IUCN - Building Coastal Resilience in Viet Nam, Cambodia and Thailand

Zoning to adapt

2013-05-16

Sustainable Coastal Management is one of the key mechanisms to ensure a better chance for Kampot and its people to cope with impacts from both climate and non-climate factors.

Ecosystems are transboundary

2013-05-15

In early 2013, two bordering provinces of Thailand and Cambodia discussed possible transboundary collaboration. A group of 34 representatives from communities, academy, local government offices in Trat, as well as a team of the Sustainable Development Foundation and IUCN, travelled to Koh Kong, Cambodia to meet with H.E. Say Socheat, Deputy Governor of Koh Kong province, and other officials, as part of the European Union funded project Building Resilience to Climate Change Impacts in Coastal Southeast Asia (BCR).

Mai Root and Bang Chan Villagers Welcome IUCN Director General

2013-05-07

From 5-6 March 2013, the Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Julia Marton-Lefèvre, came to visit Sustainable Development Foundation (SDF) and IUCN’s joint project field sites, where coastal communities are responding to both climate and human induced change.

Soc Trang community prepares to adapt to climate change

2013-04-25

The Mekong Delta is one of the parts of the world projected to be most impacted by sea level rise. And within the Delta, the coastal districts of Soc Trang Province are considered particularly vulnerable because of the very flat topography. Local people are already observing higher high tides and stronger wave action that break the unconsolidated earth dike that protects them from the sea. The EU-funded project Building Coastal Resilience (BCR) is working in Mo O, a small village in Trung Binh Commune to build local capacity to address this threat.

Protecting Wetlands is Protecting Sources of Water

2013-04-08

Koh Kong, Cambodia, 23 and 24 February - More than 500 people gathered to celebrate the World Wetlands’ Day in Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary (PKWS) in Koh Kong, which is home to the largest mangrove forests in Cambodia.

Coastal defense: New thinking needed

2013-03-08

A major risk with the current obsession with climate change adaptation is in fact maladaptation: expensive solutions to problems that may never emerge or which themselves create new problems (the famous law of unintended consequences). This is evident in Vietnam where in 2009 the prime minister approved a plan to build concrete sea dikes (replacing the existing dirt dikes), at a cost of US$3 million per kilometer, along the entire coastline. This was motivated in part by a World Bank study that showed that most of the Mekong Delta will be flooded when sea level rises by 1 meter as it is predicted to do sometime between 2050 and 2100. A study by an academic at Can Tho University of the costs and benefits of concrete sea dikes around the Mekong Delta concluded that these were a good idea (http://www.eepsea.net/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=434:adaptation-to-sea-level-rise-in-the-vietnamese-mekong-river-delta-should-a-sea-dike-be-built?&Itemid=192). The assumptions on which the study is based are highly selective, however. For example, it assumes that rice and freshwater shrimp are the highest value land uses in the coastal zone, ignoring the benefits of saltwater aquaculture and changing market demands over time.

Mangroves for the Future (MFF) Viet Nam Small Grant Facility 2013 Call for Proposals

2013-02-08

Mangroves for the Future (MFF) is pleased to announce the launch of a Small Grant Facility (SGF) in the coastal districts of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh Provinces. MFF is a partnership-led initiative to promote investment in coastal ecosystems (http://mangrovesforthefuture.org). The SGF supports local community action for the conservation and management of coastal ecosystems with the objective to realize the potential of mangroves and other coastal vegetation for climate change adaptation and mitigation. SGF projects should ensure the participation of women and other disadvantaged groups, at least at a demonstration scale. The deadline for application is 17:00 Friday March 15, 2013. For details of the Call for Proposals, please download HERE

IUCN job opportunity - Head of Asia Communications

2013-01-16

IUCN Asia Regional Office is looking for a Head of Asia Communications. The position holder will be based in Bangkok, Thailand, and expected to start on the 1st April 2013. Application deadline is the 7th February 2013.

