Adaptation: addressing adversity

Final evaluation of the project “Integrated community-based adaptation in the Mekong Delta Region (ICAM)", Vietnam

This report of CARE presents the results of an evaluation of the project “Integrated Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change in the Mekong Delta (ICAM)”. CARE implemented this project between July 2012 and June 2015 with funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) under its Community-based Climate Change Action Grants (CBCCAG) program. Its objective was to increase community adaptive capacity and resilience to existing hazards and the impacts of climate change. The project contributed to improvements in disaster preparedness, access to finance and linkages to the government.

The findings have indicated that the project led to the commitment of government agencies and mass organizations to community-based adaptation, to better inter-agency collaboration and to stronger vertical links and responsiveness. Furthermore, while several options for climate-resilient livelihoods have been identified and documented, it has also been recognized that adaptation processes take time for their impact to emerge more fully. Overall, the project experience provides a rich set of lessons towards further advancing and enhancing community-based adaptation.

Drawing on the lessons of the project, the report formulates a set of recommendations to initiate several changes - in the way community-based adaptation is framed, in the way the organizational underpinning is arranged, and in the way support to adaptation is provided.