By: Perlyn Pulhin

The organizers of the 4^th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum (APCCAF) sponsored the participation of OML Center Program Manager, Ms Perlyn Pulhin as speaker at the Parallel Session on Engaging Private Sector in Adaptation.  Over 500 climate change adaptation practitioners joined public and private sector officials and top experts at the Forum held on 1-3 October 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With over 150 speakers and 30 sessions, it is among the biggest climate change adaptation events in the region.

About the Forum

The Adaptation Forum aimed to assist the participants from all levels of government, in business and society become more effective in addressing the challenges of development in a changing climate through critical reflection on the roles of actors involved and how new partnerships for resilient development can be secured. It focused on adaptation actors and how they collaborate to form partnerships and networks.

It was highlighted at the Forum that actors are important at local, national and international scales. At the international level, for example, are various intergovernmental organisations.  Scientific networks operate at several scales and may contain members from both public and private bodies.  Business associations have roles within and among countries. Local actors are usually critical for success of adaptation policies and programs in particular places. Thus, actors and their partnerships are crucial for resilient development.

Parallel Session on Engaging Private Sector in Adaptation

The Session was organized to tackle how governments and communities engaged the private sector in adaptation and determine under what conditions does the private sector extend or transform conventional corporate social responsibility practices or social enterprises to support adaptation. The invited speakers are: Anthony Watanabe, Asia Clean Innovations; Perlyn Pulhin, OML Center; Jeongho Lee, Korea Environment Institute (KEI); and Emilia Solomon Visco, University of the Philippines Los Banos. The Session was moderated by Saliha Dobardzic of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

In her presentation, Ms. Pulhin shared how the OML Center recognizes the value of research and science in drawing long-term and sustainable solutions to climate change issues by focusing on the generation of scientific information on climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk management (DRM).  She presented the key approaches that are proving effective in achieving the Center’s goals. The moderator concluded the session by emphasizing the need to engage private sector more actively in adaptation, sustain their involvement and secure private sector long-term support.

The Forum was organized by the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN). For more information about the Forum, visit this site.