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View the full text at this link to read about our newly published report, “Urban Vulnerability in Southeast Asia”, an update on our project, Mekong—Building Climate Resilience in Asian Cities (M-BRACE). Links to related publications are also included!

Da Nang’s Climate Change Coordination Office, together with the assistance of the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition-International, recently completed a hydrology and urban development simulation model project in the city of Da Nang. The USD$ 224,448 project, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation aimed to: Develop and support a database on Da Nang’s socioeconomic development to assist the management of urban development, climate change and sea level rise; Develop a hydrologic-hydraulic model, and simulate urban flood maps under different urban development, climate change and sea level rise scenarios; Contribute to steering city urban plans towards sustainable development in the context of exacerbating climate change and sea level rise; Build awareness among organizations and local people about the potential impacts of climate change and sea level rise on urban development; and Build the capacity of staff from relevant agencies in the application of hydrologic-hydraulic modeling. ISET joined efforts to redevelop the plan for the southern area of the city The project, which drew to a close in August 2013, produced a number of key results, which moving forward should be carefully considered when carrying out urban development planning and climate change resilience strategies within the city. Above: Modification to the draft of Da Nang’s urban master plan until 2030 with vision to 2050. A summary of the projects key results is listed below: Construction in floodplain and floodway areas increases flood levels, changes flood patterns, and leads to more severe flood events in urban areas and low-lying flood-prone areas of Da Nang. Climate change and sea level rise will increase the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events in Da Nang and its surroundings. Flooding is a critical issue that needs to be addressed step-by-step. Using the results of the model and the approach suggested by ISET-International experts, DOC worked with the Da Nang Urban Planning Institute to adjust Da Nang’s Development Plan. This included widening the floodways and maintaining/improving most of the existing low-lying rural areas; and adjusting land use planning in riverine areas to adapt to and minimize risks from future urban flooding. On December 04, 2013, the Prime Minister approved the modifications to Da Nang’s Development Plan under decision no. 2357/QĐ-TTg. The project’s final report (in English and Vietnamese), which includes suggested modifications to Da Nang’s development plan based on the results of the study can be found here. For more information, please contact: danang.ccco@gmail.com. People living in flood plain areas are highly exposed to flood risks and will suffer from increases in flood damages and recovery costs. When carrying out urban infrastructure plans (especially land filling and water drainage plans), there would be large risks associated with relying on warning levels of historical floods and hydrological data from the hydro-meteorological center of middle central Vietnam. If the “Da Nang development plan until 2030 with vision to 2050” is used to inform urban planning in the southern area of the city, flood levels are likely to increase and this may lead to serious urban flood issues in the future. International practices in urban planning suggests protection of floodplains is necessary for emergency flood retention and can be used for recreational or agricultural purposes. Floods can affect the city’s reputation and future land prices. The local government will face higher costs to repair urban infrastructure. Using the results of the model and the approach suggested by ISET-International experts, DOC worked with the Da Nang Urban Planning Institute to adjust Da Nang’s Development Plan. This included widening the floodways and maintaining/improving most of the existing low-lying rural areas; and adjusting land use planning in riverine areas to adapt to and minimize risks from future urban flooding. On December 04, 2013, the Prime Minister approved the modifications to Da Nang’s Development Plan under decision no. 2357/QĐ-TTg. The project’s final report (in English and Vietnamese), which includes suggested modifications to Da Nang’s development plan based on the results of the study can be found here. For more information, please contact: danang.ccco@gmail.com. Mai Huong, Da Nang CCCO Original post on CCCO Đà Nẵng website Climate Change Coordination Office of Da Nang city Director: Mr. Dinh Quang Cuong Address: 42 Bach Dang, Da Nang Tel: 0511.3888508 – Fax: 0511.3825321 Email: danang.ccco@gmail.com – Website: http://ccco.danang.gov.vn/ XÂY DỰNG KHẢ NĂNG THÍCH ỨNG VỚI BIẾN ĐỔI KHÍ HẬU TỪ MÔ HÌNH NGẬP LỤT Dự án “Xây dựng mô hình thuỷ văn và mô phỏng sự phát triển đô thị” do Quỹ Rockefeller – Hoa Kỳ tài trợ thông qua Viện Nghiên cứu Chuyển đổi môi trường và xã hội (ISET) được UBND thành phố Đà Nẵng phê duyệt theo Quyết định số 1862/QĐ-UBND ngày 11 tháng 3 năm 2011 với tổng vốn viện trợ Phi chính phủ nước ngoài là 224.448 USD. Dự án này được thực hiện nhằm xây dựng mô hình liên kết thuỷ văn – thuỷ lực và hỗ trợ cơ sở dữ liệu cho Đà Nẵng để xem xét các tác động tiềm tàng của biến đổi khí hậu và phát triển đô thị phục vụ cho sự phát triển kinh tế – xã hội và công tác quản lý đô thị thành phố; Xây dựng mô hình thủy văn-thủy lực, lập các bản đồ ngập lụt đô thị ứng với các kịch bản phát triển đô thị, kịch bản Biến đổi khí hậu và Nước biển dâng khác nhau, để mô phỏng quy hoạch đô thị và xây dựng các hành động thích ứng với điều kiện khí hậu tương lai (sự thay đổi lưu lượng và dòng chảy của sông, cường độ lũ trên sông ngày càng trầm trọng do nước biển dâng, thay đổi chất lượng nước do xâm nhập mặn, tích tụ các chất ô nhiễm…); Nâng cao nhận thức của người dân và các cơ quan về tác động tiềm ẩn của Biến đổi khí hậu và Nước biển dâng đến quá trình phát triển đô thị; Góp phần định hướng việc quy hoạch thành phố phát triển bền vững trong điều kiện biến đổi khí hậu và nước biển dâng diễn biến ngày càng phức tạp; và Nâng cao năng lực cho đội ngũ cán bộ tại các cơ quan về ứng dụng mô hình thủy văn-thủy lực trong công tác quản lý đô thị, thiết