Tài liệu VIET NAM GREEN GENERATION FOR A GREEN GLOBE pdf

Proponent: Raising Awareness on Environment and Climate Change Program 4.. Brief Project Description: The project’s goal is to educate Vietnamese youth on environment protection and to

VIET NAM GREEN GENERATION FOR A GREEN GLOBE

PROPOSAL SUMMARY

1 Project Title: ‘Vietnam Green Generation for a Green Globe’

2 Project Site: Vietnam

3 Proponent: Raising Awareness on Environment and Climate Change Program

4 Project Objective: To improve the knowledge on environment and establish a

sustainable life style for Vietnamese youth

5 Cooperating Organizations:

• SMAX

• Live & Learn

• US – Vietnam Trade Council

6 Start-Up Date: December 2008

7 Project Period: 2 years

8 Total Project Cost: 44,561 USD

9 Brief Project Description:

The project’s goal is to educate Vietnamese youth on environment protection and to improve the contribution of Vietnamese youth on the fight with climate change and environment pollutions by building a network of voluntary environmental clubs/organizations and other relevant bodies The project would play the role of an intermediate proponent improving the connectivity between those environmental clubs The establishment of a ‘green network’ would facilitate expanding the activities and the influences of environmental clubs and gather the resources for future development

I RATIONALE

1 Climate Context:

Climate change is, in the opinion of most scientists, inevitable Indeed, the effects are probably being felt in many parts of the world, as average temperatures are rising and many areas are setting annual high temperature records Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, threatened by rising sea levels, greater-intensity storms, floods and droughts and other effects of global warming

Changes in Temperature and Rainfall

Between 1900 and 2000, annual average temperatures increased by 0.1°C per decade Summers are becoming hotter with average summer month temperatures increasing by 0.1°C

to 0.3°C per decade It is expected that, compared to 1990, temperatures will increase in the range 1.4-1.5°C by 2050, and the highest temperature increases will be inland Changes in rainfall patterns are complex and season and region specific Monthly rainfall is already decreasing in most of the country in July and August and increasing in September, October and November, and rainfall intensity is increasing considerably According to researches, compared to 1990, annual total rainfall is expected to increase in the range 2.5 percent to 4.8 percent by 2050 The increase will be largest in the north of Viet Nam and least in the southern plains It is expected that rainfall will be concentrated, even more than now, in the rainy season months, leading to an exacerbation of drought problems in the dry season Climate change, then, is set to make precipitation more uneven and variable over time and space

Floods and Drought

Even before future climate change is factored in, Viet Nam is at risk from extreme weather events In some areas, such as the central provinces and the Mekong River Delta, floods appear to be increasing in intensity compared with those in the first half of the 20th century, though whether this simply reflects increased human settlement, cultivation, and infrastructure development is unclear Flood damage is expected to be aggravated by an increase in daily rainfall of 12-19 percent by 2070 in some areas, affecting both flood peak

discharges and the return period of floods Drought problems will intensify through increased variation in rainfall and increased evaporation triggered by rising temperatures

Typhoon Patterns

The number of typhoons that Viet Nam experienced increased between the 1950s and the 1980s but subsequently decreased in the 1990s The peak month of typhoon landfalls has shifted from August in the 1950s to November in the 1990s, and considerable uncertainty exists about the expected frequency of typhoons in the coming century The trajectory of typhoons appears to have moved southwards in recent years though it is widely expected that due to a rise in temperatures, the north will become more subject to typhoon activity and the intensity of storms will increase, resulting in higher peak wind speeds and more intense precipitation Coastal zones will suffer from more intense typhoons, posing higher threats to people’s lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and agricultural production Upland communities will be faced with increasing risks of flash floods and landslides from heavy rainfall An estimated 80-90 percent of Viet Nam’s population is potentially directly affected by typhoons

