IUCN, Asia Regional Office (ARO)

There are a multitude of limiting factors preventing ecosystems, communities, organisms and individuals from adapting to change. Ecological and physical limits comprise the natural limitations to adaptation, associated largely with the natural environment, ranging from ecosystem thresholds to geographical and geological limitations.

This review assessed the suitability of various frameworks, approaches and tools for conducting vulnerability assessments, for use in the EU funded IUCN project “Building Resilience to Climate Change in Coastal Southeast Asia”. In particular their suitability for use at the provincial, community, and household/individual levels of analysis was emphasised.

This report presents a rapid assessment of the vulnerability to climate change of coastal habitats and selected species in the eight focal areas of the IUCN project ‘Building coastal resilience in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand’: Koh Kong and Kampot (Cambodia), Chanthaburi and Trat (Thailand), and Ben Tre, Can Gio, Kien Giang and Soc Trang (Vietnam).

Asia countries have accomplished a great deal in understanding and documenting plant diversity. This edition of the Asian Plant Conservation Report presents readers with progress and successful cases of plant conservation in Asia. The first section introduces the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Subsequent sections provide basic information on features of plant diversity in Asia.

Although the rules regarding REDD have not been set, it is already clear that the extent to which an individual country will be able to attract international investment and REDD payments will depend to a considerable extent on its ability to put in place a system that rewards forest managers who are changing their behaviour to reduce deforestation and degradation.

This paper is a response to an IUCN internal review of the Strengthening Voices for Better Choices project, carried out in May 2007. The review recommended that a study be carried out, focusing on the process of implementation in Sri Lanka, in order to learn lessons about catalysing dialogue for improved forest governance. It is intended to serve as a learning tool for people involved in the Strengthening Voices for Better Choices project in Sri Lanka and beyond.