Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia

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Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia: National multi- stakeholder policy dialogue: Early actions to mitigate drought and saline intrusion in the South of Viet Nam Cantho, Viet Nam 10 December 2019

Conclusions and recommendations

1) The Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia: National multi-stakeholder policy dialogue: Early actions to mitigate drought and saline intrusion in the South of Viet Nam was convened on 10 December in Cantho, Viet Nam. The Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA) organized the Dialogue, in coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Children's Fund in Viet Nam (UNICEF). The agenda is attached as Annex 1.

2) The Dialogue is a follow-up to the 34th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) held on 24 April 2019 in Mandalay, Myanmar which agreed, among others, to conduct national policy dialogues on drought in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam and to develop the capacities of the ASEAN Member States (AMS) to strengthen their resilience to drought and agreed on the regional action plan in mitigating the impact of drought in the region.

3) Representing the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Mr. Nguyễn Trường Sơn, Deputy Director-General, Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, delivered the opening remarks. Ms. Tiziana Bonapace, Director, Information and Communication Technology Disaster Risk Reduction, ESCAP and Ms. Lesley Miller, Deputy Representative of UNICEF also delivered their statements at the opening session.

4) Around 70 senior officials and technical experts representing the national and local authorities, comprising of VNDMA, Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration, Agriculture and Rural development department of Southern provinces of Vietnam, and academic institutions participated in the Dialogue. Representatives from ASEAN and ESCAP Secretariats and United Nations agencies in Viet Nam also participated. The attendance is attached as Annex 2.

5) The Dialogue highlighted Vietnam’s experience in 2016-2017 when the country was badly hit by drought and saline intrusion largely due to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, resulting in severe impacts in 18 provinces that led to humanitarian intervention. The Dialogue also discussed hydrological conditions in the Mekong delta in 2019, the deficit of water flows compared to the yearly average, the increase of hotspot across Vietnam, and its subsequent socio-economic impacts.

6) The ASEAN Secretariat presented the ongoing initiatives and future plan to strengthen drought resilience from humanitarian and environmental perspectives and urged that ASEAN’s regional capacity to deal

with drought needs to be strengthened to enable prevention, protection and assistance for all, especially those most vulnerable. This could take the form of strengthening cross-sectoral platforms and mobilizing relevant sectoral bodies and mechanisms to take early action to mitigate drought, enhancing cooperation with competent agencies / organizations for technical support including capacity buildings for AMS, leveraging AHA Centre’s disaster monitoring system to issue early warnings on drought and develop drought response plans, and for the ACDM to work closely with other relevant sectoral bodies (ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN), Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF), Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (SOMSWD), Senior Officials Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD), etc.), in developing the ASEAN Declaration on Drought to ensure stronger political commitment for building regional drought resilience.

7) The participants expressed strong support for an ASEAN-level approach to building resilience to drought and recognized the role of Viet Nam as the Chair of ASEAN in 2020. To strengthen the resilience of communities, the participants also recognized the importance of early action informed by disaggregated data and enabled by stronger partnerships.

8) The participants put forward key recommendations for action by national authorities in the immediate term and suggested mobilization of support for farmers and local governments towards their implementation, including:

a) Adjust cropping structure to cope with drought and salinity intrusion; b) Proper operation of irrigation works to adapt to actual conditions; c) Regular monitoring of salinity to take proactive responses; d) Proactive storing of fresh water for domestic and production uses; and e) Efficient use of water for agriculture and domestic use.

9) The participants also formulated long-term recommendations as inputs to the draft of the ASEAN declaration on drought for possible adoption by the ASEAN Leaders during the ASEAN Summit in November 2020:

a) Transform crop and aquaculture structures towards more drought resistant varieties and species; b) Adjust agricultural cropping seasons to adapt to respective ecological regions; c) Preparation of water storage and supply plans; d) Raise awareness amongst communities on drought prevention and economical and effective water uses; e) Strengthen investments in drought and salinity intrusion prevention and control infrastructure; f) Implement long-term management plan with focus on long-term forecasts to proactively respond to drought and salinity intrusion and g) Increase household water storage to ensure sufficient domestic water during the dry season months.

10) The participants further identified areas of action which could benefit from a collaborative approach at the ASEAN level, such as improving drought risk assessment, monitoring, and early warning systems; strengthening multi-sectoral approaches; and innovations in drought risk financing.

11) The participants endorsed the initiation of the second phase of ASEAN-UN joint study on drought Ready for the Dry Years encompassing all ASEAN countries and the mainstreaming of drought and other slow- onset disasters in the 2021-2025 work programme of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER).

