Earth Concern

The NGO Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) has been established in Vietnam in recognition of the fact that Vietnam is likely to be significantly affected by climate change and that NGOs are well placed to support localsed responses. CCWG provides a forum for Vietnamese NGOs and INGOs and civil society to actively participate in the climate change debate. CCWG consists of a core group which facilitates and coordinates the working group. Current core members include, the VUFO-NGO Resource center, Oxfam, CARE, CRS, SNV, EMW, WWF; the challenge to Change and SRD. In addition to the core group, CCWG maintains various thematic groups.

Nguyen Thi Yen has been working as Climate Change Coordinator for CARE International in Vietnam. She has got 10 years background on disaster management. CARE is one of the core members of Climate Change Working Group in Vietnam. On behalf of the network and CARE international in Vietnam Yen, spoke to Earth Concern Asia Team about various aspects of climate change issues in the context of Vietnam. Following is the brief snapshot of her interview.

What are the major climate change related issues in Vietnam?
According to the World Bank, Vietnam will be one of the five countries worst affected by sea level rise and more intense and frequent extreme weather. Even before the water rise, Vietnam is vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly typhoons, floods, inundation, droughts, saltwater intrusion. Temperature increase, less reliable rainfall, more intense and frequent extreme weather and sea level rise are all likely to reduce the productivity of rural livelihoods, lead to diminishing food security and water shortages, and pose a significant threat to biodiversity, and human security and health.
How much is the climate change issue on government priority list?
Climate change has been on the agenda in the high level Consultative Group meetings with donors since 2007 and there have been many other meetings and workshops discussing impacts and priorities for action since then, with a high level Mekong Delta Forum for CC established at end of 2009. Therefore the government of Vietnam recognizes the vulnerabilities of the country to CC and is looking to developed countries for financial support to address these. Government have assigned responsibility for CC to MONRE (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. MONRE’s focus to date has been to study the science and impacts of CC. MONRE also hosts the DNA which approves CDM projects, of which there are 78 now, though much more could be done in climate change mitigation. In 2009 the government agreed that a higher level office is required (prime minister level) to ensure coordination between all sectors in recognition that climat change is a multi-sectoral and cross cutting issue. MARD (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) are actively developing responses in disaster preparedness and prevention, and REDD. According to the statement of the Deputy prime minister and Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam still needs to study more about climate change impacts before actual mainstreaming.
Is there any National Guideline or Policy Strategy of Government to address the causes and consequences of climate change?
Vietnam has developed and recently approved the National Target Programme which is considered as the umbrella of climate change guidance in Vietnam and lays out responsibilities across all sectors. MONRE has recently issued the guidance framework to the local provinces focusing on consideration to establish the climate change board at lower levels. MARD has also developed their own action plan framework to guide their vertical MARD network at lower levels. However, these documents focus on the need to have more studies on climate change impacts and promote general coping strategies rather than ways to address underlying causes of climate change. NGOs are working with government to propose more use of VCA(vulnerability and capacity assessment) at all levels to ensure consequences and options for addressing these are informed and understood, There is ongoing dialogue between government and donors on developing low carbon technology to address causes in future.
Who are the major funding agencies on Climate change in Vietnam? What kind of support they are offering?
- UNDP: with MONRE and MPI on capacity builing, mitigation
- Embassy of Denmark: with MONRE on impact studies, capacity building in MONRE
- JICA: ODA base, mitigation, adaptation
- WB, ADB: Adaptation incl. Vietnam Coastal wetlands protection and development projects,CBDRM; mitigation (REDD)
- AusAid: Mekong River Commission Climate Change Adatation Initiative, impacts study in the Mekong, rice/crop research in the Mekong Delta
Is there enough awareness on climate change issues in Vietnam among general public?
There are several articles on internet, over television and radios on climate change issues and potential impacts. However, these are not done in a systematic manner and mainly accessible at the national level. At the local levels in rural areas, there’s a very limited access to such kind of information. There is limited awareness on what can be done to cope with or reduce CC. However there is growing campaigns and interest among urban populations and private businesses to reduce carbon footprints at all levels.
Is capacity building among the civil society and other sectors is one of the major challenges?
A group of NGOs started a CC working group (NGO CCWG) in 2007 in response to the need for greater information and capacity on CC and the interest among NGOs to engage in and influence the national decision making processes. The CCWG, currently chaired by CARE, conducted a capacity needs assessment among the NGOS, INGOs, individuals, institutions, coordinated development of a 3- year project on capacity building for the civil society on climate change and assigned a VNGO to host it. Some of the challenges include: (i) lack of expertise and trainers on adaptation (ii) lack of adaptation and mainstreaming guidelines tailored for Vietnam context (iii) access to relevant CC information which can be used practically when developing CC action plans (iv) ability to access to funding. With Government prominent issues are (i) facilitation capacity among the Government officers as the top-down approach dominates (ii) awareness in several cases (iii) Understanding of vulnerability assessment and its importance.
How do you see the issues of potential displacement of people due to the climate change impacts in Vietnam?
According to MONRE projection, 1m sea level rise by 2100 could affect 12% of land area and 10.8% of population, displace 22 million people. Accordingly, I think that this is likely a big issue for the Vietnam. Particularly the ongoing re-settlement from hydropower projects or new re-settlement residence clusters from Government disaster prevention activities attract a lot of concern as of the limitation of these activities. During the UN climate change talks in Poznan in 2009 a paper was launched on CC migration worldwide which cites the Mekong Delta as particularly vulnerable to floods.

