On June 17, 2010 the Hue University’s Institute of Resources, Environment and Biotechnology (IREB) organised a workshop to evaluate the first year of the project “Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change and Policy Linkages in Thua Thien Hue Province” funded by the Embassy of Finland.
The Embassy of Finland has been funding a 100 000 euro project “Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change and Policy Linkages in Thua Thien Hue Province” in Thua Thien Hue Province since 2009.This project has aimed at providing a scientific basis and increasing understanding on the local perception and adaptation capacity to climate change through research. The aim is to link local issues and actions to socio-economic development plans and strategies on in one of the most highly vulnerable areas in Viet Nam. The project started in July 2009 and is expected to complete in June 2011. The workshop organised on the June 17th evaluated the results of the project after its first year in action.
Present at the workshop were the Head of Development Cooperation Mr. Max von Bonsdorff and Program Coordinator Ms. Le Thi Phuong Thao from the Finnish Embassy; IREB Director Dr. Le Van Thang and his staff; the Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Center for Environmental Research, Education and Development (CERED) Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh; the Chairman of Vietnam Association of Geochemistry (VAG) Prof. Sc. Dr. Dang Trung Thuan as well as authorities of Huong Phong and Quang Thanh Communes and various representatives of related stakeholders and beneficiaries.
During the workshop some of the results and lessons learnt during the first year were presented and the participants for example learned that in the past year basic and advanced research at the project sites has been carried out. In addition vulnerability and climate change impacts on the livelihoods of the local population have been assessed and training classes on aquaculture techniques adaptive to climate change were organized. Different demonstration models were also conducted with the active participation of local people.
The second topic of the day was discussion on the implementation plan for the second year of the project. In addition to the continuation of above mentioned activities, the project is also planned to introduce models of flood-resistant houses to the local population. The plan is to also widely disseminate the research results to provincial, district and communal plans on socio-economic development.
In his speech to the workshop Mr. Bonsdorff from the Finnish Embassy praised the encouraging results of the project as well as the effective collaboration of all the stakeholders by noting that they are the good basis for the successful implementation of the projects when it enters its second year.