kế đô thị nhằm xây dựng khả năng thích ứng của thành phố trước các tác động tiềm ẩn của Biến đổi khí hậu và Nước biển dâng đến quá trình phát triển bền vững của thành phố. Đến nay dự án đã hoàn tất và đạt được nhiều kết quả quan trọng, qua đó, Văn phòng Biến đổi khí hậu kính giới thiệu đến đọc giả Tài liệu tóm tắt kết quả dự án. Tài liệu bao gồm 3 phần chính: (1) Mục tiêu chính của dự án, (2) Kết quả dự án; (3) Các giải pháp điều chỉnh quy hoạch chung của Đà Nẵng hướng tới phát triển bền vững từ kết quả mô hình thuỷ văn. Chúng tôi xin trích dẫn một số thông điệp chính của dự án như sau: Phát triển đô thị ở vùng trũng thấp và vùng thoát lũ làm mực nước lũ dâng cao và thay đổi hình thái ngập lụt, gây ngập lụt trầm trọng hơn ở khu vực đô thị và những khu vực lân cận có cao trình thấp vốn đã thường xuyên ngập lụt tại Đà nẵng. Việc lập, thẩm định các đồ án Quy hoạch hạ tầng đô thị (đặc biệt là san nền, thoát nước) dựa trên cơ sở mốc báo lũ của các trận lũ quá khứ và số liệu thuỷ văn mực nước từ Trung tâm Khí tượng Thuỷ văn Trung Trung bộ sẽ không an toàn do quá trình phát triển đô thị và diễn biến của Biến đổi khí hậu và nước biển dâng trong tương lai. Biến đổi khí hậu và nước biển dâng sẽ làm tăng cường độ mưa và tần suất các đợt mưa cực trị ở Đà nẵng và các khu vực xung quanh. Việc điều chỉnh Quy hoạch xây dựng Đà nẵng đến năm 2030 tầm nhìn 2050 nếu theo hướng đô thị hoá toàn bộ khu vực phía nam thành phố thì có thể làm gia tăng mực nước lũ và tình trạng ngập lụt đô thị trong tương lai. Ngập lụt là vấn đề rất quan trọng cần phải từng bước được giải quyết. Theo kinh nghiệm thế giới về quy hoạch đô thị và phát triển những “thành phố xanh,” việc bảo vệ những vùng đất thấp, vùng thoát lũ để làm nơi trữ lũ khẩn cấp là cần thiết. Các khu vực này chỉ dành cho mục đích về giải trí và nông nghiệp. Người dân ở vùng trũng thấp bị ảnh hưởng thường xuyên của ngập lụt sẽ chịu sự gia tăng về thiệt hại và chi phí khắc phục hậu quả do ngập lụt gây ra. Ngập lụt làm ảnh hưởng tới vị thế của thành phố cũng như giá đất trong tương lai, đồng thời chính quyền thành phố sẽ tốn nhiều chi phí để khắc phục thiệt hại của cơ sở hạ tầng đô thị. Từ kết quả của mô hình và phương án tiếp cận do các chuyên gia ISET nghiên cứu, Sở Xây dựng thành phố Đà Nẵng đã phối hợp với Viện Quy hoạch Xây dựng Đà Nẵng nghiên cứu điều chỉnh quy hoạch chung theo hướng mở rộng hành lang thoát lũ, giữ lại chỉnh trang đa số các khu vực nông thôn có cao độ thấp và điều chỉnh quy hoạch sử dụng đất tại các khu vực ven sông nhằm thích ứng và giảm tối đa ngập lụt đô thị trong tương lai. Hiện nay, đồ án Điều chỉnh Quy hoạch chung xây dựng Thành phố Đà Nẵng đến năm 2030 và tầm nhìn đến năm 2050 đã được Thủ Tướng phê duyệt tại Quyết định số 2357/QĐ-TTg ngày 4/12/2013 theo hướng như trên. Bạn có thể download file tài liệu (tiếng Việt và tiếng Anh) tại đây. Để biết thêm thông tin, vui lòng gửi email về địa chỉ: danang.ccco@gmail.com, chúng tôi sẽ phản hồi đến quý bạn đọc. Mai Hương, CCCO Đà Nẵng Bài viết của CCCO Đà Nẵng Văn phòng thuộc Ban chỉ đạo thành phố Ứng phó biến đổi khí hậu và nước biển dâng thành phố Đà Nẵng Chánh Văn Phòng: Ông Đinh Quang Cường Địa chỉ: 42 Bạch Đằng, Đà Nẵng Điện thoại: 0511.3888508 – Fax: 0511.3825321 Email: danang.ccco@gmail.com – Website: http://ccco.danang.gov.vn/

(CCCO Can Tho) On the morning of August 1, 2014 at An Binh Ward, Can Tho City, the Climate Change Coordination Office of Can Tho City (CCCO Can Tho) and People’s Committee of An Binh Ward organized a groundbreaking ceremony of the construction of biological river embankments along Cai Son riverbank of An Binh ward, Can Tho city. Mr. Huynh Ha Nhi, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of An Binh Ward said that the river erosion situation in the region has worsened in recent years. In the rainy season and flood season, it is a challenge for local people to travel from places to places. The biological river embankment aims to minimize risk of erosion. This is a timely action to provide safety for local people. The construction is as part of “Community-Based Urban Flood and Erosion Management for Can Tho City” project with a total budget of over USD 500,000 (with USD 67,000 of local contribution) under ACCCRN program. The project is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and coordinated by The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET). The project consists of two components: 1) Control the risk of river erosion, construct the canal embankment at Cai Son riverbank; 2) renovate the drainage system of Ap Chien Luoc channel. Mr. Ky Quang Vinh, director of CCCO Can Tho said: “This is a project with the participation of the community from the development stage to implementation and monitoring stage of the project. When the project is completed, the local community will not only be the beneficiaries but also will be responsible for the tasks of preservation and maintenance. That way, it will be more effective, long-term and sustainable”. Mr. Pham Van Suong, residents of area no. 6, An Binh ward said with determination: “We, as project beneficiaries will try to preserve, maintain the output of the project together for long-term usage. We will not disappoint city leaders and donors”. The project started in 2013 and with various activities implemented such as community survey, design, etc. The project will finish in 2015. Tuyet Phuong Original post by CCCO Can Tho More photos of the event can be found here KHỞI CÔNG XÂY DỰNG BỜ KÈ SINH HỌC TẠI RẠCH CÁI SƠN (CCCO Cần Thơ) Sáng ngày 01 tháng tám, tại phường An Bình, TP Cần Thơ, Văn phòng công tác Biến đổi khí hậu TPCT và UBND phường An Bình TPCT đã tổ chức Lễ khởi công xây dựng bờ kè sinh học cho các điểm sạt lở dọc bờ sông Cái Sơn, thuộc phường An Bình, TP Cần Thơ. Ông Huỳnh Hà Nhi, Phó Chủ tịch UBND phường An Bình cho biết tình hình sạt lở bờ sông tại khu vực này đã trở nên trầm trọng trong những năm gần đây. Vào mùa mưa hay mùa nước nổi, việc đi lại của bà con gặp rất nhiều khó khăn, trở ngại. Xây dựng kè sinh học nhằm hạn chế sạt lở là một việc làm kịp thời. Đây là một hoạt động nằm trong khuôn khổ Dự án “Quản lý ngập lụt, sạt lở bờ sông đô thị dựa vào cộng đồng TP Cần Thơ” với tổng nguồn kinh phí khoảng trên 500 ngàn USD (trong đó vốn đối ứng khoảng 67 ngàn USD) do chương trình ACCCRN (Quỹ Rockefeller, thông qua sự điều phối của ISET) tài trợ. Dự án gồm hai hợp phần: Kiểm soát sạt lở bờ sông, xây dựng công trình kè tại rạch Cái Sơn và Cải tạo thoát nước cho kênh Ấp Chiến lược. Ông Kỷ Quang Vinh, Chánh Văn phòng Công tác BĐKH TPCT cho biết: “Đây là một dự án có sự tham gia của cộng đồng từ khâu phát hiện dự án, xây dựng dự án, tham gia giám sát và thực hiện dự án. Khi dự án hoàn thành, cộng đồng cũng sẽ là người tiếp nhận, bảo quản, duy tu công trình để sử dụng bền vững, lâu dài, hiệu quả nhất.” Ông Phạm Văn Suông, người dân Khu vực 6, phường An Bình đã phát biểu đầy quyết tâm: “Chúng tôi, những người thụ hưởng dự án sẽ cố gắng cùng chung tay gìn giữ, duy tu thành quả của dự án để sử dụng lâu dài, không phụ lòng của lãnh đạo thành phố và nhà tài trợ” Dự án được bắt đầu từ năm 2013 với các công việc điều tra cộng đồng, khảo sát, thiết kế… và sẽ kết thúc vào năm 2015. Tuyết Phương Bài viết của CCCO Cần Thơ Để xem thêm hình ảnh về lễ khởi công mời truy cập tại đây.

