Developing effective climate change policy
(adaptation and mitigation), Vietnam
Workshop Proceedings
Wednesday 5 – Thursday 6 June, 2013
Hotel Sofitel Metropole, Hanoi, Vietnam
Proceedings of the final workshop
Summary of Presentations
Vice-Minister Nguyen Linh Ngoc (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam).
Official Opening.
The Vice-Minister stressed the importance of tackling climate change given Vietnam’s extreme
exposure to floods, sea level rise, and extreme weather events (e.g. typhoons). Vietnam has
developed a National Target Program on Climate Change accompanied by a National Strategy on
Climate Change including 10 elements. Vietnam is committed to ensuring that the country
continues to develop its economy and the wellbeing of its people. It welcomes the collaboration
between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Monash University, particularly
the ongoing efforts to improve knowledge management responsive to policy development and
implementation.
Ms Kathryn Elliot, First Secretary, AusAID Hanoi, Vietnam
Perspectives from AusAID.
Climate change remains an aid priority for Australia in its mission to Vietnam. The intersection of
climate change and poverty is a continuing challenge with many of Vietnam’s population situated
in poor rural communities exposed to floods and droughts. Food security is a related issue with
climate change expected to affect agriculture. The Mekong delta is particularly exposed with low
lying land exposed to both floods and sea level rise. Saline intrusion will affect the productivity of
crops and new approaches are required to adapt to likely climate change impacts.
Dr Paul McShane, Monash University, Australia.
Knowledge sector development in response to climate change Vietnam.
Key points emerging from the collaboration between MoNRE and MARD as part of the current
project “Developing effective climate change policy (adaptation and mitigation) Vietnam” from
previous workshops are:
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develop and implement a systemic approach to
collection of data and transferring of information
(the National Database);
improve sharing of information (including
traditional wisdom);
clarify and promote publication policy in public and
administrative areas;
develop a knowledge management framework for
natural resource management/climate change;
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map how information is collected and stored e.g. the Red River/Thai Binh/Cau River basins;
link CIREN/DINTE to the education sector and incorporate climate change in high school
curricula;
make the language of climate change more accessible to the general public and particularly
to ethnic minorities who are disproportionately exposed to climate change impacts;
improve information sharing across provincial boundaries including the promotion of a
decentralised database for provinces linked to the central database;
Develop two approaches to knowledge management:
o a high level system to support decision making by policy makers based on
integrated data (e.g. the National Database), modelling outputs, and stakeholder
input;
o a decision support system for integrated water resource management for decision
makers in the responsible agency (MoNRE, MARD). A web-based application
utilising models, analysis systems and decision support procedures.
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The National Database is currently fragmented across seven departments with overlapping
tasks. There is a need for greater co-ordination in data sharing and data
conflicts/inconsistencies need to be resolved.
Social media offers opportunities for flexibility and accessibility to information given three
access types: community, scientists/research, and government.
The current workshop will build on these points and focus a knowledge management
framework aimed at a co-ordinated response among agencies to develop and implement
climate change adaptation policies in Vietnam.
Dr Huynh Thi Lan Huong, Centre for Climate Change, MoNRE, Vietnam.
Policy and activities in Vietnam in response to climate change.
The major rivers of Vietnam; the Red River and the Mekong, are particularly vulnerable to
climate change. Changes to rainfall patterns will include a decrease in the north but increases
in the north-west, central highlands and south central/southern areas. Typhoon paths are
expected to shift southward. In general, wetter wet seasons and drier dry seasons are
expected to result from climate change in Vietnam.
Vietnam has been proactive in responding to climate
change. It ratified the UNFCCC in 1994 and the Kyoto
protocol in 2002. In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development (MARD) set a target of reducing carbon
emissions from Agriculture by 20 per cent. The Prime
Minister has encouraged co-ordination among agencies to
respond to climate change and to promote green growth
(sustainable development).
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Mr Bui Cong Thinh, DINTE, MoNRE, Vietnam.
Apply information and technology into dealing with natural resources and environment
related exercises.
The Department of Information Technology and Environment (DINTE, formerly CIREN) has
been tasked with applying information and technology to develop models and responses for
natural resource management, environmental protection and climate change adaptation. This
requires support systems including:
o models and systems applicable to natural resource management;
o tools for processing and analysing data relevant to climate change;
o access to the community (web-based) to raise awareness of climate change
adaptation needs.
Climate change impacts in Vietnam have an adverse economic effect. Damage to
infrastructure from typhoons is expected to continue. Loss of arable land from saline intrusion
will affect food security (e.g. rice) particularly in the Cuu Long river delta. Information
technology can assist in developing better understanding of adaptation to climate change
impacts including modelling of saltwater intrusion.
Mr Tuong Huy Nguyen, Ms Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, Ms Nguyen Tam Trang, Ms Le Thuy Linh,
Ms Tran Hong Nhung, Ms Tran Kieu Huong, and Ms Trinh Nam Giang.
A curriculum for climate change education and beyond in Vietnam.
Capacity building responsive to climate change involves an intersection of training, mentoring
and networking. Networking with stakeholders is a very effective way of developing
understanding of climate change issues. Climate change education is necessarily multidisciplinary. Integration of climate change issues into education is a priority of the Vietnam
Ministry of Education and Training (MoET). Dr Le Van Khoa has compiled a series of books on
education response to climate change. This will be a source of reference for leaders, lecturers
and university students in research and learning. Importantly it will provide knowledge and
continuity in all education levels from kindergarten through to University. However, there is a
need to put climate change education in the context of sustainability. Education for
sustainable development allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes
and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. This
parallels the Australian government’s National Action
Plan for Education for Sustainability.
Dr Tran Thi Thu Ha, Thai Nguyen University of
Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam.
