The Global EbA Fund Asia-Pacific Grantees gather to exchange lessons learnt and to explore ways to scale ecosystem-based adaptation
On 4-7 March 2025, the Global EbA Fund brought together representatives of 18 grant projects in the Asia-Pacific region for a learning exchange and networking workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop underscored the critical role of sharing experiences and lessons learnt to scale ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) across projects and countries.
With projects in 14 countries across the region, the workshop provided a unique opportunity for participants to learn from one another and to share their diverse experiences working across diverse ecosystems and challenges in climate adaptation.
“At the heart of all these synergies is collaboration,” said Silvia Gardo, Programme Management Officer, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). She set the tone for the three-day discussion by asking participants to consider how they can maximise learning and building capacities to suit the ever-evolving landscape. “We must be able to provide convincing evidence and compelling stories,” Dr. Dindo Campilan, Regional Director, IUCN Asia, reiterated during his opening remarks. “Our mission is to demonstrate high integrity EbA through our programmes.”
As participants presented their project experiences, successes and learnings, the discussions geared towards making connections and finding common themes on working with ecosystems and nature to address climate change while placing people at the centre of the approach. The topics ranged from strengthening coordination mechanisms and the use of tools to implement EbA, exploring innovative ideas for sustainable financing, enhancing participatory approaches to developing EbA measures, measuring impact and bringing projects to scale through interlinked activities.
A visit to Benchakitti Park, an urban forest park located in the heart of Bangkok, showcased how integrating nature into existing grey infrastructure to address climate change and maximise the limited space in cities can offer a variety benefits. In Benchakitti Park, these benefits range from flood management and urban heat regulation, recreation and social interaction, provision of food through urban gardens, and water recycling and provision of habitats for animal and bird species, among others. Identifying the root causes that hinder EbA uptake, the participants listed solutions that have worked for them to address the challenges with regards to insufficient financing, lack of knowledge and information, technical capacity constraints, insufficient political and public support, lack of awareness and understanding, as well as governance challenges and working in the policy and regulatory environment. It became evident that we need a combination of measures to address the root causes more effectively.
Another key takeaway from the workshop was the recognition that while community and stakeholder engagement is extremely important, it is also a long-term process. Inclusivity must begin before the project starts and for continued impact beyond the project cycle. EbA is about relying on healthy ecosystems to help people adapt to climate change. Thus, depending on the context and the ecosystem, this will entail engagement with diverse actors ranging from local communities and actors from different sectors, all who may have different priorities. Effective implementation of EbA takes time as it entails a paradigm shift to overcome “business as usual” thus challenging existing approaches, beliefs and practices in service of more sustainable solutions. Documenting these learnings is critical to support further collaboration and to unlock new financing opportunities – the need to develop compelling evidence emerged as a key challenge and solution to scale EbA interventions.
The workshop closed with a field visit to the Mangrove Forest Nature School in Samut Songkram, a province on the Gulf of Thailand. Touring the site, the participants witnessed the importance of collective action for restoring the coastal community forest. Without the community on board, the vision of one community leader, Mr. Wisurt Nuamsiri, would have been like a candle in the wind. Collectively the community has managed to restore and expand the mangrove forests that were previously degraded, and to create a healthy ecosystem that protects the community from flooding and natural disasters, provides livelihood opportunities and has brought back rich biodiversity to the area. As the community continues to learn about the many benefits of the mangrove ecosystem and how to best manage the area, they are also looking for ways to engage the next generation of leaders to continue building a more resilient community with nature.
Anke Wolff from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) concluded the workshop with a call to continue building synergies and learning from one another – to connect with projects in the region working on similar approaches to scale lessons and best practices. One small project may be just a drop on a hot stone, but collectively through scaling we have the potential to create a greater impact for people, ecosystems, and the climate.
