Building with Nature

Creating Smart and Climate-Resilient Cities with Nature-based Solutions in Southeast Asia

This course is organized with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nuffic.

Should I join this course?

This course is intended for Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP)/Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) alumni from Philippines and neighbouring OKP/NFP countries. Eligible countries are: Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam. Alumni are allowed to invite colleagues, if well motivated and to a limited extent. This course is aimed at alumni whose current practice is related to the theme of the course. Female participation is strongly encouraged. The participants will be chosen based on their relevant professional backgrounds, strong motivation and high potential of prolonged development impact of the training.

Course content

When planning for actions that will affect households, livelihoods and their environment, it is important to consider gender-specific vulnerabilities (e.g., division of labor, access to power, household finance, household decision-making, and resources). Based on research, climate change impacts affect men and women differently, causing existing gender inequalities to be reinforced. As such, integrating gender perspectives in developing smart, climate-resilient cities is emphasized. Furthermore, we highlight the sustained participation all members of society including vulnerable groups (i.e. children, elderly, persons with special needs and the impoverished) in the planning process and consider their knowledge, skills, preferences, and needs in identifying actions.

Module 1: General introduction

• Origins of NBS
• Definitions of NBS
• Types of applications of NBS

Module 2:  Theories, Concepts and Practical Examples and Applications of NBS

• Theories and Concepts on Smart and Climate-Resilient Cities
• NBS for water management
• NBS for food security
• NBS for disaster risk reduction
• NBS for climate change adaptation and mitigation

 Module 3 (practical):  Application of Tools and Methodologies

• Citizen science
• Vulnerability assessment
• Climate change action prioritization
• Climate change action planning methodology

Module 4: Case study analysis

• Introduction to the case study area
• Area assessment
• Stakeholders Analysis
• Problem analysis

Module 5: Climate Action planning

• Objective setting
• Strategy development
• Action plan development
• Monitoring and evaluation plan development

What will I learn?

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Understand the origins, definitions, and types of applications of nature-based solutions (NBS).
• Explain the importance and contributions of NBS in developing smart and climate-resilient cities in Southeast Asian countries.
• Understand and apply tools and methodologies for planning and mainstreaming of NBS applications towards smart and climate-resilient cities
• Evaluate the potential of NBS, including its replication and upscaling opportunities, based on a local case study context
• Formulate an NBS inspired climate change action plan, including a proposed financing and governance model.