The northern province Nam Dinh is participating in the Vietnam
Forests and Deltas (VFD) Programme which is tailored to help
accelerate Vietnam’s transition to a climate change resilient, low
carbon, and sustainable society .
The project
comprises three technical components with different objectives,
including sustainable landscapes and land use; climate change adaptation
and resilience; and national coordination and policy development. Each
component is implemented in selected provinces based on local
conditions.
Nam Dinh was selected to pilot adaptation
approaches, which aim to increase the resilience of residents,
landscapes, and livelihoods in river deltas by providing adaptation
assistance and disaster risk management. The project aims to support the
National Strategy for Natural Disaster Prevention, Response and
Mitigation towards 2020, according to Le Thi Hong Van, a member of the
VFD management board.
A series of activities have been
carried out since the project was launched in April 2014, starting with
a vulnerability and capacity assessment co-organised by VFD and the
provincial Red Cross to identify potential risks and develop action
plans at commune levels.
Quat Lam, Giao Long, Giao
Hai, Hai Dong, Hai Phuc and Hai Hoa are amongst the communes covered by
the assessment. The project plans to have all 30 communes take part in
the evaluation process by 2017.
Vice Chairman of the
provincial Red Cross Pham Minh Phuong said a sub-project will be
designed for each commune based on the outcomes of the assessment, with
applied resilience models proposed by local authorities.
Additionally, the VFD programme has been supporting the province in
designing communication campaigns and an information centre to increase
the public’s awareness of climate change, learn from best practices in
climate change resilience, evaluate local fresh water resources and
organise workshops on relevant issues.
More
interventions are underway to build capacity and mobilise local
resources for responding to short-term risks, such as natural disasters,
as well as preparing for long-term impacts, such as sea level rises,
salt water intrusion and ecosystem degradation.
Vietnam Forests and Deltas is a 5-year programme (2013-2017) funded by
USAID with a grant of more than 26 million USD. It has been implementing
national policies and strategies on climate change response and
sustainable development in the four provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An,
Long An and Nam Dinh.-VNA