Livelihoods threatened in Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia by migration of a sandy barrier beach

2013-01-14

The Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary is home to several small communes, where livelihoods rely on the natural resources of the surrounding mangrove forest. Residents of Old Peam Krasop village are highly dependent on green mussel cultivation, fishing and aquaculture, visible in a wide channel leading to the sea. The village has existed since 1964, currently with around 25 households accomodating 70 people. Only a thinning stretch of mangroves and a migratory sandy barrier beach protect the village from storms and rough seas.

Koh Kong Province residents discuss mangrove ecosystem protection strategies

2013-01-14

IUCN Cambodia conducted a half-day workshop on 13 November 2012 about local ecosystem protection to prevent adverse changes in local beach and river erosion and sedimentation. Thirteen participants from agencies of the line departments, local authorities, and Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary discussed community-based solutions to support livelihoods during the workshop at the Peam Krasop community meeting hall.

Job Vacancy: Communications Officer at IUCN Cambodia

2012-12-13

IUCN, International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Cambodia Project Office in Phnom Penh seeks to recruit a self-motivated and competent staff for the position of Communications Officer, Directly reporting to Senior Programme Officer, IUCN Cambodia Office and additionally to Programme Coordinator Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

IUCN invests in rainforest rehabilitation to offset Congress footprint

2012-08-03

To help compensate for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the 2012 World Conservation Congress in Jeju, IUCN has selected a credible, sustainable project for effective offsetting. The project is Infapro, by Face the Future, and is based on improved forest management in Borneo.

The Big Picture and the Sustainable Development Foundation

2012-07-29

Sitting on the prow of a Thai longboat the color of fire and just as hot because of the unsympathetic April sun, I gazed into the abundant mangrove trees, my eyes unfocused, seeing my surroundings more fully. With the red hawks soaring on thermals, fish bouncing along the river surface like skipped rocks, local fishermen hydroplaning by in rainbow mini-boats, and the hypnotizing mangroves with roots like perfectly frayed rope, I can see more if I do not look specifically at any one part of the scene, but let my perception expand to acknowledge the scene as a whole.

Local Youth Monitor their Mangroves through Innovative Technology

2012-07-29

Climate change is transforming the very landscape we once knew. With rising sea temperatures in addition to flooding and erosion along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, every member of coastal communities has to unite in ways to protect themselves from inevitable disasters. Climate change doesn't just bring about catastrophic disasters, but leads to negative impacts on marine and coastal resources, and in turn community livelihoods.

Southeast Asian Student Documentary Award - Call for Entries

2012-06-06

SEADocs – The Southeast Asian Student Documentary Award is a competition to encourage the art of documentary filmmaking in the region as a platform to engage with pressing social and environmental issues.

Story: Reviving nature's bounty in Indonesia

2012-05-14

In Indonesia IUCN is helping local communities to restore and sustainably manage their coastal resources and this is leading to improved livelihoods for many.

Climate change and its impact on the Lao and Cambodian people

2012-05-09

When we refer to climate change, we immediately think of the impacts it has on the livelihoods of large numbers of people, and the habitats of aquatic species on all continents.

People of Koh Kapik brainstormed to draft adaptation plan

2012-04-12

IUCN Cambodia conducted a Promoting Local Innovation workshop in Koh Kapik Commune, Cambodia, during 12-14 Mar 2012. This was aiming to identify and prioritize local adaptation activities to be supported by the project in Koh Kapik Commune. The representatives of Provincial Environment Department, local community and IUCN staff participated in this workshop.

Interview with Dararat Weerapong

2012-04-12

Dararat Weerapong is a new member of BCR project team. She serves as a Senior Communications Officer for Southeast Asia Group of IUCN. Apart from BCR, she also acts as a communications focal point for IUCN’s Mekong Water Dialogues. Prior to IUCN, she worked for Thailand Environment Institute, WWF, Stockholm Environment Institute and UNESCO Bangkok. She will share with us about her views on communications.

Thai Small-scale Fisher-folks Network announced its declaration

2012-04-12

This declaration represents the consolidated standpoint of small-scale coastal fisher-folk communities from both the Eastern Region and Southern Region of Thailand regarding their fundamental rights in protecting, conserving, rehabilitating and making use of coastal resources and coastal land in support of their livelihood security, food security and financial security. It also represents the views of these communities with respect to the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on Securing Small-scale Fisheries (VG-SSF).