Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap - Workshop in Can Tho

On Tuesday, 11th October 2011, I was representative for GIZ Soc Trang to attend the workshop "Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap for Agriculture and Aquaculture Production of Coastal Areas of the Mekong River Delta", which was organized by Can Tho university and the German Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF).

I like the way this auditorium hall was designed and organized, which facilitates discussion (U-shape) and makes us feel as sitting in a theatre.

After the welcoming speech, Dr. Nguyen Hieu Trung (Environmental and Natural Resource department, DRAGON institute, Can Tho university) presented the keynote speech on issues need to be addressed in climate change adaptation roadmap. 

 

Dr. Nguyen Hieu Trung (Can Tho University)
"Issues need to be addressed in climate change adaptation roadmap"

According to him, main issues need to be addressed in climate change adaptation road map are land use, water management, socio-economic-environmental issues, impacts from upstream development, improper flood control scheme and those future issues such as sea level rise, together with reduction in upstream discharge and local rainfall.

Land use change: One thing should be noted is that while the upper region is subjected to prolonged and deep flooding in the rainy season, coinciding with the high flow period, the coastal region downstream faces freshwater scarcity and salinity intrusion in the dry season, coinciding with the low flow period. 

In the period of 1990s, there was an expansion of intensive rice cultivation (using more than 80% of total water volume). However, after 1999, because benefits from aquaculture (fish, shrimp) were higher than rice cultivation, aquaculture production had been developed since then (market-oriented production). Then, since 2009/2010, the food security issue has reconfirmed the important role of rice. Thus, rice cultivation has increased to the 3rd rice crop in flooding season.

Water management system: Main objectives of water management planning are for food security (rice), then flood control, salinity control, irrigation and drainage. Since water is closely related to people’s livelihoods, particularly water plays a key role in agriculture and rural development, changing in water regimes will definitely affect those water-based livelihoods in Mekong Delta (where most of industrial, commercial and services sectors are based on agricultural sector).

Socio-economic and environmental issues:

-        High population and poverty.
-        High rate of literate but low educational level
-        Poor health care system
-        Poor infrastructure system

Impacts from upstream development:

-        Changes in the flood regime
-        Reduction in dry season flows
-        Change of water quality

Improper flood control scheme: Flood protection such as dyke, sluice gate can increase flow velocity (by blocking the flow). Thus water level rises can cause bank erosion, and breaking dykes.

      Urbanization --> concretizing --> reducing infiltration --> increasing runoff --> increasing flood --> negatively affect urban people's life --> affecting agricultural market --> affecting rural development

Future issues, sea level rise (SLR) + upstream discharge reduction + local rainfall reduction: Reduction of upstream flow leads to reduction of sedimentation and increase of salinity intrusion, which can disable the efficiency of the existing salinity control projects, and increase input costs (irrigation, fertilizer, pesticide...). Climate change can manifest as significant local rainfall reduction in the coastal area, during high water demand period. Moreover, groundwater will face serious problems with current unsustainable exploitation rate.

Climate Change Adaptation strategy development:

-        Understand the changes: hydrological changes due to climate change, sea level rise, and upstream development activities database and modelling).

-        Assess climate change vulnerability and impacts (including socio-economic and environmental impacts).

-        Adaptation options for the Mekong Delta (especially for food security, for sustaining Mekong Delta people’s livelihood and environment).

-        Mitigation measures (focus on reduction of GHG emissions from agriculture).

Climate change mitigation option: Integrated farming system, the VACB (Orchard - Pond - Pig pen - Biogas) model for material recycle, renewable energy as well as GHG reduction from agriculture (biogas using agricultural wastes)

New vision: There is a need for a new vision in planning/management of Mekong Delta.  

• Creating flood retention areas along main rivers/channels and protected areas (reduced to 2 rice crops per year, no residential areas, creating eco-friendly areas, aquaculture production, integration of landscaping, ecotourism...), stream buffer (USA), room for river (Netherlands).   
  

• Green cities (increasing water retention in canopy, soil infiltration, rainwater harvesting, intensive eco-roof, permeable paving, in-street planting...)