Photo Credit: Danijela Vasic/Wikicommons Are discussions of resilience really relevant – or is this just a passing fad? The case of floods in Serbia, outlined below, illustrates just how important these discussions can be. Between May 14 and 18, 2014, Southeastern Europe received heavy rains, causing torrential floods and landslides. Serbia was the hardest hit country. Although official flood damage reports have not yet been published, it is estimated that at least 51 people have died, 18,000 houses and 3,700 km of roads damaged, 2,260 public, industrial, and infrastructural facilities flooded, and thousands of people displaced. These damages could cost Serbia 1.5 to 2 billion euros. The next step is recovery. Economists, however, have predicted that Serbia will fall into recession as a result of the floods. Can Serbia recover in such a situation? This issue brings to light the importance of resilience and buffering in economic systems so that they do not collapse due to shocks. In Serbia economic systems were not buffered. More specifically, the following industries that Serbia is economically dependent upon were not able to cope with the floods: Agriculture: The agriculture sector in Serbia accounts for 10% of its GDP. The floods destroyed large tracts of arable land. This has caused great livelihood insecurity and will significantly limit agricultural production in the years to come. Transportation: The floods destroyed roads and railways. This will hinder the movement of people and goods and in turn negatively impact businesses. Energy: The majority of Serbia’s energy comes from coal. Floodwaters damaged coal mines, particularly the Kolubara mining complex, which provides Serbia with enough coal to meet 50% of its energy needs. Major power plants were also flooded and had to be shut down. Recent work on urban climate resilience worldwide shows that infrastructure and ecosystems need to be flexible and diverse, redundant and modular, and able to fail safely to be resilient. These characteristics can also help buffer economic systems in the face of shocks. Here, I use Serbia’s energy sector to demonstrate these characteristics of resilience (or lack thereof). System flexibility and diversity are defined as: “The ability to perform essential tasks under a wide range of conditions, and to convert assets or modify structures to introduce new ways of achieving them”. Resilience is enhanced when systems are flexible, have substantial redundancy and are based on modular components. Approximately 57.5% of Serbia’s energy comes from fossil fuels (primarily coal), 39% from hydropower, and a mere 3.5% from other renewables. Serbia’s high dependence on coal means that its energy system is not very diverse. Alternative energy sources are not able to keep up with existing energy demands. Redundancy and modularity have to do with implementing “contingency situations to accommodate increasing or extreme surge pressures or demand; multiple pathways and a variety of options for service delivery; or interacting components composed of similar parts that can replace each other if one, or even many, fail”. Serbia’s energy sector is not redundant or modular. For one, Serbia only has two major power plants, Nikola Tesla and Kostulac, and both are located in the flood zone. Second, the Nikola Tesla coal-fired power plant is Serbia’s largest power plant complex and provides electricity for half of Serbia. This plant faced flood damage and had to be partially shut down. Serbia needs to develop a wider system of smaller power plants that are spread throughout the country. This way, if one power plant is damaged in the event of a flood, other existing plants can take on its load. Safe failure is the ability of a system “to absorb sudden shocks (including those that exceed design thresholds) or the cumulative effects of slow-onset stress in ways that avoid catastrophic failure”. It also refers to the ability of interdependent systems to function despite failures in particular system components. The power plants and the coal mines, components of the energy system, did not fail safely. Their failures cascaded through the energy system and have caused power outages across Serbia, which have in turn negatively impacted other industries. Dependence on coal, the lack of small and distributed power plants, and the overall failure of existing coal mines and power plants have put Serbia at great economic risk. The resulting decline in industrial productivity, spike in electricity prices, and potential economic recession will make it difficult for Serbia to recover from these catastrophic floods. Diversity and flexibility, redundancy and modularity, and safe failure need to be built into systems so they can recover quickly from shocks and not create cascading effects on other systems when they do fail. Recognition of this is emerging in many areas. In Boulder, Colorado, for example, one of the core reasons the city is considering developing its own municipal utility is the opportunity to develop highly modular and redundant renewable power sources which would contribute both to resilience of the system while also reducing green house gas emissions. In India, similar ideas are beginning to influence debates over the design of sanitation systems where, rather than a municipal utility managing waste through an integrated piped sewer system, approaches based on modular composting toilets or distributed small scale treatment systems are being considered. Countries should use the Serbia floods as a learning opportunity and build better, more resilient systems, which will protect their economies in the face of climate shocks.

