Introduction

South Asia remains one of the most vulnerable
regions to climate change. South Asian countries, with 66.7 % of their
population having an income of less than 2 USD per day, are not only
among the poorest nations in the world, the most affected by climate
change. The impacts of higher temperatures, more variable precipitation,
extreme weather events, glacier melting and sea level rise are felt in
South Asia and will continue to intensify and ironically most of the
suffering community with extremely low capacity to cope up with such a
situation are the farming community, mainly small scale producers and
agriculture labours, particularly women. These climatic changes are
having major impacts on the economic and social performance of South
Asian countries and the food security, lives and livelihoods of its
population. As a result of climatic changes achievement of many of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), could be hampered, this would also
have an adverse impact on the governance of South Asian society. In the
South Asian context, even though 60 per cent of population are engaged
in agriculture and allied sectors, according to analysis many small
holder producers do not have enough production to feed even their family
throughout the year. Hence it would be important to revisit and
prioritise the sectors that require a consolidated adaptation strategy
in the South Asia region.

People of South Asia and more
specifically poor communities in rural areas, mostly dependant on
agriculture and allied activities need to be better equipped to
understand the impact of climate change on their lives and livelihoods
and to be empowered to participate in and influence government and SAARC
climate change strategies and policies. It is crucially important that
the people who will be first and foremost affected by climate change and
who will therefore be the main beneficiaries of climate change
strategies and policies are involved at all stages of their development
and implementation. Climate change strategies and policies in South Asia
will affect large number of people and their development, hence their
formulation and, critically, their successful implementation will have a
significant impact on poverty and development. The point on
implementation is important, as several South Asian countries suffer
from an “implementation gap”.

In this context, it is imperative
to engage all policy makers, including Parliamentarians. The peoples’
representatives are mandated to address the societal issues that move
society towards prosperity. Having accountability towards their voters,
Parliamentarians need to be informed about the new challenges, like
growing climate impacts on the most affected sectors and population, so
that appropriate responses can be framed and implemented. It is
anticipated that with increased engagement of Parliamentarians in South
Asian countries, the policies will be pro-poor with priority to address
needs of vulnerable communities.

Considering the fact that South
Asian countries share important natural resources, scientifically
forecasted to continue to  decrease, there is growing need to  learn
from the actions taken by  different countries and mobilise regional
policymakers in order to frame a comprehensive response to these
threats. It is imperative for South Asian Parliamentarians and
Government Officials to frame actions jointly through extensive
discussions facilitated on common platforms, like the proposed event in
Islamabad in December.

South Asian Policymaker’s Workshop –

Despite
the existence of many policy declarations, the need for collective
actions across borders related to those policies remains vital, through
detailed action planning and considering the challenges in taking them
ahead. Recognising the need to work together to understand better the
changes occurring in South Asia and plan for joint activities to face
these challenges, Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA), Sustainable
Development Policy Institute (SDPI), European Commission, Asia Pacific
Adaptation Network (APAN), Ministry of Environment Japan, Global Water
Partnership, Oxfam and Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and
Development (AFPPD) will be organising a workshop to discuss the
important issues related to Climate Chang such as Adaptation Strategies,
Climate policies, Food and Water security, Sustainable Agriculture and
Development with active participation from Parliamentarians, Government
representatives and civil society

from South Asian Countries from 16th to 18th December, in Islamabad, Pakistan.

 Objectives

The
three day deliberations entitled “Parliamentarians at Work: Food
security and climate adaptation in the agenda” or Sub-regional
Conference of Policy makers on food security and climate adaptation
will bring together members of the Parliament, Government
representatives and the civil society experts from the region to
deliberate upon the cross cutting issues that should form the core of
regional climate policies. The multi-disciplinary gathering will have a
forward looking agenda where the experts will link the national and
local actions with regional strategy and their policy impacts pertaining
to the region.

The objective of the discussion will be:

1.
To enhance knowledge and understanding of participants about latest
climate science findings in the context of threatening food, water,
energy security and population dynamics while promoting biodiversity,
eco-system services and sustainable development.

2.    To promote collaboration, alliances and improved linkages through exchange of Knowledge, Skills and

Resources for strengthening climate resilience and food security across national boundar ies within the region.

3.    To  promote  engagement  between  members  of  parliament/government representative  and  civil

society
in South Asia through joint learning and agenda-setting on issues
related to climate change, food security and resilience.

4.
To jointly develop an action plan to effectively influence national
governments and other key actors in the region by exploring the setting
up of a regional advocacy platform for MPs and civil society

 Outcomes

The consultation:

1.
Build  capacity  of  policy  makers  on  challenges  posed  by
changing  climate  through  sharing  of knowledge, skills and resources
across South Asia

2.     Concrete policy recommendations for
national advocacy developed and action plan for MPs to take them forward
in their respective Parliaments

3.     Discussed ideas on the nature, role and objectives of a regional advocacy platform for MPs and civil society

4.    Move towards ‘collaborative approach’ to address climate change issues in the region.

Contact – Ms. Vositha Wijenayake,

Outreach and Advocacy Coordinator, CANSA

vositha@cansouthasia.net