Ha Noi, 13 October 2020 – Today, the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly organized the award ceremony for the contest "Initiative on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation for coastal residents.”

Viet Nam is one of the countries most affected by disasters and climate change. Disaster risk management and climate change adaptation are the responsibility of society as a whole, and the role of coastal communities, who are suffering from many extreme weather events, is crucial.

In order to strengthen community capacity and responsibility, the VNDMA and UNDP have organized a series of communications activities through various forms of training, education, and especially purpose-driven competitions. One of these was a contest entitled "Initiative on natural disaster prevention and response and climate change adaptation for coastal residents," which was conducted under the framework of the project "Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change-related impacts in Viet Nam.”

Speaking at the award ceremony, Mr. Tran Quang Hoai, Director General of the VNDMA under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “The radio is always an effective communications channel that can reach a massive audience. The VNDMA, in collaboration with UNDP and the Voice of Viet Nam (VOV), jointly organized this contest to provide information on disaster prevention and climate change to all people in Viet Nam’s coastal areas. Through the competition, people have had the opportunity to share their experiences and bring out initiatives on disaster prevention and climate change adaptation for local communities. It has also helped to create a dialogue mechanism between the people and the government in the implementation of policies on disaster management in Viet Nam.”

“Communities play an important role in mitigating the impacts of natural disasters, and are also the most vulnerable and most affected by natural disasters and climate change. Through this contest, UNDP has sought to promote local initiatives that address disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. UNDP is delighted that this contest received nearly 600 submissions capturing initiatives from local communities in 19 coastal provinces. These valuable experiences will be further shared by the media to increase the awareness and knowledge of all local residents for safer, more resilient coastal communities,” said Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam.

Although the contest happened to coincide with the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the jury still received more than 580 entries, of which the 30 best entries were selected to broadcast on the VOV coastal channel to disseminate information on disaster prevention and climate change adaptation and to increase awareness among people in coastal communities.

The first prize was awarded to the work "Preventing saline water intrusion in Ca Mau province by dividing small irrigation plots and climate change-adaptive housing solutions" by Vo Thi Diem Suong from Ca Mau province. The second prize went to the work "People with disabilities participate in natural disaster prevention" by Hoang Duc Dung from Vinh Linh, Quang Tri province. The third prize went to  "Comprehensive solutions for the prevention of natural disasters and climate change in Viet Nam" by Tran Trung Sinh from Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. Five additional consolation prizes were awarded to the below:

-          “For a Hau Giang province no longer "buckling" because of a landslide” - Huynh Tan Buu, Hau Giang province.

-          “Coastal protection forests: The optimal solution to prevent coastal erosion and adapt to climate change” - Quang Minh, Tra Vinh province.

-          “Sea ducks: A pet that adapts to climate change” - Xuan Quang, Tien Giang province.

-          “Solutions to prevent climate change” - Tran Phuong.

-          “Diversity of forms of climate change prevention and adaptation in the Mekong Delta” - Huu Thuan.

A collective award was also awarded to Le Loi High School, Quang Tri Province.

For more information, please kindly contact:

Ms. Phan Hương Giang,
Media and Communications Analyst, Climate Change and Environment,
United Nations Development Programme
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org; ĐT: 0948466688

Ms. Vũ Thùy Dương,
Project “Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change-related impacts in Viet Nam”
Email: vduong2512@gmail.com; ĐT: 0373571452