Hans Guttman, ADPC's Executive Director, presents Doan Thi Tuyet Nga, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation, VNDMA, with a gift

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), in collaboration with the Vietnam National Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA), organized a workshop and discussed ways to speed up urban resilience to climate change in Viet Nam. Over 60 representatives from relevant government ministries, UN organizations, academic institutions, private sector, media and others participated in the discussion.

The workshop was jointly organized by ADPC and the VNDMA on 29 March 2019 in Hanoi.

Doan Thi Tuyet Nga, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation, under the VNDMA, said the goal of the workshop was to help participants understand the needs and issues of disaster prevention in Southeast Asia’s urban areas to propose plans in Viet Nam.

“Disasters in the urban areas of Viet Nam is increasingly experiencing heavy damages and we should build our resilience against those,” she said.

Viet Nam is regularly hit by typhoons, floods, landslides, and storms. Due to climate change, urban areas are at high risk of extreme rainfall, sea level rise, and floods.

Participants discussing the program overview, thematic discussions and highlight future issues for collaboration

Hans Guttman, Executive Director of ADPC, said that the workshop is a unique initiative that seeks to offer practical solutions to urban issues emanating from climate change.

“To reach to the most vulnerable communities, we are engaging with a host of key government agencies, city authorities and other stakeholders in Viet Nam and Myanmar. Public-sector institutions in both countries have shown a lot of interest and extended support during the past few months in terms of identifying priority actions,” said Hans Guttman.

The event provided a good opportunity for sharing the program overview, thematic discussions, and highlight future issues for collaboration with cities, communities and sectors. The Viet Nam national workshop was in collaboration with the Viet Nam National Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA) and other partners. Over 60 representatives from relevant government ministries, city representatives, UN organizations, academic institutions, private sector, media and others participated. TheI VNDMA, Urban Development Agency (UDA) of Viet Nam has made presentations and generated discussion.

Participants discussing how the program will contribute to Viet Nam's national government in achieving selected global targets of the SFDRR

The 5-year regional program on “Urban Resilience to Climate Extremes in Southeast Asia” is being implemented with the financial support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) focusing on Viet Nam and Myanmar.

In Viet Nam, the program will enhance urban resilience of coastal provinces, including Nam Dinh city (northern Nam Dinh province) and My Tho city (the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang) - where ADPC chose to implement this programme.

The program will help the Viet Nam’s national government in achieving selected global targets of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) among others. Nam Dinh city and Mỹ Tho city, Vietnam, are participating in this new urban climate resilience program while the third city is Yangon, Myanmar.