Vu Gia Thu Bon River Basin Information Centre

Type: Approaches

Creation: 2015-07-28 00:00   Updated: 2018-04-04 15:11

Compilers: Justyna Sycz

Reviewers: Fabian Ottiger, Deborah Niggli

Country/ region/ locations where the Approach has been applied
  • Country: Viet Nam
  • Region/ State/ Province: Da Nang
  • Further specification of location (e.g. municipality, town, etc.), if relevant: Central Vietnam

Description of the SLM Approach

Short description of the Approach

The VGTB River Basin Information Centre (RBIC) offers decision support tools for stakeholders and aims at providing comprehensive information and consulting services to the water and land users according to their demands.

Detailed description of the Approach

Aims / objectives: Sufficient and sustainable water resource management at river basin scale can only be achieved if it is based on dialogue between all relevant stakeholders, and supported by adequate data. It follows then, that a robust system of monitoring, evaluation, reporting and communication is needed. The lack of appropriate management strategies which would bring these tools together has been underlined by stakeholders, and observed by researchers, involved in the research project LUCCi - Land Use and Climate Change Interactions in the VGTB River Basin. In order to offer a comprehensive decision-making support system, based on scientific knowledge and research results, the Institute for Technology and Resources Management (ITT, TH Köln, Germany) in cooperation with the Vietnam Academy for Water Resources (VAWR, Hanoi, Vietnam) established the VGTB River Basin Information Centre in Da Nang. The overall objective of RBIC is to support efficient and sustainable water and land use. The support provided for the implementation of the water saving technology for paddy systems is one of the services offered by the centre.

Methods: The VGTB RBIC is an independent, local institution administrated by the German and Vietnamese coordinators of LUCCi, financed by project sources and located at the Central Department of the Vietnam Academy of Water Resources in Da Nang. As a scientific organization, the VGTB RBIC provides the advantages of impartiality, a detailed knowledge base and a broad interdisciplinary perspective. Through different dissemination activities, such as visits to relevant institutions, information material (brochures, flyers in Vietnamese) as well as training courses and capacity building measures, the relevant stakeholders are well-informed about the activities of the Information Centre. On demand, the following products and services are provided in the VGTB-RBIC: (a) Thematic maps on land use, hydrology and river basin development; (b) A comprehensive database of the VGTB river basin (VGTB RBIS - River Basin Information System, open source) (c) VGTB State of the Basin Report as a decision-support instrument: the report was prepared by the LUCCi research team and provides relevant information on climatic, environmental and socioeconomic data and trends; (d) Hydro-meteorological, hydrograph and salinity data; (e) Flood and drought risk assessment; (f) Scenarios and modelling (reservoir operation, salinity intrusion, irrigation management scenarios); (g) Organization of meetings and discussions on key issues of the development of the VGTB; (f) Training and capacity building services related to the demands of stakeholders.

Role of stakeholders: Thus a heterogeneous stakeholder platform has been established in the case study region that includes scientific institutions, policy makers, public administration representatives as well as private sector companies. It is clear that the major problems of the VGTB River Basin can be only addressed, and adequate solutions identified, if based on active cross-sectoral stakeholder participation. Therefore, the interaction among stakeholders and RBIC plays a key role: the services are offered for the stakeholders, and stakeholder feedback is the basis for providing adequate information services and conducting applied based research.

Photos of the Approach

Image Stakeholder meeting organized by  River Basin Information Centre, RBIC
Stakeholder meeting organized by River Basin Information Centre, RBIC
  • 📷 ITT, LUCCi project
Image Training course on “Tools for River Basin Management” offered to the stakeholders in Da Nang
Training course on “Tools for River Basin Management” offered to the stakeholders in Da Nang
  • 📷 ITT, OticProduction
Image VGTB River Basin Information Centre
VGTB River Basin Information Centre
  • 📍 Central Department of the Vietnam Academy of Water Resources in Da Nang, DaNang Vietnam
  • 🗓 2014-01-03
  • 📷 ITT