The aim of this programme is to increase resilience to hydrometeorological hazards in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. The focus is on creating a better understanding of likely impacts so that appropriate adaptation and mitigation measures can be implemented.
Hydrometeorological hazards, including floods, droughts, landslides and storm surges, can pose a direct threat to lives and impact livelihoods by damaging and destroying transport links, power supplies, businesses and agricultural land. Climate change, population growth, land-use change and urbanisation are increasing the number of people in Southeast Asia at risk from these hazards.
To increase resilience to hydrometeorological hazards, better understanding of the likely impacts is needed to enable appropriate adaptation and mitigation measures, such as new flood defences or the restoration of natural defences like mangroves, to be developed and implemented. This programme aims to improve understanding of the impacts of hydrometeorological hazards in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
This programme is supported by NERC and ESRC through the Newton Fund, which forms part of the UK government’s Official Development Assistance.
Five parallel programmes are being developed with the following countries:
- Indonesia – the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia (Ristekdikti)
- Philippines – the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST- PCIEERD)
- Vietnam – National Foundation for Science and Technology (NAFOSTED)
- Malaysia – Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE)
- Thailand – National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT).
In each programme the focus is on identifying, characterising and predicting the variables that influence the occurrence, impact, severity and duration of hydrometeorological hazards in Southeast Asia to enable increased preparedness and resilience to future events.