Since 1993 the Rencontres du Vietnam , which is an official partner of UNESCO, has organised international scientific conferences and schools to foster exchanges between Vietnamese or Asia-Pacific scientists and colleagues from other parts of the world.

The construction of the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science Education (ICISE) in the city of Quy Nhon (Central Vietnam) will have the ambitious objective to focus on developing Science and Education, helping young Asian students and scientists to meet with the International Science community, bringing the opportunity to accelerate their knowledge from attending lectures and sharing ideas with overseas high-level counterparts.

XV^th Rencontres du Vietnam
Disaster Risk Reduction for Environment and Health Sectors
May 12th – 14th, 2019, Quy Nhon, Vietnam

Vietnam, with an annual economic growth rate of ≥ 5.2 %, is the leader in economic growth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since a reform policy was implemented in 1986. To improve the quality of modern life and develop the national economy, Vietnam favored exploitation of it’s natural recourses with little consideration of the environmental consequences, especially in the past decade. As a result, Vietnam is facing environmental challenges and risks that might ultimately negatively affect the future development. Typical environmental problems include pollution due to industrial activities, habitat fragmentation and degradation due to deforestation, rapid development of agriculture and aquaculture, and urbanization. These environmental problems have even become more serious under the effects of climate change and rapid human population growth. In addition, public awareness about the environment and environmental monitoring and management in Vietnam are still at levels that are inadequate for risk assessment and protection of natural habitats and resources. These environmental ethics issues have increased environmental and health risks to Vietnamese people. Therefore, the need for proper environmental monitoring programs and management plans for risk assessment and risk reduction are vitally important for Vietnam.

A two-day worhshop will be organized in the framework of the XVth Rencontres du Vietnam to train participants on how to utilize the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (Sendai Framework) monitoring tools to develop and implement disaster risk reduction action plans for environmental and health sectors. The workshop will help local, provincial and national levels in Vietnam and surrounding countries systematically identify and develop strategies to mitigate the environmental and health impacts of rapid population growth, increasing density and industrialization in high-risk disaster areas. This includes identifying and exploring options for reducing the risks of chemical exposure and oil spills before, during and after a disaster.

The workshop will be guided by the materials developed by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Global Education and Training Institute (UNISDR-GETI) and cover disaster and climate trends, Sendai Framework implementation, development of action plans, and monitoring and evaluation techniques. Participants will also have the opportunity to exchange experiences and research outcomes to support integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into development policy and investment. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will understand the Sendai Framework priorities for action and have the knowledge required to support implementation, monitoring and evaluation of disaster risk reduction action plans.

Organizers

Dr. Mike Berg, Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, USA
Dr. Bryan Brooks, Distinguished Professor, Baylor Unversity, USA
Dr. Tham Hoang, Associate Professor, Loyola University Chicago, USA
Dr. Benjamin Ryan, Associate Professor, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, US Department of Defense, USA
Dr. Son Tran Thanh, ICISE, Quy Nhon University, Vietnam
Dr. Van Tran Thanh, Professor, ICISE, Vietnam
Mr. Thuan Tran Minh, ICISE, Vietnam

Contact

For questions regarding the scientific program, please contact:
Hoang Tham( [email protected])

For administrative information, please contact:
Aimie Fong ([email protected])
Secretary of the Rencontres du Vietnam
BP 33, F-91192, Gif sur Yvette, France
Tel: 33 (0)1 69 28 51 35 / 33(0)7 81 29 44 15

Sponsors:

Rencontres du Vietnam

Baylor University