It is the morning of the fourth day after the floods began. As I look out my window, the skies are gray and cloudy with the threat of additional rain. Cleanup began yesterday. The two days before, and the long nights in between, vanished in periods of waiting interspersed with moments of intense work and anxiety. The rain varying in intensity, the water flowing in different ways down our block, neighbors building barricades to direct the flow; a chaotic jumble of images in memory. Now the cleanup has begun. Shoveling “chocolate soup” from a neighbor’s doorway, standing in line for rubber boots, the sound of helicopters overhead. This is all the reality of living in a flood-hit area. For someone who has spent much of their professional life working on questions of climate change, disaster risk and recovery, water, and human behavior in other regions; the direct experience of a disaster in their home location is an interesting experience. I found myself watching. My analytical brain observing, documenting, comparing what I was seeing here against the factors I’d observed in other areas and the practices that are increasingly recommended for building disaster resilience. At the same time, I was engaged in a way I’d never been before. Watching the rain and wondering just how much more was coming. Dodging small boulders as I helped a neighbor divert water shooting at his foundation. Debating whether or not we should evacuate and digging out ropes in case the flow became too strong. We live on a hillside a few hundred meters from a small, usually dry, stream called Gregory Creek. The stream level increased quickly, not the classic flash flood with a wall of water coming down. Instead the water came in unpredictable pulses; down the channel at one point then a sudden flush coming in from a side street, later another street knee-deep with waves and whitecaps. Our view and that of everyone living on the street was very micro. We had little idea of the blockages occurring upstream and how that was redirecting the flow in unpredictable ways. Some of those blockages were new – the effects of boulders rolling down the hill and sediment deposition redirecting stream flows; some were unintended but predicable – the result of gratings at the entry of culverts becoming blocked with debris; and some were semi-deliberate – the result of upstream home owners protecting their property by building walls and levies either before or during the storm. The net result, however was that as we battled to keep water from entering houses, we had little idea of how our actions were affecting those downstream. Understanding was limited to the immediate: the sound of gravel or boulders thumping on pavement serving as a guide to the intensity of the flow, the clouds above the best indicator of rain to come. The level of water on our front steps the largest guide the risk we faced. Clusters of people coming together to address the immediate need to pull logs out of a clogged culvert or build a small levy to keep water on the street rather than in the houses. The same pattern occurring on every block in every street with little knowledge, if any, of what was happening beyond that block or street. Policemen blocking intersections, themselves bemused and unsure of much beyond the immediate area. Amazingly the power stayed on most of the time. With phones and internet working, the micro view from our street was in strong contrast with emergency announcements across the city. The sirens along Boulder Creek would blare, updates would appear on the emergency management site, and the news began to trickle in. At the same time, we had no knowledge of what was happening two blocks up the hill or two blocks down the hill. On the second night the power failed – for how many hours I have no idea. Working in the darkness with headlamps our view became even smaller; limited to the beam of our own lights and those worn by others on the street. Information on what was going on, which had been limited in any case, became even less as the Internet failed in waterlogged cell phones ceased to work. With our knowledge limited to what we could see within the beam of our headlamps, the wider picture became ever more abstract. As the rainfall intensity increased, people’s behaviors changed as well. Neighbors banded together in ever more tight small groups to address immediate needs. At the same time, however, the transient mostly student population caught the excitement of the night. Parties with loud music blared out of a few houses. Large batches of firecrackers were set off in sudden bursts around the neighborhood. Small groups in large cars raced through pieces of the streams sending waves against the levees people were building to protect their houses and waving to everyone in high, excited, voices. A very drunken young man stumbled by lecturing the water flow on the street and whacking at it with a stick. Cohesion and anarchy side-by-side. Early in the morning the question of sleep became pressing. The rain was slightly lighter; the water lapping at our front step had gone down by a centimeter or so. It had done that before and then picked up again as the rain increased – so the decision to sleep felt momentous and risky. Ultimately we decided to sleep with one ear tuned to the sound of the rain in the gutters and the tone of river in our street. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2013 Now I’m sitting at my computer on the Sunday afternoon, four days after the rain began. Yesterday was clear and most people focused on cleanup. Today the rains returned again. We are under a flash flood watch but the overall sense is that it’s unlikely to become as intense as it was a few days ago. It’s a time for reflection, where the pressures of day-to-day realities become slightly less and analysis can begin. From the perspective of research on urban resilience to disaster, what do I see as evidence emerging from the events unfolding around me? First, there are observations on human behavior. The “autonomous” responses of individuals and small groups of neighbors illustrated the critical role of community cohesion in building resilience. Where people have prior connections from school, through walking dogs together, gardening, music, or other interests, they helped each other out. This sense of community pulled many others including a large portion of the transient student community in. Many friendships were probably established by working hard with some previously unknown person late at night. At the same time however this response was not (and probably could not have been) coordinated at any level above the immediate local area. It was swarm behavior. Groups of people responding, like ants, to what they saw immediately in front of them. In many cases, it protected the individuals involved. At the same time however, the actions people took may have diverted waters in ways that increase or changed impacts downstream. The behavior did, however, overall direct water into common areas, primarily streets, and away from areas owned by individuals. As a result, the streets became rivers. Where people had fewer prior connections in the community, as with some of the large student population, empathy and the willingness to assist was far less evident and a party like atmosphere emerged. At a higher level, beyond the sight of most of those battling to protect houses, the government response systems were working. Early warning sirens along the Boulder Creek would blare as potential threats were identified. As we later found out, some of the triggers came through the formal system (spotters monitoring rainfall levels) while others came from informal sources (a cell phone call from someone watching the