12) Selected news articles about the Dialogue are attached as Annex 3.

Agenda (as of 3 December 2019)

No. Time Contents Responsible person 1 08:00 – 08:30 Viet Nam Disaster Management Delegate registration Authority (VNDMA) - Leaders of Central Steering 2 08:30 – 08:45 Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (CCNDPC) Opening speeches - Representative of UNESCAP - Representative of UNICEF Long-term water resources forecast in the National Center for Hydro- 3 08:45 – 09:00 Mekong Delta. meteorological Forecasting Predict impacts of drought, saline intrusion Southern Institute for Water 4 09:00 – 09:15 on agriculture and water uses in the Resources Research Mekong Delta Drought and saline intrusion risks to Representative of UNICEF 5 09:15 – 09:30 children and their vulnerabilities

Regional perspectives

- Presentations on key findings and Representative of UNESCAP 6 09:30 – 09:45 messages of the Ready for the Dry Years Secretariat and Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 ESCAP secretariat representative

- Reflections on how to strengthen ASEAN- Representative of ASEAN Secretariat 7 09:45 -10:00 level action on drought: next steps ASEAN secretariat representative

Viet Nam's proposal on early actions to Vietnam Disaster Management 8 10:00 – 10:15 drought in the Mekong Delta Authority Tea Break 9 10:15 – 10:30 Stakeholder perspectives: Roundtable 10 10:30 – 11:15 All delegates Closing 11 11:15 – 11:30 - Leaders of CCNDPC

12/16/2019 Asean to take immediate steps to combat drought in SE Asia | The Star Online

Asean to take immediate steps to combat drought in SE Asia

VIETNAM

Wednesday, 11 Dec 2019 12:37 PM MYT

Speakers at the Building Resilience Drought South-east Asia dialogue held on Dec 10 Can Tho, Vietnam. - Vietnam News/ANN

CAN THO (ANN): Asean-member countries have vowed to take immediate action to resolve problems caused by worsening drought in South-east Asia, especially in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, which is especially susceptible to global warming.

Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday (Dec 10) in Can Tho, Intani Nur Kusuma, senior ofcer at the Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Division of the Asean Secretariat, said that a declaration on drought would be adopted by leaders at the Asean Summit to be held in Vietnam in November next year.

Asean has worked closely with relevant sectors to help the Asean Committee on Disaster Management draft the declaration, she said, adding that drought-related activities need to be integrated into the https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2019/12/11/asean-to-take-immediate-steps-to-combat-drought-in-se-asia 1/2 12/16/2019 Asean to take immediate steps to combat drought in SE Asia | The Star Online future action plan of Asean.

To mitigate the impact, it was suggested that drought risk assessment and early-warning services should be improved through the sharing of data from space-based technologies.

Tiziana Bonapace, director of the Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacic (Escap), told Vietnam News: “Climate change has already happened. Now is the time to adapt instead of ghting it.”

Nguyễn Trường Sơn, deputy head of the Việt Nam Disaster Management Authority, said the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands regions were facing abnormal weather that could be attributed to climate change.

No Southeast Asian country can afford to ignore drought when trying to mitigate the economic impact of natural disasters, according to experts.

Bonapace said the signicance of economic losses due to agricultural drought was consistent across all countries for which data is available.

“The agricultural losses are highest in Indonesia. In Vietnam, we estimate it to be around US$6.5bil or 3% of GDP, ” she said.

According to the Asia-Pacic Disaster Report 2019, annual economic losses in Asia Pacic more than quadruple when slow-onset disasters, most notably drought, are added to the region’s disaster risk landscape

The average annual loss is highest in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The one-day Building Resilience Drought Southeast Asia dialogue was co-organised by the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, Escap, and the Asean Secretariat. — Vietnam News/Asia News Network

TAGS / KEYWORDS: Vietnam , Asean , Drought

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Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday in Can Tho, Intani Nur Kusuma, senior officer at the Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, said that a declaration on drought would be adopted by leaders at the ASEAN Summit to be held in Vietnam in November next year.

ASEAN has worked closely with relevant sectors to help the ASEAN Committee on Disaster

Management draft the declaration, she said, adding that drought-related activities need to be Book now! Rooms are selling fast integrated into the future action plan of ASEAN. Book now! w To mitigate the impact, drought risk assessment and early-warning services should be improved through the sharing of data from space-based technologies.

Risk-financing instruments as well as improvement of people’s awareness of the effects of Top News drought are also needed.