Sea Level Rise

Several studies have reported sea level rise in Viet Nam According to UNEP (1993) sea levels around Viet Nam increased by 5 cm between the 1960s and 1990s and the Hydro meteorological General Department estimates that the seawater level is raising at an average rate of 2 mm per year Coastal erosion has also been reported, such as in the Ca Mau area where more than 600 hectares of land have been eroded, with 200m wide strips of land lost in some locations Predictions for the extent of sea level rise in the future differ, with national publications asserting a rise of up to 1m by 2100 Sea level rise will overwhelmingly impact

on the low-lying Mekong River Delta, which could be almost completely inundated for some periods of the year

Impacts on Agriculture

A rise in seawater level will worsen saline water intrusion in coastal zones too, which is already a problem in some areas due to fresh water extraction for irrigation and drinking

water and the construction of canals in the deltas and upstream dams The Mekong River Delta will be the most affected region with 1.77 million ha of salinity land, accounting for 45 percent of the land Inundation and the resulting loss of land, and saline water intrusion in the Mekong Delta and parts of the Red River Delta, the country’s most important agricultural areas, will pose serious threats to farmers as well as agricultural export products such as rice and possibly to national food security

Besides inundation, more frequent flooding, saline water intrusion, drought, and typhoons, both agriculture and natural ecosystems will suffer from increased minimum temperatures, a decreasing number of days with temperatures under 20°C and an increasing number of days with temperatures above 25°C This will affect growing periods, crop calendars and crop distribution, increase pest and virus activity This also causes a migration of tropical trees and crops northwards by 100-200 kilometers and to higher altitudes in the mountains by 100-550 meters where they will replace subtropical species Some species may even extinct as a result

of changing climatic conditions

Fisheries & Aquaculture

Climate change is expected to have a considerable impact on Viet Nam’s fishery and aquaculture sectors, which accounted for 3.9 percent of GDP in 2005 The numbers of tropical fish with a low commercial value (except for tuna) would increase and the numbers

of sub-tropical fish with a higher commercial value would decrease Coral reefs are expected

to degenerate and fish living in these habitats are expected to disappear Moreover, sharp decreases in plankton would lead to migration of fish and reductions in fish body mass As a result, it is estimated that the economic sea production capacity of Viet Nam would be reduced by at least one third Due to a rise in seawater level, aquaculture farms will have to

be relocated and saline water intrusion and reduction of the mangrove area will create loss of habitat for fresh water creatures At last, increased rainfall intensity might temporarily reduce the salt concentration of seawater, affecting some species such as dual crust mollusks, living

in coastal areas

Climate Change and Human Health

Climate change is also expected to affect people’s health as increasing temperatures facilitate the growth and development of various viruses and disease carriers, resulting in higher incidence of infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue Extreme weather and increased frequency and/or intensity of natural disasters, such as typhoons and floods, will threaten people’s lives and may lead to more fatalities, if significant mitigation and adaptation measures are not put in place

2 Community Context

One of the main causes for the heavily polluted environment in Vietnam is the lack of awareness of local citizens Although Vietnamese citizens have superficial knowledge on the climate change and environmental issues through mass media, most of them think that this problem is irrelevant to their lives and the Government is responsible for solving it This mindset leads to the inconsiderate actions and habits in daily lives

The eagerly participant of local residents in environmental event such as Earth Hour does show their awareness of the problems However, these events are only action-oriented, thus barely have any influences in local residents’ life styles This situation shows the need of educational programs which can help affecting the mental model of people and create a sustainable lifestyle for residents

3 Overview of Environmental voluntary clubs and non-governmental organizations

a Government and Non-Governmental Organizations

The Vietnamese government and donors are increasingly concerned by climate change and

a variety of actions and institutions are underway, including some national working groups and a National Target Program The NGO community has a role to play in helping to develop, advocate for and implement plans to help Vietnam in its response to climate change Many NGOs are engaging with climate change in a variety of ways and many are seeking information to develop their organizational strategy and position in relation to climate change issues