floods in side canyons). For those who could access the internet, the Boulder Office of Emergency Management provided clear guidance on priorities for emergency personnel – emphasizing that they were focused on life-threatening emergencies and that all other forms of support would need to wait. To those of us on the street, the police and other emergency service presence was clear but their actual role somewhat less so. Many on the street had high expectations of immediate support – a backhoe to open a clogged drain, police regulation of people driving cars down flooded streets, etc. – many needs that would be difficult to respond to within a flood of demand. The different realities of the street and higher-level disaster response priorities coming in clear conflict: a gap of understanding that’s difficult to bridge. Overall, several lessons emerge: The importance of prior ties and a sense of community in enabling group response – and the often less supportive nature of responses where those are absent. The emergent “swarm” nature of those responses – directed at immediate needs but with very little ability to recognize the larger context. This swarm behavior, however, did have the unifying driver of directing water away from private property into common property – in this case the streets. As a result, it has implications for overall flood management planning. Beyond human behavior, the critical importance of key systems came through: The fact that electricity remained on throughout most of the flood insured that phones were working, this enabled people to keep lights on and see what they were doing, and allowed some access to the Internet and outside sources of information. This was critical for some elements of organization. It may, however, have been more important after the flood when people were able to reach out and provide assistance through wider social networks. In our case, the needs were very practical: getting someone to go down and buy rubber boots at the local hardware, checking in on the needs of friends and staff members in our organization, assuring families that we were okay. Beyond power and communications, fundamental importance of transport is clearly evident. Work to clear roads and streets near our house was essential in order for us to get the basic equipment needed to help friends cleanup. The failure of roads into the mountains and across the plains is, conversely, probably the single most important limitation slowing relief and recovery efforts for towns and individuals who live in isolated subdivisions. This disruption may well prove to be the largest and most lasting consequence of the flood. For individuals however, probably the largest losses relate to flooded homes. Here, in addition to questions over the location of houses within floodplains, some of the biggest impacts are probably due to house design. In Asia most houses are built of brick and cement. In comparison to houses constructed of wood with walls of sheet rock, they are relatively resilient to the impact of flooding. In addition, wiring and basic home equipment (water heaters, furnaces, electrical wiring and circuit boards, etc.) tend to be located high on the walls in Asian homes while they are located in the basements of most homes in the US. As a result when flooding occurs, the financial losses related to damaged equipment and buildings in the US are much higher. These losses will be a major blow for many families in our area. Finally there is the question of conflicting institutions. A neighbor up the street framed one issue quite succinctly: “My house is next to a dry stream that has been designated as a wetland area. Since the area has been designated as wetland, we can’t cut vegetation and as a result it clogs and floods in any large storm. There is a real conflict between flood protection and wetland maintenance. What do we want?” If you want to have open “natural areas” as flood buffers, they won’t serve that purpose if, as naturally occurs, large trees grow and the floodway becomes clogged with vegetation. In addition, at least along minor streams such as Gregory Creek, the city has done flood control work but it hasn’t come back on a regular basis and done the maintenance required to keep the area open. There are two basic conflicts here. First, it easier to find money for projects to protect areas but it’s hard to find money for regular maintenance. Government organizations tend to be structured in ways that put a premium on projects while finding it difficult to support long-term management. Management increases the long-term running costs of government but is often invisible to tax payers. Projects are highly visible with clear price tags and end dates. Second, as mentioned above, the objective of maintaining small wetland areas doesn’t always contribute to flood control in ways that protect houses or other structures built within the often very large areas where flooding can occur. To really protect against flood losses, very large areas have to be kept open. In the case of Gregory Creek, even if the city removed non-native vegetation (a standard part of it’s maintenance program) along the current channel, the growth of native species would block channels and the stream would shift in major storm events. The second point above highlights the fact that conflicts are inherent in existing patterns of land ownership. Boulder was settled before floodplains were mapped and before statistical information on flood frequency or magnitude was available. As a result, the land is titled to private owners. While the city can regulate new construction and insurance can be used to discourage construction in the floodplain, really opening the floodplains would require removal of houses and probably for the land to become publicly owned and publicly managed. Furthermore because stream-flow patterns are braided and naturally shifting, much larger areas would need to be protected in order to really limit the impact of flooding in any given location. As a hydrologist, this was clearly evident in the patterns of sheet flow and sediment deposition that occurred throughout the flood. Throughout the heavy nights in days of rain one could hear the clatter of boulders and gravel being pushed down the street. Small embankments would grow in backwaters and wherever flows slowed down. Larger ones would form wherever trees, fences or debris blocked the flow. These in turn would divert the stream in new directions when water rose again. As a result, within the broad flow region, given current patterns of landownership effective protection of settled areas is difficult. Overall, from the perspective of urban flood resilience, the evolving case Boulder highlights the following: The spontaneous responses that emerge where communities are connected – but how disconnected those responses are from both the slightly larger context within a watershed and from higher-level government responses; The fact that autonomous responses do have a common driver of diverting water away from individually owned property and into streets. This contributes to the role of streets as major flood ways; The fragility of some key systems, particularly transport, in flood contexts contrasted with the amazing resilience of others, in this case power; The role entrenched institutions, particularly land ownership patterns, play in limiting for flood control and wider environmental management options; and The gaps in perception that divide responses at multiple levels – from the individuals seeking to protect their property but unaware of the consequences that these actions may have elsewhere to divides over environmental and flood protection objectives and the role of government in managing those.

