The human cost of climate change

1. The human cost of climate change NGOs meeting the challenge in Vietnam October 29th Fiona Percy NGO CCWG Coordinator CARE International fpercy@care.org.vn

2. Poor people in Vietnam suffer most from the impact of climate change.

3. What can we do? “We have to avoid the unmanageable and manage the unavoidable.” (John Schellnhuber)‏

4. Embarking on a process of ORGANIZATIONALCHANGE to adapt NGOs own policies and procedures to the realities of climate change NGOs address this through: ADVOCATING for just policies to mitigate climate change and support poor communities’ adaptation efforts MITIGATING climate change through multiple-benefit projects that also support adaptation activities. • Helping especially poor, vulnerable communities ADAPT to climate change. Many NGOs already have the experiences, skills and relationships needed to make a difference.

5. In CC responses, NGOs: • Pilot innovative approaches • Stress participatory, community based systems • Mobilise people’s participation, build their capacity to help themselves • Integrate gender, rights, equity issues • Link disaster risk reduction, environmental protection and development projects • Focus on local ownership and sustainable results • Bring evidence from grass roots to the policy dialogue and the media • Transfer effective technologies

6. Adaptation to chronic long term changes: Community-based adaptation (CBA)‏ ….. is about helping communities adjust to new conditions, eg. higher temperatures, sea-level rise, saline intrusions, subsiding water tables, more or less rainfall, less predictable seasons. Participatory Watershed project, Ba Thuoc District: • Community based future landscape planning • Sloping land techniques (SALT)‏ • Afforestation • Diversification

7. Adaptation to increased risks of disaster: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)‏ .. is about helping communities reduce vulnerability to the increased risks posed by hazards like typhoons, droughts and sudden floods in the face of climate change. CBDRM project Binh Dinh: - Improve early warning systems - Training in participatory disaster risk management planning. - Commune disaster prevention, mitigation and emergency response master plans

8. Multiple benefit projects: Combining adaptation, DRR, mitigation and development goals. Mangroves project Hau Loc Dist: • Storm protection • Sustainable livelihoods for poor and landless people • High Carbon storage and other environmental benefits • Community confidence and management - Environmental and CC awareness raising and education

9. NGO Climate Change Working Group (CCWG)‏ The CCWG Goal: Reducing the vulnerability of poor people in Vietnam to the impacts of CC through: The CCWG Goal: Reducing the vulnerability of poor people in Vietnam to the impacts of CC through: • Coordinated NGO advocacy and capacity building for responses that are environmentally and economically sustainable and socially just. Coordinated NGO advocacy and capacity building for responses that are environmentally and economically sustainable and socially just.

10. NGO CCWG: why? • to learn about what others are doing in response to Climate change • to access and share information • to coordinate interaction with other actors • to share contacts, resources, events, capacity • to have a representative voice in policy making and other CC fora

11. CCWG Objectives and actions • 1.Coordination among NGOs to maximize impact and minimize overlap • 160 members from INGOs, VNGOs, research institutes, carbon investors and interested others • Regular meetings and events provide forums for INGOs and Vietnamese NGOs to interact • CC activities are publicized with WB help. • Resources are shared through Web site and mailing list: www.ngocentre.org.vn/node/5457 • Information sharing, raising awareness through meetings, events, links to mass media

12. CCWG Objectives and actions • 2. Advocacy: Dialogue between NGOs and policy makers to coordinate views and action on climate change response and policy. • NGO joint statements in the donor/government dialogue meetings. • Coordinated comments and inputs to the NTP drafts with donors and government. • Participation and contributions in policy formulation, action planning and media workshops. • Design and facilitation of MARD OCCA action plan provincial consultation workshops. • Participation in civil society REDD meeting (Ghana) and climate justice conference (Bangkok). • Participation with mass media to raise awareness and increase capacity of journalists

13. NGO CCWG messages: • Support to Community-based adaptation should start now • User friendly information informed by science and local knowledge is needed at all levels. • Civil society (community groups, mass organizations and NGOs) is able to mobilise large numbers of vulnerable people for adaptation and local level mitigation. • Climate change mitigation options can be small scale, community-based and provide multiple benefits. • Forest dependent populations should receive fair benefits from carbon financing. • Capacity is needed for action at the sub-national level

14. CCWG Objectives and actions 3. Capacity Building • help NGOs in Vietnam access CC information, training activities and funding opportunities; • support NGO climate change activities and civil society networking by: • Creating opportunities to share experiences in CC and disaster relief • Assessing capacity needs • Training on basic impacts, community based adaptation, REDD, carbon footprints • Developing a communication strategy

15. Working together • Climate change impacts are here now. • Projections of worse to come are real.

16. Working together • CC is not just about the environment. It is a serious and urgent food security issue, a water, health, social, economic and political stability issue ...

17. Working together • Vietnam has a unique opportunity to lead the world. • By sensible adjustments to its growth path, responding to climate change now, Vietnam can: • protect its citizens against inevitable impacts; and • build a sound 21st century economy based on low carbon technology and sustainable clean development

18. Thank you