Eq-SEACD

Equitable development of coastal communities in Southeast Asia through integration of Climate change adaptation and Disaster risk reduction (Eq-SEACD)

The Eq-SEACD project aims to build the evidence base for sustainable and equitable development strategies that integrate climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The overall objective of the project is to create enabling conditions for sustainable and equitable development in Southeast Asia by demonstrating the importance of strategies based on local and indigenous knowledge (LINK) that integrate climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). 

The specific objectives for this project are as follows:

1. Increase knowledge on the progression of vulnerability of marginalised groups in coastal areas ofIndonesia and Viet Nam. Identifying the root causes, dynamic processes, and lack of livelihood assets that contribute to their vulnerability will improve our understanding of processes that create and reinforce inequalities.

2. Strengthen capacities of coastal resource users to create and implement integrated CCA-DRR-sustainable development strategies that include marginalised groups. Strategies will be co-produced and be based onLINK and science, and policymakers and practitioners will be engaged in their development.

3. Increase recognition by policymakers and practitioners in CCA and DRR fields, of the need to integrate CCA and DRR within sustainable development, and the need to prioritise inequality reduction to achieve sustainable development.

4. Advance knowledge on equity-focused research. Trans-disciplinary action research methods will be jointly assessed with communities, and after revision, widely disseminated. Research methods that empower marginalised groups to develop their own strategies towards sustainable development will be scaled.

Expected outcomes

The project expects to deliver the following outputs that would lead to outcomes corresponding to the objectives listed above:

1. New knowledge on the progression of vulnerability of marginalised groups in coastal Indonesia and Viet Nam jointly identified with communities, policy makers, and practitioners. Such knowledge on social,economic, and political structures and processes that determine location, inequitable exposure to global changes, and unequal access to livelihood assets to mitigate negative impacts is needed to tackle inequality reduction.

2. CCA-DRR-sustainable development strategies that integrate LINK and scientific knowledge developed.These would strengthen coastal communities’ capacities to adapt to climate change, reduce disaster risk, and develop sustainably without reinforcing marginalization of vulnerable groups.

3. Field-based evidence built with coastal communities, policymakers and practitioners for the need to integrate CCA and DRR within the larger framework of SDGs in the post-COVID era, and the need to prioritize inequality reduction to achieve sustainable development that includes the most marginalised groups. This will include commitments from local stakeholders and be widely disseminated for regional impact.

4. Trans-disciplinary action research methodologies that contribute to addressing social inequalities and empowering marginalised communities. The methodology will be widely disseminated through scientific publications to contribute to advancement of science.