Knowledge center on climate change established in Laguna
Posted on July 17th, 2009
The government-hosted Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO-SEARCA), which is based in the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) has just finished with the establishment of the Knowledge Management Center on Climate Change (KC3) in Los Baños, Laguna. The said center is now fully operational.
The mission of the KC3 is to help Southeast Asian understand the whats, the whys, and the hows of climate change and hot it affects the agriculture and natural sectors in the SEAMEO region. It will also provide access to knowledge solutions to help the Southeast Asian States to adapt and mitigate the impact of climate change.
KC3 is also expected to open opportunities for interested Southeast Asian countries to provide venue for knowledge exchange and sharing with the objective of strengthening related research and development (R&D), capacity building, and policy advocacy efforts.
It will have a website which will serve as a tool to generate and disseminate information and knowledge on related R&D grants, scholarships, upcoming training and their accompanying program, courses, and training materials.
SEARCA is one of the 15 regional “centers of excellence†of SEAMEO, and inter-government treaty organization founded in 1965 to foster cooperation among Southeast Asian nations in the fields of education, science, and culture. It is headed by Director Arsenio N. Balisacan.
Member-countries of SEAMEO are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand – in that order, are the SEAMEO countries which have been identified as the most vulnerable to climate change among Southeast Asian nations because of the archipelagic nature of their geography.
According to Dr. Balisacan, 81-90 percent of the populations of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines live in coastal areas. It is almost 100 percent in Brunei Darussalam, 52 percent in Vietnam and 30.6 percent in Thailand.
Expected to benefit from the knowledge center are policymakers, academics, students, businessmen, non-government organizations, funding donors, extension workers, and farmer-leaders in the SEAMEO countries.
