Climate resilience has emerged as a critical economic priority for Southeast Asia.
With experts warning that extreme weather, fragmented governance and ageing infrastructure could undermine the region’s competitiveness.
The concerns were raised during an ASEAN Forum 2026 panel in Bangkok titled “Strengthening ASEAN’s Physical Resilience”. Experts stressed that climate risks should be addressed as part of economic and development planning rather than being treated solely as an environmental issue.
Thailand Faces Growing Water-Related Risks
Witaya Wannasuphoprasit, dean of engineering at Chulalongkorn University, said Thailand’s vulnerability stems from three interconnected challenges: increasingly unpredictable rainfall, unplanned urban growth and fragmented water management.
He noted that drainage systems designed around older weather patterns are struggling to cope with heavier and more erratic rainfall. At the same time, decades of urban expansion have reduced natural areas that once helped absorb excess water.
Water management is also divided among around 50 government agencies, each operating with separate budgets and priorities and limited mechanisms for sharing data.
Witaya argued that water should be viewed not only as a source of risk but also as an economic resource. Citing UN data covering approximately two decades, he said water productivity — the economic value generated from each cubic metre of water — has remained largely stagnant across Southeast Asia, even as other regions have recorded improvements.
He also urged greater participation from local communities, including through initiatives such as “water schools” that can help residents understand and manage flood and drought risks.
Experts Push Nature-Based Solutions
Wannaporn Phornprapha, founder and managing director of landscape architecture firm P Landscape Company, said Southeast Asian cities remain too reliant on traditional “gray” infrastructure, including concrete-based flood-control systems.
She identified fragmented planning as a major weakness, arguing that infrastructure projects are frequently designed to address risks within specific areas without considering their wider impact.
“Water has no boundary,” she said, stressing the need for integrated planning across administrative and project boundaries.
Wannaporn also pointed to shortcomings in regulations and data systems, along with the perception that climate-resilient design is an unnecessary expense. She said the long-term benefits of resilient infrastructure — including improved public health, better quality of life and stronger economic value — are often difficult to capture in conventional cost assessments.
Cross-Border Cooperation Key to Adaptation
Satoshi Iemoto, an expert associated with a Japan International Cooperation Agency project, said climate adaptation cannot be addressed by individual countries acting alone.
Rivers, coastlines and other natural systems cross national borders, making regional coordination essential, he said. Countries should strengthen knowledge-sharing on disaster preparedness, increase the participation of local governments and communities, and combine modern technology with traditional and community-based knowledge.
Fragmentation Identified as Major Challenge
The experts agreed that Southeast Asia’s resilience challenge is not primarily due to a shortage of technical knowledge. Instead, gaps between government agencies, data systems, infrastructure projects and national policies are making it difficult to implement coordinated solutions.
They called for better integration of existing resources, including shared data, nature-based infrastructure, local expertise and cross-border cooperation.
The panel concluded that climate resilience must be treated as a shared economic and development responsibility involving governments, communities and multiple sectors across the region.
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