In Viet Nam’s Mekong River Delta, farmers are receiving valuable information in the form of Agro-Climatic Bulletins. The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT was the sole international organisation recognised by the Vietnamese government for expanding these services to reach over 270,000 farmers.

Enabling hundreds of thousands smallholder farmers to practice climate service-informed decision making, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) honored the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT its Certificate of Merit for developing and disseminating Agro-Climatic Bulletins (ACBs) across the 13 provinces in the Mekong River Delta.  

“ACBs contribute to the success of production at all levels from central to local levels, helping farmers change their farming practices, reducing input costs as well as crop losses,” Ms. Tran Thi My Hanh, technical staff of MARD’s Department of Crop Production (DCP) said. “The recognition emphasises the contribution of ACBs to agricultural development, encouraging and motivating individuals and government agencies to maintain and further scaling out ACBs in the country.”  

The Alliance is the sole international organisation to receive this certificate, alongside two other local agencies and 10 government staff, due to its pivotal role advancing rural and agricultural development in the country’s delta region. The timely release of the bulletins remains instrumental in empowering more than 270,000 farmers to make informed crop decisions, enabling them to better manage risks and prepare against unpredictable climate conditions.

Advisories through multiple channels

The bulletins provide localised recommendations, aligned with climate adaptation and mitigation strategies based on seasonal, monthly, and 10-day climate and weather forecasts. These advisories allow farmers to significantly reduce the risk of production losses, particularly in the face of challenging climatic conditions such as saltwater intrusion and drought, a local media reported. 

Currently, ACBs are active in 70 districts and 547 communes in the Mekong River Delta. While farmers are reached through multiple communication channels – such as digital media, loudspeakers, printed posters and capacity training sessions by government agencies and civil society groups – the bulletins have been largely disseminated through the mobile messaging application, Zalo which is the most common messaging app used by Vietnamese, including smallholder farmers.

On Zalo, farmers are notified of tailored district-level advisories every 10 days for more efficient crop farming – saving them both time and resources by knowing when it is best to sow seeds, apply inputs, and harvest crops, among others. The messaging application alone has efficiently reached more than 50,000 users within 979 chat groups, at least those who have access to smart phones and the internet.

Video: Agro-Climatic Bulletins for Vietnam ‘s Farmers via Mobile Messaging App

Agro-Climatic Bulletins for Vietnam ‘s Farmers via Mobile Messaging App – International Climate Initiative (IKI) in Viet Nam

Integration into Viet Nam’s Policy 

The bulletins were piloted on commune level in 2020, replicated in one province in 2021, expanded to seven provinces in 2022, and scaled to all 13 provinces in the Mekong River Delta in 2023.

With the agriculture ministry’s landmark decision to recognise the ACBs as technical advance, the advisory services became part of Viet Nam’s policy, which, the government hopes, will contribute to the state’s crop management and national climate change adaptation strategy. It has received an annual national budget of 400 million Vietnamese Dong (approximately 17,000 USD), paving the way for other provinces to follow suit and employ the ACB approach with a better chance of accessing local government funding. 

The institutionalisation of the bulletins has since prompted DCP to issue regional instruction letters and establish a regional Technical Working Group (TWG) to further support the bulletins’ implementation across all 13 provinces.  

Amplifying farmers’ voices 

The Alliance employed a multi-stakeholder and participatory approach in the implementation of the bulletins, securing farmers and local experts at the front and center of climate change action.   

In a series of capacity sharing sessions since the launch of the ACBs in 2020, farmers and agriculture professionals have played key roles in developing the bulletins as they provide relevant expertise on the status of crop growth and local climate conditions in the area. They have also been involved in determining the most appropriate type of ACBs: from the content, design, and timing of dissemination through communication channels such as online messaging groups and on-site meetings. 

For Mr. Le Thanh Tung, vice director of DCP in the South of Viet Nam, the participatory nature of the bulletins increases the tool’s sustainability: “The department reaffirms its continued collaboration with the Alliance to further improve the bulletins towards digitalisation, ensuring the efficiency and quality of advisories while making it more accessible to meet farmers’ needs.”  

What’s next? 

The recent recognition has fueled the Alliance and its partners to increase the reach of the bulletins, serving more smallholder farmers beyond the delta region, Climate Action Lead in Asia Cornelis Swaans said. 

Applying Human-Centered Design principles, the ACB approach is being improved to ensure that users and partners are placed in the center of the development process. This approach guarantees that products and services are being adapted and improved based on evolving needs. Supplementary training materials are also being developed and will be integrated as QR codes in the bulletins’ 10-day advisory shared through Zalo, which will then be tested with users in the coming months. 

The Alliance and DCP are keen to optimise the quality and dissemination process of the bulletins through incorporating low-emission, nutrition-sensitive, and conservation agriculture advisories, and promote two-way interaction with farmers, using a digital platform.

With strong government buy-in, the bulletins will have an opportunity to be scaled up across Viet Nam to help accelerate agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change while helping farmers stabilise their livelihoods under an unpredictable, ever-changing climate.