•  Integrated farming system with close cycle water system

• Reconsidering of the 3rd rice crop (in flood season, do we need the 3rd rice crop)? We should encourage the 3rd rice crop only in some specific areas where conditions allow to have the 3rd rice crop [in Japan, they have ecological rice, only 1 crop per year but still provide enough food for local people and even for exporting]. This would help to (i) reduce bank erosion, (ii) develop aquaculture resources, (iii) sharing benefits among upstream and downstream provinces: storing water in upstream areas at the end of flooding season and then using that water at the beginning of the dry season for the crops downstream.

• Research for flexible and suitable structure and non-structure measures to reduce cost and to make upgrading process easier when necessary (suitable water management constructions to flexibly control water according to water demands).

New vision is needed in Mekong Delta planning and management

 Dr. Nguyen Hieu Trung also presented some projects of the DRAGON institute:

-     Scenarios of climate change and sea level rise in Mekong Delta, downscaling, hydrological modelling and saline intrusion modelling.

-        Climate change vulnerability and impact assessment (impacts of CC and SLR on infrastructure, agriculture and aquaculture production of Can Tho city and Tra Vinh province).

-                      Adaptation options for the Mekong Delta:

o   Non-structural measures:

- Rice varieties tolerance to submerse and salinity; shifting cropping calendar, new crops, integrated farming systems


-  Improve land use planning quality


-         Improve farming technology: water saving farming


-  Integrated urban water resource management for Can Tho city

o   Structural measures:

-       Dyke, sluice gates, pumping station, raising land, water storage, designing residential area in the flood-prone zone

Mitigation measures:

o   Water management to reduce GHG emission from rice field

o   Rural development based on CDM in Mekong Delta

Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong (SIHYMETE, HCMC) presented some assessments on Climate Change impacts to rice production in Mekong Delta.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong (SIHYMETE)

"Some assessments on Climate Change impacts to rice production in Mekong Delta"

Aims of the research: 

-       to clarify impacts of climate change on rice production in Mekong Delta according to scenarios in 2020, 2050 and 2100.

-       to create scientific and practical base for application of information on local climate change and using in agricultural production.

-       to contribute in public awareness raising on application of climate information and food security.

Methodology: DSSAT model (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) for modelling rice productivity

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Main conclusions:

-       Modelling according to climate change scenario 2020: slightly reduction in productivity, maximum 6.6%. However, there are places where productivity can increase (6.2%) such as Ca Mau peninsula, in middle part of Tien river and Hau river.

-       Modelling according to climate change scenario 2025: reduction up to 15% in productivity

-       Modelling according to climate change scenario 2100: reduction up to 30% in productivity

Dr. Le Anh Tuan (Environmental department – Can Tho university, DRAGON institute) presented the topic “The coastal ecosystems of Ben Tre province under the pressures of local likelihoods and climate change”.  The Rapid Integrated Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment (RIVAA) has been used in their research.

Dr. Le Anh Tuan (Can Tho University)

“The coastal ecosystems of Ben tre province under the pressures of local likelihoods and climate change”.

Some current adaptation measures: Casuarina forest planting to protect the coast in Thanh Phu district; sea dyke in Thanh Phu to protect residential areas and production zones inside. Outside the sea dyke is the mangrove line serving as wave breaker; concrete container for storing rainwater to use in dry season

-       Estuarine ecosystem: clean up drainage systems, building sea dykes; storm warning system, planning
 
-       Mangrove ecosystem: build earth dyke; plantation, training and research on forest ecosystem

-       Intertidal zone: shading for nursery areas, building wave breaker, establishing clam cooperative

-       Sand dunes: drill well for water taking; plastic cover, planting trees for protection

Conclusions: Among the 4 ecosystems, the most vulnerable area is the estuarine areas, then mangrove ecosystem with medium to high vulnerability, intertidal zones with medium vulnerability and sand dunes with low vulnerability.

Livelihoods depend on ecosystems: Food chain and its corresponding ecosystems.

Climate change impacts: increase in temperature, unregularly rain, reduction in sedimentation, sea level rise which causing increase/decrease of biological productivity, increasing erosion, decreasing areas, increasing salinization

Mr. Le Van Du (Environmental department – Can Tho university, DRAGON institute) presented the topic “Suggesting some climate change adaptation projects for farmers in Nga Nam district, Soc Trang province”.

