Vulnerability and risk assessments of agriculture sectors in Viet Nam
This case study chronicles Viet Nam’s experiences in conducting vulnerability and risk assessments (VRAs) of selected agriculture sectors at the national level and a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to support sectoral adaptation planning, budgeting, and policy formulation. Viet Nam is considered to be among the most vulnerable countries to climate change globally. Its agriculture sectors are particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. This poses significant risks to the country as the sectors employ approximately 35 percent of Viet Nam’s labour force, contribute 15 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) (in 2019) and support the livelihoods of 65 percent of the Vietnamese population living in rural areas (GSO, 2019). In order to understand climate-induced risks, the Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP–Ag) programme provided financial support to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and conducted, between December 2016 and December 2018, comprehensive climate change vulnerability and risk assessments (VRAs) at national level for the crop, livestock, aquaculture, and water resources sectors.
Lessons learned from these endeavours can provide insights for other countries who are seeking, like Viet Nam, to develop an evidence-based and climate risk-informed National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and/or adaptation plans for the agriculture sector. The findings will inform the update and development of sectoral adaptation plans, as well as Viet Nam’s NAP. The key conclusions and recommendations resulting from these assessments include:
- Risk identification and adaptation planning is an iterative process and requires continuous updates to reflect changing conditions and priorities.
- Integrate insights from VRAs into adaptation planning.
- Conduct VRAs at the national level for other high-priority sectors that will be identified in Viet Nam’s NAP.
- Use VRA findings to quantify potential Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets for the agriculture sectors.