GIZ Soc Trang office, 14.11.2013
Showing posts with label Workshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Workshop. Show all posts
Monday, 18 November 2013
Friday, 25 October 2013
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Coastal Strategy Development launching workshop
On August 6, the GIZ Soc Trang project together with our partners, the Provincial People’s Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development organised the Launching Workshop “Development of an ICM Coastal Strategy for Soc Trang province” in Soc Trang City. This workshop was build upon the results of the previous trainings and workshops on Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) with the aim to develop a coastal strategy for ICM in Soc Trang Province. The ICM Strategy will be done by a team of experts from various departments in Soc Trang, under the guidance of PEMSEA-facilitator and ICM expert Dr Nguyen Minh Son.
There were 34 participants in the morning launching session, from various departments of Soc Trang and representatives from 3 coastal districts. Mr. Le Thanh Tri, Vice-chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee delivered the welcome speech, followed by the speech of Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi, PMU director, calling for good cooperation among the departments and their active participation in the development of the coastal strategy for Soc Trang province.
Mr. Pham Van Tung (DONRE), member of the former interdisciplinary ICM planning team presented “Soc Trang coastal resources and environment, and the need for Soc Trang ICM strategy”.
Dr. Nguyen Minh Son gave presentations on introduction of ICM Strategy and Implementation Plan Development (1), ICM Strategy examples of PEMSEA, Vietnam and Hue (2), and some suggestions for the ICM Strategy of Soc Trang province (3).
The afternoon session was hold as meeting of only the ICM strategy development team. It was agreed that Ms. Thao will co-ordinate the team and Mr. Lai and Mr. Tung (DONRE) will be the main writers of the strategy, who will compile thematic (sectoral) topics written by other expert and integrate them into the final strategy.
The outline of the ICM Strategy can be as following:
I. General introduction of the coastal zone in Soc Trang
- Natural characteristics
- Social characteristics
- Resources
- Development values
II. Rationale for strategy development
- Legal rationale
- The need to solve resource and environmental problems in the coastal zone of Soc Trang (pollution, environmental degradation, biodiversity degradation, natural disaster and environmental risks)
- The need to improve coastal resource and environmental management in Soc Trang (on policy, law, organisation and capacity)
- Opportunities for ICM in Soc Trang
- National and international contexts of ICM
- ICM in Soc Trang
III. Objectives, scopes and content of the strategy
- Objectives (general goal, specific objectives)
- Vision
- Scope (spatial, temporal)
- Tasks and solutions
- Priority activities in the period of 2014 - 2020
IV. Organisation for the strategy implementation
- Mechanism of the organisation for the strategy implementation
- Roles of stakeholders in the strategy implementation
- Evaluation of the strategy implementation (criteria for evaluation, methods of evaluation)
Welcome speech by Mr Le Thanh Tri, Vice-Chairman of the PPC
Speech by Mr Nguyen Van Khoi, Vice-director DARD, PMU director
Presentation “Soc Trang coastal resources and environment, and the need for Soc Trang ICM strategy” by Mr. Pham Van Tung, DONRE
Presentation “Development of ICM strategy” by Dr. Nguyen Minh Son, IET (Institute of Environmental Technology)
1. ICM Strategy and Implementation Plan Development
2. Some International, National and Provincial Examples of the ICM Strategy
3. Suggestions for the ICM Strategy of Soc Trang province
Meeting of strategy development team in the afternoon
Monday, 5 August 2013
Workshop on Climate Change Resilient Livelihood Study by CARE International
Reported by Nguyen Anh Dung (AD)
Can Tho, 5th of August 2013
CARE International in Vietnam (funded by AusAID), is currently implementing the Integrated Community-Based Adaptation in the Mekong (ICAM) project. The project will be implemented for 2.5 years in 5 communes in An Giang and Soc Trang provinces with the main objective to improve the resilience to climate change impacts of the most vulnerable communities , specifically landless and land-poor, ethnic minorities and women. A large component of the project focuses on support to climate resilient agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods. The project supported a study to search for appropriate livelihood interventions. The workshop was to present initial findings of the study and to provide chances for feedbacks from local authorities and colleagues from other organisations such as Can Tho University, Red-cross, WWF, IUCN, GIZ, Oxfam, etc. Following are key points of their study:
Appropriate livelihood options under context of climate change adaptation consist of two criteria:
- Sustainable Livelihood Criteria
- Climate change Resilience Criteria
To fulfil each criterion, one livelihood option should be valued against different categories and aspects as in the following table:
| Criteria | Categories | Aspects |
| Sustainable Livelihood | Economy | Market demand |
| Market access | ||
| Financial investment level | ||
| Diversification (risk reduction) | ||
| Skills and technology | ||
| Institutional context | Law/regulation | |
| Fiscal barriers | ||
| Cultural and social context | Community consensus | |
| Poor & poorest suitability | ||
| Cross-cutting issues: gender and disability | ||
| Climate resilience | Impact on biodiversity/ ecosystem | Negative/positive impacts on resources? |
| Climate change | Appropriate for existing/future climate | |
| Adaptability | ||
| CO2 emission |
The findings suggested several options after considering all above aspects. During the workshop, six livelihood options (mushroom growing, eel farming, floating garden, seaweed growing, sedge grass weaving, vertical garden) were used to demonstrate to participants by asking them going through two criteria and answering questions for all aspects.
