Vietnam - Japan Technical Seminar on Countermeasures for Urban Flooding in response to Climate change

On November 26^th, 2024, in Hanoi, the Department of Technical Infrastructure (Ministry of Construction of Vietnam (MOC)) and the General Department of Water Supply and Drainage (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan (MLIT)) in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) organized a Vietnam – Japan Technical Seminar on countermeasures for Urban Flooding in response to Climate change.

Director of the Department of Technical Infrastructure (MOC) Ta Quang Vinh delivered the opening speech at the seminar.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Mr. Ta Quang Vinh - Director of the Department of Technical Infrastructure said that Vietnam is one of the countries heavily affected by climate change and rising sea levels. Currently, climate change is becoming more and more complex, unusual, and unpredictable, causing the risks of flooding, loss of life and property for urban areas. Therefore, developing technical infrastructure systems for water supply and drainage in urban areas to prevent urban flooding and adapt to climate change is one of the issues that receives special attention from all levels and sectors from the central to local levels.

Since 2010, MOC and MLIT have signed the “Minutes of Cooperation in the field of drainage and wastewater treatment”. This is an important basis for MLIT to promote technical cooperation and support the Department of Technical Infrastructure in developing drainage and wastewater treatment policies, reviewing and assessing the situation of drainage and urban flooding, and orienting JICA to support research, survey and implementation.

With the close and effective cooperation of MLIT and JICA, the Ministry of Construction is currently promoting the improvement of institutions and policies on investment in construction, development of drainage works to prevent urban flooding and respond to climate change.

Vietnam – Japan Technical Seminar on countermeasures for Urban Flooding in response to Climate change introduced technical development solutions (drainage system projects in Yokohama City; countermeasures in Hai Phong City; flood pumping solutions, flood control due to climate change by Torishima, KUBOTA pumps; smart asset and rainwater management solutions...), and exchanged experiences in solving flood prevention problems in the drainage sector in Vietnam as well as in Japan to effectively respond to climate change and rising sea levels.

Deputy Director General of the Water Supply and Drainage Administration (MLIT) Matsubara Hidenori speaks at the seminar.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Matsubara Hidenori - Deputy Director General of the General Department of Water Supply and Drainage (MLIT) highly appreciated the close and effective cooperation between MOC and MLIT in recent years, and said that, in addition to actively supporting Vietnam in the field, Japan has also sent JICA experts to support Vietnam in building and perfecting institutions and legal policies in the field of technical infrastructure, including the Law on Water Supply and Drainage.

Mr. Matsubara Hidenori affirmed that this seminar not only contributed to strengthening the cooperative relationship between the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, but also contributed to further promoting the cooperative relationship between the Governments of Vietnam and Japan in the coming time.

Ms. Le Thu Thuy - Deputy Head of Drainage Management and Wastewater Treatment Department (Department of Technical Infrastructure) had a presentation at the seminar.

Ms. Le Thu Thuy - Deputy Head of the Department of Drainage Management and Wastewater Treatment (Department of Technical Infrastructure, MOC) had a presentation to give an overview of the contents related to drainage management in Vietnam, and propose some solutions to further improve the capacity of the water supply and drainage sector: development and completion of the legal policy system, the system of regulations and standards related to water supply, drainage and wastewater treatment; focus on mobilizing resources to improve the capacity of the water supply and drainage and wastewater treatment sector; focus on combining technical solutions, technologies and other non-structural solutions.

Overview the seminar.

Sharing regulations on urban flood prevention in Japan, Mr. HASEGAWA Fumiaki - Director of Overseas Water Supply and Drainage Projects, Water Supply and Drainage Planning Department, MLIT said that in 2021, the Japanese Government issued a new Law on "All people together to improve the resilience of natural disasters and sustainable development of river basins", upgrade flood control plans related to impact of climate change; promote integrated and multi-layered measures, including: flood prevention (improving rainwater storage), exposure reduction (guiding residents to relocate to low-risk flood areas, promoting safe living, zoning flood areas) and disaster resilience (improving the quality of information on landslides and floods, strengthening the capacity of the population evacuation system, minimizing economic losses, and responding to floods promptly).

At the seminar, experts and delegates actively exchanged and shared experiences, and proposed and recommended many solutions and technologies to combat urban flooding in response to climate change.