PLANET
Southeast Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States are among the regions most exposed to the impacts of climate change. In this context, Italian Development Cooperation promotes initiatives aimed at strengthening community resilience, supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation, and fostering the sustainable management of natural resources, thereby contributing to the protection of the Planet in line with the 2030 Agenda.
Italian Development Cooperation has a long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability in the region. Since the beginning of its engagement in Southeast Asia, and today through AICS Hanoi, the Agency has promoted the integration of environmental and climate considerations across all cooperation initiatives. This approach is implemented both at the regional level, through the Italy-ASEAN Development Partnership and programs supporting the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), and at the national level, particularly in Vietnam and the Philippines, through initiatives financed under Debt Swap Programs.
AICS focuses on the sustainable management of natural resources and the protection of ecosystems. In particular, it supports initiatives for the integrated management of water resources, with special attention to major river basins, promoting innovative monitoring systems and participatory management approaches involving both public authorities and local communities.
Another key area of intervention is the sustainable management of forests, through reforestation, afforestation, and the promotion of agroforestry systems capable of restoring degraded ecosystems, conserving biodiversity, and increasing carbon sequestration capacity. At the same time, Italian Development Cooperation fosters the development of climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable value chains, and land management models that reduce vulnerability to climate change while strengthening food security.
Among the most recent initiatives is a project for the reduction, separate collection, and recycling of municipal solid waste in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. Financed under the Vietnamese Debt Swap Program, the project contributes to the promotion of circular economy models at the local level.
The energy transition represents an area of growing strategic importance. In this field, the AICS Hanoi Office is developing a program of work dedicated to geothermal energy, both in Vietnam and at the regional level within the framework of cooperation with ASEAN. Planned initiatives seek to harness geothermal energy’s potential as a stable and reliable renewable energy source. This commitment forms part of Italy’s broader support to energy transition processes in the region and to the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in Vietnam and Indonesia, to which Italy also contributes through the Italian Climate Fund.
In the Pacific Small Island Developing States, AICS supports initiatives that combine ecosystem protection with access to sustainable energy sources, helping to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Initiatives
AID 12294 – Climate Change and Mountain Forests. Phase 3: Strengthening the Resilience of Fragile Ecosystems: Islands and Mountains
AID 11072 – Energy, Ecosystems and Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative (EESLI) – Phase III
AID 012866 – Technical Assistance for Strengthening the Regulatory Framework of the Water Sector: Real-Time Multi-Basin Operations
AID 13789 – Development of a Monitoring and Decision Support Platform for the Management of the Thai Binh – Red River II Hydropower Basin System
Italian–Vietnamese Debt Swap Programme
Italian–Philippine Debt Swap Programme