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ePaper created 2015-12-01, 11:32:17 | version 1.43.00
Commitment 39akzente 2/15 > Contact GIZ Viet Nam > giz-vietnam@giz.de CAPITAL: Hanoi POPULATION: 89.7 million1 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP): USD 171.4 billion2 ECONOMIC GROWTH: 5.4 per cent3 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX RANKING: 121 (out of 187) Source: 1 2 3 World Bank 2013 Strengthening the coastline Project: Integrated coastal management programme Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Lead executing agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Viet Nam TERM: 2011 to 2017 GIZ has helped put up inexpensive and environmentally friendly protective structures along almost eleven kilometres of coastline in five Mekong provinces. These measures have helped to save around ten hectares of flood plain and prevent erosion of up to 15 metres per year. Approximately 320 hectares of mangrove forest have been restored. Many inhabitants of the provinces now have secure livelihoods, around 60% of bene- ficiaries are women. And biodiversity in the region has increased by 70% in just four years. Today there are 30% more birds living in the U Minh Thuong National Park. The project is cofinanced by the Australian Government. VIET NAM www.giz.de/viet-nam Thailand Viet Nam China Laos Cambodia picts villagers reporting on their joint activities to representatives of the local authority. ‘Since the start of the project, our income has risen by around 60%,’ says Thach Soal. Revenues from the sale of fish, shrimp and col- lected firewood have risen considerably. More- over, there is now a greater volume of seafood to be caught. The lack of conflict over the use of these natural resources has much to do with the fact that the village’s higher earners – such as the teachers or rice farmers – have no inten- tion of making a living from the mangroves. However, they can still use the walkway to get to the sea. Know-how translated into legislation Soc Trang Province, which includes the vil- lage of Au Tho B, is one of several Mekong provinces trialling the concept of mangrove afforestation. GIZ shares its experiences with the government in Hanoi, which in turn is already busy translating the lessons learned from mangrove management into current legislation. ‘That is a major success story,’ says Christian Henckes from GIZ. Success which promises a little more se- curity in the years ahead. For the challenges resulting from climate change are unlikely to be resolved that easily. ‘Although there hasn’t been a really severe storm in the re- gion since 1997,’ Thach Soal explains, ‘we get major flooding on a regular basis.’ Today the farmers are much less anxious about saltwater reaching the fields and contami- nating the soil. ‘Sometimes we hear the waves crashing against the mangroves at night – it can be really loud. But we’re no longer afraid of the sea.’ Source: 123