East & Southeast Asia

The East and Southeast Asia region is among the most vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change, due to the high concentration of population and economic activity along its extensive coastlines and its heavy reliance on agriculture and other natural resources to providing livelihoods and income. Economies in the region are slowly diversifying away from agriculture and other natural resource-based activities, but most countries still depend substantially on these sectors. Agriculture is the largest economic sector for Cambodia and Lao PDR, and remains one of the top five sectors across the region (with the exceptions of Singapore and Brunei). Thus, East and Southeast Asian countries, and especially the agriculture-dependent communities within them, will suffer climate change impacts, including threats to the region’s food security. Moreover, because the region is a major contributor to global grain exports, most notably rice, the impacts of climate change in East and Southeast Asia will also affect food security globally.