported by ADPC and by SDC’s ongoing collaboration with UNESCAP and the AHA Centre, BNPB Indonesia and People In Need (PIN) in Lao PDR. Key findings and recommendations will be recorded in regional guidelines on subnational risk assessments and contribute to updating SDC’s CEDRIG tool.

Results

Expected results:  

Output 1: Tailored geospatial products with operational value for subnational authorities and field implementers.

Output 2: Strategic recommendations for the integration of GIS and remote sensing into fieldbased development cooperation, as well as DRR and climate initiatives.

Output 3: Documentation from interactive workshops for subnational authorities and beneficiaries in Lao PDR and Indonesia, designed to foster dialogue, build capacity, and engage stakeholders.

Output 4: Documentation from the regional workshop in Bangkok centered on the use of geospatial technology and GIS for subnational risk assessments and development purposes.

Output 5: Operational subnational guidelines outlining recommendations for incorporating geospatial data into disaster and climate risk assessments in the region.


Results from previous phases:   The Southeast Asia region is rapidly recognising the significance of geospatial data in enhancing development, DRM and CCA. Yet, the successful integration and application of spatial data in development, DRM and CCA is often impeded by technical, institutional and financial challenges. With the ever-increasing amount of spatial data available on the internet and accessible through web-applications, computer-software and mobile apps, it is becoming increasingly important to assess the validity and utility of such data for operational and field purposes.


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Project partners Contract partner
International or foreign NGO
  • Contribution to the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC). ADPC is an autonomous international organisation established for scientific, educational, developmental, and humanitarian purposes with a vision of safer communities and sustainable development through DRR and climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific.


Coordination with other projects and actors This project is designed to support planned and ongoing development projects by generating field knowledge that will help other projects design and scale-up effective DRM and climate actions based on evidence-based and data-driven approaches. These projects include first and foremost SERVIR Southeast Asia. From SDC’s perspective, this project will support SCO Lao PDR in the design of the EWS project with PIN as well as SDC’s ongoing Direct Action Project with BNPB in Indonesia. Through ADPC and SDC, the project will have access to ASEAN and the AHA Centre, and will share the recommendations.
Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    310’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    124’000 Total project since first phase Budget inclusive project partner CHF   310’000
Project phases Phase 1 01.02.2024 - 31.07.2025   (Current phase)