Mr. Le Van Du (Can Tho University)
“Suggesting some climate change adaptation projects for farmers in Nga Nam district, Soc Trang province”.

This is a collaborative project among AFAP, Nga Nam People Committee of Nga Nam district and DRAGON institute.

Short-term and small projects suggested for Nga Nam district:

1. Loans for household livestock raising and aquaculture production

2. Planting vegetables at household level to adapt to submerge conditions, improving food variety and income. Planting vegetables on frame, floating materials.

3. Biogas for household, to provide energy and fertilizers.

4. Composting for household

5. Craft training from local materials (water hyacinth...), to use flooding time or breaks among cultivation seasons.

6. Provide clean water storage: help the poor to store water (container of 2-3 cubic meters), distillation for fresh water, rainwater harvesting. Introduction of water distillation model using solar energy to get drinking water from salt water.

7. Build rural inter-village road (concrete road, 2m width, 40 cm height above sea level)

8. Build small water pumping station or floating pumping station for key production areas.

Interaction between Climate Change, Nature and Society: both two approaches, based on ecosystems and based on livelihoods, need to be considered

Mekong Delta is one of the top three deltas in the world which have extreme potential of vulnerability to sea level rise on community population (> 1,000,000 people)

Water distillation equipment to produce fresh water from sea water at household level, using solar energy. This model by the two students has won the green invention prize of the Holcim Award.

 *****

At lunch time, it was so nice that i was able to meet Matthias, Dunja and Maria (the two junior researchers/Ph.D candidates of United Nations university, working for the WISDOM project in Can Tho university). Dunja even knows Daniel and Isabel, the two previous volunteers of our project. Maria has just been in Vietnam for about a month.


I met Matthias the first time in last February through Dr. Harry's introduction. He has been a Ph.D candidate at UNU, doing research of WISDOM project and living in Can Tho for about more than one year. At that time, together with Prof. Frauke Kraas, they were instructing a group of students from Köln making a field trip in Vietnam. I was accompanying them on the excursion day in Phu My Hung, district 7, HCMC. It was an enjoying and inspiring experience for me as i had learnt much from them, the ways Matthias and Prof. Kraas led the discussions, the active participation of students...  This time he had been in Vietnam for only 2 weeks but it was good that we still could meet again (nice surprise for me to know that their office is just very near to the auditorium hall).

On the way back to the auditorium hall (still had about half an hour break), i saw a group of students practicing some interesting dance, perhaps for performing in an event. 

Students reading under shade of the trees in Can Tho university campus

 *****

Afternoon session started with the last presentation of Dr. Van Pham Dang Tri (DRAGON institute, Can Tho university) “Trends of land use changes and hydrological modifications – the physical vs. Anthropological impacts”.

Dr. Van Pham Dang Tri (Can Tho university)

“Trends of land use changes and hydrological modifications – the physical vs. anthropological impacts”

Some main conclusions are: dynamics of saline intrusion according to the changes of sea level and upstream discharge; water retention at the area or delta scale for cultivation during the dry season; new farming technologies should be intervened which is suitable to new conditions of the hydrological condition; an approach for an integrated land use planning is required.

 Planetary Discussion

Planetary discussion's questions

• Which adaptation studies are currently applied in agricultural and aquacultural production in Mekong Delta? Are these adaptation options suitable for future climate change context?
•  Interaction of climate change and natural disaster adaptation in upstream provinces (An Giang, Dong Thap,...) to middle and downstream provinces of Mekong Delta?
• Necessary scientific cooperation proposal between provinces and institutions, universities.
• Integration of climate change adaptation with local economic development

The planetary discussion opened floor to representatives from provinces in Mekong Delta to ask questions, giving comments and sharing their experiences in climate change adaptation such as planting forests to protect from erosion, clam rearing in mud flat areas, shrimp farming in saline areas near the sea... Representatives from Mekong Delta's provinces also brought out some research ideas for scientists and professors in universities, such as how to take the advantages of climate change, turning problems into positive solutions, how to store water when there is flood, water-saving irrigation system, research on saline-resilient plant species, housing models suitable for sea level rise, groundwater recharge...

Group photo at the end of the workshop