GreenCleanGuide.com is a credible information and analysis provider in the field of Environment, Energy, Sustainability and Clean technologies. Please visit original article on the interview with Chris Allan here. GCG: When was ISET established and how was the idea conceived? ISET was established in 1997. The idea was generated by a number of action researchers who saw the need for an organization that would bring together committed people in the Global South and the North on an equal footing to solve some of the complex social and environmental issues of our time. GCG: What are some of the chief activities and objectives of your organisation? ISET works with policy makers, civil society groups, academics, from local to global levels to understand how challenging natural resource issues – especially water use and climate change adaptation – can be solved. ISET has created an international network of like-minded people in Nepal, Pakistan, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. ISET-International’s work bridges the science-policy-implementation divide across regions and cultures. We focus on the translation of global natural and social scientific insights into local contexts in a manner that improves understanding and enables action. We also analyze the implications of local physical, cultural, economic and other system dynamics for global and high level policy and strategy. ISET-International’s activities combine knowledge generation, learning and the incubation of innovative strategies through pilot scale implementation. Our Mission is to catalyze transformative changes toward a more resilient and equitable future. We improve understanding and elevate the level of dialog and practice as society responds to natural resource, environmental and social challenges. We serve as a framework for equal collaboration among individuals and organizations in the North and South. GCG: What are some major programmes being run by ISET? One of our major activities right now is working with the Asian Cities Climate Change Resource Network, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation (www.acccrn.org). This is a multi-year, multi-partner program in 10 cities across four Asian countries to understand what the adaptation issues are, and to work with cities to develop practical solutions to them. So far cities have done pilot projects to deal with sea level rise, increased salinity, adapting housing to increased flooding, and improving solid waste management to reduce disease following flooding. The US Agency for International Development is funding ISET to undertake a similar effort in four more cities in Thailand and Vietnam as part of the Mekong-Building Climate Resilience in Asian Cities Program. In Vietnam ISET is the Country Coordinator for the ACCCRN program, coordinating the efforts of all ACCCRN partners under the Rockefeller program. In Pakistan ISET has just completed a study of resilience following the devastating floods of 2010 that swept across vast swaths of the Indus valley. The study looks at the characteristics that allowed some areas to avoid damage and to return more quickly to productive life. We are working with the American Red Cross in three countries – Uganda, El Salvador, and Vietnam – to help the organization understand how to better build resilience in cities in the face of increasing disasters around the world. GCG: I understand that ISET runs programmes for climate resilience such as Climate Resilience Framework. Please tell us more about it? Are you going to expand it in future to more cities? Yes, we are. We have developed a set of resilience training tools, which are available online at http://training.i-s-e-t.org/. These tools can adapted by most any organization – city or rural authority, NGO, etc. – to follow a path to understanding what vulnerabilities are and how to address them to make a more resilient community, city, state, country, world. While most of our established partnerships are in Asia, these training tools are useful for people in a wide variety of countries and situations. We are also beginning a two year program to develop tools to more easily communicate resilience concepts in practical ways. Resilience can be a very complex phenomenon, and talking about can lead to many layers of discussion and analysis. While this can be empowering, it can also be very confusing, especially when audiences are mixed, such as high level policy makers, city engineers, local community members, etc. GCG: India has recently witnessed a mammoth disaster in the form of Uttrakhand floods. We could really benefit from programmes such as the Disaster Risk Reduction? What stage is the pilot programme in Nepal and Vietnam and the results of the findings of a preliminary study if any? The Resilience Framework is actually the product of many years of study in Nepal and Vietnam, as well as India and elsewhere. So the Framework itself is already in use, and can be usefully applied in Uttarakhand. We have also supported cities and civil society groups in Vietnam, Thailand and India to implement over a dozen practical programs to build resilience to flooding, sea level rise, urban growth, and other issues. It is not a coincidence that we were already in discussion with ways to work with local authorities across the state of Uttarakhand when the flooding hit. While it is not yet clear whether this program will include ISET, it is precisely the kind of work we are well set up to do. Our work with the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG) has also produced encouraging results on the local level, and is now being expanded to three more cities in Bihar. GCG: How can individuals join in your efforts? We are not really a membership organization, so there is no clear path for individuals to join. We do develop partnerships with local authorities, civil society organizations, university researchers, and donors to generate deeper understanding of these complex issues and to support programs to solve them. GCG: Are you also in touch and partnerships with such other international groups/ communities? ISET is a broad network in itself, so partnership is our basic mode of operation. In addition to our operational partnerships such as GEAG in India, we participate in broader international communities working on similar issues: the Asia-Pacific Adaptation Forum, ICLEI (a network of local governments around the world), the US National Adaptation Forum, the World Water Forum, UN Framework Convention for Climate Change, the Resilience Alliance, and many others. GCG: Does ISET also help in grooming of upcoming NGO’s through capacity building and funding support? How can interested organisations join hands to learn from your work? Continuous capacity building of both ISET and our partners is integral to our work. While our capacity to create new partnerships is of course limited by our staff resources, we are always looking to build a network of strong partners to take on these problems together and find common solutions. Our web site is the first place to start – www.i-s-e-t.org – and we are frequently at conferences and project meetings and are available for discussion. GCG: What are your future plans and activities? Our future plans are to expand our networks and understanding of these complex issues. We hope to do so in many different forums: among policy makers, academics, planners, and civil society groups. And we hope to do it on a variety of levels, from professional academics to generalists who are trying to solve local problems. Finding useful ways to talk to these varying audiences will be a major focus for us over the next couple years.

The Vietnamese Mekong River Delta (MRD) is the region through which the Mekong River enters the East Sea of Vietnam. The delta, with a total area of four million hectares, has nearly 18 million inhabitants (about 22% of the entire population of Vietnam) and is host to a range of agricultural land-uses: including rice, fruit trees, annual industrial crops, aquaculture and forestry. It has now been recognized that the MRD is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, particularly sea level rise and severe floods and impacts have and will continue to go far beyond the coping strategies of local communities. Meanwhile, infrastructure developments in the MRD supporting the intensification of land and water resources have created their own trans-boundary environmental impacts. While these impacts have now been recognized, and have influenced the negotiation of regional policy agreements and cooperation among Mekong delta provinces, there is still more that needs to be done. On the 20th June 2014, the Can Tho Climate Change Coordination Office (CCCO) hosted a regional workshop, where participants from 12 provinces across the MRD had the opportunity to learn about how the CCCO with the help of ISET, has built climate resilience in the region. The CCCO was established in 2011 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network. The CCCO is responsible for developing and coordinating all climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in the city, in collaboration with external agencies and local stakeholders. The workshop focused on the importance of better integration of planning across sectors at the provincial level and the growing need to incorporate community knowledge and experience into planning. There were over 70 participants in attendance, including the Vice-Chairman of Can Tho City Peoples Committee, Mr. Dao Anh Dung, who shared with the group: “The establishment of the CCCO is one of the biggest successes of Can Tho city in responding to climate change. With financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation, and the significant support of ISET and NISTPASS, CCCO Can Tho actively developed a plan to adapt to climate change for multiple sectors, at all levels; implementing intervention projects in various