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Features and Insights

Explore insights on solutions, case studies, best practices, and innovations addressing development challenges facing countries across Southeast Asia.  

High-value horticulture in Viet Nam
Shifting to hydroponic systems can save 80%–90% of water as compared to open-field irrigation. It also offers a faster growing cycle: crops grown in a hydroponic system can be harvested sooner. Photo credit: ADB.
How Hydroponics Can Help Farmers Stem Losses from Saline Intrusion into the Mekong Delta

Shifting to alternative farming systems and ensuring farmers are aware about the challenges of saline agriculture could help them protect their crops.

In October 2024, ASEAN member states endorsed the ASEAN Declaration on Plastic Circularity, signaling a regional commitment to systematic change. Photo credit: iStock/piotr_malczyk
Beyond Traditional Funding: Can ASEAN Innovate Its Way Out of the Plastic Crisis?

Resolving the problem entails aligning environmental goals with economic and financial systems capable of delivering large-scale impact.

Women are integral to coffee production. However, they are largely confined to the initial stages of the coffee value chain—production and processing. Photo credit: Courtesy of SWITCH-Asia.
Women Leading the Way: Sustainability and Economic Empowerment in Lao PDR's Coffee Value Chains

EU-funded project helps women thrive as equal participants in the coffee sector and beyond.

Across Southeast Asia, there are more than 60 million women who run micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Photo credit: ADB.
Unlocking Capital for Women to Support a Just Transition

Women play an important role in driving inclusive low-carbon development.

The value of Malaysia's e-commerce sector rose from RM1.13 trillion ($267 billion) in 2022 to RM1.22 trillion in 2024. Photo credit: ADB.
Finding the Regulatory Balance amid Malaysia’s E-Commerce Growth

Sustaining growth and innovation in the digital economy requires a well-balanced regulatory ecosystem.

In 2020, the yellowfin tuna handline fishermen of the Mindoro Strait and the Lagonoy Gulf, along with processors who supported their cause, established the Philippine Tuna Handline Partnership—a coalition that serves as a client group providing them access to local and international markets, and through which they can strive to earn an eco-label certification. Photo credit: Courtesy of WWF-Philippines.
Sustainable and Equitable Fishing: The Tuna Fishers of Occidental Mindoro

Realizing the need to move beyond mere survival, fishers now making it a priority to ensure the sustainability of marine ecosystems.

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