Thua Thien – Hue, 7 April 2022 - The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam held a joint workshop to introduce the new Circular 10/2021/TT-BKHĐT on the integration of disaster risk reduction into socio-economic development plans (SEDPs) in Viet Nam.

Highlighting the importance of the new Circular and the solutions it offers for implementation, Mr. Tran Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Economy Department at MPI, stated: "The amendments and revisions in Circular 10/2021/TT-BKHĐT are intended to focus on handling inadequacies that arose during the implementation of Circular No. 05/2016/TT-BKHDT, such as specifying the content and implementation processes for integration in order to more closely address disaster risk reduction, providing more specific guidelines on how to select risk reduction measures for integration, and reflecting updates from newer legal documents such as the 2019 Law on Public Investment. This will allow ministries and local governments to be equipped with the important knowledge to select suitable measures for implementing this new policy document."

More than 100 delegates were in attendance. Directly participating in the workshop were representatives from MPI, the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), UNDP, provincial level Departments of Planning and Investment of Thua Thien – Hue and Nam Dinh provinces, as well as district-level authorities, officials, experts, policymakers, and national and international NGOs. Representatives from provincial Departments of Planning and Investment, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, national agencies, research institutes, and civil society organisations from 75 online points also joined the event.

The additional articles of this new Circular include the development of viewpoints and orientations for integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR); selection of risk reduction measures for integration into SEDPs; integration of gender and nature-based solutions covering all three phases (before, during, and after disasters); and assessment and monitoring of the integration of the required risk reduction measures.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Dao Xuan Lai, Assistant Resident Representative of UNDP in Viet Nam and head of its Climate Change and Environment Unit, affirmed that: "This workshop is very meaningful, especially as Viet Nam begins to implement its 10-year socio-economic development strategies. For the next five years, Viet Nam will be transforming its economic structure towards green growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions as per its commitments at COP26. Effective implementation of this Circular would solve several important issues in reducing disaster risk, enhancing resilience for local communities and infrastructure."

According to the new Circular, the disaster risk reduction measures to be integrated into plans and planning processes are intended to protect socio-economic development, mitigate negative impacts of disasters on the environment, reduce the residual risk, while ensuring the develop investments do not create new risks.

At the workshop, representatives from coastal provinces discussed current issues and shared lessons learned related to integration of risk reduction measures in their planning processes. Many localities are actively engaged in the integration of risk reduction measures into their SEDPs. Thua Thien – Hue province, for example, is applying the new Circular in their local processes for both annual plans and four-year plans covering 2022-2025, including applying technology to supervise and operate disaster risk management tasks for community services.

Circular No.10 is providing practical solutions for reducing disaster risk and contributing to climate change adaptation, a key priority in the country’s National Strategy on Disaster Risk Management up to 2030 and contributing to Vietnam’s new commitments made at COP26.

The event also emphasized the importance of including gender when integrating disaster risk reduction into sustainable development plans, as well as improving public knowledge and awareness on the changing climate.

This event was an activity organized in the framework of the project "Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change-related impacts in Viet Nam" financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and UNDP and implemented in collaboration with the Government of Viet Nam.

For more information, please kindly contact:

Phan Huong Giang (Ms.),

Media and Communications Analyst, Climate Change & Environment

UNDP in Viet Nam

Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org

Phone: 0948466688

Vu Thai Truong (Mr.),

Project Management Specialist,

UNDP in Viet Nam

Email: vu.thai.truong@undp.org