On 4-5 March 2025, WWF Thailand hosted a multistakeholder collaborative workshop to present the Food Forward NDC Tool in Bangkok, Thailand. The aim of highlighting this tool is to start and dialogue on the importance of food systems to climate action and to begin actions towards its inclusion in NDC 3.0 to be submitted later in 2025.
Developed by WWF in collaboration with Climate Focus, UNEP, CGIAR, FAO and the NDC Partnership, the tool represents a international joint effort for food systems transformation. The Food Forward NDC Tool was developed to help local government target specific intervention areas and policies to make inclusion of food into NDC more attainable. Through recommended policy measures, the tool acts as a guidance for actionable measures to be developed to help and encourage countries to include food systems in their latest NDC submission as a way to reduce GHG emissions.
Attended by a wide range of stakeholders form different sectors, including government representatives (from agencies in charge of Thailand’s NDC submissions like MNRE, MHESI, and MOAC), intergovernmental organisations, and other iNGOs. With these different attendees participating throughout, the workshop also became a starting point for climate action through food, and a basis for collaboration going forward.
The opening address of the workshop was given by Dr. Michael Roy, Conservative Director at WWF Thailand. His remarks reflected how food systems can become something that contributes to a healthier planet if the right actions are taken.
The participants also got the chance to listen to sessions from different speakers representing different organisations who are aiming for a more sustainable food future. This includes speakers from the FAO, DCCE, CGAIR (WorldFish), BIOTEC, NDC Partnership, and MOAC. Each speaker through their experiences gave a unique perspective on the current state of Thailand’s NDC and the need to more sustainable food systems, both on land and in the water.
The collaborative sessions came after the speaker sessions on both days. The participants were separated into 5 groups, each covering one intervention area that covers several facets of the food system—food environment, food governance, food production, food supply chain, and food consumption. In order to improve Thailand’s food system and meet its NDCs GHG targets, each group explored the recommended policy measures and contributed to a comprehensive action plan by identifying policy alternatives, obstacles, and solutions.
On the first day the sessions participants got explore the different intervention areas and policy measures in the tool. The second day, which was a half day workshop, focused on the development of action plans.
The outcomes of the workshop include
- Policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in Thailand countries have gained a deeper understanding of the linkages between food systems and climate change, and the need to include relevant actions into the NDC 3.0
- Started important dialogue among relevant stakeholders on the importance of food systems to climate action.
- Stakeholders gained a better understanding of the current state of Thailand’s NDC, and the possibilities of the inclusion of food systems.
- Stakeholders have identified priority actions for inclusion in enhanced NDCs, such as sustainable agriculture, food waste reduction, and landscape restoration.
- Basic action plans developed for each of the intervention areas, acting as a basis for brainstorming potential food system transformation actions that can be included in NDC 3.0.
With the background now laid out, the future actions that will lead to food systems being included in NDC 3.0 are now a greater possibility.