Tiziana Bonapace, director of the Information and Communications Technology and Disaster 1. Police may charge Risk Reduction Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific political rally leaders (ESACP), told Vietnam News: “Climate change has already happened. Now is the time to adapt Dec 15. 2019 instead of fighting it.”

“Southeast Asia is faced with intensification and a changing geography of drought, and of disaster risk in general, as climate change converges with social, environmental and economic US-China deal a 2. relief for global stresses. economy but… Dec 16. 2019 “Regional co-operation, especially among nations benefiting from the Mekong River, is needed to support national efforts to manage drought through data, technology, innovations, policy and financing options,” Bonapace said. Upper Thailand 3. gets warmer and “The best solution is no single solution but a multi-approach solution,” she added. “Negotiations foggy, South sees… and dialogue are also needed among all the countries involved based on science and Dec 16. 2019 technology and evidence.”

“Our new analysis shows disasters in the region are having more impact than previously Grooming a 'Green thought. Much of the increase is due to the quantification of agricultural drought losses, which 4. Mindset' was not reported before,” she noted. Dec 15. 2019

Nguyen Truong Sơn, deputy head of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, said the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands regions were facing abnormal weather that could be attributed to climate change.

The Mekong River levels in June and July significantly fell compared to previous years, raising concern of exacerbated drought and saline intrusion for the entire Mekong Delta in the 2019-20 dry season.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30379298?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=internal_referral 2/5 12/16/2019 ASEAN to take immediate steps to combat drought in SE Asia

In the Central Highlands, rainfall in the dry season has dropped considerably compared to previous years, while temperatures have been 0.5-1 degrees Celsius higher than average, sparking serious droughts that have threatened vast tracts of natural forests as well as crops.

Economic losses

No Southeast Asian country can afford to ignore drought when trying to mitigate the economic impact of natural disasters, according to experts.

Bonapace said the significance of economic losses due to agricultural drought was consistent across all countries for which data is available.

“The agricultural losses are highest in Indonesia. In Vietnam, we estimate it to be around US$6.5 billion or 3 per cent of GDP,” she said.

Disasters continue to erode economic gains. Ultimately this means that disasters will limit the ability of economic growth to eradicate poverty. Book now! Rooms are “According to our study, the economic models show that without disasters, Vietnam is expected selling fast. to completely eradicate extreme poverty by 2030,” Bonapace said.

According to the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019, annual economic losses in Asia Pacific more Book now!

than quadruple when slow-onset disasters, most notably drought, are added to the region’s wmg-lo disaster risk landscape.

The average annual loss for the region is $675 billion, of which $405 billion, or 60 per cent, is drought-related agricultural losses.

In Southeast Asia, the average annual loss is higher than the Asia-Pacific regional average, reaching $86.5 billion or 3 per cent of the regional GDP.

The average annual loss is highest in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

According to the 2019 Report Ready for the Dry Years report, though starting slowly, drought can have a devastating cumulative impact, striking hardest at the poor and heightening inequality and degrading land, all of which increases the prospects of conflict.

According to the report, there will be many more dry years ahead, and the area affected by drought is likely to shift and expand.

The report was jointly produced by ESCAP and ASEAN as part of their disaster-risk reduction efforts.

Dying river

Experts have recently expressed concern about a number of dams impeding the Mekong Delta’s flow, drying up many parts of the once fast-flowing river and leaving the region facing serious drought.

Le Cong Thanh, deputy minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said an increasing number of dam constructions in the Mekong River were “posing a great burden on the 4,700-kilometre Mekong River basin, especially on the Mekong Delta”. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30379298?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=internal_referral 3/5 12/16/2019 ASEAN to take immediate steps to combat drought in SE Asia

As a result, millions of people who depend on the river for their livelihoods in Vietnam, China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand will be seriously affected.

The Mekong River Commission, a regional intergovernmental agency that manages the river’s water resources, said that all the “dams in the upstream Mekong River countries contribute to worsening drought in the region”.

The river’s water levels last month recorded their lowest level in 60 years. Other estimates suggest that water levels have dropped to their lowest level in a century, the commission said.

Lower freshwater river levels mean that saltwater levels in the delta could rise, threatening rice- growing and agriculture in general, while agriculture irrigated by the river could suffer if nutrient-rich sediment is blocked from flowing downriver by dams.

The Mekong River, which originates in China and snakes through five Southeast Asian countries, is emerging as a new security flashpoint, experts have warned.

The river begins in the Tibetan Plateau, stretches through much of mainland Southeast Asia, and ends in the Mekong Delta.

