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Loss and Damage: Perspectives from inside and outside the UNFCCC

While progress is continuing within the framework of the UNFCCC processes, complementary initiatives are also occurring outside of it. In the Philippines, the recent CLIMA Act is a world-first proposed bill targeting business accountability and upholding human rights, and there is also growing international collaboration and actions at national and sub-national levels.

By Jameela Joy Reyes

Promoting a Greener World through Music: Interview with Robi Navicula

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In Bali, all the philosophy, understanding, and wisdom are passed down from generation to generation through art, architecture, poetry, music, and songs. This ensures that these traditions can endure across time and place.

Robi Navicula

Recent Articles

At its second meeting, the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund will set the course for what kind of funding mechanism it wants to be

At its second meeting, the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) in Songdo will decide on crucial procedures to operationalize the fund swiftly. Key decisions will shape the fund’s future, impacting how quickly it can deliver aid to those affected by climate impacts.

By Liane Schalatek

A Monetary and Economic Order Fit for the Twenty-First Century

Analyse

If the international community is to have a chance of addressing twenty-first-century challenges effectively and equitably, the global economic and financial architecture that was created eight decades ago must be radically reformed. Eight priorities stand out.

By Ulrich Volz , Janak Raj , Sarah Ribbert , Kamal Ramburuth , Monica Herz and William Kring

Solidarity Statement - 2024 Asia Women and Rivers Congress

Statement

Over 125 women leaders and partners from 18 countries convened in Chiang Rai, Thailand, for the Asia Women and Rivers Congress from 4 to 6 June 2024. The event marked a crucial milestone in the ongoing mission for gender equity in water resource management and climate resilience.

RIPPLE EFFECT: Unveiling ADB's Ecological & Human Rights Violations through Watercolor Narrative

Online Exhibition

The 'Ripple Effect' Watercolor Exhibition seeks to illuminate the intricate connections between environmental degradation, social injustice, and human rights violations stemming from the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) projects. This exhibition took place on May 1-5, 2024, in Tbilisi, Georgia during ADB’s Annual General Meeting.

The ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights: Whose Rights and What Rights?

Article

Indigenous Peoples face huge challenges in participating in official decision-making processes. This piece explores how the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights has provided few opportunities for Indigenous Peoples to fully and meaningfully engage with the first-ever regional instrument that brings together human rights and the environment in Southeast Asia.

By Minh Tran and Dayoon Kim

Indonesia Carbon Exchange: Diversion or Solution to Climate Change?

Article

This article highlights the perceived pitfalls of this "initiative," which is believed to accelerate carbon emission reduction. Instead, it is seen as just another attempt to distort and divert the goal of achieving net-zero emissions for Indonesia and other ASEAN countries with similar approaches

By Johnson Chandra

Articles by Countries and Topics A-Z

Women Leadership and Women's Rights: Glimpses into Progress and Challenges in the Philippines

Women contribute to development, so development should be able to contribute to women.

- Maria Daryl Leyesa

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Equality in Motion: Analyzing the Implications of Thailand's Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Article

Thailand’s marriage equality bill, which would legalize and recognize same-sex unions, passed its first reading in the upper house of parliament, a major milestone that could potentially make the country the first in Southeast Asia to do so.

By Pasavat Tanskul

Harmony on the Plate: Unraveling the Nexus of Health, Nutrition, and Ecology in Food and Farming

Article

The reflections on health-nutrition-ecology relationships through food and farming bring us to never questioned before reality in organic farming as well as the accessibility of foods to those who grow them – the smallholder farmers, and the majority of consumers. This reflective journey sheds light on the pivotal role they play in forging a sustainable and interconnected future, urging us to reconsider our approach to food and agriculture.

By Judith Bopp

The Cruel Irony of Cooling Our Food and Buildings on a Boiling Planet

Article

Air conditioners and refrigerators save lives during heat waves, keep food and vaccines from spoiling, and make life in hot and humid Thailand more livable. But keeping our indoor climate cool has ironically made the outdoor climate much warmer. Countering the global-warming effect of air conditioners and refrigerators is a major challenge that needs urgent attention.

