Improving legal framework in Viet Nam helps address new challenges in disaster response

'Our World. Your Move.' International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement community blog

Jason Smith is in Viet Nam documenting two essential elements in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction: community-based preparedness in at-risk villages and, in the halls of government, improved legal frameworks for international assistance during times of emergencies. Over three days, he’ll be sharing what he learns, what he sees and the voices of those he meets.

There are two sides to the climate change adaptation coin. The first side is community-based action that makes lives and livelihoods safer and more secure on a daily basis. I spent two days in communities where dedicated individuals have taken such actions and their impacts are clear. Future storms will do less damage, lives will be saved, and resilience will be enhanced because income streams have been diversified.

The second side of that coin is action taken in the halls of government, where legal frameworks, plans and resources are developed and shared across Viet Nam to prepare for emergencies.

Back in Hanoi, I had the opportunity to spend a day with government leaders and legal experts from the international community who are making tremendous progress on this topic. Organized by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Viet Nam’s National Disaster Mitigation Partnership (NDMP), government leaders were receiving technical guidance on how to incorporate new and improved laws into emergency planning. The need for such a training was widely appreciated.

“Climate change has caused the frequency and severity of disasters to rise, and it has reduced the predictability of emergencies as well,” said Dang Quang Minh, deputy head of Viet Nam’s Flood and Storm Management Division, responsible for the country’s disaster planning and response programmes.

During a conversation we had while the training was underway for government leaders, he shared that there have been three significant cyclones to hit Viet Nam’s southern provinces since 1997. Prior to 1997, more than 100 years had passed without that many serious storms making landfall.

He is a passionate advocate for developing the necessary laws and systems to support both domestic and international interventions to save lives during emergencies.

“We recognize that to mobilize the community during emergencies, we need to have institutionalized frameworks for the coordination of disaster management activities,” he said. “The international community has made good contributions to these frameworks in Viet Nam and international organizations have played an important role in building our capacity and meeting the needs of vulnerable people.”

In the training room next door, nearly 30 people were learning about the common challenges faced by those responding to disasters in saving lives. Laws often do not provide necessary clarity on which government departments have which specific responsibilities after emergencies occur. Sometimes, even when roles are clear at the national level, a lack of awareness of roles and responsibilities at the community level poses real risks.

Victoria Bannon, who coordinates International Disaster Response Law efforts across the Asia Pacific region for the IFRC, noted that during large scale emergencies, the international community “faces challenges in two major areas: entry and operations, and quality and cooperation.”

According to Bannon, this training programme in Viet Nam is helping leaders to “anticipate what will be needed and ensuring that the legal frameworks are there, ready to support essential activities.”

Putting the right laws in place can ensure smooth operations at the national and local level, and can facilitate access to devastated countries for trained international experts, essential supplies and the technology necessary to save lives.

“Although international organizations have not been directly involved in the policy approval process in Viet Nam,” said Dang Quang Minh, “the Viet Nam Red Cross Society and the IFRC have given important support to the process. We are much improved in our policy development and implementation, and I want to acknowledge their contributions.”

I finished my day in Hanoi thinking that, in one sense, the concept of legal preparedness for emergencies is a highly academic concept. In another, more real sense, it has its roots in real practical solutions to address a changing climate and the increased risks that come with it.