Boosting Climate Resilience: Effective Strategies for Enhanced Monitoring in Agriculture and Environmental Sustainability

All levels of government are responsible for climate adaptation efforts.

August 26, 2025, Vietnam: Vietnam faces significant challenges from climate change due to its long coastline and reliance on natural resources. A staggering 20 out of 21 natural disaster types—like storms, floods, and droughts—have impacted the nation recently. These events threaten lives, livelihoods, and health, particularly among vulnerable communities, making climate resilience critical for survival.

According to Ms. Mai Kim Lien, Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change, the Vietnamese government recognizes this urgency. In response, several important policies have been implemented, including the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan for 2021–2030, updated in 2024. This plan establishes a framework for local and sector-wide action.

Additionally, Decision No. 148/QD-TTg from 2022 introduced a national Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System for climate adaptation efforts. This system mandates all ministries and local committees to track and report adaptation initiatives, ensuring accountability.

The Department of Climate Change is leading efforts to create comprehensive reports on climate adaptation in agriculture and environmental sectors. They are consulting with experts to ensure these reports are practical and implementable.

From 2020 to 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment rolled out six crucial legal documents and over 14 strategies for climate adaptation. They incorporated climate considerations into vital sector plans, including forestry and fisheries resource management. This shift signifies a major step toward integrating climate adaptation into Vietnam’s economic strategy.

Tapping into international cooperation has also been beneficial, allowing Vietnam to gain access to financial and technical resources. Awareness campaigns have improved community understanding of climate issues, leading to timely task completions from 2020 to 2024.

However, challenges remain. Data on resilience, especially in agriculture, is often scarce and scattered. Many essential indicators depend on field surveys, which frequently lack funding. This makes robust assessment difficult. Moreover, the local workforce dedicated to climate change initiatives is limited, and existing early warning systems in remote areas are often inadequate.

Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Nga, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, emphasized that the current evaluation methods lack quantitative measures, complicating effectiveness assessment. Key indicators must be more distinct particularly in terms of economic and social factors. The absence of a shared database poses its own set of problems, hampering comprehensive analysis.

The discussions at the workshop made it clear that a solid legal framework, scientific data, and skilled workers are essential for effective climate adaptation tracking. Experts stressed the importance of institutional improvements, detailed technical guidelines, and training programs to enhance local capacities.

In her closing remarks, Deputy Director Mai Kim Lien assured that input from the workshop will be incorporated into final reports before submission. She stressed the need for collaboration among technical agencies, local governments, and the scientific community to make the monitoring system truly effective.

Access to real-time data and support from local groups can bridge these gaps, ensuring communities are better prepared for climate impacts.

For those interested in agriculture and climate solutions, staying informed can help shape potential responses and preparations for future challenges.

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