2nd Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. March 6, 2012. Since the collapse of the “last chance to do something about climate change” Copenhagen summit in 2009, if not before, it has been clear to me that there will be no global policy solution to mitigating climate change. International efforts to stop climate change will continue to consist of endless UN conferences, which will benefit only caterers, the travel industry, and the large number of professional delegates who go from conference to conference enjoying a luxurious life style and camaraderie with other professional delegates. Now, the real efforts of humanity, which, of necessity, will have to be local or, perhaps regional, need to focus on adaptation. Fortunately, there are many dedicated people who understand this reality and are working to minimize the impact of climate change on local communities, where much can be done.

A panel of experts, who are attending the 2nd Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum in Bangkok, assembled at the FCCT and reported on some of the hopeful projects that are being initiated. Examples of adaptation are the planting of mangroves along coastal areas which are being destroyed by rising water and tides in Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, and the use of indigenous bamboo to construct barriers. While these efforts might seem “too little too late,” if successful, they will conserve and restore the natural ability of ecosystems to regenerate, which is the only hope that is left for this polluted planet.