Hands-On with the FABLE Calculator: A Testing Ground in Malaysia
How CHOICE tools and approaches are helping build capacity for participatory food and land-use modelling across countries
On the sidelines of the 2026 GBA–ASEAN Conference on Energy Transition and Integration, convened by SDSN in Kuala Lumpur from 27 to 30 July, participants examined how modelling can support the development of national food and land-use pathways for the ASEAN region.
Through CHOICE, conference participants used the FABLE Calculator to test assumptions and investigate alternative future scenarios.
How might dietary trends change as incomes evolve? How can national greenhouse gas emissions data be better represented in a model? Are proposed afforestation targets realistic given the land available? These were among the questions addressed during the sessions.
Advancing food and land-use pathways in the Asia-Pacific
Prime Minister of Malaysia delivering the keynote address at the 2026 GBA–ASEAN Conference on Energy Transition and Integration
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is home to some of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems and tropical forests. At the same time, its food and agricultural systems support millions of livelihoods and contribute significantly to regional and global food supply.
According to a WMO report, countries across the region are increasingly exposed to climate-related hazards, including floods, droughts, tropical storms, rising sea levels and increasing temperatures.
These challenges are closely connected to decisions around food production, land use, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions, underlining the importance of developing sustainable and resilient pathways for the region.
The 2026 GBA–ASEAN Conference on Energy Transition and Integration brought together stakeholders from government, academia, international organisations and the private sector to explore opportunities for stronger regional cooperation on sustainable energy systems, infrastructure and development.
It also provided an important space for the FABLE Consortium to engage with a diversity of actors: Malaysian experts using FABLE tools for the first time, alongside FABLE members from India, China, Nepal, Pakistan, the Czech Republic and Indonesia.
This created an opportunity to exchange experiences and consider how food and land-use modelling approaches can respond to different national contexts and priorities.
Building capacity through FABLE Calculator training
FABLE Calculator training session with participants at the 2026 GBA–ASEAN Conference
On 27 July, FABLE delivered a hands-on training session on the FABLE Calculator in Kuala Lumpur.
The session aimed to strengthen existing FABLE Consortium members’ use of the model while helping newer members build the skills and confidence needed to develop evidence-based food and land-use scenarios.
Participants worked with new scenarios, including a dietary shift scenario using projected GDP per capita and income elasticity to better reflect changing dietary trends at country level.
They also examined how the FABLE Calculator can be adapted to better reflect national greenhouse gas emissions by adjusting emission factors and activity-level data to align with a country’s national inventory or another stakeholder-relevant baseline.
For afforestation, participants used additional data and maps to assess whether proposed targets correspond to realistic opportunities on the ground. Working directly with the tool allowed them to see how changing assumptions can lead to different food and land-use futures.
This kind of capacity building is an important part of the CHOICE approach. Making modelling tools available is only one step. Researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders also need the confidence to understand model assumptions, interpret results and translate local priorities into meaningful scenario choices.
The Kuala Lumpur training provided a practical opportunity to transfer approaches strengthened through CHOICE to FABLE teams working in a range of national settings.
Exploring future pathways through a Mini Scenathon
On 28 July, FABLE organised a Mini Scenathon, a participatory exercise that brings together modelling, stakeholders and technology to explore complex sustainability challenges.
During the session, participants worked together to test combinations of actions including dietary shifts, reductions in food loss and waste, afforestation, agroecological practices, and improvements in crop and livestock productivity.
For the first time in a FABLE Mini Scenathon, participants also used a new web interface for the FABLE Calculator developed through CHOICE. The interface is designed to make scenario exploration more accessible and interactive, helping users engage with complex modelling results without needing to be modelling experts.
During the exercise, participants ran multiple iterations between local and global results, allowing them to see how different choices could contribute to sustainability objectives and influence wider outcomes related to food security, climate, biodiversity, water and nitrogen.
Rather than simply viewing model outputs, participants took on the role of the modeller: testing assumptions, observing the consequences of their choices and adjusting their scenarios in real time.
This brought the benefits and trade-offs associated with different actions into the discussion. Participants with little or no prior experience with the model quickly began examining the wider repercussions of individual actions and considering how different measures could be combined to balance multiple priorities across the ASEAN region.
The Mini Scenathon therefore offered a practical setting to test developments supported through CHOICE and explore how modelling can serve not only as an analytical tool, but also as a platform for discussion, collaboration and participatory decision-making.
Why It Matters for CHOICE
For CHOICE, the experience in Malaysia shows how Integrated Assessment Models can move beyond specialist modelling environments and become more accessible, participatory tools for engaging different actors in climate-conscious decision-making. By combining scientific modelling with interactive interfaces, stakeholder participation and capacity building, CHOICE aims to mainstream IAMs in ways that better reflect behavioural change, diverse perspectives and real-world priorities across food and land-use systems.
The FABLE training and Mini Scenathon provide a practical example of how this ambition can be translated into practice. By bringing modelling closer to stakeholders and creating space for dialogue around different pathways, these activities demonstrate how CHOICE approaches can support broader understanding, participation and capacity building. This is an important step towards making IAMs more relevant and usable across diverse national and stakeholder contexts.
