Vietnam is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. It suffers from typhoons, floods, droughts, landslides, and forest fires. Flooding triggered by typhoons and storms is the most prevalent natural disaster. In the decade up to 2005, storms caused 6,000 deaths, destroyed 320,000 houses and almost 9,000 boats, and resulted in capital stock loss of more than $2.5 billion, representing about 5% of gross annual capital formation.

This UNDP-GEF/SCCF project aims to address these obstacles through four specific outcomes which collectively seek to build long term resilience into the planning, design and implementation for rural infrastructure within the challenging geographic environment of the northern mountain provinces of Vietnam:

1. Mainstream climate change adaptation into rural infrastructure policy and planning ;
2. Enhance capacities for climate resilient infrastructure planning in northern mountain provinces;
3. Support adoption of low cost physical measures to climate proof rural infrastructure; and
4. Disseminate best practices and lessons learned. 

Source: UNDP Vietnam Project Identification Form (March 20, 2009) and UNDP Project Brief (November 2011).