Namaste: June 2013

SEA: REACTi Technical Innovation Workshop
4^th June, 2013 – Can Tho, Viet Nam
South East Asia: Regional Environmental Adaptation to Climate Change Training and Implementation Project

“Fostering proactive, not reactive resilience to climate change in Vietnam and Laos” was the slogan of the technical symposium held on 4-6 June in Can Tho. This regional technical symposium was one main component of the SEA: REACTi[*] Project funded by ADRA[**], with the aim to facilitate regional dialogue and future collaboration in community based climate change adaptation. The symposium consisted of 3 days, in which the first day served as an informative forum and the rest 2 days were reserved for participatory planning session, where community members from the selected project sites worked together to develop their own pilot interventions to address climate change vulnerabilities in their location.

We attended only the first day (June 4) of the technical symposium. On this first day, 14 topics were presented and discussed among over 80 participants from government, NGOs, research institutes and donor agencies such as ADB, World Bank, GIZ, Mekong ARCC, Mekong River Commission, Can Tho University, Winrock International, UN Women etc.

The time for action is NOW
“We need to stop scaring people with negative information and instead, empower communities with useful information which can be applied to build resiliency.”
~ Ian Wood, Winrock International [5]

Following are notes of some interesting messages and lessons learned from the presentations (the messages here do not include some technical topics, for more information and for your reference, all presentations are put on slideshare below)

One principle for climate change adaptation is that it should be NO REGRETS, which means it should be still applicable whether there is climate change or not [1].

A clear finding of the Mekong ARCC Study is that the Mekong Delta will see more extremes -wetter wet seasons, drier dry seasons, and higher temperatures [3].

All crops and natural species thrive in a comfort zone where temperature, rainfall, and soil conditions create a favorable growing environment. When these conditions changes, the crops struggle or fail. Living outside traditional comfort zones will not mean immediate collapse of a crop or a natural system, but it does mean a decrease in its vibrancy and productivity. With increasing temperatures, rainfall and dry periods, identifying threshold markers that indicate when a comfort zone has been breached will aid decision makers in being proactive to minimize disasters [3].

Diversity of ecological and agricultural systems should be promoted. Traditional farming approaches and natural systems serve as a buffer to a changing climate. Integrated farming systems – for example, farmers raising ducks and fish in rice paddies – rather than monocultures increase the resilience of both farmers and ecosystems [3].

Non-climate drivers such as population growth, regional demographic changes, hydropower development, irrigation, forest exploitation and changes in land use can reduce climate resilience, exarcebate the impacts of climate change and should be taken into consideration by development planners [3].

Incorprate scenario planning – the use and development of plausible stories of how the future might unfold is a powerful tool for decision makers [3].

Climate change is more than an environmental issue. Adaptation is a development issue, not only an environmental issue. Therefore, adaptation needs to be developed within sectors and even cross-cutting themes. [4].

Climate change encompasses a broad spectrum of issues and sectors such as disaster risk reduction, water, natural resources, agriculture, transport, construction etc. The difficulty is prioritization of investment limited resources. Project selection is a complex process which needs to combine top-down priorities with bottom-up needs, ensuring consistency with a long-term vision and considering of package projects to create an integrated solution [5].

Smart planning decisions today will avoid bigger problems later. For climate change mitigation, long-term land use planning and regulations should aim toward minimize loss of forest, both coastal and inland. Land use planning should allow green space in developing urban areas to reduce temperature effects and allow future use of land for renewable energy such as wind or solar power [5].

Principles for mainstreaming climate change in land allocation, infrastructure and development: (i) Avoid hazard – Allocate land for development in low-risk areas; (ii) New development should not create new problems for other areas; (iii) Development should not add to the burden of emergency services. Minimum floor levels, ways of egress, contingency plans for emergency are needed [5].

Multi-function shelter with provision for emergency equipment such as an electrical generator, back-up water supply tanks, communications receiver/transmitter can become the focal point for local response during emergencies. For example, a commune health clinic can acts as a shelter during emergencies, with priority for elderly or less mobile people [5].

Climate change can seem scary, which can lead to inaction. People need to be alerted, but not alarmed. We need to stop scaring people with negative information and instead, empower communities with useful information which can be applied to build resiliency [5].

Lessons learnt for planning, implementation & upscaling of demonstration projects of the Mekong Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative (CCAI): (i) Despite increasing adaptation project efforts, understanding and awareness of climate change and impacts remain low. Lack of awareness needs to be considered a potential source of maladaptation. Uncertainties and doubts on furture climate projection is another potential source of maladaptation; (ii) Successful projects should be based on key vulnerability analysis which leads to finding and enabling adaptive capacity; (iii) Engagement of stakeholders should be based on formal institutional arrangement. Stakeholder engagement platforms are consultation meetings/workshops and cooperation in assessment, analysis and field work activities. Community organisations and representatives should be consulted and invited to be field researchers [6].

Agriculture in Vinh Chau is difficult due to saline intrusion and lack of freshwater for crops. Groundwater has been exploited exhaustedly. Therefore it is recommended to select plant type of upland crops with low water requirement and short growth time, such as mung beans instead of radishes. In addition, supplementary use of organic fertilizer, reduced use of chemical fertilizer can help crops to stand unusual heat and increase capacity to resist pets and diseases [9].

Village women are vulnerable but need to be viewed in a wider context than just victims. UN Women’s project will increase training for local village women in flood preparation, first aid, swimming lessons, disaster risk reduction and management. UN Women has supported local women to be involved in decision making structures such as committees for storms and flood control [12].

Save the Children takes a child-centred approach to building community resilience to the impacts of climate change. They work with and through children as agents of changes in their communities [13].

People with disabilities (PWDs) are less able to access emergency support and difficult in reaching safe areas and accessing vital emergency information. Climate change adaptation plans should include the needs of people with disabilities through mapping them and assigning members of relief teams to specially take care of them and other vulnerable groups. People with disabilities should be assisted to build relationship with neighbours and communities so that they are not isolated. Accessibility standards for PWDs should be ensured in construction of infrastructure [14].

[*] SEA: REACTi - South East Asia: Regional Environmental Adaptation to Climate Change Training and Implementation Project, aiming to develop regional co-operation mechanisms and frameworks, at the provincial and district level, for the implementation of best practice community-based adaptation. Beside this regional technical symposium (4-6 June 2013), other main components of SEA: REACTi are two community based climate change adaptation pilot projects in Vietnam and Laos (July 2013 – February/March 2014) and a dissemination workshop (March/April 2013).

[**] ADRA Vietnam is part of the global Adventist Development and Relief Agency network over 120 countries, the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is an NGO which has been active in Vietnam for more than 20 years, working on sustainable livelihoods, health, education, water and sanitation, climate change and disaster management.

14 Topics presented at the technical symposium on June 4, Can Tho

1. Can Tho & Mekong Delta - Climate change issues and challenges

by Mr. Nguyen Minh The, DONRE Can Tho

2. Climate risk management in Laos PDR

by Mr. Thavone Inthavong, Laos National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute

3. Mekong ARRC Climate change impact and adaptation study for lower Mekong basin

by Ms. Christy Owen, Mekong ARRC

4. ADB's support for adaptation in Vietnam

by Ms. Lauren Sorkin, ADB Vietnam

5. Transferring national policy to practical action

by Mr. Ian Wood, Winrock International

6.Climate change and adaptation in the LMB