Điện Biên Province, located in the mountainous northern part of Việt Nam, with a population of over 598,800, topped the nation with the highest poverty rate since 2019. According to the report in 2020, the national average poverty rate was 3.7%, compared to 33% of Điện Biên Province. Among other districts, Điện Biên Đông and Tủa Chùa, with 98,1% as ethnic minority people, are facing the most severe poverty rates 30,7% and 41,9% respectively in 2020.
Việt Nam is facing challenges as one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Though Điện Biên does not suffer from rising sea levels, the province has witnessed increasingly evident impacts of climate change due to its topography, climate, and social-economic characteristics. Climate change impact on the area is reflected through changes in the mean temperature, annual rainfall as well as the rising occurrence of extreme weather events.
Tủa Chùa district has experienced complicated and unpredictable changes in weather and climate during 2019 and 2020 which has caused numerous natural disaster occurrences such as cold spells and fog, tropical storms, heavy rains causing landslides and flash floods. The loss due to disasters in 2019 and 2020 was estimated at approximately EUR 513.700 (VND 13.6 billion) and approximately EUR 736.000 (VND 20.5 billion) with damage in infrastructure (such as transport routes, irrigation systems, water supply systems, electricity system, schools), lost/damaged crops, lost poultry/cattle, damaged houses, and injured community members.
Điện Biên Đông District was also impacted by different disasters recently, such as thunderstorms, hails, cyclones, landslides, floods, and flash floods. The disasters in 2019 and 2020 in the District damaged houses, schools, traffic routes, clean water supply systems, electricity systems, irrigation systems, rice and crops, foresty and poultry/cattle/aquaculture, with an approximate loss of EUR 113.000 (VND 3 billion) and EUR 484.600 (VND 13.5 billion).
The project’s overall objective is to increase the Điện Biên Ethnic minorities’ resilience to Disasters through promoting the application of climate-smart livelihoods and water solutions and community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM). In collaboration with target communities, local partners, and experts, the project employs a community-based approach to enhance the adoption of target communities of climate-smart alternative water and livelihood solutions, and at the same time improve their capacity for increasing their resilience to disasters.
Budget
EUR 374,838.71 (~ USD 449,806)
Donor
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Timeline
April 2021 – March 2022
Location
Điện Biên Province
Direct beneficiaries
25,321 people (children and adults) in Tủa Chùa and Điện Biên Đông Districts, Điện Biên Province
Partners
- District and Communal People’s Committees
- District Department of Education and Training (DOET)
- School management boards
- District and Commune Committees for Disaster Prevention and Control
- District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)
- District Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DoNRE)
- District Forest Ranger Department
- Youth’s Union
- Women’s Union
- Rapid response teams