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ASEAN Climate Leadership Programme: The Role of Land Management for Food Security and Climate Change 2020

ASEAN Climate Leadership Programme: The Role of Management for Food Security and Climate Change 2020

Quick Facts:

Rationale

The Climate Smart Land Use in ASEAN (CSLU) project aims to strengthen cooperation within and between ASEAN Member States (AMS) for promoting climate-smart land use in the ASEAN region. It supports designing and implementing regional and national policies that promote integrated solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, increase human wellbeing, enhance food security and that consider different functions a landscape can provide. To achieve this, policy processes need to go beyond individual sectors and interests but rather have to be set up in a dynamic, inclusive and cross-sectoral manner.

However, cooperation across different sectors, stakeholder groups and levels of society is often difficult to realise. Barriers include lack of political mandates, incentives and resources, conflicting interests, staff turnover, and limited technical and methodological knowledge.

To initiate and facilitate complex change processes, foster cooperation and promote systems thinking, competent and motivated individuals (change agents) in key positions and with strong networks are needed that not only possess relevant technical knowledge, but have the motivation and the skills to engage beyond their immediate work area and inspire others to collaborate.

ASEAN context

ASEAN recognises the importance of food security as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected on the regional level in various strategic documents, such as the Vision and Strategic Plan (SP) for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (FAF) (2016-2025), the ASEAN Strategic Plan for the Environment (ASPEN) 2016-2025 or the ASEAN Framework Action Plan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication 2016-2020. On the national level all ASEAN member states (AMS) have signed the Paris Agreement and communicated their Nationally Determined contributions (NDCs).

CSLU's regional Leadership Course Land use management for food security and climate impacts aims at supporting the implementation of the SP FAF 2016-2025 as well as other ASEAN frameworks related to climate change and land use and contributing to achieving the countries' NDCs. An overview of linkages between the Leadership Course and selected ASEAN strategies, plans and frameworks is presented in Annex I.

The course is designed as a contribution to the work of the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network (ASEAN-CRN). Via the ASEAN-CRN information on the application process will be disseminated, results of the programme reported to ASEAN bodies and selected network members could act as resource persons throughout the course and / or multipliers for lessons learnt and ideas generated.

The CSLU project seeks to develop and implement this Leadership Course jointly with other supporters of the ASEAN-CRN and is currently coordinating with selected development agencies and research, and capacity building institutions in this regard.

Approach

With the implementation of this regional leadership course, the project Climate Smart Land Use in ASEAN (CSLU) aims to strengthen key leadership1 skills for initiating and facilitating change processes and collective cross-sectoral transformative actions in the field of climate-smart land use. The programme is designed as a Leadership Journey.

Leadership Journeys are part of a quest towards global transformation and more sustainable economies and societies. They encourage the participants to reflect on both, tangible structures such as institutions, politics and material realities, as well as the inner world of values, world views, cultural frames, narratives and habitual routines of the self and society in order to facilitate change and social innovation. Participants learn to look at issues from a systemic perspective and also become more aware of their own role in the system around them.

The course addresses leadership not as a stand-alone function but in the context of a specific challenge. During this Leadership Journey all activities will be focused on strengthening ASEAN policy processes (horizontal impact) and improving the interaction between regional and national policy processes (vertical impact) for promoting land use management that enhances food security and amplifies climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes. The course is based on peer-to-peer exchange, facilitated by experienced coaches who are experts on leadership and change theory and by resources persons with technical knowledge on land use and climate change.

The programme is based on leadership and innovation lab approaches that have been successfully applied by GIZ for a number of topics and contents. 2 3 It emphasises the importance of the learning process which continues outside of the modules.

Goals

Overarching

Strengthening participants' competencies and their commitment to design more effective ASEAN policies and action programmes and to facilitate their national level implementation in order to promote climate-friendly and resilient land use management contributing to food security in the region.

Specific

  1. Increase understanding of the challenges and potentials of climate-smart land use approaches for food security sustainable development in ASEAN as a region and within AMS
  2. Encourage cross-sectoral collaboration and new forms of cooperation for tackling complex challenges in the field
  3. Integrate diverse interests into regional and national policy dialogue, support a better understanding of different perspectives and make use of the opportunities this provides
  4. Foster a regional network of change agents built on trustful relationships that continues to cooperate outside the realm of the programme
  5. Provide inputs to regional and national discourses on climate-smart land use

Outputs on different levels

Participants competencesOrganisational capacitiesRegional policy processes

Leadership concept and mindset

  • Strengthening intrinsic motivation
  • Build understanding of leadership (formal to non-formal) and how it relates to management
  • Build leadership mind-set including ethical values, responsibility, focusing on integrity, trust, credibility and being in service of sustainability ("the greater good")

Tools and methods

  • Introduce and strengthen systems thinking
  • Learn about tools and methodologies and learn how to apply them, e.g. peer coaching/case clinics, stakeholder mapping, prototyping

Technical knowledge

  • Introduction to complex systems and Wicked Problems (focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation and food security)
  • Increase understanding about the interdependencies of different land use/ management approaches and how this interacts with the climate system
  • Learn about key concepts and approaches related to climate change mitigation and adaptation in the land use sectors and landscape approaches
  • Learn about existing change initiatives and their success factors
  • Identify leverage points for promoting climate-smart land use and linking ground situations/challenges to policy level/decision makers
  • Increased leadership and management skills of key personnel
  • Transfer of knowledge to the organisation
  • Access to a network of experts and policy makers
  • Innovation through transformative project ideas developed by the participants
  • Strengthened dialogue about regional dimension of climate challenges and solutions
  • Lessons learnt for promoting transformative, system-wide, cross-sector collaboration
  • Strengthened network of potential ASEAN leaders
  • Inspiration for further regional dialogue processes

