4th International Conference on Estuaries and Coasts (ICEC 2012)

4th International Conference on Estuaries and Coasts, 8 - 11 October 2012, Hanoi, Vietnam

The 4th International Conference on Estuaries and Coasts (ICEC 2012) was co-organised by Water Resources University (WRU) of Hanoi, Vietnam and the International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES). It was the subsequent conference following the 1st ICEC 2003 (Hangshou, China), 2nd ICEC 2006 (Guangzhou, China) and the 3rd ICEC 2009 (Sendai, Japan).

Bringing together researchers and engineers working in estuaries and coasts, this ICEC 2012 has around 150 participants, more than half of them come from abroad (Japan, Brazil, Netherlands, Italy, China, Sweden, Korea, France, Indonesia, Belgium, Singapore, USA etc…). The conference serves as a platform for presenting research results, exchanging information, facilitating networking, and promoting advanced technologies related to estuarine and coastal development. Within two days of 9-10 October, 9 keynote lectures were presented at the lecture hall and about 100 presentations of 4 parallel sessions were presented at 4 technical rooms. The presentations covered 9 main thematic topics:

- Coastal and estuarine hydrodynamics

- Environmental and ecological hydraulics

- Coastal structures

- Estuarine and coastal management

- Water resources and hydrology

- Research technologies for estuaries engineering

- Coastal hazards

- Climate change

In parallel with the presentation, some companies such as of Dynamic Solutions International (DSI), Nikken Kogaku Co. Ltd and Vietnam Hydraulic Engineering Consultants Corporation JSC also had their exhibition stalls, showing their products and technologies in coastal engineering.

The technical program is attached at the end of this note (actual program was slightly different because of alternating keynote speakers). Full program included a technical tour to Hai Phong, visiting Dinh Vu reclaimation project, Nam Trieu estuary and Dike No. 1 in Do Son on the last day of October 11, 2012 (I did not attend the technical tour).

For more detail information on each thematic topic and its papers, you can find at these links below on Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fn63rpy83pv2nck/5iGL42tNur/ICEC%202012%20Proceedings

At the closing ceremony, call for papers of the 5th ICEC November 2-4, 2015 in Oman (Middle East) was officially announced. The next ICEC 2015 themes include coastal erosion, seawater quality, Tsunami, integrated coastal zone management, seawater intrusion, social, economic and political problems involving coasts and estuaries. For conference info and online submission, see the ICEC conference website at http://www.icec2015.org.

Call for papers of the 19th Congress of the Asia & Pacific Division of the International Association for Hydro – Environment Engineering & Research (IAHR-APD), September 21 – 24, 2014 at Water Resource University, Hanoi, Vietnam was also announced. The congress main theme of “working globally on water and climate change issues but acting locally” includes subthemes such as sustainable water resources and climate change, estuarine and coastal hydraulics, hydraulic structures and environmental hydraulics. For online submission, see the congress website at: http://www.iahr-adp2014.wru.edu.vn.

*****

 
Some notes of the discussion on our presentation

Our presentation on “Bamboo breakwater - site-specific erosion protection and adaptation to climate change in Soc Trang Province, Vietnam” received quite positive feedback. People enjoyed the time-lapse movie. Some participants said that they were impressed with the low cost of the measure. Some participants wish to visit Soc Trang someday to see the construction. One professor said that the topic is very interesting, very “Vietnam” (with bamboo), that the paper should be published and it even can be developed into a PhD thesis.

There was one question about working with local authorities/management, how to integrate and realise the research results into application in reality. I explained that our project cooperates closely with local partners such as PPC, DARD, therefore we did receive approval from them in implementation of the construction.

On the other hand, there were questions/doubts about the durability of bamboo breakwater under stormy conditions as well as longevity of the constructions in general. I explained that it is the sound installation of bamboo poles embedded underneath the soft mud, together with their sufficient size that assure the strength of the bamboo structure (which were confirmed by tension tests). Moreover, if sediment can be developed and mangroves can be rehabilitated after sometime (maybe 1 – 3 years?, we don’t know), then the breakwater would complete its mission. One participant contributed that because the waves are not so high and intense in Mekong Delta, compared to other regions in Vietnam, therefore, using bamboo here should be fine.

There was one comment about the stagnancy of water behind the T-fences that may lead to bad water quality in the area. I explained that there were gaps/spaces between the long-shore parts of the Ts where water can flow, thus, it should not be a problem.

Another concern was about the dynamic process of accretion and erosion and how we could be sure that our interference did not create erosion somewhere else. I explained that I did mention in the presentation, the construction was designed based on scientific understanding of the natural processes (with numerical modeling, field measurement, using existing data). Moreover, by recreating the former coastline, the “close to nature” conditions were made which help minimize downdrift erosion.

There were a comment that our construction seems to be more like groins than breakwater and a recommendation that we should combine bamboo with some hard (concrete/stone) structure for resilience to big storms.

Gender training

“Gender equality in Vietnam has always been an important part of policy, with equal rights of women and men enshrined in the first constitution adopted in 1946. But nevertheless, gender awareness and capacity of the implementation and policy-making bodies are still limited. Nowadays it is increasingly understood that the impacts of climate change are likely to have different impacts on women and men. More broadly, it is now recognised that gendered development interventions tend to be more successful than interventions that do not take account of gender differences. Meanwhile, gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Gender equality also plays an important role in the activities of the GIZ project. For the project to achieve its goal, it is important that a common understanding of gender principles is held during project implementation. To ensure this, a national expert, Mrs. Tran Thu Thuy from the Central Women’s Union, conducted gender training for local authorities, with the aim of strengthening the participants’ knowledge and skills on how to integrate gender aspects into project activities.”

The training was conducted as a dynamic workshop with a participatory approach including games, group work, presentations and a plenary discussion. Workshop regulations required active participation; all ideas to be listened-to and respected; no personal criticism and mobile phones to be in silent mode.

Gender training course notes

ICAM training, June 2012

28-29.06.2012

On June 28^th and 29^th, 2012, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of Soc Trang and the Vietnamese-German technical cooperation project ‘Management of Natural Resources in the Coastal Zone of Soc Trang Province’ organised a training on Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) in Soc Trang City for local authorities and relevant stakeholders related to the management of coastal resources and the environment.

The aim of this ICAM training course was to strengthen participants' knowledge and skills for the implementation of an ICAM programme and to provide a better understanding on how the ICAM framework has become a useful methodology to promote sustainable development of coastal areas.

The training was conducted by three national experts, Dr. Nguyen Minh Son,  Mr. Le Van Thu and Mrs. Pham Thi Chin, who have special knowledge of ICAM implementation in Vietnam and are familiar with PEMSEA’s ICM framework and process, as the project wants to cooperate closely with PEMSEA (Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia) and VASI (Vietnam Administration of Sea and Islands) for the up-scaling of ICAM in Vietnam.

The training course emphasised the need for ICAM, the benefits of an integrated approach to management, the basic principles behind the ICAM practice, the framework, processes and good practices of ICAM implementation. Case studies and lessons learned from the ICAM implementation in Da Nang, Thua Thien Hue and in the region were also presented and discussed. Source: Our Project Website

ICAM Training June 2012 - Course notes