On 13-14 July 2017, GIZ Thailand through Risk based National Adaptation Plan Project together with Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), national climate change adaptation focal point, and Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning (DPT) joined hands to organize the kick off workshop on mainstreaming climate change adaptation into human settlement and security sector at Amari Watergate Hotel. The kick off workshop aims at creating understanding of cause-effect relationship of climate hazards and risks, through impact chain tool, as well as to identifying status quo and entry points of mainstreaming climate change adaptation into spatial planning.

During the 2 day-workshop, the participants, not only urban planners, but also other governmental as well as academia agencies relevant for human settlement and security sector received interesting inputs from both national and international experts such as UN-Habitat, National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategic Studies of Vietnam, and University of Stuttgart. The content of the workshop focused on climate change impacts to urban system, climate urban resilience planning, as well as how climate change makes a difference in spatial planning. Apart from the technical inputs, the participants helped verifying the climate change impact chain in human settlement sector that was developed last year as well as defining processes of spatial planning in difference levels, national & regional, comprehensive and specific planning in order to identify ‘best entry points’ for mainstreaming.

Dr. Kollawat Sakhakara, Policy and Strategy Section, Climate Change Management and Coordination Division, concluded the workshop “it was a very good and fun starting point of our collaboration. Climate change actions cannot be achieved if it’s only in the hand of ONEP. It needs not only collaboration, but also integration and this 2 day workshop has created a collaborative atmosphere for ONEP, DPT and GIZ to continue working in climate change adaptation field”.

Workshop Program and Materials 
Agenda 
Climate change and overview of NAP
Risk-based National Adaptation Plan Project
Fact and figures of CC impacts to urban systems
International perspective on CC and human settlements
Roles of DPT and climate change
Impact chain for human settlements sector I
Impact chain for human settlements sector II
Urban climate resilience: views from Thailand
Suitability Model: A tool for future climate related disaster risk assessment and planning
Experience on risk based spatial planning at different levels
Cities and climate change initiative
Challenges in integrating climate risks/adaptation into spatial planning in Thailand