Asia's Coastal Areas Are More Than Just Carbon Credits

The blog discusses the importance of Southeast Asia's coastal areas beyond their role in carbon sequestration. While 'blue carbon' projects are gaining attention for their ability to store significant amounts of carbon, it highlights a broader appreciation of these ecosystems' diverse benefits, including supporting fisheries, protecting against extreme weather, and preserving biodiversity.

Audrey Tan

​Ms. Audrey Tan was previously an assistant news editor and environment correspondent at The Straits Times, Singapore’s national broadsheet, where she covered environmental issues and climate change for about a decade. Audrey holds a master’s degree in climate science and policy from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She is an advisory committee member of the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Journalism Fund for Southeast Asia.

Hiz Jamali

Hiz Jamali is Senior Climate Change Officer at Asian Development Bank. As a regional climate focal for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Hiz provides technical support to the development, implementation, and coordination of ADB’s climate change agenda. He holds a PhD in climate change from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Prior to joining ADB, Hiz was as a senior researcher at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia, providing scientific leadership to government and industry partners in environmental, agriculture, and food sectors.

Our contribution to the ADB development agenda: A spotlight on the Regional Flyway Initiative

Since 2017 ADB has been working closely with BirdLife International both on the development of the Avian Sensitivity Tool for Energy Planning as well as more recently on the Regional Flyway Initiative (RFI) which has the strategic goal of developing investment projects for 50 priority wetland sites totaling US$3 billion investment for implementation beyond 2030.

Vivian Pun

Dr. Vivian Pun serves as Technical Head of Breathe Cities for Southeast Asia & Senior Advisor for Air Quality and Health at C40 Cities, a network of the world's megacities committed to addressing climate change. Vivian leads the delivery of the C40-led activities in the Breathe Cities initiative in Southeast Asia, as well as in-house modeling, analysis, report writing, and public communication through C40 air quality technical assistance projects.