Blog by Richard Friend (ISET-International) and Pakamas Thinphanga (Thailand Environment Institute) Udon Thani, in the North East of Thailand, has many water needs, but management and planning processes are not yet able to account for the complexity of such a rapidly growing city. This becomes all the more problematic as the city faces some of the emerging risks that arise from climate change. As the city has expanded, demand for water has increased, while precipitation has become more variable and less predictable. The city is now facing problems with water availability and quality. The city is dependent on one main water source – the Huay Luang reservoir – that was built over 40 years ago

By: Stephanie Lyons and Thanh Ngo, ISET-Vietnam It was excellent to see more than 50 UCR-CoP participants get together at our annual planning meeting last week to catch up, discuss their work in urban climate resilience, and map out collaborative efforts for 2014. Last Tuesday, February 18, nearly 60 people from around 30 different organizations (representing the majority of the UCR-CoP’s approximately 40 member organizations) met at the offices of the Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) in Cau Giay, Hanoi to plan the UCR-CoP’s direction in 2014. Everyone had a chance to meet someone they didn’t already know and share the details of their upcoming work in the field of urban climate resil

Between September 11 and 15, 2013, Boulder received over 15 inches of rainfall (Daily Camera, 2013 Floods) resulting in severe flooding that destroyed 345 and damaged 557 houses, damaged 150 miles of county roads, and killed 4 people. Experts have claimed that this particular event was a 1000-year rain and a 100-year flood. The reality, however, is that floods are not new to Boulder (Static BoulderColorado). Floods have been recorded in Boulder and the surrounding areas since 1844. Between 1844 and 1900, 10 floods were reported, of which 3 occurred in 1864 alone. Despite the frequency of floods, flood mitigation only entered public consciousness after the 1894 floods, during which peak disch

By Stephanie Lyons and Tho Nguyen, ISET-Vietnam Efforts in disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Vietnam to date have primarily focused on rural areas and often employ effective community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) methods, yet there is an intensifying need for better DRR approaches in urban contexts. In a country experiencing rapid development, many communities in urban and peri-urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters. Policymakers, practitioners and researchers met in Da Nang in April at a workshop organized by the Disaster Management Center (DMC) and the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET) Vietnam to share their knowledge and ex

Published March 3, 2014 On January 11, 2014, the Climate Change Coordination Office (CCCO) in Can Tho traveled to An Giang to learn about the experiences from the community-based management model used under the North Vam Nao Water Control Project II (NVNWCP-II). The project was funded partially by AusAID and Vietnamese State for implementation in Phu Tan and Tan Chau provinces from 2002 to 2007. The water control system has been in operation since 2008 and has already shown positive results. The project’s goal was to help An Giang province establish and operate a socially and environmentally sustainable water management system in North Vam Nao which would benefit the local economy by helping