The NGO 'Climate Change Working Group' (CCWG) was established in February 2008 in recognition of the fact that Vietnam is likely to be significantly affected by climate change and that NGOs are well placed to support localized responses CCWG provides a forum for Vietnamese NGOs (VNGOs) and International NGOs (INGOs) to actively participate in the climate change debate This group plays a significant role in facilitating information and resource-sharing and coordination among NGOs currently engaged in addressing climate change across a number of sectors and themes Current core members include the NGO Resource Centre, Oxfam, CARE, Catholic Relief Service, World Wildlife Fund, SNV, East Meets West, etc

b Voluntary Clubs and Groups

A large number of volunteers groups have emerged in big cities of Vietnam in recent years

In which, more than 10 environmental volunteer clubs established in big cities: Green Action Vietnam, Cycle for Environment, Green Vietnam, Environment 360, Talking Green,

Go Green, 3R, Motivation (Nhiet Huyet), Green Generation Network, and Environmental clubs in several universities and high schools and online groups, etc On March 15th, 2009,

a Memory of Understanding among nine regional environmental clubs has taken place in Hanoi

Several groups are founded by visionary young individuals, founding members of these clubs are young people personally touched by the urgency of the environmental protection

or degradation of their living environment Some established a club after participating an event organized by an environmental NGO, some went to abroad on a workshop that changed their thinking and some just read about environmental problems through the internet or newspaper Web pages and blogs are now used to share information and bring the groups together Over thousand young people and older members of the community have participated to some of the activities ranging from promotion of cycling, cleaning of the city, signing a petition for environment, organizing a fair for recycling, creating community art or just joining to English talking clubs that discuss and debate on environmental issues and share information

Many of them are under concern about the human behavior and system change towards sustainable practices in Vietnamese society, without realization how and when, through participating in their civic group, they have changed themselves positively and differently from their previous state of sustainability illiteracy These young people are green generation who care and are eager to apply sustainable lifestyles

c The inefficiency

However, all clubs and organizations are still acting separately Activities overlap one another, clubs waste manpower, and there is a huge lack in professionalism as well as in co-operation Clubs have difficulties in finding sponsors, project managers and appropriate ways to develop manpower In both the viewpoint of the government and that of the non-government organizations, voluntary activities haven’t built any prestige as most activities are short-term, low-effective, concentrating on only one specific action but missing general educational purposes Some activities of 3R or GoGreen, though take education into account, however, conduct in only a few schools The content of these activities is either too general or too specific as most are not well-prepared, and lack in serious results’ evaluation

II GOALS AND APROACHES

From this situation, we need to:

• Enhance the professionalism of voluntary environment clubs

• Reinforce co-operation among clubs

• Expand activities to gain knowledge about Environment as well as to improve efficiency of previous activities

Project Approach

• Set up an Environment and Climate Change Club which concentrates on environment- related activities

• Establish a network of environmental clubs in schools and companies in Hanoi

• Build a framework in which regional and national clubs can co-operate

How the project solves the problem

• A network will help organizations to share human resources as well as combine their advantages To boot, a network helps avoid overlapping activities as well as competing for ideas Moreover, activities involving many participating organizations are of a larger scale, and thus more effective and have a greater influence upon the society To call for human resources, a network connects not only environmental clubs, but also other helpful organizations such as the Y&Y, Student Union, etc Besides, a large-scale research will

be carried out due to a great demand to gain knowledge on habits and awareness of residents on Climate Change The first website on Climate Change with a friendly interface will soon be established in order to provide people with general knowledge as well as to call for participation from everyone, especially the youth To sum up, these activities do not only fill in the gap that exists in the current situation, but also creates a chance for all clubs to co-operate and get to know each other

• Opening courses and setting up programs to enhance skills will help clubs’ projects to become more effective and more professional Each club has their own distinguished strength, but weakness in the organization, management, and in building long-term strategies still remains These courses should develop leaders’ capability as well as enforce co-operation and relationship among organizations and clubs Furthermore, experts from NGOs and INGOs will share their experience, and consult clubs to reinforce their own system, and form their own plans As a consequence, clubs’ activities will flow more smoothly and efficiently

