This document discusses urban resilience in Southeast Asia. It notes that urban populations are growing rapidly in developing countries, including doubling in Southeast Asia between 2015-2050. This growth will impact vulnerability to climate change depending on infrastructure, settlement locations, and ecosystem management. It identifies challenges like coastal flooding costs rising to $6 billion by 2050 and destruction of protective ecosystems. Solutions proposed include land-use planning, formalizing informal settlements, and development cooperation supporting resilient planning and ecosystem management. Future work will explore linking urban resilience to sustainable land use and ecosystem management.

1. Strengthening Urban Resilience and
Ecosystem Services: Lessons from
Towards Green Growth in Southeast Asia
17th ENVIRONET meeting, 17 February 2015
Alexis Robert, OECD Secretariat

2. Outline
• Why focus on urban resilience?
• Trends in aid to urban climate change
adaptation
• Challenges to urban resilience in Southeast Asia
• Policy solutions for urban, national and providers
of development co-operation
• Upcoming work focusing on the link between
urban resilience and sustainable ecosystem and
land use management

3. Why focus on urban resilience?
• Growing interest on the part of donors
• Huge growth in urban populations in developing
countries
– Urban population in developing countries will double
between 2015-2050, adding 2.6 billion new urban dwellers
• How cities grow now will lock in their vulnerability to
climate change, and will be determined in part by:
– Location of new settlements (informal and formal)
– Infrastructure decisions
– Management of ecosystems

4. Trends in Aid to Urban Climate Change
Adaptation
• Asia receives 70% of urban adaptation-related
aid, and over half goes to eight Asian cities
26%
20%
49%
22%
19%
23%
48%
22%
41%
48%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Shareoftotaladaptationcommitments
USDmillion
Principal Significant Share of total adaptation ODA

5. Trends in Aid to Urban Climate Change
Adaptation
• Five DAC members provide 97% of total urban
adaptation aid.
20%
6%
16%
37%
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Japan Germany France Korea EU Institutions
Shareoftotaladaptation-relatedcommitments
USDmillion
Principal Significant Share of total adaptation-related commitments

6. 6
Country Flood Cyclone Drought
Cambodia Phnom Penh
Indonesia
Bandung
Batam
Bogor
Jakarta
Malang
Medan
Pekan Baru
Semarang
Surabaya
Lao PR Vientiane Vientiane
Malaysia
Johore Bahru
Klang
Kuala Lumpur
Myanmar
Mandalay
Nay Pyi Taw
Yangong
Philippines
Cebu
Davao
Manila
Cebu
Davao
Manila
Singapore Singapore
Vietnam
Can Tho
Da Nang
Hà Noi
Ho Chi Minh City
Da Nang
Hai Phòng
Southeast Asian cities at high risk for climate-related natural disasters
Source: UNDESA (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs) (2012), World Urbanization Prospects: The
2011 Revision, File 23: Coastal status, Type of drylands ecosystem, Number of multi-Hazards, Risk decile by type of hazard
for Urban Agglomerations with 750,000Inhabitants or More in 2011, CD-ROM Edition, UNDESA Population Division
Challenges to urban resilience in
Southeast Asia – flooding risks
• Coastal flooding
costs an estimated
USD 300 million in
average annual
loses in 2005 and
could climb to USD
6 billion by 2050
• Destruction of
mangroves and
other protective
ecosystems

7. 7
Challenges to urban resilience in
Southeast Asia – informal settlements
Share of urban slum population and urban share of
population, 2005
Source: UN-Habitat (2010b), The State of Asian Cities 2010/2011, UN-Habitat, Fukuoka, Japan; UNDESA
(United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs) (2012), World Urbanization Prospects: The
2011 Revision, File 2: Percentage of Population Residing in Urban Areas by Major Area, Region and
Country, 1950-2050, CD-ROM Edition, UNDESA Population Division.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Sanitation
Water
79% 79%
46% 44% 41%
26% 26%27%
19%
29%
48%
27%
46%
32%
Lao PDR Cambodia Myanmar Philippines Viet Nam Indonesia Thailand
Share of urban population living in slums
Share of total population living in urban areas
Percentage of Urban Population Using Improved Sanitation Facilities
and Improved Drinking Water Sources, 2012
Source: WHO and UNICEF (World Health Organization and United Nations) (2014),
Progress on Drinking-Water and Sanitation: 2014 Update Tables, WHO/UNICEF

8. Policy options for increasing urban
resilience
Urban Level National Level Development
Co-operation
• Land-use planning to
conserve critical
ecosystems and avoid
development on
highly vulnerably
areas
• Co-ordination among
municipalities within
metro regions on
resilient development
• Formalize informal
settlements
• Political commitment to
urban adaptation
• Incoporating adaptation
into urban planning
standards and building
regulations
• Providing incentives for
intermunicipal co-
ordination
• Providing capacity for
assessing climate risk
at local level
• Supporting resilient
land-use planning and
sustainable
management of
ecosystems

9. Future work
• Exploring ways in which land-use planning and
ecosystem management can contribute to urban
resilience
• Both peri-urban and rural ecosystems – points to
rural-urban collaboration and payment
mechanisms
• Role for providers of development co-operation
in fostering ecosystem management that
contributes to urban resilience