Enhancing Flood Resilience in Urban and Coastal Areas in Thua Thien Hue Province

On June 23, 2017, the People’s Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province issued Decision No.  1401 / QĐ-UBND and Decision No.  1402 / QD-UBND on approving two flood-proofing projects in (1) the urban area, and (2) the coastal area of Thua Thien Hue Province.  The project is part of the program “Global Water Management”.
Thua Thien Hue Province is vulnerable to natural disasters and extreme weather.  Both local government and environmental organizations are aware of the situation and have introduced many measures to mitigate the impacts.  However, many of the measures have not been successful as they have not fully addressed the strengths and weaknesses of the situation.  To achieve a lasting solution, we need to include measures that are informed by community participation and support and which can be replicated in other localities.
Our project is based on a resilience approach which integrates Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) initiatives with a bottom-up, comprehensive approach and resources to implement the initiatives.
The project is being carried out by the Centre for Social Research and Development (a local NGO in Hue) and the Universities of Potsdam (Germany) and Amsterdam (Netherlands).  The project has a budget of 175,000USD and will last from 2017 to 2018.
There are two main activities for this project.  Firstly, the project will evaluate the value of ecosystem based adaptation (EbA) using mangroves in Quang Dien District and Huong Tra Town as an example.  EbA measures will be applied in the Tam Giang Lagoon area where $26,000 will be used to replant mangroves in the coastal zone.  Mangroves will be planted in two or three places in the Lagoon in sites which have been selected by the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee.
Secondly, in Hue City the project will aim to improve the resilience of communities in flood prone areas by developing community-based solutions which can be replicated elsewhere.  The project will invest $26,000 in rehabilitating and maintaining the drainage and sewerage system as a pilot project, backed up by advocacy and dissemination activities through the media.  Measures will be taken to reduce waste discharges into ponds, lakes, ditches and drainage culverts, and to clean and clear the natural flow lines.
An important part of the project is to strengthen the capacity and role of women in different communities to build flood resilience in urban and coastal areas.  The materials will be disseminated widely to help the Women’s Union across the country to improve their roles in disaster risk management and climate change adaptation.  In addition, the project will work with year 3 and 4 students from the faculty of Geography and Geology of Hue University to develop their skills and knowledge through their participation in the project activities.