Background Vietnam

emplement!

Empowering urban regions for cooperative, synergistic and practical implementation of sustainability and resilience strategies considering the urban-rural nexus

Rapid growth poses major challenges to cities and surrounding regions in Vietnam. To address these, the emplement! project aims to enable stakeholders in the city of Da Nang and the neighbouring province of Quang Nam to transfer relevant strategies and plans into practical, sustainable or resilient measures. Suitable methods, instruments and the necessary capacities are being developed for this purpose.

Project Objectives

The overall goal of emplement! is to support urban regions in their implementation processes of sustainability and resilience strategies. The emplement! approach develops and provides applicable and transferable methods and instruments for this purpose. Spatial, actor-, policy-, technology- and process-related components are integrated. Through the intensive cooperation in the context of urban-rural regions, the aspects of sustainability and climate protection are anchored in the project. Moreover, the resilience against drought, flooding, saltwater intrusion, among others, is taken into account and strengthened. The project activities focus on the four fields tourism, agriculture/forestry, industry, and the built environment – with an emphasis on implementation processes associated with supply and disposal infrastructure. This includes environmentally friendly technologies and methods for water supply, sewage, energy, waste and »safe food«.

Addressed Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations

clean water and sanitation
industry, innovation and infrastructure
sustainable cities and communities
responsible consumption an production
climate action
life on land
Da Nang City, Vietnam

emplement-foto

©emplement! (AT-Verband).

Da Nang City, Vietnam

Challenges

As early as 2050, a clear majority of the world’s population – about 70% – will live in cities. Most of this growth will take place in Asia. The institutions, infrastructures and information networks in Vietnam can hardly keep up with this rapidly advancing urbanisation and the rapidly changing demands that come with it. Resource scarcity, emissions, environmental degradation and declining biodiversity are just as much a consequence as increased vulnerability to natural disasters. Due to the strong interdependence between the city and the surrounding area, these vulnerabilities have an impact not only locally, but throughout the entire region. This results in a need for action that must be addressed at the urban-regional level. In order to avoid conflicts, the scarcity of energy and water resources and the increasing use of the natural environment also require sustainable and socially compatible infrastructure and land use concepts.

Focus Topics

Research in Action

emplement! Summer School 2019

emplement-1

emplement! Summer School 2019

Research Approach and Methods

The development, adaptation and application of methods and instruments to support implementation processes take place on three research levels: At the system level, strategies and plans are analysed with regard to their feasibility and corresponding methods are developed for this purpose. At the technology level, suitable technology set-ups are developed and decision-making aids are provided, and at the implementation level, implementation processes – including those of our own emplement! pilot projects – are scientifically accompanied. Synergy and conflict potentials between the four fields of action as well as between the city of Da Nang and the neighbouring province of Quang Nam are examined. Specific expertise and technical know-how are fundamental prerequisites for the successful implementation of measures. »Capacity development« and the »empowerment« of the actors involved are central elements at the planning level as well as at the practical level of emplement!.

Info Emplement

Expected Solutions and Innovations

In order to strengthen the resilience and to counteract sustainability problems resulting from the rapid urbanisation, transferable methods to support implementation processes will be developed. The structured implementation research and the scientific results of emplement! will enable stakeholders to sharpen their view on the urban-regional level and thus to use technological and procedural synergy potentials in the implementation of measures in the future. With the systemic-synergetic approach on both technology and cooperation level in the urban-regional nexus, resource-efficient and low-emission technology setups are developed that are at the same time functional and financially sustainable in the long term. The approach helps to avoid isolated measures and produces conceptual and technical synergies between the four fields of action and in the urban-regional context Da Nang – Quang Nam Province.

Current Achievements

For the contribution to the socio-economic improvement of communities and at the same time strengthening sustainability and resilience in the Da Nang and Quang Nam regions (Vietnam), concepts and individual organizational, technical, and structural measures were developed. These measures have been conducted in co-design processes to meet local needs. They are in line with the overarching legal and policy frameworks as well as strategies and master & development plans. Important matters were addressed such as community-based tourism; including associated sanitation; solid waste infrastructure and technologies; sustainable agriculture and forestry; sustainable and synergetic production facilities; and necessary capacity development. The project has helped to empower local actors and stakeholders in Da Nang and Quang Nam for upcoming implementation processes.

In order to collect relevant information and data for the studies, summer schools, workshops, capacity development measures, interview-based surveys, constraint analyses, etc. were developed and implemented. Currently, the emplement! team works on monitoring and analyzing the development, planning and implementation processes of resulting small-scale projects. This will allow for the development and sharpening of approaches and upscaling of projects for practical implementation.

 

 

AT-Verband

Most strategies, including those for promoting sustainability or strengthening resilience, in general, describe ›what‹ is to be done, but they contain few concrete approaches to answering the question of ›how‹ it is to be done. That means that they usually do not describe the technical-practical implementation and the necessary prerequisites in detail, e.g. with regard to suitable technologies, financial requirements, know-how or organisational structures.

Dr. Quang

IMPLEMENTATION, IMPLEMENTATION, IMPLEMENTATION!

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Project Profile emplement!

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Project coordination

Dr. Oliver Assmann

AT-Verband