Australia and Vietnam working together to protect vulnerable communities

Australia is helping Vietnam to identify its communities and regions at risk of the impacts of climate change. By identifying people and places most at risk, Vietnam will be better placed to prioritise how it responds to climate change.

Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, particularly in the Mekong Delta where rising sea levels, salt water intrusion and flooding are already affecting vulnerable coastal communities.

Australia is contributing $2.03 million to build on existing partnerships between Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and scientists from Vietnam's Ministry for Natural Resource and Environment and the Hanoi University of Science.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced this support at the opening of the new Australian Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City on 27 March.

The partnership is helping Vietnam to analyse, understand and undertake future climate change projections so that provinces and vulnerable communities can better prepare for the impacts of a changing climate. The partnership will also see Vietnamese PhD students travel to Australia to help analyse data and climate modelling at the CSIRO.

The fundamental goal of the aid program is overcoming poverty. Addressing climate change is critical to protecting and improving the lives of those who depend on the natural environment for their income, food and water.

Having access to localised climate change projections on the likely impacts will help Australia target its climate change assistance, including through our partnership with Germany where Australian funds are contributing to climate change adaptation and coastal protection in three vulnerable provinces in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region.

CSIRO is internationally recognised for its climate change modelling and has undertaken similar projects to support climate change planning in the Pacific and in Indonesia.