areas such as environment, water, health, construction to build resilience to climate change in urban areas”. Above: Mr Dao Anh Dung, Vice-Chairman of Can Tho City Peoples Committee, addresses the workshop Participants at the workshop were also given the opportunity to discuss broader issues affecting the MRD. The discussion focused on the issue of while there are a range of national policies and provincial guidelines for planning and implementation of climate change adaptation, these are often carried out separately for different sectors and provinces. Participants agreed that this makes it difficult to integrate and resolve particular issues related to regional and inter-regional problems. Moving forward, climate change resilience must include the collaboration and efforts of various sectors and stakeholders. Now more so than ever, participation and support of shared-learning forums such as that hosted by CCCO Can Tho is necessary for enabling continuing dialogues on climate change issues. Posted by Huy Nguyen and Danielle Cleal, ISET-Vietnam BIẾN ĐỔI KHÍ HẬU Ở KHU VỰC ĐỒNG BẰNG SÔNG CỬU LONG: CHIA SẺ HỌC HỎI VÀ ĐỐI THOẠI Ở THÀNH PHỐ CẦN THƠ Khu vực Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long (ĐBSCL) của Việt Nam là nơi sông Mekong chảy ra biển Đông. ĐBSCL có tổng diện tích khoảng 40 nghìn km2 và dân số khoảng 18 triệu người (khoảng 22% tổng số dân của Việt Nam). Đất đai ở đây phần lớn được sử dụng vào các hoạt động nông nghiệp khác nhau như trồng lúa, trồng cây ăn quả, cây công nghiệp, thủy sản và lâm nghiệp. ĐBSCL được xác định là một khu vực đặc biệt dễ bị tổn thương trước các tác động của biến đổi khí hậu, đặc biệt là nước biển dâng và lũ lụt nghiêm trọng. Các tác động này đã và sẽ tiếp tục diễn biến phức tạp, vượt ra ngoài các chiến lược đối phó của cộng đồng địa phương. Trong khi đó, quá trình phát triển cơ sở hạ tầng đang tạo ngày càng nhiều sức ép đối với quản lý sử dụng đất và tài nguyên nước, gây ra những tác động môi trường không chỉ giới hạn trong phạm vi của địa phương. Tuy nhận thức liên quan đến các tác động này đang dần được nâng cao, tạo ảnh hưởng tới quá trình đàm phán và hợp tác chính sách cấp vùng ở các tỉnh ĐBSCL, nhưng vẫn còn rất nhiều việc cần làm. Ngày 20/06/2014, một hội thảo cấp vùng đã được tổ chức tại thành phố Cần Thơ, với sự chủ trì của Văn phòng Công tác về Biến đổi Khí hậu thành phố Cần Thơ (CCCO). Hội thảo là cơ hội cho các đại biểu đến từ 12 tỉnh thành ở khu vực ĐBSCL tìm hiểu về văn phòng CCCO và các đóng góp của CCCO vào quá trình xây dựng năng lực thích ứng với biến đổi khí hậu ở thành phố Cần Thơ, với sự hỗ trợ của Viện Chuyển đổi Môi trường và Xã hội-Quốc tế (ISET-Quốc tế). Văn phòng CCCO được thành lập từ năm 2011 dưới sự tài trợ của Quỹ Rockefeller trong chương trình Mạng lưới các Thành phố Châu Á có Khả năng Thích ứng với Biến đổi Khí hậu (ACCCRN). CCCO chịu trách nhiệm xây dựng và điều phối tất cả các dự án về thích ứng và giảm thiểu biến đổi khí hậu trên địa bàn thành phố, với sự hợp tác của các cơ quan tư vấn và các bên liên quan khác ở địa phương. Hội thảo tập trung vào các nội dung về tầm quan trọng của việc lồng ghép tốt hơn các tác động của biến đổi khí hậu vào quá trình quy hoạch của các ngành khác nhau, và yêu cầu về áp dụng các kiến thức và kinh nghiệm của cộng đồng vào quá trình lập kế hoạch. Phó Chủ tịch UBND thành phố Cần Thơ, ông Đào Anh D

The July newsletter includes links to new publications, a presentation on the key findings of a temperature resilience case study in Pakistan, and an exploration of the impacts of a rising heat index.

Appealing to values, identity, and sense of self can have powerful implications. On a basic level, it is how many people form friendships and alliances. They effect how we process information and to some degree how we accept, support, or reject an idea. For example, deciding what team has your allegiance during the 2014 World Cup can simply be a product of your nationality. But when faced with an issue that is complex and multi-faceted, it is easier for many to accept notions from people they already align themselves with and who share similar interests, than from those they would normally not. Enter the climate change ‘debate’. Creating effective dialog as well as support towards transformative change has been all but an easy process in the United States. Some assumed that the science would speak for itself. Few of us knew how messy even the jargon surrounding the topic would be, let alone communicating it effectively—and even ‘effective’ communication rarely spurs action. So when presented with the potential impacts of climate change, how do we catalyze resilience building? How do we realistically engage others in the most effective way? The author’s previous post highlighted the importance of appealing to a person’s or group’s values and sense of self. This post attempts to outline potential avenues for linking these values with transformative change. When catalyzing effective dialogue and action surrounding resilience, shared learning remains a critical strategy. Fully understanding the complexity around certain issues requires multiple stakeholders who represent diverse perspectives, scales, and boundaries. Stakeholder engagement provides a platform to bridge differences and various priorities by opening dialog to better understand multifaceted problems. In order for it to be effective, shared learning must account for not only traditional planning processes, but also autonomous adaptation occurring at the individual level. Examples of autonomous adaption include painting rooftops white in order to reflect heat from the sun as well as raising a house’s plinth level to avoid flooding. As the impacts of climate change begin to manifest, traditional planning processes will not suffice in mitigating or adapting to the potential challenges future generations face. If individuals and households are able to use their decision-making power to lessen these shocks, then they will. In some cases, doing so can be beneficial, in others not so much. With the 2013 flooding in Colorado, residents in Boulder took individual action to mitigate risk on personal property by creating barriers to divert water from their homes. Their actions were a response of their assessment of the situation. By diverting water, however, they increased flood risks for their downstream neighbors by displacing damage from one place to another. Autonomous adaptation, whether protective or harmful, will continue to occur. Acknowledging its impact and creating dialog on the best way to manage it will not only increase capacity and resilience, but also strengthen social networks within a community. In addition to effective dialog and incorporating autonomous adaptation processes into mainstream planning, innovation and technological adoption will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in catalyzing resilience in the United States. Assessing hazards and applying resilient ingenuity involves various sectors and stakeholders, thus creating an excellent avenue for opening dialog and initiating transformation. In addition, technology can and should be a part of autonomous adaption. As innovative research and advancement continue to occur, it is imperative that we find a way to shift behaviors around technological adoption so that it becomes mainstream and more accessible to those other than the wealthy. A wonderful example of this occurred earlier in the month when Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, opened the company’s patents to competitors and the public. Frustrated by the lack of progress in mainstreaming electric vehicles, he hopes that making his patents open-source will help catalyze a movement in the auto-making industry. Investing in research and technology that builds off Tesla’s patents will help breakdown cost and infrastructure barriers that prevent electric vehicles from becoming mainstream and accessible to a wider market. And in doing so, we will inevitably see a shift in behavior and transformative change. While this is a great first step, additional research and financial support must continue in the automotive industry and elsewhere, specifically in urban environments. Cities not only breathe ingenuity and technological advancement but they also have greater risk for vulnerability due to a number of factors, including system failures and other various hazards. Exploring these vulnerabilities, along with realistic solutions, will help to highlight avenues for transformative change. A recently published study by Arizona State University demonstrated that air conditioning use increased outdoor nighttime temperatures in metropolitan Phoenix by 1°C. This can have serious implications on human health, and will further exacerbate the urban heat island effect. But in the United States, where air conditioning is widespread and mainstream, convincing people to minimize use seems highly unlikely. In light of this, ASU researchers advised sustainable development strategies that use the heat produced by air conditioners for other purposes such as heating water. This and additional strategies for reducing the urban heat island effect have the potential to save more than 12,000 MWh of energy per day. People are not opposed to change as long as their values and interests are not compromised. Therefore, appealing to a community’s sense of self may be the most effective way to catalyze resilience and transformative change. In order to do so, dialog and shared learning become essential. Engaging stakeholders provides a platform for better understanding priorities and complex systems. It involves traditional planning processes, but also acknowledging autonomous adaption and providing assistance when necessary. And because our diverse interests can make it difficult to accept or encourage change, we must continue to support research that is innovative and advances various technological fields. Resistance [to do so] is futile.

