MEF Workshop held on 28 December 2017: Building Community Capacity in Response to Mekong Delta Environmental Changes.
In the workshop, we allocated one session (10:30-12:00) for community education which emphasizes:
- Raising awareness of environmental changes caused by “made-in Vietnam” factors such as coal-fired power plants, paper mills, and nonsustainable agricultural practices;
- promoting civil rights in local/provincial decision-making process;
- identifying emerging challenges facing local livelihoods and smart agricultural models; and
- introducing concepts that MEF learned from Stimson’s workshop in Can Tho: why Vietnam’s energy import from Laos could potentially sustain and protect the Mekong Delta. Inspired by the online “cost-benefit assessment tool” of the Nature Conservancy, MEF’s Nguyen Minh Quang, designed a new one with features that fit neatly into the situation of Mekong Delta to enable attendees (work in groups) to determine their preferred priority (e.g. biodiversity, electricity generation, fishery contribution, forest loss, investment and people affected) and learn how to compromise their conflicting interests to identify an “ideal” option/choice meeting interests of all involved sides.
Research Awards/Sponsorship:
- 6 excellent datasets and research works were selected to receive awards (see below). The East-West Management Institute supports grants. One of these works will be published in The Diplomat as confirmed by the editor.
- 3 best community-benefited projects were presented at the workshop to compete for a grant of up to $1,500. The successful project will be implemented in 2018 starting in mid-January (see below).
List of research works awarded by the workshop organizers:
- 1st Prize ($500): Environmental Changes and Migration under the Forces of Climate Change in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Authors: Dương Thị Chúc Huyền and Danh Đện (Students from Can Tho University – Supervised by Nguyen Minh Quang).
- 2nd Prize ($200): Assessing Groundwater Quality by Using Information Thematic Map: Case Study in Phong Dien District, Can Tho City. Authors: Nguyen Duc Tin, Cao Duy Luan, Bui Thi Anh Thu, Niels Versluis (Can Tho University – Supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Dinh Giang Nam (Can Tho University).
- 3rd Prize ($100): T-learning in Climate-resilient Agricultural Development: A Case Study in Phong Dien District, Can Tho City. Authors: Trinh Chi Tham, Le Van Nhuong, Le Van Hieu, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuc, Nguyen Cao Cuong, Trang Duc Tuan – Supervisor: Ho Thi Thu Ho (Can Tho University).
- Selected Community Project: “Assessing Impacts of Song Doc Industrial Zone on Local Communities and Environment”
Project leader: Duong Thi Chuc Huyen – Supervisor: Nguyen Minh Quang (MEF).