As ASEAN leaders gather this week to discuss regional priorities, a new report emphasises the urgent need for stronger collaboration across Southeast Asia (SEA) to adapt to the intensifying climate impacts. The intersection of nature and technology is emerging as one of the region’s most powerful tools for building resilience in cities and communities. 

Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and sea-level rise are already affecting lives and livelihoods, and by the 2050s, these challenges are expected to escalate, placing greater strain on communities, ecosystems, and economies.

In response, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Think City and WWF-Malaysia have launched the Southeast Asia Climate Adaptation and Resilience (SEACAR) Alliance Report 2.0, titled “Strengthening Southeast Asia: Adaptation and Resilience Through Collaboration and Innovation.”

Building upon the first SEACAR publication released in 2023, “The Might of Nature and the Power of Technology – Charting a Climate-Resilient Southeast Asia,” the new report highlights how nature-based solutions (NbS) and technological innovation can help cities and communities adapt more effectively to the realities of a changing climate.

Drawing on case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam, SEACAR Report 2.0 showcases ten initiatives, demonstrating how science, technology, and natural systems can work together to enhance resilience. These initiatives include empowering the local communities to restore riverbanks using natural methods and integrating technology into urban planning to protect and reconnect green spaces, helping cities manage heat, flooding, and biodiversity loss more effectively.

The virtual launch, held last week via WWF-Malaysia’s Facebook channel, also featured a webinar showcasing four chapters from the report and discussion on how collaboration and innovation can accelerate adaptation efforts across the region.

At the virtual launch, Aik Hoe Lim, Director of the Trade and Environment Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO), unpacked the intricate but oft ignored link between trade and climate resilience from physical risks due to the ubiquitousness of supply chains. Trade is also central to climate adaptation by improving access to resilient technologies, supporting economic diversification, and engaging in global cooperation platforms.

Other speakers at the launch include Prof. Alex Lechner of Monash University Indonesia, Shashank Mishra, a disaster management professional in Myanmar, and Assoc. Prof. Jason Lee from the National University of Singapore. They shared insights on mapping biodiversity-rich areas for protection, empowering communities through traditional knowledge, and addressing the increasing impact of rising heat on workers’ health, productivity, and well-being in tropical climates.

The SEACAR Report 2.0, a joint initiative by BCG, Think City, and WWF, forms part of a broader effort to bridge science, policy, and practice in tackling Southeast Asia’s growing vulnerability to climate impacts such as extreme weather and biodiversity loss. 

Read the full SEACAR Report 2.0 here:

https://thinkcity.com.my/insights/publications/seacar-report-2025-strengthening-southeast-asia-adaptation-and-resilience-through-collaboration-and-innovation

The webinar recording is available for viewing here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CfQS1WTgz/

– ENDS –

About WWF-Malaysia

Established in 1972, WWF-Malaysia is part of WWF, the international conservation organisation. Working to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife, WWF-Malaysia’s efforts to conserve nature focus on six major goals - forests, oceans, wildlife, food, climate and energy, as well as freshwater – and three key drivers of environmental problems – markets, finance and governance. Our mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Find our latest news here:

https://www.wwf.org.my/media_and_information/media_centre_and_updates/