Vulnerability of coastal areas to sea level rise is driven by both global environmental changes, socio-economic development, as well as the ability of affected communities to cope with such changes, which in turn, is influenced by interacting social, economic and environmental factors. There is a necessity therefore for an integrated analysis to determine their collective effect on adaptation capacities of human communities. This collaborative effort for Southeast Asia was conceptualized during the Inaugural Open Science Meeting for the second phase of LOICZ held in the Netherlands in 2005 with the active participation of representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. The guiding principle of the whole endeavour led by the LOICZ Regional Node SEAsia is to effectively influence policy and decision makers in the selection of strategic and sustainable adaptive measures to reduce the future impact of GEC.