The USAID-funded Vietnam Forests and Deltas project is enhancing climate change planning and action from the community to the national level. The five-year programme, which began late 2012, is being implemented by Winrock International in partnership with SNV and other partners, including the American Red Cross, Vietnam Red Cross and the Center for Sustainable Rural Development, in conjunction with the Government of Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and provincial governments. The Vietnam Forests and Deltas programme puts into practice national climate change and low emissions development and REDD+ policies and strategies with a focus on reducing emissions from forestry and agriculture sectors and strengthening climate-smart livelihoods and settlements.

VFD’s approach to implementation of its three components prioritizes linkages between mitigation and adaptation to deliver a comprehensive, integrated response to climate change.

• Component 1: Sustainable Landscapes (Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces) - supports large low-emissions development planning (green growth) efforts in the forestry and agricultural sectors, including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), and provides support on ecosystem services valuation and natural capital accounting as part of evolving ecosystem service payment mechanisms.

• Component 2: Adaptation (Long An and Nam Dinh provinces) - focuses on ensuring that government authorities, local leaders, and communities in delta areas develop an improved understanding of climate risks and possess the requisite tools to address risk and reduce vulnerability, including increasing resilience to climate change-related disasters and improving livelihoods.

• Component 3: National Policy and Coordination - provides capacity building on climate change for the Vietnam Government’s personnel at all levels; supports development of national policies and guidelines, and promotes sharing of experiences, lessons learned at regional and national levels.

The results of the Vietnam Forests and Deltas programme by the end of 2016:

• 84,448 people trained in global climate change (climate change adaptation, mitigation, natural resources management/ biodiversity conservation).

• 324,250 hectares of biophysical significance and/or natural resources showed improved biophysical conditions.

• 886,556 hectares of biological significance and/ or natural resources are under improved natural resource management services.

• 33 institutions have improved capacity to address climate change issues, as climate change resilience, adaptation and mitigation issues through sustainable landscapes and low emissions development of REDD+ mechanisms.

• 19,326 households received incentives and economic rewards through sustainable natural resource management.

• 2,119 households demonstrated or applied climate smart agriculture, sustainable livelihood, or community forestry activities

• 1,495,566 tonnes of CO2 equivalent were reduced or sequestered.

• 96,484 individuals have improved capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change

• 106 administrative units/institutions implementing targeted climate change resilience innovations.

• 89 laws, policies, strategies, plans, agreements, or regulations addressing climate change (mitigation, adaptation, and/or biodiversity conservation) were officially proposed, adopted, or implemented.