Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Ben Tre (VNA) – The project “Building response capacity, recovery and adaptation to disaster risks and climate for men and women” (RADCC) in Ben Tre province has involved over 17,000 coastal households in changing their environmentally-unfriendly behaviours over four years of implementation in the locality.
Tran Thi Kim Chi, from Dinh Trung commune, Binh Dai district, the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre said the project has helped her family understand about disaster mitigation and climate change adaption.
After three years, her family has adopted 10 out of 12 recommended behaviors, including saving electricity, classifying waste, treating waste discharge from animal farming, and storing water and food ahead of flood and storm season, Chi said, adding that her family has encouraged neighbours to do the same.
Nguyen Thi Dung from Bao Thanh commune, Ba Tri district said after adopting all 12 behaviors, she volunteered to be an activist to persuade others in the commune to do the same. They initially faced a lot of challenges because many households refused to change their habit. Dung and other members of the communal Women’s Association repeatedly visited and talked to each family about the benefits and join. Now most of women in the commune have pledged to the change.
Pham Thi Thanh Thao, President of the provincial Women’s Association said the project has helped local women change their habits to better adapt to natural disasters and climate change. The project has ended in the province but the association will continue to promote the practice among locals.
The RADCC project has been carried out since 2013 in 15 communes in the three coastal districts of Ba Tri, Binh Dai, and Thanh Phu.
Besides encouraging the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors, the project has also build four livelihood models to support poor women, one in making eco-bags in Bao Thanh commune and three in raising cows in Ba Tri and Thanh Phu communes with a total combined cost of 917 million VND (40,348 USD).-VNA
VNA
