Illustrative image. Source: VNAA conference was held in Hanoi on September 4 to introduce a project to build an urban climate change resilience index in Vietnam.
The project is part of a larger one to develop urban areas adaptive to climate change for the 2013-2020 period implemented by the Urban Development Department under the Ministry of Construction with collaboration with ministries and localities.
Work on the index started in July and will last until December 2016, with five cities of Lao Cai, Uong Bi, Hoi An, Gia Nghia and Ca Mau selected to test the index. After that, the use of the index will be expanded to localities targeted by the project on developing urban areas adaptive to climate change for the 2013-2020 period.
According to Tran Van Giai Phong from the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, the climate resilience of urban areas is the ability of individuals, community, organisations and systems of a city to exist and develop amidst different innate pressures or sudden shocks.
A city’s resilience includes four factors – health and welfare, economy and society, infrastructure and environment, and leadership and policies, he said.
Participants at the conference said the index should include specific indices in line with different conditions in each locality, region and urban areas.
Dr. Michael Digregorio from the Asia Foundation in Vietnam said the index system will include both general and specific indices to allow the comparison among the cities, thus finding measures to increase the resilience of each city.
Meanwhile, Tran Thi Lan Anh, deputy head of the Urban Development Department, said the objectives of the project is to design a index system serving as a tool for controlling and supporting the resilience of cities against natural disasters and climate change.-VNA
