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Building on last year’s success, the ASEAN Climate Leadership Programme (ACLP) 2021 aims to enhance participants’ leadership skills, while contributing to the discussion on ASEAN regional processes related to climate-smart land use. In total, there are 22 participants from eight ASEAN Member States enrolled in the programme, representing a wide variety of government, public and civil society institutions. The ACLP 2021 runs virtually from 18 August until 28 October 2021.

The ACLP 2021 guiding theme is Promoting Climate-Smart Land Use for Implementing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The participants will receive specific guidance from experienced leaders and technical experts on how best to navigate their professional aspirations pertinent to climate-smart practices in land use sectors.

Comprised of four modules, the programme draws upon the Theory U, a framework that integrates systems thinking, leadership and organizational learning based on experience and expertise. It will consist of coaching and mentoring, self-reflection, journaling, group work and sharing sessions.

The ACLP is designed to complement the work of the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network (ASEAN-CRN).  Thailand as the ASEAN-CRN Chair, represented by Dr. Sombat Tongtao, Deputy Director-General of Department of Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, officially commenced the ACLP 2021 on 18 August by providing an opening remark.

Dr. Tongtao emphasized the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration to increase resilience toward shared challenges in the region, such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also reiterated the region’s need for strong joint commitments and continued effort by all stakeholders to promote climate-smart land use practices. This will play an integral part in achieving each ASEAN Member State’s climate target.

Starting the leadership journey, the first module workshop was held from 18 until 19 August 2021. The module delivered introductory materials on the ACLP leadership model and personal leadership development plan. Moreover, it discussed about the ASEAN regional policies and priorities relevant with Food, Agriculture and Forestry (FAF) sectors, and recent updates on climate-smart land use practices in land use sectors to an enthusiastic crowd of participants.

Speakers in the Module 1 workshop were policymakers and experts from World Agroforestry (ICRAF), the University of the Philippines Los Banos, Food, Agriculture and Forestry (FAF) division of the ASEAN Secretariat, the Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), the Informational Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and technical expert representing the ASEAN-CRN..

The ACLP is an initiative led by the GIZ Climate-Smart Land Use (CSLU) ASEAN project in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The programme receives funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Name and contact person:
Ms Zahra Mutiara, Advisor Climate Smart Land Use (CSLU) in ASEAN
Email: zahra.mutiara@giz.de

Key buzzwords / “tags”
ASEAN, Leadership, Climate Change, Climate-smart Land Use, Food Security