Viet Nam in a snapshot

 

Climate change and gender equality in Viet Nam

In Viet Nam, most of the population lives in low-lying river basins and coastal areas, but rising sea levels and overflowing of the Mekong puts the population at risk of multiple climate-induced disasters, especially those who are already the most vulnerable.

Women have limited access and control over resources such as land, property, energy or job-training, which reinforce their lower position in the communities. In Viet Nam’s rural areas, men often migrate to cities in search of employment, leaving women behind to take responsibility of the household and dependent on land and natural resource-based incomes, making them particularly vulnerable to climate change and disasters.

Local committees on natural disaster prevention, however, are mostly led - and attended - by men. If women are not encouraged to participate in the political process, their interests and needs will not be represented nor addressed. In order to identify precisely women’s needs and vulnerabilities, there is also an urgent need of sex-disaggregated data, which is still insufficient. Even though the government is currently implementing policies on climate change and disaster risk reduction, the intersection with gender issues is often overlooked, and women continue to be seen as victims.

EmPower in Viet Nam

EmPower in Viet Nam will be implemented from 2019-2022 in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Viet Nam Women’s Union and other strategic partners to address gender equality in climate change and disaster risk reduction.

Leveraging existing networks such as the Climate Change Working Group, Disaster Management Working Group, and Gender Action Partnership, and building greater knowledge through a participatory action research, EmPower will work to strengthen the capacity and leadership of local organizations and women’s NGOs to engage meaningfully in climate change and DRR processes.

Working with the General Statistics Office, EmPower’s work will aim to strengthen data systems in DRR and recovery. This will include addressing bottlenecks, developing tools and guidelines and building capacity among ministries to generate and use data for policymaking.

At the policy level, EmPower will strengthen the gender-responsiveness of policies, plans, legislations and regulations such as the NDCs, National Strategy on Climate Change, National Strategy and Action Plan on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Law on Disaster Management and related sectoral policies. Employing gender-responsive budgeting approaches, Building capacity at the national and provincial levels and employing gender-responsive budgeting approaches, EmPower’s work will look at the development and implementation of policies in a gender-responsive manner.

EmPower’s work in supporting women’s entrepreneurship in the renewable energy sector will be implemented in the provinces of Lao Cai, Bac Kan, An Giang and from among Gia Lai, Dak Nong and Dac Lak in the central highlands. Working closely with national NGOs GreenID and CHIASE, EmPower’s support will go towards influencing policy in the sector, delivering trainings and fostering greater access to finance for female entrepreneurs to use renewable energy to improve their lives and livelihoods.