( See 3.5 the Mekong Delta: Living with floods and resettlement, in “In Search of Shelter, Mapping the Effects of Climate Change on Human Migration and Displacement”, May 2009,
http://www.careclimatechange.org/files/reports/CARE_In_Search_of_Shelter.pdf)
How far migration and adaptation issues are taken care in broader policy framework?
According to the recent MPI policy dialogue that CARE attends, MPI will need to study more about climate change issues. As such, the climate change adaptation is not going to integrate into the social economic plan 2011-2015 as well as the social economic strategy but likely to integrate into annual plan in 2012. Migration has not been considered yet.
It is said that Climate change might affect a major section of poor men and women in Vietnam, how does NGO Working Group sees this issue?
This is the message NGO CCWG has been trying to disseminate to different stakeholders. In the high level Mekong Delta Forum on Climate Change, CCWG is delivering a presentation which opens with “Poor people in Vietnam suffer most from the impact of climate change”. As such CCWG recommends to adopt multiple benefit pro-poor CC adaptation actions which involve local people in analysis and planning and support disaster risk reduction, sustainable ecosystems and livelihood security. Similarly, CCWG members have been working with MARD to influence on REDD strategy process in Vietnam to ensure REDD mechanisms include benefit sharing, social and environmental standards and does not displace or discriminate or in any other way cause harm to poor and marginalized groups, particularly on the interests, rights and livelihoods of forest dependent communities.
How does NGO Working Group on Climate Change see the issue of Community based planning from the very beginning of response?
NGO CCWG is strongly promoting community based adaptation in Vietnam as an effective alternative to the top down approach more common in Government sector. The crucial part for community based adaptation is the meaningful participation of the community in the very beginning of the process including assessment and design. Many NGOs have developed useful tools for example, CARE’s Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CVCA) tool, and CCWG adaptation subgroup members are working together to design guidelines and tools for use by all stakeholders when planning adaptation. CCWG has also worked with MARD to organize 3 consultation workshops in 3 regions of Vietnam involving different local levels in 2008 before MARD finalized their action plan framework. One key message that CCWG brings to the coming Adaptation Forum for the Mekong Delta is that participatory vulnerability and capacity analysis and planning are essential and should build on indigenous knowledge and existing adaptive initiatives and capacities.

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