Issues of the Car River Basin/watershed management:
challenges and solutions
The Cau River Basin is a large basin occupying more
than 6000 km2.
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It covers six provinces and merges with the Thai Binh River. The basin supports more than five
million people including more than 15 ethnicities. Most live in rural areas supported by
agricultural livelihoods. Most of the water from the Cau River is used to support agriculture
(particularly rice). However, water scarcity during the dry season is increasing (increasing
demand and decreasing supply). Deforestation in the basin can increase vulnerability to floods
(run off) and decrease water quality in the river (sedimentation). Water quality is also
compromised by pollution from mining, construction, and industrial activity in the catchment.
Women play an important role in the management of water resources but they are seldom in
management positions and have relatively few opportunities to participate in skills training to
undertake maintenance of irrigation systems. Water reticulation infrastructure (pumps, dams,
canals) is poorly maintained and can affect water resource allocation (quantity and quality).
Poor coordination amongst sectors and agencies responsible for water resource management
is a current problem. The Cau river basin is nominally under the management of three
different management organisations:
o the Red River- Thai Binh Basin Planning Management Board;
o the Sub Cau River Basin Planning Management Board;
o the Cau River Basin Environment Committee.
Confused roles and responsibilities results in ineffective planning and management. Many
water resources management policies have been issued but the policies are often duplicated
and have unclear roles and responsibilities. The transfer of responsibilities as stipulated by the
1998 Law on Water Resources is still incomplete. Provincial governments are now almost
entirely decentralised but many agencies do not have the capacity or training to manage large
and complex technical projects. Management of water at the local level has been devolved to
water user associations (more than 1,000) but these associations and their participants lack
training and education in water resource management. There is a clear need for a coordinated and collaborative approach among water users, policy makers and other
stakeholders in the Cau River Basin particularly given emerging challenges with population,
water demand, and climate change.
Dr Terry Chan, Monash University, Australia, and Dr Tran Ngoc Anh,
Vietnam National University (Hanoi).
Developing a systemic model of the Cau River Basin, Vietnam, in response to climate change.
This work builds on ongoing collaboration with many
agencies including MoNRE, MARD and VNU (Hanoi). Specific
management issues applicable to the Cau River include:
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flooding and inundation management;
competition among water user sectors
(hydropower, agriculture, waterway navigation);
co-ordination among provinces (trans boundary
management);
water pollution, ecological degradation;
governance: inadequate policy, poor enforcement;
climate change.
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Systemic models offer a means of engaging stakeholders and to visualise the consequences of
various policy interventions (e.g. water management policies) and/or climate change. Bayesian
Network models can link biophysical (e.g. hydrological models) to socio-economic models to
examine effects of climate change or water resource allocation policies on, for example,
agriculture. These models link variables and include stakeholder perceptions of sources of
variation (this is useful when formal knowledge or information is lacking). As information
improves, the models can be updated and incorporate new knowledge. This approach has
been used to develop a conceptual model of the Cau River Basin. It brings together critical
issues responsive to water availability (quantity and quality). Current gaps include:
o mechanisms to implement new policy: translating new knowledge into improved
policy;
o facilitation of stakeholder interaction across provincial/district boundaries;
o general understanding of social behaviour/knowledge (e.g. gender, education);
o local participation in climate change adaptation.
Discussion session: synopsis
The Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) is adopting a co-ordinated approach to
education for climate change. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) is
establishing a Knowledge Management Centre within the Ministry to encourage a collaborative
and co-ordinated approach to policy development and implementation. There is a general lack of
data on water quantity and quality and particularly on ecosystem assessment. Natural resources
management/water management is not yet a priority. Forty provinces in Vietnam have climate
change plans, some are detailed but others are just general plans. There is a need for capacity
building for policy makers and researchers/educators relating to climate change.
Data/modelling approaches are often inconsistent in Vietnam. Input data are not standardised.
Software systems lack support and participation by local authorities is poor. Research results and
knowledge is therefore not transferred to local authorities. This is particularly the case in northern
mountainous areas where levels of education are low and understanding among local policy
makers is poor.
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Dr Jeremy Aarons, Monash University, Australia.
Knowledge management for climate change policy and action, Vietnam.
This project aimed to develop a co-ordinated response among agencies responsible for
development and implementation of climate change policy in Vietnam. A key outcome is improved
knowledge management (including incorporation of traditional wisdom) responsive to information
collection, interagency collaboration and knowledge sharing important in developing a community
response to climate change in Vietnam. The Monash approach to Knowledge Management adopts
a task-based approach for supporting complex work practices (e.g. policy development). It brings
together structural (organisation, information infrastructure, technology) and functional (learning,
model development, synthesis) dimensions to knowledge management.
The Vietnam National Database brings together data from across seven departments of
MoNRE/DoNRE into a single system. There are still data conflicts and inconsistencies and a need
for a data sharing policy among departments and external stakeholders. Current challenges in
Knowledge Management include:
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top-down co-ordination:
o collaboration between key agencies: MoNRE, MARD, DoNRE, DARD;
o centralised data and information systems;
o need to integrate knowledge management into current strategies and action plans;
o continue development of the National Database, Decision Support System; and
appropriate ICT infrastructure.
Co-ordination between key stakeholders:
o internal: government agencies and authorities;
o external: Universities, research institutions, industry, NGOs;
o need clearly defined roles, responsibilities and expectations; and
o need well defined priorities to align actions to policy.
Bottom-up involvement:
o community awareness and participation in climate change activities;
o community access to information (e.g. via information communication technology);
o importance of local knowledge and traditional wisdom: empowerment of local
communities; and
o need a community engagement strategy including appropriate levels of
engagement.
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A Knowledge Management Framework
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