Context
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified Viet Nam as one of the countries that is most severely affected by climate change. The coastal towns and cities of Viet Nam are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events, rising sea levels and high groundwater levels. At-risk areas are primarily populated by poorer communities who are often badly affected by the impacts of these events. Heavy rainfall is becoming increasingly common and the resultant floods damage and destroy the local infrastructure. In addition, high water levels mean that the flow of water through the sewerage system is reversed, causing untreated wastewater to be released, which endangers people and the environment. Although several international projects in the field of adaptation to climate change are being implemented in the major cities, medium-sized towns and cities have so far been neglected. Neither national legislation nor the urban and land use programmes run by the relevant municipal, provincial and national authorities adequately address the altered hydrological and meteorological conditions. No measures have so far been taken to make the infrastructure more resilient to climate change.
Objective
Urban planning has been adapted to make provision for the increasing number of floods caused by climate change. The negative effects of these floods on the population and urban infrastructure have been reduced. National policies and strategies prioritise adapting to climate change more highly.
Approach
The project is active in Central and Southern Viet Nam and supports the provincial capitals Quy Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Soc Trang, Quang Ngai and Nha Trang in implementing their strategies for adapting to climate change. The project tailors its activities to meet the specific needs of each province and is active in the following areas:
Providing training and organisational advice to the relevant ministries and local authorities in the urban planning and water management sectors so as to support adaptation to climate change
Integrating concepts for adapting to climate change into national legislation regarding the urban flood protection sector
Creating drainage plans and advising on structural and non-structural measures to protect infrastructure from floods
Applying instruments for sustainable management of urban drainage systems
Providing advisory services on improving disaster prevention, risk mapping and establishing or improving early warning systems
Carrying out awareness-raising activities for those who are particularly affected by floods
The project offers practical solutions to the challenge of adapting to climate change. One of the project’s main tasks is to promote communication and cooperation between the various decision-makers to facilitate effective flood protection.
The project is being run at national and regional levels in cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the People’s Committees, the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control and the Climate Change Coordination Office.
Awareness-raising measures are being implemented to increase the local population’s knowledge of the potential dangers of extreme weather events, the effects of climate change in each city and the measures being taken at household and community levels to adapt to them.