Welcome address

• Salvatore Pinizzotto, Secretary General, IRSG
• Vincent Gitz, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA)
• Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz b S A Kadir, Secretary General, IRRDB
• Jerome Sainte Beuve, Rubber Value Chain Correspondent, CIRAD

Session 1: Impact of Climate Change on Rubber and Potential Changes in the Geography of Production

Session 1.1 What do we know about climate change that is meaningful for rubber production?
Chairperson: Dr James Jacob, Director, RRI India

• Impact of Climate Change on Natural Rubber Cultivation in India
  Dr James Jacob , Director, RRI India
• Worldwide climate typologies of rubber tree cultivation. Risks and opportunities linked to climate change
  E. Gohet (P. Thaler, Y. Nouvellon, R. Lacote and F. Gay), CIRAD
• Climate change and rubber tree ecophysiology, what do we know ?
  P. Thaler (E.Gohet , Y. Nouvellon, R. Lacote, F. Gay and F Do), CIRAD
• Impact of climate change on latex harvesting
  Mr Tajuddin Ismail (Dr Eric Gohet), IRRDB Fellow
• Climate change: Effect of diseases and pest outbreaks on rubber productivity
  Dr Nguyen Anh Nghia, IRRDB, Liasion Officer for Plant Protection
• Q & A

Break

Session 1.2 – Country Experiences

Chairperson: Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz b S A Kadir, Secretary General, IRRDB

• Tornado disaster assessment of rubber plantations in Western Hainan Island using time serious images of Landsat and Sentinel-2
  Dr Chen Bangqian, CATAS, P.R. China
• Climate Change: A planter’s experience with disease outbreaks and the challenges to achieve productivity targets
  Mr Ashdeepak Singh, Estate Manager, Peninsula Forest Management Sdn Bhd, Selangor, Malaysia
• Climate change and its impact on the outbreak of Pestalotiopsis epidemic of Hevea in South Sumatra
  Dr Tri Rapani Febbiyanti, Indonesian Rubber Research Institute
• Management of Pestalotiopsis outbreak in a rubber plantation in North Sumatra
  Dr Zaida Fairuzah, Indonesian Rubber Research Institute
• Preparedness of the Sri Lankan Rubber Sector to minimize the impact of Climate Change
  Dr Wasana Wjiesuriya, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka
• Q & A

Session 1.3 What is the potential impact on rubber production in both traditional and new areas?

Chairperson: Vincent Gitz, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA)

• The place of the rubber tree (Hevea Brasiliensis) in climate change
  Dr K. O. Omokhafe, Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria
• Managing soil fertility to improve sustainability of rubber plantations, what do we know?
  F. Gay (A. Brauman, E. Gohet, J.P. Laclau, L. Mareschal, P. Malagoli, A.Thoumazeau, Y. Nouvellon, P. Thaler, T. Perron) CIRAD
• Breeding Clones for non traditional areas
  Dr Ramli Othman, IRRDB Fellow
• Q & A

Break

Session 2: Rubber and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

Chairperson: Eric Gohet, CIRAD

Session 2.1 How can rubber systems contribute to climate change mitigation?

• Effects of large scale tree plantations on local climate. What potential for rubber tree plantations?
  Y. Nouvellon ( P. Thaler, F. Gay, P. Kasemsap, C. Chayawat, D. Satakhun, J. Sathornkich, E. Gohet, R. Lacote, P. Chantuma, J. Guillemot, G. le Maire, J.L. Stape, O. Campoe, and J-P. Laclau), CIRAD
• Improving biodiversity in rubber plantations: a low input strategy to mitigate drought and sustain soil health
  Dr Jessy, M.D., Rubber Research Institute of India
• Product from Specialty Natural Rubber as an Alternative Material to Synthetic Rubber towards application of Naturally Sustainable Resources
  Dr Fatima Rubaizah (Zameri, Siti Salina, Nik Intan, Nurul Hayati, Roslim, Rohani A.B., Dayzal D., Manroshan S, Mohamad Asri, Amir Hashim), Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysia
• Modelling the impact of rubber expansion on carbon stocks in the mountaineous of South-West China
  Prof Sergey Blagodatskiy (M. Laub, X. Yang, R.Lang, C.Marohn, H.Liu, J. Xu, G. Candish), Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institute), University of Hohenheim, Germany
• Transcriptional regulation on rubber biosynthesis and comparative analysis between Hevea Brasiliensis and Hevea Species
  Prof. Minami Matsui (Dr Yuko Makita) CATAS, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Tsurumiku, Yokohama, Japan

Break

Session 2.2 What’s the role of rubber systems for adaptation?

• Rubber Cultivation for enhancement of the environmental and social resilience to Climate Change in drier climates in Sri Lanka
  Dr Lakshman Rodrigo, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka
• The role of rubber agroforestry in farming systems and its effect on households. Adaptation strategies to climate change risks?
  Eric Penot (B. Chambon, J.Sainte Beuve) , CIRAD

The workshop aims to review recent research results on impacts of climate on rubber production, potential means of adaptation and contribution to mitigation of climate change, to identify knowledge and research gaps as well as recommendations for action.

Natural rubber production is impacted by climate change and needs to adapt to it. It can contribute to the adaptation of the populations that draw benefits from it. It can also play a major role in mitigation of climate change, both as a carbon sink and as an alternative to the use of synthetic products. However, natural rubber is rarely integrated in discussions on climate change at international level nor part of climate change related strategies, programs and measures.

The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) is organizing, with the International Rubber Research and development Board (IRRDB), the CGIAR research program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) led by CIFOR, and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), a digital workshop on natural rubber systems and climate change.

Chairperson: Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz b S A Kadir, Secretary General, IRRDB

• Natural Rubber a strategic material for a sustainable world
  Salvatore Pinizzotto, IRSG
• Towards circular bio-economy : a research initiative
  Christopher Martius, CIFOR
• The Sustainable Wood for a sustainable world initiative and its relevance to the rubber and climate change agenda
  Michael Brady, CIFOR
• FLEGT and other mechanisms to promote wood trade legality and avoided deforestation
  Paolo Cerutti, CIFOR
• Jurisdictional approaches to land use change and managing competition between rubber sector and other uses
  Amy Duchelle ,CIFOR
• Feedback from a rubber sector perspective (from workshop presenters), Q&A

Chairperson

Break

Session 4: Rubber and Climate Change in the International fora

Chairman: Salvatore Pinizzotto, Secretary General, IRSG

• Opportunities for natural rubber  in international climate change negotiations and mechanisms
  Vincent Gitz, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA)
• Opportunities for natural rubber in NDC (National Determined Contributions) and NAP (National Adaptation Plans) processes
  Alexandre Meybeck ,CIFOR/FTA
• Climate Risks: What a 1.5-degree pathway for Rubber Fora
  Dr Lekshmi Nair, Head of Economics and Statistics, IRSG
• Feedback from a rubber sector perspective (from workshop presenters), Q&A

Break

Session 5: The Way Forward : Short term actions and long term plans (Panel Discussion)

Chairman: Dr Lekshmi Nahir, Head of Economics & Statistics, IRSG
Panelists:

• Jerome Sainte Beuve, Rubber Value Chain Correspondent, CIRAD
• Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz b S A Kadir, Secretary General, IRRDB
• Vincent Gitz, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA)
• Salvatore Pinizzotto, Secretary General, IRSG

Conclusions