Environmental Conservation and Livelihood Improvement - Local Initiatives to Respond to Climate...

Environmental Conservation and Livelihood Improvement - Local

Initiatives toRespond to Climate Change

A view from the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development

(MCD)Ho Thi Yen Thu

MCD Deputy Director LIGCC training, 29/10/2008

These initiatives are co-financed by European Union, Oxfam Novib and McKnight Foundation

Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD)

Contents

• About MCD

• Why care about Climate Change

• Climate Change responses at MCD

• Levering actions


• Vietnamese NGO - marine conservation and coastal community development

• Interdependency of coastal communities and coastal & marine ecosystems

• Concerns and challenges of the coastal zone

• Local needs - available support

• Policy making - different levels

About MCD – who we are


• Coastal zone highly vulnerable

• Coastal ecosystems & biodiversity badly damaged

• Poverty concentrated

• Fisheries communities less represented

• Community conflicts and tensions increasing

About MCD – what drives us


Fish densityT / km2

1960

2000

Where have all the fish gone?



1986 1992

2002

Mangroves and aquaculture?



• Site selection: people & ecosystems strongly impacted

• 3 coastal communities: important coastal nature reserves, poor fishers and women, most vulnerable, low livelihood resilience: Giao Xuan Commune, Xuan Thuy National Park, Nam Dinh

Province (Red River Delta)

Nam Phu Commune, Tien Hai Natural Reserve, Thai Binh Province (Red River Delta)

Van Hung Commune, Trao Reef Protected Area, Khanh Hoa Province (South Central Coast)

About MCD – where we work


About MCD – where we work


Trao Reef Protected Area, Khanh Hoa


Xuan Thuy National Park, Nam Dinh


Tien Hai Nature Reserve, Thai Binh


About MCD – approaches

• Improve & sustain the quality of life in coastal communities and marine ecosystems through: Enhancing coastal resource management

Supporting community development

Promoting applied sciences

Coordinating education and advocacy

Applying community based co-management and integrated coastal zone management


Why does MCD care about CC?

• Coastal ecosystems & the services - threatened by CC

• All three communities are at risk from CC

• Unhealthy coastal ecosystems & poor local people - less resilient to CC

• CC impacts may weaken/eliminate impacts of conservation & livelihood improvement

• CC impacts can be reduced by conservation & livelihood improvement


Sea Level Rise in the Communities

Less of a challenge for Van Hung

More of a challenge for Giao Xuan and Nam Phu

Carew-Reid, 2008


Climate Change at MCD

• Internal capacity building

• Integration of CC mitigation & adaptation into development activities

• Leverage of action effectiveness & efficiency via cooperation & networking


Climate Change at MCD

Internal capacity building

• Internal staff survey conducted, 20 staff

• Series of CC training seminars to educate staff

• CC workshop participation

• Implications of CC discussed in research efforts


Climate Change at MCD – mitigation

Mitigation:

• Conservation efforts: Healthy mangrove forests, coral reefs, sea grass fields - carbon sinks

• Community development efforts: Sustainable fisheries practices & livelihood alternatives – reduction of GHG emission


Climate Change at MCD – adaptation

• Conservation efforts: to increase the resistance and resilience of coastal ecosystems maintain fisheries resources & good environment for alternative

livelihoods protect coastline from sea level rise and storm surges moderate climate conditions

• Community development efforts: to empower communities to reduce their vulnerability to environmental, social and economic changes

Sustainable aquaculture demonstration Non-destructive fishing promotion Alternative livelihood development (ecotourism) Sustainable financial resources (microfinance and microbusiness) Capacity building, gender mainstreaming, advocacy

Adaptation:


Climate Change at MCD – local models

Locally Managed Marine Protected Area model:

• Trao Reef, in Van Hung commune, Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province

• Near shore coral reef of 40 ha, with high biodiversity in species, at risk of degradation

• Area with heavy pressure from aquaculture (lobster-culture) and fishing

• Community of 10.000 people, 70% depend on fisheries

Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) model:

• Xuan Thuy National Park, Giao Thuy district, Nam Dinh province

• The first Ramsar site in Vietnam (1989), National Park (2003)

• Significant values in biodiversity, wetlands and mangroves, especially ground for migratory birds

• Heavy pressure from aquaculture (clam farming) and fishing

• Community of 9.800 people, 60 % depend on fisheries


Fishery co-management in Trao Reef Locally-managed Marine Protected Area


Ecotourism at buffer zone ofXuan Thuy National Park


These initiatives are conducted with financial support from European Union, Oxfam Novib and McKnight Foundation


Climate Change at MCD – more to do

• MCD’s activities - potential to enable climate change mitigation and adaptation

• Magnitude of projected changes, observed reality of certain effects - additional efforts required

• Capacity of MCD & its project partners - to be strengthened

• CC responding initiatives should be well coordinated & streamlined


Levering Actions

• Collaborating with NGO-CCWG

• Co-Initiating and Participating in a Vietnam Network for Civil Society Organisations and Climate Change

• Connecting local needs with global & national supports


Thank-you

“Think globally act locally”

Environmental Conservation and Livelihood Improvement - Local Initiatives to Respond to Climate...

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