In the center of the Mekong Delta, the IKI funded Sustainable Sand Management in the Mekong Delta Project (IKI SMP), managed by WWF-Viet Nam and Viet Nam Dike and Disaster Management Authority (VDDMA), proudly announced the results of the first ever delta-wide Sand Budget for the Mekong Delta on 29 September in Can Tho City. In the midst of escalating sand demand, the study provided the most updated data of sand balance of Tien and Hau Rivers, two main branches of the Mekong in Viet Nam, to the responsible authorities. The study shows that, if the extraction rate remains as usual, in only 10 years, we will use up the mobile sand stock accumulated over hundreds of years by the Mekong River.

Kicked-off in March 2022, the Sand Budget for the Mekong Delta was conducted by experts from Deltares Joint Ventures, including field surveys, secondary data collection, and mathematical modeling to estimate the current sand balance in the delta for the year of 2022, with a vision for 2030-2040. The Sand Budget was built based on four factors: 1) the volume of sand deposited to the delta via two main branches, 2) the volume of sand discharged to the sea, 3) the volume of sand extracted within the delta, and 4) the current mobile sand stock in the riverbed. The measured existing stock of mobile sand in the riverbed varies from 367 to 550 million m3. It is important to understand that this is the sand that was accumulated over many centuries and plays a foundational role for the delta’s stability and climate change resilience. The survey results in 2022 demonstrate that there is only up to 0.6 million m3 of sand discharged to the sea, while the deposited amount to the delta, which is mostly trapped in the upstream dams, dwindles to 2-4 million m3 per year. It is simple math that with the current exploitation rate (35-55 million m3/year), the Mekong Delta existing mobile sand stock may be depleted before 2035. 

With the current development demands, it is impossible to halt sand mining overnight, but the Sand Budget emphases the limited nature of sand, and overexploitation for immediate economic benefits will bring much bigger consequences in the long term.  The Sand Budget also accentuates the sand’s transboundary nature, recommends a centralised delta-wide management system instead of the current provincial management and licensing system and points out the importance of recognising sand as an important resource with appropriate regulations and sanctions.

Moving forward, 16 sustainable alternatives have been identified in Southern Viet Nam to replace river sand in the construction sector. Overall, a Life Cycle Assessment shows positive signs of environmental impacts of using these alternatives. Out of the 16, eight alternatives to sand and gravel sources have been prioritized and recognised, such as construction and demolition waste, M-sand, rice husk and sugar baggage ash. This was the final activity of IKI SMP in the efforts of providing scientific tools like the Sand Budget and alternative solutions for the paradox of sand in the Mekong Delta. 

Shifting to non-forest-based livelihoods has enabled families around Saola nature reserves to increase their income while actively contributing to biodiversity conservation by reducing pressure on nature reserves. 

For generations, communities living around protected areas (PAs) have depended on forests for their sustenance and protection. Many of these communities are impoverished and rely on the forest for essentials such as firewood, food, non-timber forest products, and livestock grazing. 

“Our family’s primary food source relies on farming, but more is needed. I also weave rattan fabric for sale to supplement my income, yet the profit is not much,” said Ms. Blup Thi Hang from A Luoi, a commune in the buffer zone of the Thua Thien Hue Saola Nature Reserve. “I rallied fellow women to venture into the forest, harvesting bamboo shoots and collecting snails to increase our earnings. The forest’s specialities were highly sought after.” 

However, it is also widely recognised that intensive dependence on forest resources may lead to degradation and ecological problems. 

Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserves

Located within the Central Annamites Landscape of Viet Nam, PAs in Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue provinces were designated as Saola Nature Reserves in 2011 and 2013, respectively.  

These areas harbour a wealth of distinctive Asian biodiversity, spanning 2.2 million hectares of natural forests, 134 mammals and more than 500 bird species. It provides vital ecosystem services to more than 10 million people, including 7 million who depend on agriculture and forestry for their livelihoods. It is, therefore, imperative to protect the natural forest, support sustainable agriculture, and increase climate resilience. This ensures the landscape can continue to sustain both the communities and the biodiversity that depend on it. A conservation programme is now helping residents transition to opt for alternative livelihoods, reducing their dependence on forest resources and promoting sustainability.

Alternative livelihoods

The Village Development Facilities (VDFs), an initiative under WWF’s Carbon and Biodiversity Project phase II (CarBi 2), has emerged as a transformative tool for fostering sustainable livelihoods and forest conservation. Implemented in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces, the VDFs are designed to achieve two main goals: efficiently managing resources to meet community needs and encouraging behavioural change toward forest conservation. Managed by the communities, the VDFs have already made notable impacts, directly benefiting over 700 households and enhancing the resilience of communities traditionally reliant on forest resources.

The VDFs are a crucial part of the CarBi 2 project, which aims to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of ecosystems in the Central Annamites. Building on the successes of phase I, CarBi 2 expands activities to address the region’s biodiversity threats while empowering local people, many of whom depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. A new feature of phase II is the establishment of VDFs to facilitate borrowing for income-generating agroforestry and alternative livelihood activities.