From the discussion, it seems that seaweed cannot be grown in Soc Trang because of sea water quality, eel farming and mushroom growing can be promising if market demand is taken care and environmental issues are looked at. Floating and vertical gardens can provide small-scale livelihood but might not provide enough income for poor and landless people. The final report which will incorporate comments and ideas from stakeholders will be sent out to all participants soon.
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Roundtable workshop on enabling climate change adaptation and mitigation at the local level
Climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and measures have to be implemented on the local level instead of only top-down, authoritarian approaches. Usually, successful implementation and enforcement measures promoting urban sustainability at the local level includes a focus on people-centred approaches and the creation of wide-ranging stakeholder coalitions. Obviously, this requires a lot of communication. In many cases this is based on trustful interaction between the state, (civil) society and in some case the corporate sector as well. In some cases even, the government even retreats to the role of an enabler only.
How can local action to climate change adaptation and mitigation be enabled and supported in the Vietnamese context? ‘Just Bottom-Up is not Enough!’ Part 2 - the roundtable workshop on July 16 at the University of Architect aimed at continuing the multi-stakeholder dialogue initiated in December 2012 during the final Megacity conference. By bringing together 12 representatives of academia, local government and civil society, the roundtable facilitated discussion about potential opportunities for the integration of top-down and bottom-up approaches.
Main results of the first workshop in December 2012 was summarised, namely potentials of people-centred approaches and obstacles for their implementation in the context of Vietnam. Theoretical input was given introducing the concept of governance and community-based adaptation. This was followed by input from participants, who reported about best-practice examples from their own working experience. Finally, a roundtable discussion was moderated to discuss ideas on strategies and measures required to effectively enable people-centred approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Some notes from the roundtable workshop
Governance
Governance is not the same like government and governance without government is possible. Governance is more than good governance.
Good governance (accountability, transparency, efficiency, participatory, egalitarian, better decision-making, rule of law, responsibility, civil society) vs. bad governance (in-transparency, nepotism, corruption, waste of resources, failed states, ‘cause of all evil’).
As an empirical phenomenon, governance promotes networks, soft steering, more cooperative, more stakeholders (state just one of many) and less hierarchical approaches. Implication for planning: general shift from technocratic towards more participatory planning approaches in Western countries. In the new planning culture, planning serves as mediation of interests between state and society (planning as communication).
Strengths of Bottom-Up approaches
- Bottom-up approaches are very practice-oriented and aim at achieving results in short periods of time. They are based on local realities, local socio-economic and environmental information that may also supplement data gained from research.
- Bottom-up approaches are very practice-oriented and aim at achieving results in short periods of time. They are based on local realities, local socio-economic and environmental information that may also supplement data gained from research.
- Bottom-up approaches involve the local population as main stakeholders and do not only create practical results but also initiate a change of people’s awareness.
- Local level projects are based on local and community conditions and preferences and may therefore create tailor-made solutions.
- Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) in particular is an effective approach to raise awareness among communities and the local government and to mobilize collective action. CBA supports local adaptation strategies based on local resources and capacities and creates local ownership and supports the dissemination of local knowledge.
Weaknesses, Challenges & External Barriers of Bottom-Up approaches
- The impacts of bottom-up people-centred approaches are very small in comparison to top-down managed projects. Therefore, they are rarely recognised by authorities, hence, there is lack of official mechanisms, instruments and motivation to support these approaches
- As bottom-up approaches are rarely officially recognised or supported, there is lack of funding opportunities for local, small-scale, community-based projects. The instrument of Community Development Funds (CDF) has been introduced and tested in Vietnam, but not all communities have access to this funding instrument.
- Bottom-up approaches are dependent on the motivation and willingness of individuals, at the same time it may be hampered by personal interests as well as by corruption.
Recommendations on how to create an enabling environment for bottom-up approaches
- The role of civil society as a whole and of civil society organisations in particular has to be enhanced in order to more active engage in advocacy. An independent civil society as such shall create a political space between the state and the people that enables negotiation and real change from below.
- Tools and mechanisms have to be developed that promote (and implement) people-centred approaches in a transparent and structured approach.
- Bottom-up approaches need to be enabled through the top-down system and supportive policies. For example, retired government officials may engage in advocacy as they are familiar with the decision-making procedures and hierarchies.
- In order to replicate and out-scale successful micro-level projects, innovative ways of disseminating successful approaches and learning need to be developed and tested. Here, peer learning and the dissemination through mass and social media play an important role.
‘Theory Brief: Introduction about Governance’ by Dr. Michael Waibel (University of Hamburg)
’Summary of Results of the Workshop ‘Just Bottom-Up is not Enough’ Part 1’ by Ulrike Schinkel (BTU Cottbus)
'Pilot mangrove co-management in Soc Trang' by Pham Thuy Duong, GIZ Soc Trang (We were asked to use the workshop ppt template slides with guiding headlines for a structured approach)
’Community-Based Adaptation in Quy Nhon and Can Tho’ by Mr. Lê Quang Duật (Challenge to Change)
’Community-Based Adaptation in HCMC’ by Ulrike Schinkel (BTU Cottbus)
’Community-Based City Development Strategy’ by Ms. Lê Diệu Ánh (Cities Alliance & ACCA Programme)
’United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Vietnam’ by Ms. Đỗ Minh Huyền (UN-Habitat Vietnam)
’Approach of European Chamber of Commerce’ by Jan Rask Christensen (EuroCham, HCMC)
’Challenges for Urban Development in Vietnam’ by Walter Koditek (GIZ CIM, Vietnam Urban Development Agency)
***
Group photo
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
ADRA Symposium in Can Tho
SEA: REACTi Technical Innovation Workshop
4th June, 2013 – Can Tho, Viet Nam
South East Asia: Regional Environmental Adaptation to Climate Change Training and Implementation Project
4th June, 2013 – Can Tho, Viet Nam
South East Asia: Regional Environmental Adaptation to Climate Change Training and Implementation Project
“Fostering proactive, not reactive resilience to climate change in Vietnam and Laos” was the slogan of the technical symposium held on 4-6 June in Can Tho. This regional technical symposium was one main component of the SEA: REACTi[*] Project funded by ADRA[**], with the aim to facilitate regional dialogue and future collaboration in community based climate change adaptation. The symposium consisted of 3 days, in which the first day served as an informative forum and the rest 2 days were reserved for participatory planning session, where community members from the selected project sites worked together to develop their own pilot interventions to address climate change vulnerabilities in their location.
We attended only the first day (June 4) of the technical symposium. On this first day, 14 topics were presented and discussed among over 80 participants from government, NGOs, research institutes and donor agencies such as ADB, World Bank, GIZ, Mekong ARCC, Mekong River Commission, Can Tho University, Winrock International, UN Women etc.
We attended only the first day (June 4) of the technical symposium. On this first day, 14 topics were presented and discussed among over 80 participants from government, NGOs, research institutes and donor agencies such as ADB, World Bank, GIZ, Mekong ARCC, Mekong River Commission, Can Tho University, Winrock International, UN Women etc.
