Bangladesh ministry officers visiting UEH to learn about climate change adaptation

On September 14, ten members from the Bangladesh Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change - Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance visited the School of Economics - University of Economics Ho Chi Minh city (UEH) and Environment for Development (EfD) Center in Vietnam, which Economy administers and Environment Partnership for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) at UEH. The purpose was to learn about how farmers in the Mekong Delta have tried to adapt to climate change, the effectiveness, and the measures that could be implemented to boost the adaptation.

Attending the exchange, on the UEH side, there were: MSc. Le Thanh Nhan - Vice Dean of School of Economics, Ph.D. Le Thanh Loan - Head of Division of Environmental Economics - Agriculture - Natural Resources, with lecturers of the School of Economics and researchers at the Southeast Asian Institute of Environmental Economics.

"Bangladesh and Vietnam have similar climate change challenges, especially flooding. We would like to understand the situation in your country and research outcomes that could help us facilitate a strategic adaptation plan." said Zakia Afroz, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Ms. Zakia Afroz - representative of Bangladesh's inter-ministerial mission speaking

Within the framework of the working session, Phung Thanh Binh, a researcher at UEH and EfD research fellow, presented an overview of the global flood hazard and specific stories from the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, followed by policy implications from one of his recent publications about risk communication, women's participation, and flood mitigation.

MSc. Phung Thanh Binh - Lecturer of the School of Economics presenting on the topic "Communication on flood risks and women's participation in climate change mitigation."

Ho Quoc Thong, another UEH & EfD researcher, presented a study on shrimp farming and investigated which adaptation methods are the most effective for the shrimp farmers in the Mekong Delta.

Dr. Ho Quoc Thong - Lecturer of the School of Economics presented on the topic "Shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta and adaptation to climate change"

"Your studies are interesting and help us know more about measures to increase the effectiveness of adaptation as well as how to communicate to reduce the risks associated with climate change." said Mir Rashed Sohel, Senior Advisor of the GIZ Bangladesh.

Mr. Mir Rashed Sohel - Senior Advisor of GIZ Bangladesh speaking

In the spirit of enthusiastic sharing, the visit and working session of the Bangladesh Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Finance at UEH took place successfully. This was part of a study tour in Vietnam organized by the German Agency for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ) in a Bangladesh project on the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Support Programme.

Some other pictures during the workshop: