VIETNAM COUNTRY REPORT

Transcription

1 VIETNAM COUNTRY REPORT The 10th ASEAN & Japan High level officials meeting on Caring Societies: "National framework and practices for socially vulnerable groups in case where natural disaster hit country" October 2012, Tokyo Japan 1

2 Introduction Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia with a total land area of 329,314 square kilometres and a coastline of approximately more than 3,260 kilometres. The total population was about 90 million (2012); the urban population about 30%. Vietnam is categorized into six economic-geography regions: Midland and Northern mountainous (Northwest and Northeast); Red River Delta; Central Coast (Northern Central Coast and South Central Coast); Central Highlands; South East; Mekong River Delta. Mountains account for ¾ of natural land of Vietnam. The average losses and damages caused by disasters account for 1-2 per cent of GDP, with 450 human death. 1. Disaster management framework in general 1.1. Natural disaster in Vietnam Vietnam is prone to natural disasters, including typhoons, storms, floods, droughts, landslides, and... The poorest people in society are the most vulnerable. More than one million people require emergency relief each year. At the same time, climate change models predict that that Vietnam will be one of worst affected countries globally. Climate change and natural disasters are big challenges to the development and poverty reduction in Vietnam. In the past year, disasters have occurred in almost areas of the country which caused to huge losses of life and property, damages to infrastructures, influence on cultural and social aspects and environmental degradation. It is estimated the damages cause by disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and cyclones were about 1-2% of the annual GDP. Natural disasters typical in Vietnam: Storms: the annual number of storms is quite large (8-9) and intensity with an increasing trend, especially in the last three decades % of the Vietnamese population affected by the storm. Flooding: River flooding occurs annually in all areas. Flooding is most serious in the Mekong Delta - primarily from the upstream of the Mekong River and is directly affected by the tide. Flood season lasts for long time from 4 to 5 months of the year, flooding almost the entire Mekong River Delta. Flash floods, mudflows: usually occurs in mountainous areas where there are steep slopes, 2

3 intense rainfall without or with limited drains. Flash floods can also occur due to rupture of small reservoirs, landslides that cover flows. Floods occur more and more. Flash floods occur within the limited geographical areas, but very intense and often cause serious loss of life and property. For the last 10 years ( ) there have been 96 flash floods causing more than 880 dead and almost 1,500 injured people; more than 6000 houses destroyed; 120,000 houses were flooded; 132 thousand hectares of rice and crops were flooded. Flooding: usually caused by heavy rainfall. Some areas suffer from prolonged flooding. Flooding is less likely to cause loss of life but affect agricultural production and ecological environment. Drought and desertification: commonly occurs in Vietnam. In recent years, droughts occur in all parts of the country. Drought has reduced from 20 to 30% yields, reduced food production, causing serious effects on livestock and subsistence of the people. Prolonged drought will lead to the risk of desertification in some regions, especially the South Central region, coastal sand and slopes of the midland and mountainous areas. Salinity: salinity occurs along the coast with different levels. The South West coastal provinces are those of most affected area of serious salinization with 1.77 million hectares, accounting for 45% of the land area. Cost of construction of the salinity intrusion, keeping fresh water is very expensive. Whirlwind: usually occurs suddenly, often occur every year in Vietnam. In recent years the number of whirlwind increases. Erosion: loss of riverbanks, beaches, steep slopes, cracked earth. Erosion occurs often causes: exogenous causes (by water), endogenous (due to geological changes) and livelihoods (due to unorganized mining or construction works)... Earthquakes have occurred in Vietnam, but only at low levels. The tsunami has not yet appeared in Vietnam, many Vietnamese coasts are still at risk of tsunami affected by potential earthquake risk in the region. Sea level rise: the phenomenon of annual average sea level in recent years, higher than average sea many years due to the effects of global climate change. Many phenomena have become irregular, prolonged cold in the north; storms tend to move to the south, 3

4 Disasters intensity and frequency in Vietnam in the past years Geographic position and topographic condition form special climate characteristics resulting to serious and diversified disasters in Vietnam. Natural disasters occur almost round year in Vietnam. There are typical disasters in each season and particular characters in each region. Table: Disaster relative frequency in Vietnam High Medium Low Flood, Landslide Earthquake Storm, Tropical depression Flash flood Drought salinity intrusion (Source: National report on natural disaster reduction in Vietnam) Table: Assessment of disaster severity in Vietnam North east and north west Red River Delta North central coast South central coast Central highlands North east south Storm Mekong River Delta Flood Flashflood Drought Salinity intrusion Landslide Very severe (++++); Severe (+++); Medium (++); Light (+); None (-) (Source: National report on natural disaster reduction in VN) 1.2. National policies related to disaster management and relevant legislation During the process of historical development, prevention and mitigation of natural disasters in Viet Nam has always been a struggle for survival, associated with the process of nation building. 4