Seeds of change

For individuals like Hang, the VDFs have been life changing. “I heard from my village about the fund of CarBi 2. I hesitated about taking a loan as I was still determining my repayment capability.” Eventually, Hang borrowed US$200 from the fund and ventured into fish farming. 

“At first, many fish died; fortunately, the project provided fish farming training, helping me overcome this challenge. Consequently, I successfully repaid the loan, invested more in fish breeding, and improved the quality of living for my family,” added Hang.

Similarly, Mr A Lang Minh from Pho village, a remote area near Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve, used the loan of US$ 400 to start livestock farming. “I bought a cow, which soon reproduced two calves. I sold one, repaid my loan, and now I expect another calf. VDFs have allowed me to earn a stable income without harming the forests,” he said.

Community-driven development

These cheerful stories illustrate the values of VDF’s programme, a model of self-reliance and communal governance. Various funding sources, in addition to the support from CarBi 2, such as Payments for Forest Environmental Services and contributions from the community and village authorities, have been mobilised to support village development and livelihood alternatives through village microfinance programmes.

WWF has provided ongoing capacity-building, equipping community management boards with financial management, accounting, and development planning skills. These efforts ensure transparency and effectiveness, fostering trust among stakeholders. “We’ve learned not only how to manage the fund but also how to monitor and report its use. This has greatly improved our confidence in managing communal resources,” Ms Nguyen Thi Xua, a member of A Xach VDFs Management Board in Nam Dong commune said. 

With 30 VDFs established and operated in 30 villages under CarBi 2, the VDFs pilot’s success has prompted the model’s expansion to additional villages, to be scaled up by the WWF – Velux partnership in 2025. WWF and local authorities are working closely with communities to replicate this model, ensuring that more villages benefit from sustainable development and conservation efforts. It is crucial to empower communities and promote their ownership, capacity building, and training for sustainable use of VDFs.

WWF’s innovative path forward

Looking forward, WWF envisions contributing to Viet Nam’s national biodiversity goals, which aim to expand and enhance the management effectiveness of the country’s natural heritage sites and PAs by 2030. A key strategy will be promoting other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) to extend conservation beyond traditional protected areas. Globally, over 6,000 OECM sites have been identified, including 178 in the Philippines, but Southeast Asian countries have yet to establish confirmed OECMs. WWF will work toward developing OECMs in Viet Nam, focusing on biodiversity credits, rewilding efforts, and enhancing ecosystem connectivity, to foster a sustainable future for both people and nature.

Viet Nam has taken a practical step towards bolstering its climate action capabilities. The Department of Climate Change (DCC) of MONRE recently hosted a five-day training workshop titled “Implementing 2006 IPCC Guidelines and IPCC Inventory Software: Enhancing National GHG Emissions Inventory.” The event is supported by the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency – Global Support Programme (CBIT-GSP), the IKI Interface in Viet Nam, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

Organised from August 26–30, 2024, the training workshop attracted over 130 attendees from various sectors, including ministries, state management agencies on GHG inventory, research institutes, universities, and consulting firms. Attendees gained valuable insights into the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and hands-on experience with IPCC software. This knowledge plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality and transparency of Viet Nam’s national GHG emission reports, aligning them with global best practices.

Viet Nam’s Ambitious Climate Goals

Viet Nam’s commitment to combating climate change is evident in its bold target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Recently, the Prime Minister has issued Decision No. 13/2024/QD-TTg dated 13 August 2024, expanding the list of sectors and facilities required to conduct GHG inventories. This strategic move has increased the number of facilities mandated to perform GHG inventories in 2024 to 2,166 – a significant rise of 254 facilities compared to 2022.

These facilities now account for approximately 30% of Viet Nam’s total national GHG emissions. However, to meet the Paris Agreement’s requirement of controlling at least 85% of total GHG emissions, Viet Nam recognizes the need for continued expansion of its inventory efforts. Encouragingly, many facilities are proactively conducting voluntary GHG inventories, signaling growing awareness and commitment to climate action across the country.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite these positive strides, Viet Nam faces several challenges in developing comprehensive GHG inventories. These include capacity gaps, awareness issues among stakeholders, and the complexities of implementing the 2006 IPCC guidelines. The Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement adds another layer of urgency, requiring all countries to submit their first biennial transparency report, including national GHG inventories, by December 2024 and every two years thereafter.

The GHG inventory requirements under the ETF are enhanced compared to the current reporting framework, particularly for developing countries like Viet Nam. This underscores the importance of initiatives such as the recent training workshop. With meaningful support from international partners, Viet Nam is actively working to address these challenges.

Concrete Steps Towards Climate Goals

By enhancing its domestic capacity to track GHG emissions at national, sectoral, and facility levels, Viet Nam is taking practical steps to meet its climate targets and contribute to global climate action.

Viet Nam is not only fulfilling its international commitments but also paving the way for a more sustainable future. The increased number of facilities conducting GHG emissions inventories demonstrates Viet Nam’s serious approach to climate action in the region.

For more information about the project, please visit: Support to Viet Nam for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement II | Internationale Klimaschutzinitiative (IKI)