JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - ASEAN  facilitated  a forum  for the making of policies on research of climate change issues by connecting the academics and researchers with policy-makers  at  national and regional level, according to an official report.  "The deliberations over the course of the last two days have shown how important it is for  researchers and academics to unravel many of the intricacies of climate change and to provide the necessary information for policy making and implementation," said ASEAN Secretary General  Surin Pituswan when closing a climate change workshop themed "Is Southeast Asia Up to the Challenge" at the ASEAN Secretariat here on November 5-6,  2009.
     
According to information from the ASEAN Secretariat, on Saturday,  Surin said that during the workshop, the ASEAN Secretariat presented the ASEAN policy framework on climate change situated within the context of sustainable development through the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015. ASEAN leaders have committed to act in a proactive and responsible way to  contribute to global efforts on climate change through various declarations on this issue.
     
Surin said, "our task is to translate all these policies and strategies into actions," adding that the leadership in implementation comes not only from the governments, but also from the private sector, academics and researchers, technocrats, the NGOs and community based organizations, and from the people themselves. The workshop organized by the ASEAN Secretariat and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) had brought together a line-up of very senior and high profile speakers, including  Gita Wirjawan of  Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid, Senior Researcher at the LSE.
     
The workshop also noted the key findings of an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-UK study on  economic climate changes. These studies have predicted that the Southeast Asian region will be the worst affected among all other regions in the world.
     
The worst case scenario points to a 4.8 degrees Centigrade rise in temperature, a rise of sea levels of up to 70 cm, and loss of rice yields of up to 75% by the year 2100, among others. "We look forward to working with the LSE and the ADB on further refining the short-term and sectoral analysis that will enable ASEAN to make policy choices and collect better information for its implementation," Dr. Surin said.