By Chuenchom Sangarasri Greacen

Critical Minerals: The Need for Market Standards

Article

As global demand for critical minerals grow, so too do standards and regulations to ensure the industry is more sustainable and transparent about its environmental impact on local areas and residents. The case of nickel mining in Indonesia highlights the serious damage and inconsistencies of applied policy, and how we must keep open dialogue, respect for rights and demand action.

By Bernadinus Steni

Artful Transformations: Southeast Asian Artists Embrace Trash as a Medium for Change

Article

In Southeast Asia, artists are transforming the region's trash into a source of inspiration. With over a million of tonnes of plastic waste entering the sea annually, these artists are advocating for sustainability through their work. They redefine beauty from discarded objects, addressing pollution issues creatively, inviting audiences to rethink their relationship with waste and embrace a more responsible approach to consumption.

By Philip Cornwel-Smith

The Importance of Bat Pollinators: Case Study in Southern Thailand

Article

Animal pollinators, including bats, play a crucial role in the reproduction of flowering plants. Learn how these often misunderstood creatures contribute to genetic diversity, ecosystem health, and our global economy. This article explores the challenges they face in the face of habitat loss and degradation, and to find out how you can help protect these essential pollinators.

By Alyssa B. Stewart

All Articles on Ecology & Social Justice

All Articles on Democracy & Participation

The Stories from Johor Strait: Fishery, Marine Conversation, and Citizen Science

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But for the fishermen, the sea is getting smaller. For me personally, the fishermen are the endangered species here.

Dr. Serina Rahman

Vietnam in Motion

"Vietnam in Motion" explores entangled stories of the people in contemporary Vietnam. Publishing scholarly articles, interviews, essays from artists, writers, and thinkers, it covers various disciplines and reflects on the transformation happening in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a country of nearly 96 million people that deserves more attention.

At the end of the day, the Mekong River is our life, it's our love for our children, and their bright futures.

Le Dinh Tuyen, Vietnam

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Podcasts Around Southeast Asia and Beyond

We are looking for a Program Assistant - Outreach and Communication to join our team! Thai nationals only!

Job

Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southeast Asia Regional Office (hbs) in Bangkok (Thonglor) is looking for a Program Assistant – Outreach and Communication to join our team ASAP and no later than 1 August 2024.

Call for Expression of Interest – Videographer and Video Editing, Animation Designer

Call for Expression of Interest – Translator

Call for Expression of Interest – Copy Editors for English

Recent Publications

#exitplastic Now!

Publication

The manifesto for social and structural changes to solve the plastics crisis. A civil society call to #exitplastic. Now!

pdf

Public Guide to the Clean Air Green Paper

E-Paper

This Public Guide to the Clean Air Green Paper has been developed to summarize the key messages from the Clean Air Green Paper, digesting the content so it is more concise and accessible to the public; thereby giving the public a comprehensive view of the sources of air pollution in Thailand and how the problems can be solved in an integrated and sustainable manner.

pdf

JETP Vietnam Energy Transition with Political Costs

E-Paper

The purpose of Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETPs) is to decarbonize energy systems in emerging countries. In Vietnam, the partnership is ambitious but underfunded, unjust, and riddled with high political costs.

pdf

The Climate Story: Connecting The Dots

At the ‘Climate Story: Connecting the Dots web discussion, a mix of participants - journalists from Southeast Asia, climate advocates, communications and development professionals - exchanged insights about the overarching climate story that, in truth, supersedes all stories today. How to tell this story better, and the need for a Southeast Asian perspective in reporting the impacts and human toll of the climate crisis were the key threads that ran though this conversation.

pdf

ATLASES

Peatland Atlas 2023

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Meat Atlas 2021

Plastic Atlas Asia Edition

Insect Atlas

Agrifood Atlas – Facts and figures about the corporations that control what we eat

Soil Atlas: Facts and figures about earth, land and fields

Loss and Damage: Perspectives from inside and outside the UNFCCC