SCALA Thailand | UNDP Climate Change Adaptation

Project details

Introduction

Thailand is projected to be severely affected by climate change, with its vulnerability shaped by geographical and socioeconomic features. The GermanWatch Global Climate Risk Index 2021 ranked Thailand’s long-term climate risk index as 9^th in the world. Thailand has an extensive coastline, rural communities dependent on agriculture, and heavily populated urban areas located on flood prone plains. Climate change threatens all key sectors of Thailand’s economy: agriculture, tourism, and trade. Agriculture is also the second largest source of GHG emissions in Thailand, while rice cultivation is the main source of national methane emissions. Managed soils and livestock are also significant sources of GHG emissions. The agriculture sectors (agriculture, forestry and fisheries) employed around 30.67 percent of Thailand’s workforce (2018) and are key to provide nutrition for the rural society. Agriculture contributes 8.1 percent of Thailand’s GDP.

Country Climate Plans

Thailand’s Climate Change Master Plan (CCMP) (2015-2050) is the highest-level policy document guiding the national climate change response. Thailand has updated the CCMP and will submit their revised plan at the COP26. The revised CCMP outlines the country’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2065. Supported by SCALA’s predecessor programme, Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag), the country developed the Agriculture Strategic Plan on Climate Change (ASPCC) (2017-2021), which is aligned with the CCMP and provided sectoral input to Thailand’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP). The country’s NAP aims to ensure wide buy-in to the adaptation planning process by fostering inter-ministerial, inclusive coordination and cooperation based on sharing experiences and identifying synergetic interests among key stakeholders. Thailand’s NAP and its NDC recognize the importance of adapting the agriculture sectors to climate change.

Thailand submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC in October 2020. The NDC identified “safeguarding of food security” and “promoting sustainable agriculture” as core strategies to cope with climate change impacts. The updated NDC reconfirms the mitigation target provided in the first NDC, which was to reduce GHG emissions by 20 percent by 2030 below the business-as-usual scenario. The updated NDC includes an enhanced and elaborated adaptation component and aims for better integration of the NDC into the national planning processes. Agriculture and land use sectors are among the sectors prioritized for climate action – both for mitigation and adaptation.

Thailand’s NDC identified adaptation as a “top priority in Thailand’s national response to climate change” and lists adaptation priorities for the country, such as promoting sustainable agriculture and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), further safeguarding biodiversity, and restoring ecological integrity in protected areas and strengthening climate modelling capacity while promoting collaboration among relevant agencies. Additionally, the country is strengthening resilience by establishing effective early warning systems and enhancing the adaptive capacity of national agencies and building the capacity of farmers by creating and providing a knowledge hub to foster regional cooperation and to share experiences

In addition to Thailand’s adaptation efforts, the country has established its mitigation efforts. According to Thailand’s Third Biennial Update Report (2020) to the UNFCCC, the proportion of GHG emissions in the energy sector accounted for 71.65 percent of total emission sources in 2016, followed by the agriculture, and waste sectors. The country is in the process of formulating its Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategy, which will guide Thailand towards a climate-resilient and low greenhouse gas emissions development and serve as a basis for enhancing its subsequent NDC.

Barriers

Thailand has experienced some barriers during the implementation of the NDC and National Adaptation Plan (NAP), and this includes challenges such as monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of adaptation activities, as well as finding climate friendly investment opportunities. To overcome these barriers and to support the transformation of its agriculture and land use sectors to be drivers for successful implementation of its NDC and NAPs, the Royal Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) and its Land Development Department, and the Office of Agriculture Economics (OEA), and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) will work together with the SCALA Programme on strengthening performance-based monitoring and assessments of adaptation options in agriculture and climate financing. Thailand will build capacities to design climate-friendly investment opportunities through developing project concepts and address investment risks, especially faced by the private sector.

The OAE under the MoAC coordinates the ASPCC 2017-2021 plan’s development and reports throughout the implementation phase. The ASPCC 2017-2021 plan provides a synthesis of knowledge on climate change impacts on agriculture sectors and outlines prioritized response strategies. The SCALA programme is supporting the MoAC in the process of updating Thailand’s ASPCC 2017-2021 plan for the period beyond 2021 through identifying transformational priorities at the sub-national level, particularly those that address gender gaps and social exclusion in farming communities. The ASPCC for 2021 and beyond will inform future NDCs and sector specific reporting under the Enhanced Transparency Framework in the agriculture and land-use sectors. The programme will analyse key business models and production practices for climate-compatible investments options through a subnational-level consultation process.

Project details

In Thailand, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has been identified as a key priority under SCALA, with a specific focus on the integrated maize and livestock value chains. SCALA is conducting a systems-level assessment with the Thailand Development Research Institute aimed at identifying opportunities and potential for transformative climate action within these value chains. The results of the assessment will guide subsequent activities related to private sector engagement.

In addition, SCALA supported the development of the Climate Change Action Plan on Agriculture 2023‒2027 (CCPAP) through technical coordination and input, culminating in its approval by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. SCALA has been particularly involved in the integration of gender and social inclusion into the CCPAP, increasing the participation of women’s representatives in climate-smart agriculture activities. SCALA will also contribute to the establishment of a progress tracking system for the implementation of the CCPAP.

Finally, SCALA is currently conducting a study to evaluate incentive structures to improve manure management practices and increase the adoption rates of biogas technologies.

Moving ahead, SCALA in Thailand aims to:

Undertake a systems-level assessment focusing on the livestock and maize value chains , with a focus on gender.
Contribute to the development of a progress tracking system for the implementation of the CCPAP.
Complete a study on the potential and use of biogas wastewater treatment systems in medium-scale swine farms, including a business model, opportunity analysis and best practices for manure management technologies in swine farms.
Develop a pilot business model for maize and livestock production based on the results of the systems-level assessment.