Hanoi, Vietnam – May 25, 2017: Project to demonstrate effective bioengineering application in northern Vietnam draws to a close
After over four years, the ADB Capacity Development Technical Assistance project Promoting Climate Resilient Rural Infrastructure in Northern Vietnam has drawn to a close. The recent final workshop was used as an opportunity to review the project outputs and explore a way forward, including the identification of entry points and next steps for using the project outputs to mainstream bioengineering in Vietnam.
The objective of the project is to increase resilience of infrastructure in the northern provinces of Vietnam. It has demonstrated how non-conventional engineering solutions can strengthen rural infrastructure, resist the hazards associated with climate changes and provide opportunities to enhance community livelihoods. The project focuses on bioengineering as a low-cost alternative to conventional slope stabilization and protection techniques.
The project has centred on testing various measures and tools for assessment, design, construction and monitoring of cost-effective climate resilient bioengineering-focused works at five locations in four sites, across three provinces in northern Vietnam (Bac Kan, Son La and Thai Nguyen). Two of the demonstration sites focus on riverbank slope protection, while the remaining two focus on roadside slope protection.
The final workshop took place in Hanoi on 5 May, and brought together project team members, representatives from the target provinces and communes across the four project sites, and national government representatives.
“It is imperative that climate change adaptive action is a key component of development going forward,” said UNDP Project Advisor, Ms. Jenty Kirsch-Wood. “The cost of adaptation will be huge, and the numbers are staggering. Without effective action, sustainable development will be more difficult. This project is about methods of mainstreaming effective adaptation into government cycles, focusing on low-cost, low-regret […]
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – 9 – 12 March, 2015: ICEM Participates in 2015 FOSS4GNA Geospatial Conference in San Francisco
ICEM presented at this year’s FOSS4GNA in San Francisco. FOSS4GNA is one of the largest global gatherings focused on open source geospatial software. It brings together developers, users, decision-makers and observers from a broad spectrum of organizations and fields of operation to foster the development of and support for open source geospatial software in a variety of fields.
The presentation focused on ICEM’s map Impact of Water Supply Infrastructure on Floods and Droughts in the Mekong Region, which was built as part of the Optimising Cascades project. This interactive map highlights results of a study of 67 Mekong dams for indicators such as flood control capacity and natural flood threat of the dam’s catchment. Users are given the option to change which indicator they are viewing at any given time, thus changing the overall picture of floods and dams in the basin. Each map element contains deeper data and information.
The presentation highlighted in particular the Lower Se San Dam, which coincided well with the keynote delivered by Planet Labs, whose high-resolution satellite imagery recently captured the dam’s rapid construction.
FOSS4GNA also afforded the opportunity to develop connections with Development Seed. Development Seed’s work focuses mainly on humanitarian aid, however, its OpenDataKit collection of software, originally designed to gather spatial and on-the-ground information in refugee camps in Lebanon, will likely prove very effective in ICEM’s upcoming projects on the Salween and Irrawaddy rivers in […]
MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES – 9-10 February 2015: ICEM Participates in the Workshop on Climate Risk Management in Planning and Investment Projects
APAN and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) co-organised the “Climate Risk Management in Planning and Investment Projects” workshop in February 2015 in Manila, the Philippines.
Aimed at building capacity amongst government officials on climate risk assessment and management, the workshop provided participants with a comprehensive two-day training on climate risk management approaches, climate data utilisation for impact and vulnerability assessment, economic and technical analysis in adaptation assessment and planning, and financial architecture on climate change adaptation initiatives in partnership with the private sector.
ICEM’s Tarek Ketelsen, Director – Technical Programs, presented on the Climate Risk & Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA): Central Mekong Delta Connectivity Project. The aims of the CRVA were to integrate climate change risk management into the detailed design of roads and bridges associated with the Central Mekong Delta Connectivity Project, and to pilot-test a rapid climate change vulnerability and adaptation methodology for transport infrastructure projects.
HANOI, VIETNAM – 15 July 2013: ICEM researchers have been visiting villages and meeting community members in Dak Lak province Vietnam, to more clearly understand the impacts of hydropower dams on their lives and livelihoods.
Villagers in these areas close to the Cambodia border are reporting diverse impacts from the decade-old hydropower dam projects on their experiences of flooding and drought. The most interesting aspect for ICEM researchers was how localized the impacts were felt. The villagers’ agricultural usage and the location of the individual villages and farms in relation to the cascading dams all impact significantly on whether they were experiencing adverse affects in terms of water supply management.
Farmers and villagers from Buon Don, Buon Tri, Drek B and Ea Mar village along the Srepok river were interviewed as part of a survey for the Mekong Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). This component of the program considers the impact of water supply infrastructure (WSI) on floods and droughts in the Mekong Region and the implications for food production.
The findings of the survey are especially important considering the projected impacts of climate change in the region, which is expected to increase the incidence of floods and droughts. Understanding the localized impacts related to the hydropower infrastructure means that the existing water management systems could be productively used manage water resources – both now and in the future.
The Srepok River is a major tributary of the Mekong River. Flowing from the Central Highlands of Vietnam into northeastern Cambodia, the river supports riparian communities who are largely dependent on fishing, lowland rice cultivation, and the collection of non-timber forest products for their livelihoods. Beginning in 2003, Vietnam’s state-owned Electricity of Vietnam began constructing the 280 MW […]
HANOI, VIETNAM – 2 June 2012: ICEM has received the International Association for Impact Assessment’s (IAIA) Corporate Initiative Award for its Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) work.
IAIA selected ICEM for this honour specifically for ICEM’s work on the SEA of twelve planned hydropower dams along the mainstream of the Mekong River and the SEA’s impact on the decision?making process. The IAIA award for corporate initiative is a global award presented to a private or public sector company for a specific activity or project that has made a notable contribution to responsible development practice through the application of impact assessment.
The award was presented to ICEM at IAIA’s annual conference event in Portugal. This event was the 32nd Annual Conference of the IAIA – entitled Energy Future; The Role of Impact Assessment (IAIA 12). The conference was held from 27 May-1 June 2012 at the Centro de Congresso da Alfândega, Porto, Portugal, from 27 May – 1 June 2012.
IAIA is the leading global network on best practice in the use of impact assessment for informed decision making regarding policies, programs, plans and projects.
> View more about the IAIA and the Energy Futures conference event
> Visit IAIA’s website
> View ICEM receiving the IAIA Award: