This edition presents the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for peace building missions and sending organizations, especially in meeting their duty of care responsibilities for seconded staff. Together, they have put in place new priorities which allow for safe but also effective working conditions, as evidenced by contributions from Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, South Sudan and Somalia.
This booklet "Reflection Papers on Culture and Development" shows how cultural engagement and development cooperation are connected. Based on theoretical debates and practical examples from various regions of the world, the impact and potential of cultural creation in terms of social transformation are discussed.
Through its international cooperation, Switzerland contributes to poverty reduction and sustainable development in developing countries. This brochure is an excerpt from the Dispatch to Parliament, in which the Federal Council explains its strategy and proposes five framework credits.
Promoting renewable energy, creating employment and strengthening civil society: the final review of Switzerland's enlargement contribution summarises the results of the Swiss-backed projects.
“Mekong Urban Flood Resilience Programme” (FPP) was co-financed by SECO and BMZ, with SECO sharing the vast majority of the costs. Implementation commenced on 01 January 2017 and ended on 31 December 2019. Continuing the steering structure established under phase one, FPP was implemented in partnership between MoC and GIZ
The impact of land subsidence on various aspects of human life is quite evident and visible all over the Mekong-Delta. Effects include an increase in river-induced floods; erosion; salt water intrusion from the sea; instability of buildings (tilting, cracks); and the damaging and breaking of drinking water, sewerage, and drainage pipes. In the long run, lowlying areas will be submerged permanently. None of these effects are desirable.
A disaster arises when an extreme natural event strikes a vulnerable society. Whether a natural event becomes a disaster depends mainly on the social, economic, ecological and political characteristics of the society in question. Present day Disaster Risk Management (DRM) seeks to reduce a society’s vulnerability to extreme natural events so that even if such events occur they do not result in a disaster. Natural events can generally not be prevented – but their impact can be mitigated. It should be borne in mind that vulnerability arises from the susceptibility, coping capacity and adaptive capacity of individuals, households, communities and states. Reducing vulnerability therefore involves reducing the factors that contribute to it at all levels.
Despite more than three decades of impressive growth since the onset of economic reforms in Vietnam in 1986, many constraints of the pre-doi moi socialist state’s centrally planned economy continue to dominate management approaches of Government officials, administrative systems, institutional frameworks as well as planning and regulation in many sectors. This is particularly evident in state-run public utilities such as urban wastewater disposal and drainage management, which Vietnamese typically see as free-of- charge services to be provided by the state.
Cities in Vietnam overly rely on traditional drainage systems to discharge surface-runoff. Often, when overflowing rivers concur with intense rainfall, this underground infrastructure does not have the capacity to drain the water in time. As a result, areas with high population density, critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and schools, and low-lying areas, where the poor and vulnerable often dwell, get flooded. In particular in the Mekong-Delta, urban flooding will increase due to climate change and other factors.
Floods occur frequently in Viet Nam’s cities. In addition to seasonal flooding, random extreme flood events have disastrous economic and civilian impacts. The flood in the year 2000 alone took over 800 lives. Of all natural hazards present in Viet Nam, flooding is the most frequent, the most economically damaging and the deadliest. Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are systems designed to efficiently manage the drainage of surface water in the urban environment.
The Mekong-Delta has been farmed for many generations and is one of the principle agricultural regions of Vietnam, contributing 50 percent of total food output and 90 percent of rice exports, as well as 70 percent of fruit and 65 percent of aquatic products. Although productivity is still high, it is at risk from multiple threats and any decline in output would have severe consequences not just for the region but for the country as a whole.
A forgotten time bomb: Mental illness can increase poverty, shorten lives and hamper the development of entire countries. Yet the issue is still neglected in international cooperation. Why this is the case and why there is hope after all is illustrated by experiences in three very different countries.
Last update 25.10.2023
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