Promotion of Forest-based Disaster Risk Reduction in the Global South

Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Chulalongkorn University, Kingdom of Thailand

FY 2025 Funded by the Forestry Agency, Japan

TAMAI, Koji (Department of Disaster Prevention, Meteorology and Hydrology)

In recent years, natural disasters believed to be caused by climate change have increased in magnitude and significantly impacted human society. According to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2023), “Human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. This has led to widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people.”
While the importance of addressing climate change has been recognized internationally, countries in the Global South, many of which are undergoing rapid economic growth and development, are expected to prioritize disaster prevention and mitigation in response to natural disasters in the future. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are gaining increasing importance in the fight against climate change, and Japan's forest-based disaster risk reduction (F-DRR) technologies, including its Chisan (Forest Conservation with Civil Engineering) technology, are expected to play a role in developing countries, particularly those in the Asian monsoon region.

Through surveys, analysis, and technical studies, this project supports Japanese companies in developing Forest-based Disaster Risk Reduction (F-DRR) initiatives in the Global South countries. It also establishes an information hub tailored to the needs of Japanese private-sector businesses, providing valuable insights for F-DRR project formation.

(1) We study the local land use and disaster patterns, the implementation status of disaster countermeasures, and effective implementation methods for applying F-DRR technologies, with a view to contributing to Japanese private companies to develop F-DRR projects in the Global South countries. Through literature review, field surveys, and interviews with government officials in counterpart countries, we conduct research, analysis, and technical studies to promote the F-DRR technologies.

(2) We prepare and disseminate English-language publicity materials to raise awareness among government officials and other stakeholders in partner countries about Japan’s F-DRR technologies, including its Chisan projects.

Figure 1: Surface erosion in the mountainous area of Vietnam

Figure 2: A mangrove forest at an eroding coastline in Thailand