DIRTY CANALS. SCORCHING SUN. NO ESCAPE. FAILING SHELTER CONDITIONS IN PAKISTAN LEAVE CITIZENS WITH FEW OPTIONS FOR RELIEF Food, shelter, and clothing have been the traditional holy trinity when talking about the basic needs of any population. It is, therefore, conceivable that when one of these elements is inadequate, the conditions faced by people are less than acceptable. Above: The map above shows all of the research site locations. In Pakistan, through the Sheltering From A Gathering Storm project, we had an opportunity to explore four communities for which the shelter component failed to provide them protection from increasing summer temperatures, combined with an inadequate supply of electricity. Each community relayed personal accounts of hardships and inadequate conditions whose effects filtered through to all aspects of their lives. Rawalpindi, Habib Colony (above) In Rawalpindi, Habib Colony is situated around a dirty canal referred to as a ‘nallah,’ which cuts through the community and services many of the households. Members of the community voiced their frustrations, as the stench from the nallah combined with the mosquitos who use the canal as a breeding ground, make it impossible for inhabitants to enjoy the luxury of opening their windows to increase ventilation or decrease the stuffiness in their homes. Sadiq Colony, another peri-urban neighborhood in Rawalpindi, faced similar frustrations, even though the cause was somewhat different. Here, an inadequate water supply and an open drainage system created unsatisfactory conditions. The open drains service all the houses in the locality and are polluted by debris and other wastes. The water is supplied to houses through pipes similar to the typical garden hose, which commonly run atop the open drains. These pipes are often broken or damaged by debris in the drains and the polluted water then contaminates the water supply. On our visit to the community during the summer season, we even saw children playing in the drains, as that was their relief and entertainment from the beating sun. Rehmanabad, Faisalabad, exhibited the most dire conditions that we saw. Here, like Habib Colony, a nallah was the source of much hardship. One woman from the community showed us her young daughter who was approximately three years old and had fallen into the infested pool of water. Her father-in-law, in an attempt to save the child, had dived in after her and rescued her. They both became ill afterwards. This colony, although inhabited by hard working individuals, encounters severe financial challenges. Their homes are in the worst condition that we have seen through the course of this research. Men complained of the mosquitos that made it impossible to entertain or to even sit outside in the evening to enjoy whatever breeze there might be. One man went so far as to say that their conditions were worse than those of the dead in the graveyard. Women, who generally are very sheltered, are forced to wet their clothes and sit outside in order to get some relief. Multan, Pakistan (above) Lastly, in Multan, we visited Feroz Colony, where people have traditionally been accustomed to higher temperatures than the other visited sites. Here, however, the people were very much in tune to the fact that the increasing nighttime temperatures were decreasing their ability to adapt to the heat. One person highlighted that before they would sleep outside with electric fans, however, now even the fan was spitting out air as hot as that found on the stoves, making any form of rest next to impossible. What we realized through the research was that the failure of these peri-urban homes to offer protection against the trends of rising temperatures as projected by climatologists only begins to the skim the surface of the conditions on the ground. Further research and innovation in research and adaptive mechanisms is required in order to completely understand and aid these communities so that the basic needs to which everyone is entitled fulfill the requirements of shelter by offering them comfort and security from the natural forces that prevail both now and in the future.

On Wednesday 11 June 2014, almost 40 UCR-CoP participants gathered for our mid-year event to hear about and discuss some of the interesting projects and research findings our members have been working on this year. The event hosted at Winrock International, Hanoi, provided an opportunity for members from government, private, research and the not-for profit sectors to hear three interesting presentations relating to the following themes: Mainstreaming urban climate resilience into policy and decision-making Capacity building and training Sharing knowledge and lessons learned Dr. Nguyen Phuong Nam, from Clitech, shared with the group the findings of a review of Climate Action Planning (CAP) by local governments in Vietnam. Dr. Nam explained to participants how the study looked at international good practices of local government action plans in other countries and used this as a basis to compare with selected local government in Vietnam preparing their first CAPs. Participants heard that the results from the study will be used to inform the next CAPs in 2014-2015. Ms. Do Anh Nguyet, from COHED, discussed with the group experiences and reflections on building heat stress resilience amongst Da Nang’s most vulnerable workers. Participants heard that heat stress awareness and responses to deal with heat stress are limited. Ms. Nguyet, emphasized that the involvement of various stakeholders is essential to building heat stress resilience among workers. Ms. Vu Thi My Hanh, former project coordinator with Challenge to Change, shared with participant’s experiences about working with youth on climate change adaptation and resilience. Participants heard that youth are concerned about climate change impacts, and have innovative ideas on how such impacts can be addressed. Ms. Hanh also shared with the group an insightful video produced under the programme. The video showcased how climate change will affect young people’s lives and the role that young people can play in helping address and manage climate change impacts in the future. By now all UCR-CoP members should have received a summary of the event, which includes links to the three presentations. If you are not a member, and would like a summary of the event and access to the presentations, please use the following link to join the UCR-CoP. As a co-facilitator of the UCR-CoP, ISET again thanks all those who attended for their enthusiastic contributions and we look forward to continuing to work with all members throughout the remainder of 2014. Posted by Danielle Cleal and Thanh Ngo, ISET-Vietnam Original post by Vietnam UCR-CoP blog