Vulnerability and Resilience of Urban Communities under. Southeast Asia

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1 Vulnerability and Resilience of Urban Communities under Coastal Hazard Conditions in Southeast Asia Vilas Nitivattananon School of Environment, Resources and Development Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) Thailand Tran Thanh Tu, Amornrat Rattanapan and Jack Asavanant 5 th Urban Research Symposium Marseille, France, June 28-30, Conceptual Framework Impact assessment method and reduction responses can be divided into vulnerability reduction and resilience enhancement Resilience of peoples livelihoods The assets they posses The services by external infrastructure and institutions Effective strategies by local needs and capacities Adaptation refers to actions, policies, and measures that increase the coping capacity of systems Reducing existing vulnerability Mainstreaming risks into existing strategies 2 1

2 Context By 2030, over 55% urbanized 4 of 6 countries in East Asia with most population in low elevation in coastal zone are in SEA 80% of the over 500 million people living within 100 km of the coast The floods of 2000 cost about US$400 million in Mekong river basin Most hazard hotspots are along coastal zone with large population Tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, drought and sea level rise 3 Context Coastal cities in Southeast Asia (SEA) potentially face complex problems associated with climate change Due to the extreme events of sea level rise particularly areas south of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam Whose economies benefit from tourism, such as Phuket in Southern Thailand, may have considerable difficulties protecting economy based There is a need for adopting a more holistic approach to building the adaptive capacity of vulnerable groups and localities and their resilience 4 2

3 Objectives and Scope The main objective is to apply the concept of vulnerability and resilience to coastal urban communities under climate change hazards in SEA Southern Vietnam and Southern Thailand are chosen as representatives to support this study with main concerns on urban vulnerability to specific risks related to floods Simple assessment tools following multi criteria method were used to support in finding the vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies 5 Methodology 6 3

4 Methodology Case of Southern Vietnam HCMC vulnerable to flood risks due to its natural conditions and also rapid urbanization process Two communities in District 2 and Binh Thanh District selected to represent different vulnerabilities Rapid Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) was conducted for analyzing direct vulnerability of society (including human health and movement, housing and road, and communication and transportation) and environment (including water quality and quantity, and sanitation) 7 Results Case of Southern Vietnam Under similar natural conditions affected by changing climate, residents in District 2 is vulnerable to floodwater differently from Binh Thanh District because of different level of urbanization and infrastructure conditions Different vulnerabilities are also depended on their gender and age, attitude and motivation, occupation and income, their living locations and conditions 8 4

5 % Vulnerability to flood Natural surface infiltration rate Land-use change Occupation of the floodplain District 2 Binh Thanh District % Impacts of flood on Infrastructure Below 0.3m Above 0,3m Below 0.3m Above 0,3m Concreted road Flooded road Houses having sewerage system Flooded house Area having drainage system Road Housing Drainage system District 2 Binh Thanh District 9 Case of Southern Thailand Methodology This case involves vulnerability assessment for disaster at community level the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004, in Southern Thailand Two coastal communities (Kamala and Ban Nam Khem) were selected for detailed investigation representing typical fishery and tourism based economies in the region, with a focus on assessment of housing and built environment 10 5

6 Results Case of Southern Thailand Thetwo communities investigated show different vulnerabilities related to housing and infrastructure services, subject to coastal hazard conditions Major factors influencing the vulnerabilities are related to community s economic base, financing ability for improved infrastructures and buildings, g, support from local governments and communitybased organizations, and level of accessibility to knowledge for improved disaster management

7 Conclusions The cases show that the flood risk has several consequences in different urbanization levels l and under the climate variability The major factors influencing vulnerabilities of selected coastal communities are related to economic aspects, institutional capacity, and level of and accessibility to knowledge in local community based organizations 13 Policy Consequences This study takes into account the vulnerability assessment process and adaptation process for enhanced resilience in understanding the physical, societal and environmental vulnerabilities subject to climate variability, and assessing the adaptation strategies to possibly support policy makers in integrative decision making process The resilience capacity and strategies should be based on the local vulnerability assessment 14 7

8 Recommended Future Research The vulnerability assessment process supported by effective tools such as multiple vulnerability assessment and benefit cost effectiveness Study in different urbanization levels with potential hazards at different projections of climate change Disaster/climate risk reduction and adaptation strategies in specific coastal areas Increasing community resilience to disaster/climate risk through the use of available good practices 15 Thank you 16 8