Southeast Asian policymakers and experts warned recently that the region must urgently strengthen its response to climate-driven loss and damage, as unequal capacities and fragmented systems leave communities exposed when disasters strike.
The ASEAN Knowledge Exchange on Loss and Damage and Comprehensive Risk Management, organized by GIZ under the ASEAN EU-German Climate Action Programme and as part of ASEAN Climate Week 2026, brought officials from Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and regional institutions together to share lessons and identify where cooperation can turn plans into protection.
“Across ASEAN, capacity to respond to loss and damage varies widely,” said Ms. Sao Samphors, Vice Chief Office of Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment. “Some countries have advanced climate-data systems and adaptive social protection; others are still building basic institutions. That gap is what puts people at risk.”
Speakers stressed that while regional policy frameworks such as Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans and national disaster plans exist, implementation is often siloed. “Adaptation and disaster risk reduction frequently progress in parallel instead of as a unified approach,” noted Mr. Santosh Manivannan, chair of the ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change (AWGCC). “We must break sectoral walls, so assistance reaches those who need it most.”
A recurring concern was data fragmentation. Planners lack coherent, accessible datasets spanning global, regional, national and local levels — a problem that hinders timely decision-making and fair distribution of support after disasters. Presenters recommended standardizing metrics and exploring new technologies to close the information gap. “It’s time to explore AI for data collection, analysis and distribution of social protection,” pointing to the potential for faster, more targeted responses.
Regional cooperation emerged as the practical pathway forward. Dr. Vong Sok, Head of Environment Division from the ASEAN Secretariat, urged countries to use existing ASEAN platforms including the AWGCC and ACDM, to harmonize approaches and pool resources. “We already have the institutional architecture; now we need to operationalize it for loss and damage,” he said.
Experts called for concrete regional tools: a minimum standard metric to document loss and damage using existing platforms like the ASEAN Disaster Information Network, and a dedicated ASEAN coordination mechanism on loss and damage that could tackle technical and legal issues from sea-level rise to planned relocation. “Defining the scope of loss and damage at the regional level will help align national policies and unlock support,” said Senior Researcher P. Raja Siregar of the Resilience Development Initiative.
Voices from national governments underlined the human stakes. Ms. Sonekham Phommahaxay, Deputy Director, Disaster Prevention Division, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of Lao PDR, and Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources highlighted ongoing efforts to implement adaptive social protection and risk-transfer mechanisms — but both acknowledged that piecemeal progress must scale. “We need both national action and regional solidarity, so no community is left behind,” Usec. Rebuelta-Teh said.
The session concluded with a set of strategic recommendations: strengthen cross-sector coordination at national and regional levels; develop a regional MRV and data standard for loss and damage; and establish an ASEAN sub-working group to tackle technical, legal and governance challenges tied to displacement, small islands and maritime boundaries.
Participants endorsed a regional study assisted by ASEAN on readiness to address loss and damage, a first step toward translating knowledge into action. In a region where climate impacts are intensifying, speakers left no doubt: frameworks exist, but leadership, data and cooperation must move faster if ASEAN is to protect its people and economies from the next inevitable crisis.
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