The FORSEA project launch seminar took place on 15-16 February 2023 at Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

10/03/2023
FORSEA (FOrecasting impacts of climate changes and labor availability on natural Rubber commodity chain in South East Asia) is a 3-year project (2022-2025) financed by AFD on a FEXTE fund. It aims to produce knowledge and develop scenarios for the adaptation of the natural rubber commodity chain to climate change and changes in agricultural labour availability in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The FORSEA project launch seminar took place from 15 to 16 February at Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. It brought together more than 60 participants in a hybrid mode (about 40 face-to-face and 20 online).
The FORSEA project launch seminar took place on 15-16 February 2023 at Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

The FORSEA project launch seminar took place on 15-16 February 2023 at Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

This seminar was perfectly organised by Kasetsart University, whose president, Mr Chongrak Wachrinrat, gave the opening speech, followed by welcoming speeches by Mr Xavier Grosmaitre, scientific and university cooperation attaché of the French Embassy in Thailand, Ms Marion Chaminade, regional advisor for agricultural affairs of the French Embassy in Vietnam, Mr Jean-Pierre Marcelli, Director of AFD's regional office in Bangkok and Mr François Roger, CIRAD's Regional Director for mainland Southeast Asia.

The FORSEA project launch seminar, Bangkok, Thailand with more than 60 participants in a hybrid mode

This seminar marked an important stage in the project. It was the first time that all the project partners met to discuss the project's objectives and the implementation of the activities planned in the three technical workpackages. In particular, the anticipation approach which is at the heart of the participatory process of co-construction of adaptation scenarios to these changes was presented. In addition to the five institutions that make up the consortium of project beneficiaries*, the seminar was an opportunity to gather expressions of interest from several public and private partners such as the Royal University of Agriculture of Cambodia, Khon Kaen University, Thaksin University and Prince of Songkla University of Thailand, the Michelin company and WWF Cambodia. This meets the project's ambition to create a community of scientific, academic and development actors around the issue of the adaptation of rubber cultivation and smallholders to global changes. The launch seminar was followed by meetings of the Board and the Steering Committee of the project, which were held on Friday 17 February at Kasetsart University. These meetings confirmed the names of the representatives of the beneficiary consortium members in the governance bodies and technical components of the project, and especially those of the candidates for the 2 PhD programmes and the 6 Masters programmes that the project will carry.

*Project partners:
  • Thailand: Kasetsart University and Rubber Authority of Thailand.
  • Cambodia: General Directorate of Rubber and the Cambodian Rubber Research Institute.
  • Vietnam: Rubber Research Institute of Vietnam