• Establishing an organization which specializes in environment education will solve the problem of lacking knowledge in this field The campaign also suggests a plan to set up environment clubs in companies, clubs which will enlarge the number of people participating in the project

III PROPONENT DESCRIPTION

Raising Awareness on Environment and Climate Change Program (RAECP), founded in

December 2008, is an organization of young people We try our best to be a professional voluntary organization on Environment and Climate Change

Smax is a club of people who want to improve their soft skills This club’s members are students

in many courses of Tam Viet Group, a famous Education Center of Vietnam Smax’s members are experienced on training, event–making and capacity-enhancement

Live & learn is an NGO specializing in community participatory education to promote

sustainable livelihood development and conservation of environmental resources in some of the most vulnerable communities and biologically diverse regions in Asia and the South Pacific

The U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council (USVTC) and its educational affiliate, the U.S.-Vietnam

Trade Council Education Forum (USVTC-EF), have played leadership role in building the relationship between the U.S and Vietnam, contributing to the normalization of the relations between the two countries and the improvement of the bilateral trade and the investment in environment The USVTC has played a key role in the negotiation and implementation of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and will continue to work closely with Vietnam on the next steps in

Vietnam's economic integration and development

IV PROJECT DESCRIPTION

1 Subproject 1

1.1 Project Title: “Being knowledgeable to change the world”

1.2 Project Site: Hanoi

1.3 Project Period: 2 years

1.4 Total Project Cost: 19,190.6 USD

1.5 Backgrounds:

Vietnamese people consider climate change a new issue and pay very inadequate attentions from local community in general However, recently, Vietnamese media has gradually paid more attention to this phenomenon judging by the fact that a lot of information about environment and climate change are now widely spread Hence, local communities are better warned of the climate change when extreme weather happens Also, local community has also acquired more knowledge on this problem through several big events held in Viet Nam such as Earth Hour Campaign in which 1,1 million people in 5 big cities (Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An,

Da Nang) have participated, etc or environmental projects launched in urban areas like Go Green, 3R (JICA) etc However, these events are only temporary, therefore they have not yet managed to bring to local people an overview of climate change or create environmentally friendly behaviors Aside the media, the educational activities in offices, schools conducted by Governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations and volunteer clubs also help raising the awareness of climate change

1.6 Brief descriptions of the project:

Objectives:

• Gathering and establishing a green community which is always ready to contribute to the solid development

• Maintaining and broadening the model of socializing the environmental education

• Help to ensure the project’s success

Main Activities:

• Founding an organization which acts for environment and climate change

• Gathering, editing and popularizing educational documents about environment and climate change

• Carrying out training “pioneer lecturers” who will lecture on environment and climate change

• Organizing the activities of propagandizing, educating on environment and climate change

• Taking part in developing the project network and complementing different components

• Become a tool which helps carry out different parts of VG4

1.7 Managing mechanism of RAECP:

The organization has been found by Hoang Duc Minh in December, 2008 under the name Raising Awareness on Environment and Climate Change Program

The management board consists of a program director, some program managers and specialized staffs who are grouped as the team “Fight for the Future” (abbreviated as the F3 Team)

Program director has the same responsibilities as a general manager of the program Program director takes charge of the program and is the highest representative of the program (admin@raecp.org)

Managers: are responsible for the following parts:

(At least 2 managers for each part and 1 manager may undertake many parts)

1 Coordinator: including allocating human resources, assigning tasks, developing orientation, checking problems and demands of program

Coordinators have the main roles in assigning works among groups and individuals as well as allocating human resources (in both terms of finance and manpower) They also play the role of

"intermediate factors" which helps linking different parts of the program Besides, they are effective observers who urge and remind their groups’ members to maintain the speed of work

In some particular cases, coordinators may turn to leaders of groups or monitors of a project They have the right to summon a general meeting if necessary

2 Human Resources Management: including managing members network, investigating members’ biographies, classifying their abilities, taking their ideas, aspirations, developing new members network, building new managing mechanism and being in charge of internal affairs