Program: Collaborative Research for Common Regional Issues (CRC)
Field: Natural Disaster
Principal Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Danh Thao
Sending University: Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT)
Japanese Co-Investigator: Prof. Dr. Tomoya SHIBAYAMA
Japanese University: Waseda University
Year: 2015
Abstract:
The present research aims to investigate and assess the current natural disaster vulnerability of coastal areas in Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and some other fast-growing coastal areas in Southeast Asia. The research will focus on lessons that have been learnt through field trips carried out in such countries and numerical analysis that will show how the lack of knowledge to comprehend future possible environmental impacts and the absence of strong regulations are leading to increased risk in many coastal areas. Economic development, such as the building of jetties by hotel owners or landfills for industrial zone, can cause significant coastal erosion in other areas, often inhabited by poorer members of the community. This coastal erosion can exacerbate the risk due to natural disasters, such as typhoons and subsequent storm surges, due to loss of the protection offered by natural barriers (i.e. beaches, coastal mangroves forests, coral reef and so on). Furthermore, climate change should accelerate all these negative impacts on coastal communities through various consequences, such as sea level rise, increase in tropical cyclone intensities, and increase in wave heights.
The focus of the project will be in training the next generation of leaders, and as such it is important not only to increase their expertise but also to carry out an assessment of what is the current state of disaster preparedness along the coastline. This assessment will be carried out with respect to seven broad topic areas:
1. Economic development
2. Coastal erosion
3. Coastal disasters
4. Climate change
5. Coastal zone management
6. Disaster prevention measures
7. Mitigation program(Source: Application to CRC 2015)