Women are a group of people who are vulnerable to climate change and often have to face storms, floods, and droughts to ensure their daily lives and basic livelihoods. Therefore, promoting the role of women in climate change adaptation is an effective measure to improve community resilience to extreme natural disasters.
Ms. Hoang Thi The (Vinh Tri village, Hai Duong commune, Hue city, Thua Thien - Hue province) started planting mangrove forests in 2021. At that time, she and many people in Hai Duong commune did not know how to plant mangrove trees so that they could survive and grow evenly. Participating in the project "Enhancing the role of women in enhancing the resilience of communities and coastal ecosystems in Central Vietnam", she was trained and supported with seeds many times by staff of the Center for Social Research and Development (CSRD), and she was able to grow them proficiently.
"The forest has covered the mangrove area along the lagoon. Everyone is happy because the trees are alive and growing quickly, helping aquatic products under the forest canopy have an environment to reproduce and develop," Ms. The excitedly shared.
Not only supporting women in 32 communes along the Tam Giang lagoon to plant mangrove forests, the project also focuses on promoting women's participation in activities such as tree nursery, tree planting, communication, and sharing of livelihood experiences. The mangrove tree nursery helps women earn income, while ensuring the supply of seedlings for the expansion of existing mangrove forest areas.
According to statistics, as of March 2023, about 28,000 mangrove seedlings and fruits have been planted, of which 7,000 are double mangrove trees and about 21,000 are Sonneratia trees. The seedlings are planted in the nursery until they are sold and planted by the community around the lagoon. Thanks to that, the community has an additional source of direct income and increases the resilience of the coastal ecosystem.
The project "Enhancing the role of women in enhancing the resilience of communities and coastal ecosystems in Central Vietnam" was approved by the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province to be implemented in the period of 2021 - 2023 to enhance the role of women in disaster risk management, enhance the resilience of communities and coastal ecosystems in areas at high risk of flooding in Thua Thien Hue province.
Within the framework of the project, the Communication and Livelihood Initiative Competition was organized from the grassroots to the provincial level, creating an exciting atmosphere and motivating people to learn about climate change, ecosystems, mangrove forests as well as sustainable livelihood models based on nature.
Thanks to that, the project has helped local women change their awareness of environmental protection. The forests act as shields against waves and wind during each stormy season. In addition to nurturing and planting, women also take care of and actively protect the forests, preventing bad guys from cutting them down.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhat Anh - Director of CSRD, Thua Thien Hue is one of the localities that is greatly affected by extreme weather phenomena, with high frequency and intensity. In particular, the Tam Giang lagoon area - the largest brackish water area in Southeast Asia - is often affected by storms from the East Sea.
According to statistics, there are about 500,000 people currently living in 32 low-lying communes along the lagoon and the coast of Thua Thien Hue province. An estimated 100,000 women have direct livelihoods based on lagoon resources such as fishing and using water resources here. Meanwhile, about 200,000 others use services provided by the ecosystem indirectly such as: flood prevention and agricultural production.
“We realize that it is very necessary to promote and enhance women’s capacity on their role and contribution in the field of natural disaster prevention, response and climate change adaptation. In particular, the communication and livelihood initiative contest organized from the grassroots to the provincial level has created an exciting atmosphere and motivated people to learn about climate change, mangrove ecosystems as well as sustainable livelihoods based on nature,” said Ms. Ngo Thi Anh Tuyet, Permanent Vice President of the Women’s Union of Thua Thien Hue province.
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