5 Right after the formulation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 22 May 05, 1946; The Central Committee for Dykes has been established that was the precedent of the current Central Steering Committee for prevention and mitigation of flood and storms. The government has paid great efforts on prevention and mitigation of natural disasters, some of key achievements can be highlighted as follows: - Improvement of the legal documents, creating a legal framework for the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters. In recent years, Vietnam has developed and issued a number of related legal documents such as: Law on Dykes, Forest Protection and Development Law, Environmental Protection Law, the Ordinance on the Prevention, floods Control. The government also issued the various decrees guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances. - A number of strategies and action plans developed as: the national program strategies: a national strategy for prevention and mitigation of natural disasters to 2020 (2007); national target program to respond to climate change (2008);... - Step by step to consolidate the organizational system and capacity building for disaster relief; providing relevant equipment, facilities for the performance of flood control, disaster relief and search and rescue operations from the central to the local level. - Develop and implement programs of social and economic development related to flood, storm mitigation as: Watershed Forest planting program, mangroves forest, protection forest program, building reservoirs for regulating floods, safety program for fishing vessels, strengthening and upgrade dyke system, - International Cooperation: Join the international disaster reduction organizations in the region and the world, such as the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC); the Asian Disaster Prevention Center (ADPC); the ASEAN Committee for Disaster Management (ACDM); world Meteorological Organization (WMO); hurricane Committee (TC); for natural disaster Mitigation partnership (NDM-P), ISDR...; coordinate with other international, national and non-governmental organizations in the field of disaster reduction as UNDP, UNESCAP, world Bank, ADB, NGOs - Rescue work: establishment of the National Committee for Search and Rescue, completing the apparatus from the central to local levels, strengthening equipment 5

6 and facilities for search and rescue work, preparedness planning for the work of search and rescue by The relief and remedial: The State annually allocates budget and reserve the necessary materials to emergency relief for the rapid disaster recovery. The government has issued a number of decrees relating to resource mobilization and management of emergency relief, disaster recovery. - Propaganda and education: great achievements have been done in raising public awareness. More and better training course and education activities have been delivered to community level, reaching to the people groups. So that awareness of the local people and staff on the importance of this work is increasingly being raised. A number of poor households have been provided equipment to capture information and actively prevent disaster Organizational structure in natural disaster National Committee for Search and Rescue (2000) - Deputy Prime Minister as chairman Organizational system for prevention and mitigation of flood, storm (natural disasters) At national level Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm founded by Prime Minister Committee for the Prevention and Flood and storm of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, has the task of assisting the ministries and ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government implementing the solutions and measures for prevention of floods and storms within the management areas of ministries and ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government. Local level: The People's Committee is the body responsible for the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters in their management territory. Local committee for the Prevention and Flood and storm is established by the Chairman of the People's Committees, is responsible for supporting the People's Committees in implementation of the prevention of floods and storms in the local scope. c. Red Cross and other 1.4. Role of ministries 6

7 a. role of molisa State management of the social protection has been practiced in accordance to Decree 186/2007/ND-CP of December 25, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) Acting as the lead responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committees of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government to determine the extent of damages and food shortages caused by natural disasters to submit to the government for decision of support from the central budget (Decree 67/2007/ND-CP and Decree 13/2010/ND-CP) Taking the lead responsibility and coordinate with the relevant ministries to monitor and inspect the implementation of rescue and relief emergency services delivered to local people and victims of natural disasters in case of fires, serious incidents to ensure compliance regimes and policies(decree 64/2008/ND-CP on receiving, distribution and utilization of voluntary contributions to support people to overcome difficulties caused by natural disasters, fires, serious incidents). - Representative of the MOLISA is a member of the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Center (Decree No. 14/2010/ND-CP) b. Role of the MOH Ministry of Health implementing the tasks as a member of Streering Committee for flood prevention and control, the National Committee for victim search and rescue: - Providing emergency services and treatments for the victims before, during and after disasters, participating in activities of rescue and help patients and local people from the loss and damages of disaster. - Providing environmental and sanitation services, disease prevention, food safety, early detecting and treatment of diseases before it s widespread after flood, ensuring safety of health clinics, timely providing emergency services for victims. - Staff of Health sectors work closely with other organizations and sector at local level to provide education and awareness raising on health protection, especially environmental and sanitation issues, providing guidelines for ensuring good health for people in winter time, especially for old people and children; conducting regular 7

8 checking and examination of food safety; supplying clean water in a number of critical areas. - Based on the general health status of population of certain regions which are potential for being hit by disaster, MOH develops plan on reservation of medicine, chemical and other necessities for health and medical treatment for local people. 2. Actual practices 2.1. Brief Description of Presenting Case For the fight against natural disasters in Vietnam, there have been many lessons learned from generations of Vietnamese One of the lessons is "four actions on site". It comes from experience in the collaborative effort to prevent flood and protect the dykes of the northern delta from the early 1970s. Experience shows that in order to ensure a safe system of dykes in flood season, it is necessary to take proactive actions in organization, mobilization of all local available (one site) resource from all social and political actors. For this, preparedness and readiness for actions in any stage of flood is very important. Four actions on site includes: on site leader, on site human source, and on site materials and on site logistics. The experiences of Four actions on site " has been conceptualized and then replicated for implementation in the whole field of prevention and first relief. The concept of four actions on site is frequently used in disaster prevention can be understood as follows: each household, each location will need to prepare itself fully what is needed for them to prevent and cope with natural disasters occur locally at any time. The concept also requires for preparedness of disaster mitigation for each family itself, but also ready to help community. Nature of the four actions on site" is self-help, which means the population and local authorities need to be ready for disaster prevention and mitigation, not being passive and relying on the external supports Identification of socially vulnerable groups in natural disaster The primary target group for implementation of concept of four actions on site include local authority leaders at all levels, party committees, political institutions, social and mass organizations, armed forces based in locality and all those who s responsibility relating to prevention of and disaster relief either for regular performance or in case of emergency situations. 8

