Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure - UN CC:Learn

Chapter 4: A ‘No-Regrets’ Risk-Based Approach to Climate Proofing Public InfrastructureGlobal Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR, 2008)Climate-Resilient Cities: A Primer on reducing Vulnerabilitiesto Climate Change Impacts and Strengthening Disaster RiskManagement in East Asian Cities 18Best practices: Infrastructure sectorIn this list of planned actions, it is clear that there are important hardware and software investments andpolicies that are needed to reduce vulnerability and increase capacity.Nam Dinh Province, Viet Nam. A range of DRM measures have been identified for Nam Dinh according tothe draft Second National Strategy and Action Plan. Although many have yet to be implemented and/orenforced, it is instructive to know what has been planned:Afforest and protect existing upstream forest watersheds to reduce downstream floods;Build large- and medium-scale reservoirs upstream on big rivers to retain flood water;Strengthen dike systems to resist flood levels;Build flood diversion structures;Clear floodways to rapidly release flood water;Strengthen dike management and protection works to ensure safety of the dike systems;Construct emergency spillways along the dikes for selective filling of flood retention basin; andDesignate and use flood basins to decrease the quantity of floodwater flow.Other non-structural measures that have been identified include:River flood forecasting models must be developed to give prompt warnings and quickly carry outeffective response measures;The national disaster committee and organizations for flood and storm control from central to locallevels of government must be strengthened to mobilize the work of flood and storm mitigation andmanagement at all levels;Legal documents such as the Regulation on Flood and Storm Warning, Ordinance on Flood andStorm Prevention; Ordinance on Dikes; and Government regulations on construction of dikes,flood release, flash flood prevention, disaster relief, activities of standing offices for flood and stormprevention, damage measurement and assessment, and others have been prepared and should becontinuously reviewed and strengthened;Community disaster awareness should be enhanced through education, training, workshops, andthe circulation of disaster bulletins;Plans in accordance with all probable situations that include disaster-specific measures should beprepared so that disaster damage can be mitigated;Shifting the cultivation season should be studied as a measure to mitigate damage to agricultureproduction; andMaster plans should be developed that will mitigate hazards, familiarize local populations, andprepare for evacuating people in specific localities where there is no capability for limiting theimpact of frequent disasters. For each disaster occurrence, lessons learned and experience should becollected for future application.18http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/Resources/climatecities_fullreport.pdf40Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Conference Proceedings