About: In the past ten years, Phu Quoc Island has emerged as a major holiday destination in Vietnam for both national and international tourists. More than 5 million tourists visited the island in 2019, an increase of 27% compared to the previous year. Along with high rate of growth in economic activity and GDP, there has been mounting pressure on water resources and broader environmental assets.

This project aims to strengthen water security, develop a critical knowledge bank on water resources, services and institutional capacity, and formulate a holistic and integrated approach for sustainable water resources management on the island.

The assessment feeds into the World Bank’s broader technical assistance to the island’s authorities for improved and informed water management practices as part of the Phu Quoc Sustainable Water Management Project (2021 – 2027) which provides support for the integrated planning and development of critical water infrastructure and environmental management.

There are three main outputs of this project:

• Better understanding of the water environment and water sector in Phu Quoc, archived through mapping and assessing water resources to develop a renewable water balance on the island; conducting a supply and demand assessment of the water sector and analysis of water services (water supply, drainage and wastewater); and assessing the climate vulnerability of water sector.

• Promotion of sustainable water resources management by developing a long list of recommended interventions options, particularly climate risk adaptation and mitigation; NbS in flood risk management; and circular economy principles.

• Formulation of an ‘Integrated Water Resources Management Report’, which proposes a strategic direction for improved IWRM on the island and a prioritization methodology for the long list of interventions, recommends a stakeholder consultation and advocacy and awareness raising strategy and priority actions including key next steps,  implementation schedule, M&E indicators, institutional arrangements, and O&M financing options.