FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ACCCRN Partners, Stakeholders Stage Workshop on Opportunities & Challenges for Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Under Climate Change in Vietnam ACCCRN partners and stakeholders hold two-day workshop from May 8-9 on the implications of climate change on regional integration ACCCRN and ISET-International publish pioneering analysis of hydrology and urban development

Supported by:

8 May 2013, Vietnam Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) partners, including the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition-International (ISET), Binh Dinh Peoples Committee and Binh Dinh Climate Change Coordination Office (CCCO) of Quy Nhon city, launched a workshop to assess opportunities and challenges for the Greater Mekong Subregion under the influence of climate change. Regional ACCCRN partners, national stakeholders, and adaptation practitioners also attended the Learning Exchange Visit in Quy Nhon, Vietnam, which builds on a gathering of Vietnamese ACCCRN city partners to Ayutthaya and Bangkok in Thailand in November 2012. Discussions focused on exploring similarities across countries in the region and how regional integration is creating closer links as well as new opportunities and risks. Additionally, questions related to the ways in which cities can work to build a more sustainable, resilient Greater Mekong Subregion from the ground up were also discussed. This workshop provides an opportunity for city stakeholders from Thailand and Vietnam to better understand how their cities will change with greater regional economic integration, and to consider the risks and opportunities that emerge from climate change, said Dr. Richard Friend, Senior Scientist from ISET-International in Bangkok. Quy Nhon, like other coastal areas in central Vietnam, is considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Since 2009, ACCCRN has engaged with city officials to explore current and future local vulnerabilities. These partners have, with ACCCRN and ISET-International, supported a pioneering analysis of hydrology and urban development, showing how planned economic expansion into the lowlands will exacerbate climate risks in the future.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

According to Dr. Richard Friend of ISET, the Mekong Region which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Chinas Yunnan Province - is particularly vulnerable to the physical shocks and stresses of climate change such as floods, droughts, and crop failure. The region is also urbanizing rapidly with much of this occurring in coastal areas, deltas and river basins that are already vulnerable to climate change. With more people and economic assets located in urban areas, the risks associated with climate change are shifting in ways that require urgent action. While the region may become more economically resilient through further regional integration, some of the anticipated benefits could dissipate under the influence of a changing climate. To view an English version of the new synthesis publication Learning from Typhoon Mirinae, visit: http://bit.ly/12c9CZi
About ACCCRN Launched in 2008, ACCCRN is a network of cities and partners in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines and is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation as part of a US$59 million, 9-year climate change resilience initiative. ACCCRN aims to strengthen the capacity of cities to plan, finance and implement climate change resilience strategies while also capturing and sharing knowledge and experience among practitioners. ACCCRN also works to enable new cities and actors to take climate change resilience action through policy mechanisms, finance, and technical assistance. ACCCRN began rolling out tangible pilot projects in late 2010 and more than 32 such interventions are now underway. ACCCRN involves more than 20 partner organizations. About The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation aims to achieve equitable growth by expanding opportunity for more people in more places worldwide, and to build resilience by helping them prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. Throughout its 100 year history, The Rockefeller Foundation has enhanced the impact of innovative thinkers and actors working to change the world by providing the resources, networks, convening power, and technologies to move them from idea to impact. In todays dynamic and interconnected world, The Rockefeller Foundation has a unique ability to address the emerging challenges facing humankind through innovation, intervention and influence in order to shape agendas and inform decision making. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org Related Links For more information on ACCCRN and for links to ACCCRN Facebook, Twitter or You Tube channels, visit http://www.acccrn.org Media Enquiries Tamora Chan Ly Thi Van Ha tly@apcoworldwide.com Telephone: +84(0)912644368

tchan@apcoworldwide.com
Telephone: +852 6809 1718