Phong Tran

Towards an integrated approach of disaster and environment management: A case study of Thua Thien Hue province, central Viet Nam

Abstract Disasters and environmental degradation create serious problems all around the world. They are inherently linked, but little attention is paid to their interaction, particularly at local levels. The degree of integration of disaster management and risk analysis with environmental management programs in relation to human vulnerability has been examined in Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Viet Nam. Unsustainable agricultural practices, and inappropriate development programs have contributed substantially to the increase of disaster risks. On the other hand, disasters damage natural resources and reduce environmental quality, indirectly contributing to increasing poverty which in turn, adds to the vulnerability of both natural and human systems, so further increasing disaster losses. Notwithstanding, in Viet Nam, there is a big gap between disaster and environment management policies and programs. In order to bridge the gap, an integrated approach in which environment-disaster linkage, rural—urban linkage, and poverty are brought into focus as core aspects of disaster management.

Catastrophic flood and forest cover change in the Huong river basin, central Viet Nam: A gap between common perceptions and facts

Recent catastrophic floods in Viet Nam have been increasingly linked to land use and forest cover change in the uplands. Despite the doubts that many scientists have expressed on such nexus, this common view prompted both positive forest protection/reforestation programs and often-unwarranted blame on upland communities for their forest management practices. This study discusses the disparity between public perceptions and scientific evidences relating the causes of catastrophic floods. The former was drawn on the results of a questionnaire and focus groups discussions with key informants of different mountainous communities, whereas the latter was based on GIS and remote sensing analysis of land cover change, including a statistical analysis of hydro-meteorological data of the Huong river basin in Viet Nam. Results indicate that there is a gap between the common beliefs and the actual relationship between the forest cover change and catastrophic floods. Undeniably, the studied areas showed significant changes in land cover over the period 1989-2008, yet, 71% of the variance of catastrophic flood level in the downstream areas appeared related to variance in rainfall. Evidences from this study showed that the overall increasing trends of catastrophic flooding in the Huong river basin was mainly due to climate variability and to the development of main roads and dyke infrastructures in the lowlands. Forest management policies and programs, shaped on the common assumption that forest degradation in the upland is the main cause of catastrophic flood in the downstream areas, should be reassessed to avoid unnecessary strain on upland people.

Environment disaster linkages: An overview

Environment and disasters have a close relationship. Environmental change causes disasters or enhances the frequency or intensity of disasters. Climate change is often regarded as an environmental phenomenon; however, when we see changes in the typhoon path, or repeated occurrences of heavy rainfall or strong typhoons, it is often attributed to climatic changes. In that case, environmental change (climate change) is the cause and disaster (typhoon or flood) is considered as the impact. On the other hand, when a disaster like typhoon, earthquake, or tsunami occurs, it produces a huge amount of debris. Disaster debris or disaster waste becomes an environmental problem. In many cases, the disaster also causes significant impacts on the ecology. Therefore, disaster becomes a cause, and environmental degradation becomes the impact.

Urban Disaster Risk Reduction in Vietnam: Gaps, Challenges, and Approaches

Urbanization is bringing many new pressures to communities. For example, disasters pose major risks to dikes and other embankments along rivers; energy demand is driving the development of dams and hydroelectricity systems; greenhouse gas emissions are rising; there are more frequent and intense extreme weather events and continuing sea-level rise (SLR); and disasters are having a greater impact on safety and infrastructure. With these and other issues, many communities in urban and peri-urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters. Efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Vietnam have primarily focused on rural areas and often employ effective community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) methods. Current disaster management policies and efforts focus largely on emergency response and disaster recovery, and less so on risk reduction, prevention, and adaptation. This chapter analyzes those gaps and challenges, and provides an urban resilience approach for urban DRR with some case studies from the cities of Da Nang and Can Tho in Vietnam.

URBAN CLIMATE RESILIENCE AS A PLANNING TOOL IN VIETNAM

Urban areas are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts. Extreme weather events have long been causes of disasters independent of climate change, leading to destruction of infrastructure, loss of lives, and loss of assets. However, the changes and increases in impacts brought about by climate change will further stress physical built infrastructure such as transportation, communication, and water delivery systems, increase pressure on energy resources, and affect economic sectors such as fisheries and tourism. Impacts may be exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure and housing, limited access to services, limited urban planning and land-use management, and limited preparedness of city dwellers and emergency services. Urban poor are especially at risk due to their settlements in areas vulnerable to floods and landslides, limited access to services such as water, energy supply, and health, and few assets or safety nets that enable them to manage loss. Rapid urbanization and population increase places additional stress on urban infrastructure and ecological systems and on the ability of cities to manage climate-change impacts.

Chapter 5 Forest: Catastrophic Flood and Forest Management in Vietnam

Floods in Vietnam have been a well-known phenomenon and occur in all regions of the country, especially in the Central Coast region, Mekong Delta, and Red River Delta (Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 2007). People had to learn to live with floods, particularly those whose livelihood depends on the productive functions of annual flooding. Floods are embedded in Vietnamese culture, as ancestors of the Vietnamese nation regarded flooding as one of the four biggest dangers to people, along with fires, robbers, and invaders (Tran, Marincioni, Shaw, Sarti, & An, 2008).

Chapter 17 Way Forward: Environment Disaster Linkages: a Way Forward

Fig. 1 illustrates the current level of the integration of three sectors, and Table 1 shows the strategic entry points for the integration.

Chapter 13 Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction in Vietnam

Community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) has been recognized since the mid-1990s. However, in the changing environment of the new millennium and the move toward disaster risk reduction (DRR), the community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) has been evolving in recent years. In Vietnam, many projects and programs in CBDRR have been carried out since the year 2000, and these programs tried to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable villages and communes. These projects aim to strengthen the capacity of the communities to become more aware and responsive to their short-and long-term needs through participatory risk assessment and identification, prioritization, and implementation of risk reduction measures.

Chapter 15 Education: Climate Change Issues in Education Sectors: An environmental entry point of risk reduction

According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007), 11 out of the last 12 years have been the hottest on record since 1850. It is also estimated that the average global surface temperature from 1850–1899 to 2001–2005 has increased by 0.76°C. Global sea level increased at an average rate of 1.8mm per year over the period 1961–2003 and, over the 20th century, sea levels rose by 0.17m. Since the middle of 20th century, human activities have contributed to global warming, a phenomenon that is expected to continue at an increasingly faster rate in the 21st century if there is no effort to address it.