ASEAN Forum on Urban Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risk
From December 5th to 7th, 2017, Ramanditya Wimbardana, a research fellow at RDI, received an invitation to attend the ASEAN Forum on Urban Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risk, held in Laoag City, Philippines. This forum was organized as part of the celebrations marking the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN and saw participation from 10 member countries from Southeast Asia, India, Japan, and Bangladesh.
During this event, Ramanditya presented his research titled "Empowering Urban Stakeholder Capacity for Governing Low Emission Development through Transnational Municipal Networks: A Case Study of Bogor City, Indonesia." His research delved into the study of how collaboration with transnational municipal networks, such as ICLEI, proves beneficial primarily to specific entities that closely engage with these networks or prioritize low emission development programs.
The forum underscored the significance of regional collaboration among ASEAN stakeholders. It emphasized that as the region becomes more interconnected, addressing sustainability challenges necessitates regional cooperation. To further this goal, ASEAN academia should join forces to provide evidence-based policy recommendations.
Participants at the forum also had the unique opportunity to visit Southeast Asia's largest wind farm, spanning 600 hectares of land. This renewable energy project is more than capable of meeting the electricity demands of Ilocos Norte, exemplifying the potential of sustainable energy solutions in the region.
