UNU-EHS / MDI Expert Meeting on Vulnerability, Climate Change Risk and Adaptation in Can Tho City and Tra Vinh Province

From 05-07 October 2007 the United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute (MDI), Can Tho University, organised and hosted an “Expert Meeting on Vulnerability, Climate Change Risk and Adaptation” in Can Tho. The objective of the meeting was to jointly discuss questions regarding the identification and assessment of vulnerabilities to water-related hazards and climate change risks as well as to discuss and evaluate different options to promote adaptation measures in Can Tho City (urban and peri-urban profile) and Tra Vinh (coastal, rural profile). For this reason, officers of the relevant planning institutes at province and district level participated. In addition, representatives from other national and international organisations as well as key experts from the scientific community were invited.

Questions that were discussed during the meeting were among others:

• What are the impacts of water-related hazards in Can Tho City and Tra Vinh, in particular of floods, salinisation, river bank erosion and water scarcity.
• In how far are those hazards likely to change in the context of climate change?
• Which areas, groups and sectors in Can Tho City and Tra Vinh are most vulnerable to those hazards?
• What are key differences between urban and rural vulnerabilities to water related hazards – based on the case studies of Can Tho City and Tra Vinh Province.
• Which coping capacities do local communities in urban and rural areas have to deal with more intensive flooding, erosion and salinization processes?
• What strategies and concepts are currently discussed at international level as well as national and local level in Vietnam?
• Which tools do different departments and agencies in Can Tho City and Tra Vinh Province use to strengthen the capacity of people and enterprises to cope with water related natural hazards?
• What are key challenges for policy makers in the future for building resilience?

The workshop provided the opportunity to exchange respective concepts and to discuss with practitioners the options and limitations of adaptation strategies in urban and rural areas.

The workhop's programme in Can Tho can be downloaded as pdf here.