The one-day Building Resilience Drought Southeast Asia dialogue was co-organised by the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, ESCAP, and the ASEAN Secretariat. — VNS

Intani Nur Kusuma, senior officer at the Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Division, speaks at the Building Resilience Drought Southeast Asia dialogue held yesterday in Cần Thơ. VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp

Tags: Asean drought

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National multi-stakeholder policy dialogue: Early actions to mitigate drought and salinity Climate Change and Challenges ntrusion in Southern Vietnam (/en/Pages/climate-change-and- Cần Thơ - December 10, 2019. The National multi-stakeholder policy dialogue: “Early actions to mitigate drought and challenges.aspx) salinity intrusion in Southern Vietnam” was organised in Can Tho City by the Central Steering Committee for Natural M6.9 Earthquake in Davao Del Sur, Disaster Prevention and Control in coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat, the United Nations Economic and Social Philippines (/en/Pages/m6-9- Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the United Nations Children's Fund in Viet Nam (UNICEF) earthquake-in-davao-del-sur- philippines.aspx)

Fatalities in Philippines earthquake rise to four (/en/Pages/fatalities-in- philippines-earthquake-rise-to- four.aspx)

Strong Earthquake Hits the Southern Philippines (/en/Pages/strong- earthquake-hits-the-southern- philippines.aspx)

Responses to drought and saline intrusion in southern provinces and cities (/en/Pages/responses-to- drought-and-saline-intrusion-in- southern-provinces-and-cities.aspx)

VNDMA and Thuyloi University The Dialogue was co-chaired by Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, VNDMA Deputy Director General, Ms. Tiziana Bonapace - Director of worked with Queen’s University UNESCAP's Information and Communication Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division and Ms. Lesley Miller - UNICEF Deputy Belfast (QUB) and Belfast City’s Representative Council, UK (/en/Pages/vndma-and- thuyloi-university-worked-with- This activity was in the cooperation with the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management for enhancing the queen’s-university-belfast-qub-and- belfast-city’s-council-uk.aspx) activeness and effectiveness of natural disaster prevention and control activities in the southern provinces of Vietnam, especially in drought and saline intrusion. Delta provinces take steps to control saltwater intrusion (/en/Pages/delta- Over 80 participants to the Dialogue were from the ASEAN Secretariat, UNESCAP, UNICEF - United Nations provinces-take-steps-to-control- saltwater-intrusion.aspx) agencies in Viet Nam, ministries, agencies, and research institutes, leaders from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Standing Office of the Provincial Commanding Committees for Natural Disaster Prevention ASEAN to take immediate steps to combat drought in SE Asia and Control, Search and Rescue of 19 Southern provinces. (/en/Pages/asean-to-take-immediate- steps-to-combat-drought-in-se- asia.aspx)

National multi-stakeholder policy dialogue: Early actions to mitigate drought and salinity intrusion in Southern Vietnam (/en/Pages/national-multi-stakeholder- phongchongthientai.mard.gov.vn/en/Pages/national-multi-stakeholder-policy-dialogue-early-actions-to-mitigate-drought-and-salinity-intrusion-in-southe… 4/5 12/17/2019 National multi-stakeholder policy dialogue: Early actions to mitigate drought and salinity intrusion in Southern Vietnam policy-dialogue-early-actions-to- mitigate-drought-and-salinity- intrusion-in-southern-vietnam.aspx)

The presentations and materials of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee’s 14th Integrated Workshops (IWS) (/en/Pages/the- presentations-and-photos-of-the- escap-wmo-typhoon-committee’s- 14th-iws.aspx)

Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, VNDMA Deputy Director General - Deputy Head of the Standing Office of Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control made a speech at the Dialogue

At the Dialogue, forecasting water sources information, the impacts of drought and saline intrusion were shared. A Report on the readiness for resilience to drought in Asia- Pacific was introduced by ASEAN Secretariat; a presentation on ASEAN's next steps for drought was presented by the ASEAN Secretariat; A representation on risks and vulnerabilities to children was made by UNICEF. VNDMA made a proposal on Vietnam's early actions in response to drought in the Mekong Delta.

The local situation of drought and saline intrusion was shared by participants. Plans and structural and non-structural solutions in response to drought and saline intrusion were enthusiastically discussed

The results of the Dialogue would contribute to the development of the ASEAN Declaration on drought in 2020 when Vietnam would act as ASEAN’s Chairmanship. In addition, ASEAN also considered for integrating drought into the ASEAN Agreement on Program of Disaster Management and Emergency Response period 2021-2025.

The National Policy Dialogue in Can Tho City

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