Climate change adaptation strategies of selected smallholder upland farmers in southeast Asia: Philippines and Indonesia

Abstract

The present publication is the 3rd issue of the APN Science Bulletin series to be published in the APN's Third 5-year Strategic Phase, which runs until March 2015. Issue 3 ( 2013) is a peer-reviewed publication that has become a main source, next to the APN website, for up-to-the-minute information on activities undertaken by the APN. As a landmark publication written by the global environmental community, supported by the APN, and focussing on issues of underpinning science that is policy-relevant, the 2013 Science Bulletin aims to satisfy readers in both the science and non-science communities with a keen interest in Global Environmental Change in the Asia-Pacific region.The 2013 APN Science Bulletin highlights those APN projects either funded and/or completed in the year of publication (the present year runs from April 2012 -March 2013). The Science Bulletin has three main sections: 1) Featured Articles; 2) Regional Research Projects funded under the Annual Regional Call for Research Proposals (ARCP) Programme; and 3) Scientific Capacity Development Projects funded under the CAPaBLE Programme. A supplement to the Bulletin will be published in early summer 2013 and will include a number of important activities supported by the APN outside its core programmes, for example, the development of Future Earth in Asia and the Pacific, Focussed activities under Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Land-Use, a series of Hyogo-funded workshops on the New Commons, among others.Under featured articles, nine scientific papers have been written and cover a number of major themes in the APN's science agenda. These include issues from the tracking of endangered tree species in the forests of Borneo to observing the impacts of extreme weather events and adaptation plans in major coastal cities. Other issues focus on the impacts of climate on the hydrological cycle, and on smallholder farms. The core regional research programme is supporting twenty-four regional-based research activities this year, two of which are seed grants for further proposal development, and includes a wide array of biodiversity, ecosystems and land-use themes from looking at Seagrass-Mangrove ecosystems, terrace farming practices, marine ecosystems in Northwest Pacific, among others. The APN continues its underpinning and policy-relevant research by looking at impact assessment tools for urban policy makers. The APN's capacity development programme, CAPaBLE, is the 2nd core programme of the network and reports fourteen capacity development activities and their impacts for the region. Activities extend from supporting young and early-career scientists to attend major global change programme events such as the PAGES and Earth System Governance Conferences, to providing regional climate modelling training programmes and looking at the impacts of global environmental change on human health.On behalf of the Scientific Planning Group (SPG), who advises the scientific programme of the APN to the APN's governing body, the Inter-Governmental Meeting; and of the SPG Co-Cha...

Enhancing Local Adaptive Capacities of Selected Upland Farming Communities in Southeast Asia: Lessons and Experiences

“…Because farmers have directly experienced and observed the impacts of climate change on agriculture, they are more likely to adopt CCA strategies, considering that agriculture is their main source of income. Tolentino and Landicho (2013) cited that smallholder upland farmers in the Philippines and Indonesia have been employing their own CCA strategies without technical assistance from extension agencies. These measures include changing cropping patterns, planting different crop varieties, practicing agroforestry, and engaging in nonfarm activities.…”

“…Climate change is already being experienced in the agriculture sector, particularly in the upland farming communities in Southeast Asia. Tolentino and Landicho (2013) highlighted that the smallholder upland farmers in the Philippines and Indonesia have been experiencing abnormal rainfall and temperature patterns, which have greatly affected their agricultural production. Among these effects include higher incidence of pests and diseases, low crop productivity/yield, stunted crop growth, delays in fruiting and harvesting, and declining quality of farm product.…”

Strengthening adaptive capacity of rural farming communities in Southeast Asia: Experiences, best practices and lessons for scaling-up

“…An estimated 100 million smallholder farmers are actively producing staple crops (i.e., maise, rice, and wheat) and other high-value crops such as cacao and coffee (Mikolajczyk, Mikulcak, Thompson, & Long, 2021). But agriculture in general and smallholder farmers, in particular, are vulnerable to numerous challenges such as natural disasters (Israel & Briones, 2013) Tolentino & Landicho, 2013;Landicho, Cabahug, Baliton, & Gonzales, 2021;Ho, Ha, Luu, & Dong, 2019;Cruz, Carandang, Galapia, Carandang, & De Luna, 2014;Pulhin et al, 2020;Visco, Wulandari, & Huy, 2014;Diana, Zulkepli, Siwar, & Zainol, 2022); and the recent COVID-19 pandemic (Sleet, 2020;Kim, Kim, & Park, 2020;FAO, 2021) With the crucial role of agriculture in the economy and its vulnerability to climate change impacts and other stressors, numerous studies point out the need to invest in measures that would build and enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of rural farming communities (Silici, Rowe, Suppiramaniam, & Knox, 2021;Landicho et al, 2021;Lasco, Habito, Delfino, Pulhin, & Concepcion, 2011).…”