Target group

Key success factor is the right selection of participants. Great care will be taken to select teams of participants, focusing on mandate, influence and diversity:

Programme

Support

Program Structure

Annex I – Overview of linkages between the leadership programme and selected ASEAN strategies, plans and frameworks

1. SP for FAF 2016-2025

Strategic ThrustsAction ProgrammeLink to leadership progamme
3: Ensure food security, food safety, better nutrition and equitable distribution 3.5 Improve food security and nutrition through diversifying food sources and strengthening the quality and variety of food production and improving the food value chains. Diversifying food sources and strengthening the quality and variety of food production and improving the food value chains are important strategies for achieving climate-smart land use.
4: Increase resilience to climate change, natural disasters and other shocks All action programmes Strengthening stakeholders for promoting climate policies and sustainable management of land resources indirectly contributes to all action programmes in ST4.
6: Strengthen ASEAN joint approaches on international and regional issues 6.1 Enhance coordination and develop joint approaches through consultations among AMS and related ASEAN bodies in regional and international fora in order to gain a better hearing for its views and proposals, and to obtain more favourable outcomes in negotiations and agreements affecting FAF sector. Building and strengthening regional networks and dialogue between ASEAN stakeholders is a key outcome of the programme and will contribute to developing joint approaches.
7: Promote sustainable forest management

7.1 Promote the exchange of knowledge on implementing SFM and improve forest governance (including enabling environment and framework conditions for scaling up SFM and impact monitoring).

7.5 Promote inter-sectoral cooperation between the forestry sector and other sectors, including agriculture, environment, customs, and trade.

7.9 Enhance the capacities and human resources, including research and development institutions in the forestry sector

SFM and forest governance are important strategies for achieving climate-smart land use. Promoting inter-sectoral cooperation and enhancing capacities are key outcomes of the programme.

2. ASEAN Strategic Plan on Environment (ASPEN) 2016-20255

Strategic PrioritiesProgrammes / Outputs and IndicatorsLink to leadership progamme
5: Climate Change

1. Adaptation and Resilience

  • Enhance local level climate change adaptation
  • Enhanced collaboration with relevant sectors on loss and damage

Promoting more effective policy-making for climate-smart land use ultimately contributes to enhancing local level climate change adaptation.

Enhancing collaboration with sectors for adaptation, including strategies for loss and damage, is a key outcome of the programme.

2. Mitigation

  • Compilation of best practices on mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from relevant sectors
  • Better understanding and improved capacity to achieve Nationally Determine Contributions (NDCs) and implement Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) techniques
  • Mainstreamed climate change issues in other sectoral plans at national and regional level

Exchanging experiences on CC mitigation is a key element of the programme.

NDCs are an important point of reference for the dialogue on policy processes in the programme.

Mainstreamed climate change issues in other sectoral plans (specifically land sectors) at national and regional level is a key topic of the programme.

3. Technology Transfer

  • Strengthened science and policy interface in climate change related decision-making process
Strengthening exchange between different stakeholder groups is a key outcome of the programme.

5. Cross Sectoral Coordination and Global Partnerships

  • Improved cross-sectoral coordination among relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies
  • Increased ASEAN presence and visibility in the global community
Improving cross-sectoral coordination among relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies is a key outcome of the programme. Strengthened stakeholders in CC and land use contribute to ASEAN visibility in the global community.

3. ASEAN Framework Action Plan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication 2016-2020

ComponentsProgramme/projects/ActivitiesLink to leadership progamme
5: Resilience of the Poor and Vulnerable Groups to Economic and Environmental Risks

17. Promote trainings to improve food production and agriculture competitiveness amidst challenges of climate change in collaboration with SOM-AMAF, particularly with its AWGATE in developing the proposed ASEAN people's field school

18. ASEAN Forum on Improvement of Knowledge, Skills and Competence of Stakeholders in Climate Change Adaptation within ASEAN Member States

The programme comprises exchange of experiences related to improved food production and agriculture in the context of CC and increases knowledge about climate change adaptation.

4. Action Plan 2019 of the ASEAN-CRN

AreaActivitiesLink to leadership progamme
Governance 7. Regional meeting on climate governance and policy Climate governance and policy is a key topic of the programme.
Adaptation

1.2 Knowledge exchange on Climate Smart Village models and experiences

3. CSA on livestock including manure management

CSV and CSA (incl. livestock) are important strategies for achieving climate-smart land use.
Mitigation

1. Regional case studies and knowledge exchange on healthy (paddy) soils for emissions reduction

2. Exchange of knowledge on mitigation in agriculture and forestry

3. Regional knowledge sharing on model of CSA upscaling

Soil management and CSA upscaling are important strategies for climate-smart land use.

Knowledge exchange on mitigation in agriculture and forestry is a key element of the programme.

Finance 6. Sharing Climate Resilience Information through workshops, meeting, global Sharing information on climate resilience is a key element of the programme.

Leadership in this context is not understood as being linked to hierarchy, but as a set of personal skills that enable an individuum to initiate and manage change.
Methodological Approach Global Leadership Academy https://www.we-do-change.org/fileadmin/downloads/180213_GLAC_Brosch_methods_RZ-view.pdf?_=1518514304
AIZ Leadership Tool Box https://www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2013-de-aiz-toolbox-leadership-development.pdf