Sweden Helps North Vietnam Tackle Climate Change

A Sweden-funded project on raising capacity to deal with climate change in Vietnam’s Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve was launched in the northern province of Nam Dinh Aug 5. The project, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, will be implemented by Stockholm University, the Center for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD) and Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve Management Committee, from now until end-Sept 2013. The project is aimed to improve knowledge on coping with the impacts of climate change, manage marine natural resources, develop eco-friendly means of subsistence as well as build networks and policies on resources management and climate change. The project which is being carried out in the northern provinces of Thai Binh, Ninh Binh and Nam Dinh, will also focus on building an eco-system risk evaluation framework, opening training courses on evaluating risks, launching six campaigns to raise awareness for 3,000 to 4,000 people in the biosphere reserve, offering technical consultancy and conferences on resource management amid climate change, with the support from Swedish experts Under the project, Stockholm University will also help Vietnamese side conduct intensive post-graduate research in the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve and host three courses for Vietnamese postgra
duates to study in Sweden.
Once completed, the project will benefit 400 women of poor households, 2,500 locals living on maritime ecosystems in Nam Dinh province’s Giao Xuan district, 175 members of community groups, authority officials, policy planning agencies, social organizations and research institutes working in the field of managing maritime resources and coping with climate change, Nguyen Thu Hue, Director of MCD Vietnam, said.
Listed among five hardest-hit countries by climate change, Vietnam has so far mobilized more than $1.2 billion in aid from the international community in efforts to cope with climate change, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said. (vietnamplus.vn Aug 5)