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DE RUEHBK #2259/01 2470750
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FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
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RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 3958
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002259 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/EGC,PCI; EAP, D, S/SECC-JPERSHING,CSIERAWSKI 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA/OIA, DOE/PI, NOAA, NSF, USDA/FS 
USAID FOR ANE/AA,ANE/EAA,ANE/TS,ANE/SPO, EGAT/AA,/ESP,LPA 
INTERIOR FOR USGS, USFWS 
USDA FOR FAS, USFS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID SENV ENRG ASEAN APECO TH
 
SUBJECT:  Why the Asia Regional Center of Excellence on Climate 
Change Should be in Bangkok 
 
REFS: A) Bangkok 2046; (B) Jakarta 1314 
 
FROM THE AMBASSADOR 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  Ref A details USAID's plans to move forward with 
development of an Asia-Pacific Regional Center of Excellence on 
Climate Change and Development (ARC) in Bangkok.  With the ARC's 
purpose to concentrate a network of leading U.S. and Asia 
institutions to advance the President's climate change and 
development objectives, I believe that Bangkok is the logical locus 
for the Center.  Cognizant of Embassy Jakarta's points on 
Indonesia's importance for climate change efforts (see Ref B), 
Indonesia should be a key sub-regional center.  But a combination of 
four factors makes Bangkok ideal for the ARC itself: the existing 
USG regional platform; the suitability of Bangkok's infrastructure 
as a hub; the close cooperative relationship of Thailand and the 
U.S. for our USG presence; and Bangkok's existing role as the major 
center in Asia for global climate change and development efforts. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------ 
The USG Regional Platform in Bangkok 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  As a USAID-supported Center, the ARC should logically be where 
USAID considers the best central location.  The reach of the 
Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) is from South Asia to 
the Pacific.  RDMA programs engaging China and India are critical 
for realizing climate change and development results across the 
Asia-Pacific region.  Initiating a new regional activity outside of 
the designated USAID regional hub would compromise fiscal and 
management efficiencies.  RDMA already has established relationships 
and successful programs operating in China.  It would be wasteful 
not to take advantage of this momentum. 
 
¶3.  RDMA already operates many programs out of our Mission that 
would feed into the ARC; separating these programs geographically 
from the ARC would dilute and fragment USAID efforts.  The list is 
long, but only a few of the successful programs include the 
Environmental Cooperation-Asia Clean Development and Climate 
Program; the U.S.-China Sustainable Buildings Partnership; the Asia 
Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program; the Responsible Asia 
Forestry and Trade (RAFT) Program; and USG support for the regional 
Coral Triangle Initiative. 
 
¶4.  RDMA plans additional regional climate change activities in the 
Asia-Pacific region, including: a regional climate and weather 
visualization and monitoring system ("SERVIR-Asia"); the Asia 
Responsible Biofuels Initiative; the Asia watersheds climate 
initiative (focusing on the Mekong and other river basins); the 
Resilience Initiative for Coastal Communities and Small Island 
Developing States; and the Asia regional green buildings/industries 
initiative. 
 
¶5.  Bangkok is also the base for over ten USG agencies that support 
regional programs with a connection to climate change, and 
partnerships across more than twenty countries in the Pacific and 
East, South and Southeast Asia.  As East Asia's regional management 
platform for USG agencies involved in overseas operations, U.S. 
Mission Bangkok has the physical and human infrastructure in place 
to support additional offices.  Judging from country clearance 
requests, a large proportion of USG program officers already pass 
through Bangkok on their way to other countries in Asia.  It is no 
coincidence that the DOS regional environmental hub and the DOS 
regional financial center are also located in Bangkok. 
 
------------------------------- 
Bangkok is Southeast Asia's Hub 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  As the host for the ARC's central facility, Bangkok will offer 
many advantages as the major logistics, transportation, and 
 
BANGKOK 00002259  002 OF 002 
 
 
communications hub for the region.  As a consideration for locating 
more USG personnel overseas, Bangkok provides a high degree of 
personal security compared with other locations in the region.  For 
these reasons, Bangkok is already the site of more climate change 
and development conferences and events than any other East Asian 
city. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Thailand Remains Keen to Host USG Regional Activities 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶7.  Approximately one-fifth of the Mission's close to 2000 U.S. and 
Thai employees work on regional health issues.  While there are 
important linkages among public health, development, and climate 
change that provide another reason for the ARC to be in Bangkok, the 
USG health presence in Bangkok exemplifies the Royal Thai 
Government's (RTG) openness to USG regional work.  Not only has the 
RTG permitted a 200-plus person CDC presence, but the CDC office is 
located within the Ministry of Public Health.  Other USG agencies 
also have a large presence in Thailand (almost forty offices and 
agencies), owing to the Royal Thai Government's flexible 
accommodation on USG staffing levels.  Any staffing increases 
necessitated by the ARC could be easily achieved here.  Our close 
historical relationship with Thailand, both political and 
commercial, spans more than 175 years; we have never had to reduce 
staffing levels for political or other reasons, and we think it 
highly unlikely it would happen in the future. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Bangkok is the Climate Change and Development Capital 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶8.  The ARC will be devoted to development in the context of climate 
change.  Some 24 regional United Nations agencies and platforms 
operate from Bangkok -- many of which work in climate change and 
almost all of which work in development.  We have just learned that 
the UN Environmental Program regional office will open a climate 
change Center of Learning next month.  Other donor countries that 
work in these two areas have their regional platforms here just as 
we do.  The major international financial institutions such as the 
ADB and the World Bank either have regional headquarters here or 
major regional offices for both development and climate change.  The 
large international NGOs that work on climate change all have 
regional offices in Bangkok.  Thailand and its universities are 
leaders for climate change research in their own rights, but when 
the regional research institutions (including the Asian Disaster 
Preparedness Center, the Climate Risk center in the Asian Institute 
of Technology, and the Stockholm Environment Institute) are factored 
in, the case for a USG climate change center is compelling.  Post 
will send a full list of the Thailand-based climate change and 
development institutions to OES, USAID, and the Office of the 
Special Envoy - the list is truly impressive. 
 
¶9.  The entire Mission team is committed to working with all the 
U.S. Missions in the region to optimize regional work on development 
and climate change.  The ARC would logically have sub-regional 
offices.  As outlined in Ref A, the ARC would make integration with 
the President's Muslim World Initiative a priority, and for that 
reason, Jakarta and Dhaka would be ideal sub-regional ARC locations. 
 To make the ARC successful, we should build on the success that 
donors, universities, international organizations, and the USG have 
had in locating their regional centers in Bangkok. 
 
JOHN