This project aims to draw on past and current research efforts on emissions and urban management in Asia and establish a new set of coordinated case studies that will address how carbon management can be integrated into development strategies for cities. Support for four case studies (Bangkok, Manila, Delhi, and Jambi, Indonesia) is sought in this proposal. At least two additional cases will be evaluated during the project. The project will build directly on previous activities funded by APN on mega-cities and carbon emissions from land-use changes, by incorporating the findings of these studies and the involvement of some previous investigators in the case studies and meetings.

The case studies will address general and city-specific questions, for instance:
1. What are the consequences of different pathways of regional development, especially urbanization, on carbon stocks and fluxes? Are certain urbanization models less carbon-intensive than others?
2. What drives consumption in cities? What are the consequences of consumption on carbon emissions?
3. If carbon management were to become an explicit goal in the development strategies of a city, what are the most important trade-offs or interactions with other ecological processes and cycles to be considered?
4. What institutional mechanisms, changes to incentive structures, and other policy instruments may be effective at inducing behavioral changes in consumers and institutions, resulting in lower net carbon emissions or improved sequestration?

For further information, contact:
Rodel D. Lasco
Environmental Forestry Programme (ENFOR)
University of the Philippines
College, 4031 Laguna, Philippines
Tel. (+63-49) 536-5314
Fax. (+63-49) 536-3206
Email: rlasco@laguna.net