The time for action is NOW
“We need to stop scaring people with negative information and instead, empower communities with useful information which can be applied to build resiliency.”
~ Ian Wood, Winrock International [5]
“We need to stop scaring people with negative information and instead, empower communities with useful information which can be applied to build resiliency.”
~ Ian Wood, Winrock International [5]
Following are notes of some interesting messages and lessons learned from the presentations (the messages here do not include some technical topics, for more information and for your reference, all presentations are put on slideshare below)
- One principle for climate change adaptation is that it should be NO REGRETS, which means it should be still applicable whether there is climate change or not [1].
- A clear finding of the Mekong ARCC Study is that the Mekong Delta will see more extremes -wetter wet seasons, drier dry seasons, and higher temperatures [3].
- All crops and natural species thrive in a comfort zone where temperature, rainfall, and soil conditions create a favorable growing environment. When these conditions changes, the crops struggle or fail. Living outside traditional comfort zones will not mean immediate collapse of a crop or a natural system, but it does mean a decrease in its vibrancy and productivity. With increasing temperatures, rainfall and dry periods, identifying threshold markers that indicate when a comfort zone has been breached will aid decision makers in being proactive to minimize disasters [3].
- Diversity of ecological and agricultural systems should be promoted. Traditional farming approaches and natural systems serve as a buffer to a changing climate. Integrated farming systems – for example, farmers raising ducks and fish in rice paddies – rather than monocultures increase the resilience of both farmers and ecosystems [3].
- Non-climate drivers such as population growth, regional demographic changes, hydropower development, irrigation, forest exploitation and changes in land use can reduce climate resilience, exarcebate the impacts of climate change and should be taken into consideration by development planners [3].
- Incorprate scenario planning – the use and development of plausible stories of how the future might unfold is a powerful tool for decision makers [3].
- Climate change is more than an environmental issue. Adaptation is a development issue, not only an environmental issue. Therefore, adaptation needs to be developed within sectors and even cross-cutting themes. [4].
- Climate change encompasses a broad spectrum of issues and sectors such as disaster risk reduction, water, natural resources, agriculture, transport, construction etc. The difficulty is prioritization of investment limited resources. Project selection is a complex process which needs to combine top-down priorities with bottom-up needs, ensuring consistency with a long-term vision and considering of package projects to create an integrated solution [5].
- Smart planning decisions today will avoid bigger problems later. For climate change mitigation, long-term land use planning and regulations should aim toward minimize loss of forest, both coastal and inland. Land use planning should allow green space in developing urban areas to reduce temperature effects and allow future use of land for renewable energy such as wind or solar power [5].
- Principles for mainstreaming climate change in land allocation, infrastructure and development: (i) Avoid hazard – Allocate land for development in low-risk areas; (ii) New development should not create new problems for other areas; (iii) Development should not add to the burden of emergency services. Minimum floor levels, ways of egress, contingency plans for emergency are needed [5].
- Multi-function shelter with provision for emergency equipment such as an electrical generator, back-up water supply tanks, communications receiver/transmitter can become the focal point for local response during emergencies. For example, a commune health clinic can acts as a shelter during emergencies, with priority for elderly or less mobile people [5].
- Climate change can seem scary, which can lead to inaction. People need to be alerted, but not alarmed. We need to stop scaring people with negative information and instead, empower communities with useful information which can be applied to build resiliency [5].
- Lessons learnt for planning, implementation & upscaling of demonstration projects of the Mekong Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative (CCAI): (i) Despite increasing adaptation project efforts, understanding and awareness of climate change and impacts remain low. Lack of awareness needs to be considered a potential source of maladaptation. Uncertainties and doubts on furture climate projection is another potential source of maladaptation; (ii) Successful projects should be based on key vulnerability analysis which leads to finding and enabling adaptive capacity; (iii) Engagement of stakeholders should be based on formal institutional arrangement. Stakeholder engagement platforms are consultation meetings/workshops and cooperation in assessment, analysis and field work activities. Community organisations and representatives should be consulted and invited to be field researchers [6].
