Donor: Internationalorganization- CARE in Vietnam

Implementation period: 1/2013 - 12/2015

Location: Cho Moi district, BacKan Province

Budget: $ 250,000

The objective of the project: Building capacity and involvement of ethnic minority (EM) community in adapting to climate change in Northern mountainous area; the role of ADC in supporting ethnic minorities in climate change adaptation is acknowleged by BacKan province.

Key results:

Key result 1:The VNGOs partners improved their capacity in line with the strategies of the organizations, creating the enfluences and having the recognition of the organization working effectively for the rights of ethnic minorities

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, research institutes, universities and networks, non-government organizations and foreign organizations recognized ADC as a experienced and qualified organization in supporting communities to deal with climate change.
  • Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment documented and used them for national-level of policy advocacy, shared at COP 21.
  • ADC is one of the core members and having many contributions to the VNGO-CC network and is one of the leading organizations in supporting the community to cope with climate change.
  • ADC is president of NorthNet network - a network of non-governmental organizations in mountainous area in northern Vietnam operating for the sustainable development of ethnic minorities and ADC is a unit to support, build the capacity for organizations in the network in responding to climate change.
• BacKan province recognized the capacity of ADC in supporting the province in the field of climate change and the implementation of the action plan to respond to climate change in the province in the 2011-2020 period (eg: training activities, communicating and enhancing capacity for staffs of the province, districts, communes on climate change; sharing information related to climate change to BacKan province, the steering committee, the working group on climate change of the province; building scenarios and solutions to deal with climate change for the province (concluded in the prior solution groups, projects of the action plan for 2011-2020 period).
  • 50 officers of the province; 80 officers of districts, communes and 1,200 residents in BacKan are benefited directly through capacity building activities in responding to climate change based on community and mitigation of natural disaster risks; At least 100,000 people have benefited indirectly.
  • Supporting the province in supplementing measures for action plan to respond to climate change and implementing prior measures in the action plan to respond to climate change.
• ADC is recognized as a leading organization in building proof models of using indigenous knowledge (IK) in responding to climate change and policy advocacyon climate change.
  • The livelihood models adapting to climate change, using indigenous knowledge of ethnic minorities were built according to the needs of the community and the effective development in adapting to climate change in Bac Kan.
  • The models were integrated into the Action Plan of the province to respond to climate change as one prior solution for climate change adaptation of ethnic minorities. This experience was shared with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, VNGO-CC networks and organizations and agencies working on climate change.
  • Indigenous knowledge (IK) has been intergrated into the activities to respond to climate change in Bac Can province; directing documents in agricultural production is considered as a prior solution used in climate change adaptation in Bac Kan.

Key result 2: The community organization, group of ethnic minorities (EMs), the EM networks and leaders are able to enhance their capacity followed by ability to provide information in a systematic way for the process of decision-making at all levels and benefit from sharing, learning throughout the program by strengthening linkages and connections betweenthe network and other social organizations:

The solutions that ADC used to intervene in order to improve the capacity, confidence, autonomy and rights, voices for ethnic minority communities have been promoting optimal efficiency and had the recognition of the community, local government, domestic and foreign organizations, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and other stakeholders. These solutions have been concretized by the concrete results. In specific:

• 1,200 EM women directly benefited through capacity and awareness building activities for responding to climate change based on community (The training classes on climate change and the adapting practices for climate change for livelihood based on community).
• 22 livelihood groups, organizations based on community (community based Organizations - CBOs) was founded and run by women in Cho Moi District, Bac Can province; Spillover effect of this model has generated positive effects for the local government and the surrounding local communities to learn.
• 120 EM women are able to enhance their comprehensive capabilities: team, group managing and developing skills; skills in analyzing and choosing measures to adapt to climate change; Presentation, persuasion skills.... and having significant contributions to the process of collecting evidence and policy advocacyof the provincial level.
•  The capacity of EM women was admitted and their rights, voices and participationswere heightened in the process of local socio-economic development. The burden on the shoulders are removed, children are able to adtend all classes at school, families stay happy, society was developed.
• “The community actively supports community in responding to climate change” is the slogan of the groups, and it demonstrates the confidence and capacity of EM women, the women CBOs in supporting community in capacity building and coping with climate change. Representatives of the groups had submitted policy recommendations to commune , districts, provinces governments, these recommendations are appreciated and integrated into the plans of the local socio-economic development (05 recommendations were implemented). Thesegroups have also documented the experiences, livelihood lessons in climate change adaptation and sent to the provincial professional departments, these informations were intergrated into the communication documents of the agriculture are of province in order to widely introduce the effectiveness of livelihood adaptation to climate change based on community.
• Local authorities have gradually changed their perceptions in making decisions and empowering decisions on livelihoods for the community through the adjustments of crop structure, seasonal calendar as proposed by the community to ensure food security and sustainable development in the context of climate change.

Key result 3: The policy makers and other stakeholders have more increasing and timely accesses to accurate, appropriate evidences to be able to improve the efficiency of development activities for the poorest and most difficult ethnic minority communities:

• Proof models are interested and actively replicated by local governments, citizens and other agencies and organizations in the province.
• The typical proofs were collected, documented and sent to the policy makers. These models received many attentions and appreciation from agencies, organizations and IK received attention from policy makers. INGOs, VNGOs actively suggested ADC to share experiences in building and gathering these proof.
• The policy makers of Bac Kan province have changed their views in collecting feedbacks of residents for the contribution, implementation of poverty reduction programs, after being approached with more proofs relating to ethnic minorities, in that includes IK issues.
• IK in responding to climate change and mitigating natural disaster risks was interested by policy makers and complemented in the action plans to respond to climate change in Bac Kan province in 2011-2020 period; IK is integrated into the directing documents of agriculture production of Bac Kan Province in 2015-2016 period.
• 01 documentation of identifying process of IK in responding to climate change was completed and widely shared.