Outcomes from Australian-funded Community Based Climate Change Action Grant Program

Seven international non-governmental organisations today presented the achievements and lessons learned through climate change and disaster risk reduction projects in Vietnam, funded by the Australian Government.  These projects were implemented under the Community Based Climate Change Action Grant program 2012-2015 by CARE International in Vietnam; SNV; Oxfam; The Australian Red Cross; the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF); Plan International; and Save the Children.  The projects had a direct impact on over 200,000 people in 13 provinces across Vietnam. The closing workshop held in Hanoi was attended by 85 people, including district, provincial and national government representatives.

Vietnam’s diverse topography, long coastlines, large river deltas and reliance on agricultural activities renders it extremely vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change and natural hazards, such as typhoons, flooding and drought. From 1994-2013, Vietnam ranked 7^th globally according to the Long-Term Climate Risk Index, with an annual average of 392 deaths and more than 1 percent in GDP losses due to climate related disasters.[1] Cohesive and participatory efforts at the community, district, province and national levels are needed to enable communities to prepare for, adapt to, and mitigate the causes of climate change.

The Australian Government provided AU$15 million over three years for the Community Based Climate Change Action Grant Program. The projects within the program focused on engaging communities in planning for, adapting to and mitigating the causes of climate change, including:

• developing climate-smart and climate resilient livelihood options,
• increasing preparedness for natural hazards and extreme weather events,
• and ensuring that groups which are particularly affected by climate change, such as people with disabilities, children and women, are enabled to have equal input into and support from the process. 

HE Mr Hugh Borrowman, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, and Mr Tran Quang Hoai, Deputy Director General of Department of Water Resourcesat the Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development gave opening remarks at the workshop.

“Australia is strongly committed to addressing the impacts of climate change,” said the Ambassador. “Lessons from the Community Based Climate Change Action Grants program around better linking farmers with the private sector, and promoting women’s participation in decision-making, will be particularly relevant to our new programming.”

The program supported the seven NGOs to work together through a partnership approach to develop a comprehensive and cohesive strategy to address the risks posed by climate change and natural hazards at the community level, and to bring the lessons learned and recommendations to policy-makers in order to influence long-term planning for climate change.

Tran Quang Hoai, Deputy Director General of Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said at the workshop: “Climate change has negatively impacted the progress of poverty reduction and sustainable development, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Vietnam.”

“Our country has actively participated in the United Nations Framework on climate change and implemented a number of programs and projects to increase the capacity of natural disaster prevention and control, and climate change responses. These efforts, alongside increasing community capacity, the provision of essential skills to communities, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and sustainably improving livelihoods for local people, contribute to mitigating losses and damages before natural disasters, and more effective responses to climate change in the long term. We highly appreciate the cooperation and support of the Australian Government in climate change adaptation and natural disaster mitigation and hope that the two countries can continue our deeper cooperation in this field,” added Mr Hoai.

For further information, please contact: Ms Le Thi Huong Lien, Communications Specialist at CARE International in Vietnam on Tel: (+84) 4 3716 1930 ext.301, Mobile: (+84) 913 237 328, or [email protected].