Investing in resilience to reduce disaster risks

On October 13, the ceremony to celebrate the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management 2025 will be held at Hanoi National University of Education with the participation of leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, representatives of the United Nations in Vietnam, leaders of central ministries, departments, and branches, along with international organizations, non-governmental organizations and a large number of students of the university.

The rising water level of the Cau River has affected 420 households with about 1,900 people in the area outside the dike in the residential groups of Nam Ngan, Dong Tien, and Quang Bieu (Nenh Ward, Bac Ninh ), forcing them to urgently evacuate people and property. Illustrative photo: Thanh Thuong/VNA

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , since 2009, the United Nations General Assembly has chosen October 13 every year as the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. This decision aims to raise global awareness of the importance of proactively preventing and responding to natural disasters. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also chose this day as the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management.

Invest in building resilience now

In fact, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more devastating. According to the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the actual cost of dealing with the consequences of natural disasters is nearly 2.3 trillion USD. What is worrying is that the consequences of natural disasters are not limited to material damage but also cause deep psychological and social trauma, especially for vulnerable groups such as children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Despite the increasing risks and losses, funding for disaster prevention remains too low, both in national budgets and international assistance. Therefore, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has chosen the theme “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters” for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2025.

This is a radical call to action, a shift in mindset: Invest in building resilience now to protect communities and avoid paying huge sums of money to repair the consequences of natural disasters in the future.

The theme of 2025 is also consistent with important global initiatives of the year on disaster prevention and control, such as: The Global Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025) in Geneva (Switzerland) emphasized the importance of investing in resilience; Key initiatives of the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction include the development of the G20 Voluntary High-Level Principles on Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction; The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4 Conference) in Seville (Spain) called for increased investment in disaster risk reduction; The 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 30) in Brazil next November focused on expanding finance to respond to the increasing impacts of natural disasters and climate change...

Take the young generation as the center

In Vietnam, the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is the focal point participating in international and regional cooperation mechanisms on disaster risk management. Every year, in response to the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and ASEAN Day for Disaster Management, the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control regularly coordinates with ministries, branches, localities, international organizations, especially United Nations agencies, to organize many practical, meaningful and useful activities.

These activities not only aim to raise community awareness, knowledge and skills on preventing, responding to and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, but also contribute to affirming Vietnam's role, responsibility and proactive voice in regional and international forums on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation.
In 2025, with the theme “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters - Investing in strengthening resilience to reduce disaster risks”, the Department will deploy response activities focusing on the young generation - the future owners of the country. Because investing in today's youth is building the most solid foundation for a safe and sustainable future, equipping the young generation with a full set of disaster prevention and control tools is investing in the "resilience" of the whole community.

The activities that have been organized include: The series of activities "Understanding natural disasters - Building the future" in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam; direct activities at Hanoi National University of Education such as: Golden Bell Competition "Preventing and fighting natural disasters with me - Building a sustainable future" for middle school students of Nguyen Tat Thanh Middle and High School; Forum "Future teachers with knowledge on preventing and fighting natural disasters and adapting to climate change" at Hanoi National University of Education; Dance Storm 2025 dance competition - "Overcoming waves, winning" has been launched for over a month, attracting a large number of young people to participate with vibrant and creative performances. The competition is not only a place for you to show your passion and dancing talent, but also incorporates a meaningful message about the spirit of proactively responding and resiliently overcoming the challenges of natural disasters.

Along with that, the final round of the "Green Gen 2025" competition was held on November 10 in Hanoi. Through the competition, participating teams will apply new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), big data or scientific and technical solutions to develop innovative products such as early warning systems, community connection applications, rescue support equipment, post-disaster recovery solutions... with practical applications, contributing to building a safer and more sustainable community.
The Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, in collaboration with Save the Children Vietnam and Hanoi National University of Education, Hong Duc University, has officially launched the "Green Lesson Plan - Safe Future" Contest on developing and implementing lectures on natural disaster prevention and control and climate change adaptation with the aim of encouraging students of education to promote creativity, turning knowledge on natural disaster prevention and control and climate change adaptation into lively and accessible lectures. Through this, students practice pedagogical skills, presentation and design practical lesson plans, and at the same time contribute to inspiring the future generation of teachers to have more knowledge to teach and impart safe and sustainable living skills to students.

The Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention and Control in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Vietnam organized the contest “Rebirth after the storm - Connecting memories, entrusting the future” at Hanoi National University of Education, attracting a large number of students to participate. With many creative ideas from recycled materials, each product is not only an art model, but also contains a story of loss and revival, reflecting the strength of the community as well as the belief in a sustainable future in the face of natural disasters. In the final round held on September 16, 12 excellent teams brought strong messages about responsibility, creativity and adaptability to climate change.

Within the framework of the Project on Strengthening Children's Resilience to Natural Disasters and Climate Change, the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund in Vietnam and the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau province implemented the model "Safe, Clean and Green Community" in Khanh Lam commune, Ca Mau province. The model was built to organize and implement activities to reduce natural disaster risks; at the same time, promote children's participation in natural disaster prevention, climate change adaptation and environmental protection with main activities taking place from October 8-11 such as: Installing a solar street light system to save energy, sustainably and environmentally friendly and warning signs of natural disaster risks, propaganda signs in the commune; planting flowers and ornamental plants on some road sections to create a green, clean and beautiful landscape.

In addition, the extracurricular activity of painting murals "Ready for natural disasters and climate change" and the golden bell contest "Let's prevent natural disasters, build a sustainable future" were organized for nearly 1,500 students at 3 secondary schools: Ly Tu Trong Secondary School, Le Hong Phong Secondary School, Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary-Secondary School, Khanh Lam Commune, Ca Mau Province. The activities help students learn about disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and environmental protection. There are also activities to support the renovation and installation of a child-friendly "Green Library" at Ly Tu Trong Secondary School, providing equipment and documents on disaster prevention, climate change adaptation and environmental protection and other learning materials.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/dau-tu-tang-cuong-kha-nang-chong-chiu-de-giam-thieu-rui-ro-thien-tai-20251012225251424.htm