Desktop Study on - Regional Climate Change Adaptation ...

Assessment of Capacity Gaps and Needs of South East Asia Countries
in Addressing Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Variability and Climate Change
change focal point. In 2007, Thailand established
the National Board on Climate Change Policy, and
the Climate Change Coordinating Unit under ONEP
(See Figure 34). The country further established the
Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO)
as a public organization under the Ministry and
the Designated National Authority (DNA) for Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM) projects (MRC,
2009).
The membership of the National Board on Climate
Change Policy is wide and includes representatives of
line ministries, research institutes and the economic
interests. The Board is chaired by the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment.
Thailand Initial National Communication
under the UNFCCC
Thailand ratified the UNFCCC in March 1995; later,
in August 2002, ratified the Kyoto Protocol. From
1997 to 2000 the country developed the Initial
National Communication to UNFCCC, which was
funded by Global Environment Facility. In 2006, the
Second National Communication to UNFCCC was
commenced.
The initial communication recalls the contribution
of the country to the international efforts on climate
change, as a non-Annex I country. The document is an
overview of Thailand’s situation regarding climate
issues and capability to respond to it together with
mitigation options; also it reviews vulnerability and
adaptation strategies, policies and measures taken,
and the areas where Thailand still lacks the capacity
to address climate change problems.
The contents of the communication are divided into
nine chapters, starting with the introduction chapter
and finishing with the epilogue. Between both, there
is a description of the country characteristics, socioeconomic
aspects, climate and topography, energy,
etc. doing afterwards a review of the inventory of
Green House Gases, and the projections for all of
them, as well as the available mitigation options.
Subsequently, it goes through vulnerability
and adaptation issues, always focusing in five
sectors, which are natural forest, water resources,
agriculture, coastal resources and health. The rest
three chapters are devoted to policies and measures,
financial resources, technology transfer and capacity
building and education and public awareness.
National Action Plan on Climate Change and
National Strategy on Climate Change
The National Action Plan on Climate Change of
Thailand, which was completed in 2000, enables the
country to establish a national framework on climate
change for mitigating emissions of GHGs and adapting
to the adverse impacts. National goals and objectives
were established for the formulation of the action
plan. The adaptation plans were designed based on
available information from systematic assessments
of the key sectors described for the initial national
communication: forests; water resources; coastal
resources; health and agriculture (MRC, 2009).
The Action Plan involved the establishment of the
National Climate Change Office (NCCO) and the
National Climate Change Fund (NCCF) to facilitate
its implementation.
The Thailand’s Strategic Plan on Climate Change
2008 – 2012 (B.E. 2551- 2555 (2008‐2012)) was
approved in January 2008 and formulated by the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to
respond to climate change challenges. It aims to be
country’s first response to climate change, to remove
existing barriers to climate change implementation,
and to promote an integrated approach of problemsolving
by relevant agencies in various sectors. The
main objective of Thailand’s Strategic Plan on Climate
Change (2008‐2012) is to provide a guideline of
national responses to climate change challenges. It is
essential that national‐level and local‐level agencies
with relevant mandates develop their own action
plan that corresponds to the guidelines set forth
in the Strategic Plan. The Ministry is now initiating
the Action Plan Development Process among
relevant agencies, expected to be completed this
year (MRC, 2009). It outlines measures that need to
be undertaken by various agencies, which include
(ONEP, 2008):
Strategy 1: Build capacity to adapt and reduce
vulnerabilities to climate change impacts
Strategy 2: Support greenhouse gas emissions
reduction and add more carbon dioxide sinks
on integrity development, which objective is to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve
production technology base to clean technology
Strategy 3: Support research and development
to better understand climate change, its impacts
and adaptation and mitigation options
Strategy 4: Raise awareness and promote public
participation
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