9 On site leader include also the head of family or community, such as parents in family and those who are rich of experiences in living and disaster overcome in community, these people should be healthy one. On site human resource includes local people with good health status in family or community who can be able to involve in protection and secure people and assets On site material includes all means necessary for the rescue, evacuation of remove of living facilities, boats, and other safety equipment for people such as life vest, place for temporary evacuation On site logistics include alls essential necessities such as food, medicines, clean water, and fuel for domestic use in the given time Measures taken for socially vulnerable group in disaster management "On site four actions " can be applied effectively to the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters for the types of natural disasters that occur frequently in Vietnam include: hurricanes, floods, landslides, water sea level rise, salt water intrusion, drought, forest fires... this approach is effective for all stages before, during and after a disaster. Before disaster In implementation of this guideline, we have to build the plan, anticipate the possibility and likelihood of natural disasters that occur locally and prepare for what is needed to be used for both the response and recovery process when natural disasters occur. Preparation of four actions on site" will help us actively in the practice of preparedness, for example consolidating houses, anchoring boats, cutting pruning trees and especially preparation of evacuation of people. During the disaster Preparation of good and adequate facilities, human forces in place, ensuring the evacuation of more timely and proactive; Implementing the searching and rescue, providing first aid and rescue assets, mobilizing all resources for reduce damage to houses and property. After disaster Good preparation for self help disaster mitigation is very useful for rapid recovery. In fact there have been very expensive lessons of not being preparedness of essential 9

10 necessity for overcome disaster, even the case where victims suffering from hunger and external supports were not able to reach the hit location and food and other necessary things could supplied only by helicopters. In contrast, in other cases, local authority and people having reserved enough food before the flood and they can survive even several days of disaster in isolated location due to the traffic cut off 2.4. Inter-agency collaboration/coordination and key responsibilities of each sector, Health, Labour and Social Welfare in the case. On site leader The first requirement is set up and nominate the on site leader to lead and give direction for all the activities of prevention, response and flood disaster relief. The leadership should consist of leaders at all levels of authority, the functional agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations at grassroots level. Armed Forces and other military units located in the area should be involved as The highest leader should be the head of local authorities or community organizations which have been assigned to take the lead in the implementation of the actions on response and remedial performance. The purpose of the determination of leader and leadership is to ensure the activities to be taken in time, well organized and efficiency. In most of the cases, the Chairman of People s Committee of all levels is often take the utmost lead and the highest leader in these tasks, which include: - Collaborating with other sectors, the concerning agencies in regular checking and monitoring the preparedness plan, options for prevention and mitigation of natural disaster, timely addressing any problems occurs in case of disaster. - When disaster occurs, take the lead in giving instructions for mobilization of available resources for responding activities - Depending on the seriousness of disaster, the leader shall give adequate instructions for mitigation and responses, searching and rescue activities - After disaster, organizing the assessment of loss and damages caused by disaster On site human resource When natural calamities occur, the use of available forces in the area to rescue, support is the fastest, most effective. Service forces on site include: 10

11 Actively mobilizing and organizing the armed forces based in the location, the external resources and available human resource to perform the emergency response for example to help local households in consolidating house, chopping tree pruning, supporting local people in evacuation to a safe place, protecting the critical facilities works and scheme, participating in search and rescue. Ensuring to offer logistics services especially food, critical supplies, water, light, medicine, and health care for the elderly, young children, pregnant women, overcoming the consequences of such environmental hygiene, disease prevention, applying adequate measure for social security for local and temporary residents, participating to help the family of victims. On site material and facilities The core things is readiness of local community in proactive manner, preparing all necessary facilities such as means, materials and items available disaster prevention and rescue situations in case of emergency. The utmost important is to ensure timely rescue and minimizing the damage caused by natural disasters. In addition to financial budget allocated by budget state in accordance to annual budget for disaster mitigation, the local authority or the Committee for the Flood Prevention also need to mobilize resources from local community for disaster prevention and mitigation. On site logistics In this regards, each locality must actively prepare logistics such as food, medicines reserved for using in case of emergency. The rules is to ensure safety for injured people, vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women and children before, make sure enough food and water for people during an emergency before the assistance from outside Challenges faced and recommendations to other communities and countries for replication 11