Current trends show that climate change will result in a significant temperature increase leading to sea level rise, increased water and soil salinity, and dramatic changes in weather and flood patterns. Increased precipitation during rainy season and drought during the rest of the year are among the current trends observed by national agro-meteorologists and the international research community.

The potential impacts of climate change are likely to be serious for agricultural production, and the availability of water resources will be less certain and more variable. As 80-90 percent of the population depends on agriculture, a majority of the population will be vulnerable to these potential impacts. Low land fish and rice farming support the livelihoods of millions of Vietnamese, and are key for both national food security and the economy. Viet Nam is the second largest rice exporter in the world.

Understanding that “climate change is water change,” the Vietnamese Association for the Conservation of Nature (VACNE) and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) launches a project to improve current knowledge and documentation of the impacts of climate change on the farming communities in both key deltas. The project is partially funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and aims at helping the country increase the resilience of its farming communities by synthesising international research with field information on this topic, and eventually raise awareness among farmers, and building capacities of water management practitioners at government agencies on how to address climate change.

During 2013, the project will pilot in three provinces, namely, Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta, and Ha Nam and Thai Binh in the Red River Delta. Farmers in these provinces will gather information on hydro-climatic hazards and local responses, which will be used to raise awareness on the potential implications of climate change, as well as the response methods that the community already possesses to address those risks. The programme will focus on empowering farmers by helping them articulate their concerns and need for support from the international community and national government working on climate adaptation policy in order to enhance resilience at the local level.

The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is a policy institute that generates knowledge and informs decision-making towards water wise policy and sustainable development. SIWI performs research, builds institutional capacity and provides advisory services in five thematic areas: water governance, transboundary water management, water and climate change, the water-energy-food nexus, and water economics. SIWI organises the World Water Week in Stockholm – the leading annual global meeting place on water and development issues – and hosts the Stockholm Water Prize, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and the Stockholm Industry Water Award.

The Viet Nam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) is an NGO and a member organisation connecting Vietnamese expertise from inside and outside the country in the field of nature conservation and environmental protection in Viet Nam. With its broad network, VACNE is deemed as the best possible local partner for the implementation of this project. VACNE has access to Vietnamese researchers, authorities, and organisations that are imperative for the successful implementation of this project. They also maintain a very high level of integrity and credibility in pursuing such efforts, and have had experience dealing with Swedish organisations in implementing other projects in the past. VACNE is ideally setup to take the prime communication role with the local communities, and thereby both assess the perceived needs and desires. VACNE combines long standing experience from environmental work, with excellent knowledge on socio-economic conditions and pre-requisites on local community level.

Inception Workshop
The Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE), Vietnam and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), will co-organise the Inception Workshop to launch the project on January 22-23, 2013 at the Sunway Hotel, 19 Pham Dinh Ho str., Hanoi, Vietnam.

This workshop will present the preliminary findings of the project on the current impacts of climate change and the status of adaptation measures in Viet Nam. Priorities to address climate change in Vietnam and the role of this project from the Vietnamese perspective will be discussed. The outcome of the session will be taken into account by the PDC partnership during the further implementation stage of the project. Key experts from relevant fields as well as representatives of local beneficiaries are expected to participate.

For further information about the workshop, kindly contact us at: VACNE, thuyvacne@gmail.com, +84 983761714, or Event Organiser support: Vietnet-ict, phngan@vietnet-ict.org, +84 989146114.

At SIWI, please contact rami.abdelrahman@siwi.org for more information.

Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change in the world today, especially in the Mekong and Red River Deltas where 43 per cent of the population in the country live.

At the 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm, over 2,500 experts gathered to discuss solutions to ensure water and food security for our entire globe. As the organiser, the Stockholm International Water Institute offers its conclusions on key threads that emerged from the Week, based on the reports from workshops, seminars, plenary sessions and the rappor-teur theme reports. This interpretation of the most meaningful and recurring messages that emerged on Water and Food Security – the theme of the 2012 event – is meant to contribute to a dialogue between and beyond the intense and fruitful discussions that took place during the World Water Week.

At Elsevier the study has been executed by the SciVal Analytics unit with guidance from experts in the field of water research from the Aquatic and Green Sciences portfolio and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Authors of this report are: Britt-Louise Anderson, Christiane Barranguet, Jens Berggren, Judith Kamalski, Iris Kisjes, and Alexander van Servellen.

Published in 2012

Published in 2012.

Addendum

This addendum clarifies issues relating to the research results published in:

Falkenmark, M. (2012) ‘Food security: overcoming water scarcity realities’, in Feeding a Thirsty World: Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure World, SIWI Report 31. Jägerskog, A. and Jønch Clausen, T., (ed). Stockholm International Water Institute, Stockholm.

Clarification of citation

The chapter is based on the in May 2012 latest accessible modeling in the well published multiyear research project at Stockholm Resilience Center starting in 2007. The project is being summarised in the book:

Rockström, J., Falkenmark, M., Folke, C., Lannerstad, M., Hoff, H., Heinke, J., Gordon, L., Enfors, E., & Barron, J. (2013). Confronting the water challenge in a turbulent world. Towards a green-blue resilience approach for global sustainability. Cambridge University Press, forthcoming.

The results presented in the chapter originate from work in progress. The forthcoming publication will consider additional water productivity gains for crop and livestock production, different fractions of animal source foods in the diet, and sensitivity of the analysis, depending on the chosen assumptions.

Contents
Workshop: Best Use of Blue Water Resources for Food Security
Workshop: Towards a Green Economy: The Water-Food-Energy Nexus
Workshop: Governance for Water and Food Security
Workshop: Rainfed Production under Growing Rain Variability: Closing the Yield Gap
Workshop: Health and Food Security
Workshop: Safeguarding Global Food Security and Life Supporting Ecosystems
Workshop: Securing Water and Food in an Urbanizing World
Workshop: Trade and Food Security

Article in Stockholm Water Front Magazine, issue no 2, 2012.

Report published in 2012.

Article in Stockholm Water Front, issue no 4, 2011

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 3 2007.