Annex 4: Examples of Good Practices in DRR-CCA Linkages
Title of the Good practice/case
Real-time salinity monitoring system for Can Tho City in the
study
Mekong Delta
Which key area/questions the
Area 5, DRR-CCA Linkages
example contributes to
Contribution
Reducing exposure/underlying risk
Environmental Transition –ISET)
by
(Vietnam/Institute
for
Social
and
factors (How can decision-making
be improved to reduce human and
economic exposure systematically?)
Abstract
Can Tho City (population approx. 1 million) designed and
installed a real-time salinity monitoring system and now
publishes surface water salinity data from eight different
stations surrounding the city directly to a public website
every 30 minutes, with a subscription-based SMS warning
system. The scientific data from the system strongly support
decision makers on planning. Based on this the local
government decided to change their plan to enhance
climate resilience in their city. This project was funded by
the Rockefeller Foundation with technical support from the
Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET)
Context
Briefly state:
- What was the problem?
Salinity intrusion, driven by sea-level rise and climate
change, is reaching new areas in the central parts of the
Mekong Delta in Vietnam which were not previously
threatened and affecting domestic and agricultural
water supply. Local governments measure salinity
manually, but this is costly, inconsistent, and awkward
to
share
information.
Salinity
also
varies
in
unpredictable ways over short time periods with
complex river / canal water flow and tidal influence.
How the problem was addressed?
- What was done to address the problem?
A system of eight different stations surrounding the city
was installed and connected with a server via 3G SIM
cards, and the salinity information is directly uploaded
on a website every 30 minutes and delivered to the
public via a subscription-based SMS warning system.
In another aspect, when the decision makers have
information they can use it for their planning for
different sectors.
- Who was involved and what role did they play?
+ Climate Change Coordination Office (CCCO) in Can Tho
was in-charge of involving different partners to work
together, including: Can Tho University, Department of
Environmental and Environmental, Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Can Tho Software
Park, local community
+ Centre for Environmental Monitoring of Can Tho City
was in-charge of installing, monitoring, and maintaining
the system.
+ ISET provided technical support
+ Can Tho university was in-charge of conducting case
studies and collecting information from the community
+ Can Tho Television was in-charge of communication
+ VNPT was in-charge of SMS delivery to users
- What were some of the challenges and how were they
overcome?
+ Salinity monitoring equipment is expensive so its
protection and management are concerns of PMB since
the installation.
+ The equipment was installed in the waterway, which
needs the permission of Department of Transportation,
No. 12 and 13 Inland Waterway Management Unit. The
negotiation process took a lot of time.
+ Monitoring stations are far from controlling center and
located on the river, so it is difficult for protection and
maintenance.
- What are the lessons learnt?
+ Scientific data is useful for decision makers in the
planning process
+ It is necessary to have consultation and negotiation for
agreement and support from local departments and
people.
+ It is necessary to have consultation with relevant
departments and levels for the project planning.
- What could have been done differently and why?
Results
- What was the result of this approach/intervention?
The salinity monitoring system can provide evidence
data for the decision makers and it can make them to
change action plan suitably according to the city’s
situation.
- What were the key elements of success?
+ Advanced technology to provide scientific data for
planning
Measuring success
- Was the success/impact measured?
+ Policy changed: the city government decided to shift
the intervention of salinity response to intervene on
water quality issues. From the aspect of resilience to
climate change, the development of a monitoring
system is necessary because it helps inform local people
and agencies of salinity levels so that they know that the
city is still not affected. This also provides them time to
prepare and respond to saline intrusion when it actually
happens
- If so, how / if not why not?
HFA 1
- Have the result contributed to HFA1 progress in the
country?
o
If so, how?
Yes, it helps to improve the climate resilience of
the city in terms of both government capacity and
infrastructure.
o
How can similar initiatives be better captured in
DRR/HFA progress review?
- Did HFA1 play a role in enabling this initiative?
o
If yes, how / If no, what needs to be for HFA2 to
enable such initiatives?
Potential for replication
- Can this initiative be replicated?
Yes, it is highly recommended to replicate this initiative
in some river basins and coastal areas which are
vulnerable to salinity intrusion
- Explain how or why not?
This is a costly system since it requires advanced
technology and modern equipment. But we can save
labor and we can have hourly update of the salinity
information automatically. In addition, salinity intrusion
is very sensitive to many different sectors: aquaculture,
agriculture, industry, and water supply. This system can
provide useful and real-time information to every sector
and to the people via SMS and the Internet.
In March 2013, the International Fund for Agriculture
Development (IFAD) invited the technical staff of ISET
and PMU to share the experience of setting up the
automatic salinity monitoring system at a consultative
workshop on building climate change adaptation plan
for the Mekong Delta. The officials of Ben Tre and Tra
Vinh provinces were very impressed with the monitoring
system of Can Tho City. IFAD requested ISET to organize
a learning field trip for technical and management staff
of these two provinces. Currently, IFAD is funding Ben
Tre and Tra Vinh to build their own automatic salinity
monitoring system, salinity information management
system, and SMS warning system.
In June 2013, PMB, in collaboration with ISET and IFAD,
organized a study tour for the delegates of Ben Tre
province and Tra Vinh province to visit the salinity
monitoring system of Can Tho. The delegates were very
interested on the technical solution of the model. The
automatic
salinity
monitoring
system
is
highly
appreciated by organizations and local people. This is
the success of the project. Data are collected
automatically and transferred to central station every
30 minutes. Moreover, local people can access the
information via different forms: Internet, media, texts,
and
SMS
messages,
making
the
information
dissemination easier. The model can be applied not only
for
salinity
but
also
for
other
meteorological,
hydrological, and environmental parameters. IFAD has
decided to support Ben Tre and Tra Vinh to establish a
similar system for the downstream part of the Mekong
Delta.
Contact
Provide contact information of the key person(s) for this
example of practice
Nguyen Ngoc Huy
Technical Staff, ISET
Email: huy@i-s-e-t.org