- Agriculture in Vinh Chau is difficult due to saline intrusion and lack of freshwater for crops. Groundwater has been exploited exhaustedly. Therefore it is recommended to select plant type of upland crops with low water requirement and short growth time, such as mung beans instead of radishes. In addition, supplementary use of organic fertilizer, reduced use of chemical fertilizer can help crops to stand unusual heat and increase capacity to resist pets and diseases [9].
- Village women are vulnerable but need to be viewed in a wider context than just victims. UN Women’s project will increase training for local village women in flood preparation, first aid, swimming lessons, disaster risk reduction and management. UN Women has supported local women to be involved in decision making structures such as committees for storms and flood control [12].
- Save the Children takes a child-centred approach to building community resilience to the impacts of climate change. They work with and through children as agents of changes in their communities [13].
- People with disabilities (PWDs) are less able to access emergency support and difficult in reaching safe areas and accessing vital emergency information. Climate change adaptation plans should include the needs of people with disabilities through mapping them and assigning members of relief teams to specially take care of them and other vulnerable groups. People with disabilities should be assisted to build relationship with neighbours and communities so that they are not isolated. Accessibility standards for PWDs should be ensured in construction of infrastructure [14].
[*] SEA: REACTi - South East Asia: Regional Environmental Adaptation to Climate Change Training and Implementation Project, aiming to develop regional co-operation mechanisms and frameworks, at the provincial and district level, for the implementation of best practice community-based adaptation. Beside this regional technical symposium (4-6 June 2013), other main components of SEA: REACTi are two community based climate change adaptation pilot projects in Vietnam and Laos (July 2013 – February/March 2014) and a dissemination workshop (March/April 2013).
[**] ADRA Vietnam is part of the global Adventist Development and Relief Agency network over 120 countries, the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is an NGO which has been active in Vietnam for more than 20 years, working on sustainable livelihoods, health, education, water and sanitation, climate change and disaster management.
14 Topics presented at the technical symposium on June 4, Can Tho
by Mr. Nguyen Minh The, DONRE Can Tho
by Mr. Thavone Inthavong, Laos National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute
by Ms. Christy Owen, Mekong ARRC
by Ms. Lauren Sorkin, ADB Vietnam
by Mr. Ian Wood, Winrock International
by Dr. Nguyen Huong Thuy Phan, MRC
by Dr. Terence Bolger, ADB Laos
by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuong, GIZ Bac Lieu
by Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Huan, Cuu Long Rice Research Institute
by Dr. Luca Micciche, ICAFIS Vietnam
by Dr. Nguyen Huy, ISET (Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, Vietnam)
by Dr. Suzette Mitchell, UN Women
by Ms. Le Thi Bich Hang, Save the Children Vietnam
by Mr. Pham Tien Dung, ADRA Vietnam
Reference links
ADRA Vietnam http://www.adravietnam.org
Asian Development Bank http://www.adb.org
ISET Vietnam http://www.i-s-e-t.org/about-iset/asia/iset-in-vietnam
Mekong ARCC http://www.mekongarcc.net
Mekong River Commission http://www.mrcmekong.org
Save the Children http://www.savethechildren.org
SEA:REACTi project http://reacti-project.org
Winrock International http://www.winrock.org
Some publications on climate change resilience and adaptation
Building Climate Resilience in the Agriculture Sector of Asia and the Pacific
Flood Risk Management: A Strategic Approach
Investing in Resilience: Ensuring a Disaster-Resistant Future
Guidelines for Climate Proofing Investment in Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food Security
Guidelines for Climate Proofing Investment in the Transport Sector: Road Infrastructure Projects
Green Growth, Resources and Resilience: Environmental Sustainability in Asia and the Pacific
Sector Briefing on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation
Social Dimensions of Climate Change: Adaptation, Water, Energy and Green Employment
Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Education
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Consultation workshop on the WWS Teacher's Manual
Place: Ngoc Thu hotel
Date: 30.05.2013
Date: 30.05.2013
Mr. Ba from DOET giving the welcome speech
Daisy presenting Lesson 1. Water
AD presenting Lesson 2. Waste
Winnie presenting the topic Hand washing of Lesson 3. Sanitation
Winnie showing how to do effective hand washing
Group photos
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