Center for Environment Research Education and Development

Chairman/Director: Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh

279/24, Giang Vo St, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel/fax: +84-4-38515213   E-mail: nguyenhuuninh1954@gmail.com

THE ROLE OF THE CENTER

The objective of CERED is to carry out its strategy for environment and development research in Vietnam in co-operation with other organisations, both domestic and international. The focus of CERED's work lies in finding the balance between environmental conservation and socio-economic development.

As an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) sponsored by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), CERED has enhanced flexibility and avoids bureaucratic entanglements. The formation of a co-operative internal and international network of scientists in the field of environmental studies is a goal of CERED.

The Center was established in 1991. It has a permanent staff in Hanoi, including its founding chairman/director, Dr. Nguyen Huu Ninh, who received the Doctor of Science (Hon) from University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK) in 2002. Its associate staff includes a broad network of university professors and researchers in Vietnam.

Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh is an Honorary Member of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD).

CERED has also established an Asia-Pacific Office (CERED AP) in Hawaii, USA, overseeing satellite offices in Australia, Korea, Silicon Valley, and Indonesia, and partnerships with the APEC Innovation Center and APEC Climate Center.

COLLABORATORS

CERED has established collaboration with numerous overseas research centers and groups including the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), the Southeast Asian Impacts Center (IC-SEA), the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the OECD-Development Center, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the University of East Anglia, the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center (OECC) in Japan, the Asia-Pacific Network on Global Change Research (APN), the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), DIVERSITAS, Land-Use and Land-Cover Change (LUCC) and, with other organizations, through CERED Asia Pacific as well as with universities and researchers in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and elsewhere.

FUNDING SOURCES

CERED's operating costs are covered by research contracts and by contributions from domestic and international donors.

In collaboration with various international partners, CERED in the past years has engaged in research supported by the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) - the core project IGBP, Global Environmental Change Programme of the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Global Change Programme of the WOTRO (the Netherlands), Toyota Foundation, Toyota Motor Company, MacArthur Foundation, UNEP, APN, IHDP, the British Council, UNDP, among others.

Other funding agencies include AusAID, NOAA, SARCS/START, Japanese Nagao Natural Environment Foundation, American OBOR, Pan Asia & Pacific, the Research Council of Norway, SIDA/IIED, UEA/Tiempo, EU, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), United Nations University, amongst others.

Vietnamese projects and operating costs are low in comparison with international rates.

PUBLICATIONS

CERED has published many articles and books in Vietnam and abroad. Among CERED's publication are the Proceeding of the International Conference on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Impacts, Hanoi, Vietnam (1991), Global Warming and Vietnam: a Policy Maker's Guide (1993), The Potential Socio-Economic Effects of Climate Change in Vietnam (1996), The Impact of El Nino and La Nina on Southeast Asia (2000), Living with Environmental Change, Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam. Routledge, London (2001), Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in Vietnam (2003), and Environmental Analysis of the Socio-Economic Development Plan of Vietnam period 2006-10.

Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh contributed a chapter, Flooding in Mekong River Delta, Viet Nam (0.8Mb download), to the 2007/08 Human Development Report. He was a Lead Author of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Climate Change 2007 and author of The Policy for Environmentally Sustainable Development: Perspectives from Vietnam (2013)

On-line publications include:

• Global Warming and Vietnam (1993)
• Report on the Workshop The Impact of El Nino and La Nina on Southeast Asia, Hanoi, Vietnam (2000)
• Flooding in Mekong River Delta, Viet Nam (0.8Mb download) in the 2007/08 Human Development Report

FACILITIES

CERED has experience in hosting international meetings and training workshops in Vietnam, Lao PDR and Cambodia. In addition, CERED's facilities for visiting scientists include computers, photocopiers, vehicles, and office spaces. CERED can make arrangements for accommodation convenient to the Center, CERED staff members are multi-lingual.

LOCATION

The CERED headquarter is situated in the heart of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and is serviced by nearby Noi Bai Airport. Opposite to the National Center for Fairs and Exhibitions - Giang Vo - this location facilitates contact with policy-makers, NGO's and foreign embassies.

CERED also provides the headquarters for the Indochina Global Change Network (IGCN), IGBP/IHDP/Diversitas Vietnam, the University of East Anglia Gateway Office, and the Coleman College Singapore/CERED joint education office.

RESEARCH AREAS

Current CERED research areas include:

• Global environmental change comprising climate change, climate fluctuations and sea level rise
• Environmental impacts assessment (EIA)
• Bio-diversity, especially such ecological zones as mangrove forests, coastal zones and wetlands - including South China Sea project
• Environmental impacts assessments on energy, agriculture, health, land use, etc
• Environment and the minorities in the highlands
• Environmental management in development and socio-economic aspects of natural resource use
• Early warning system and natural disaster preparedness
• Vietnamese studies - cultural and historical research
• Development studies - poverty reduction and migration issues

TRAINING AND EDUCATION

Funds are being sought for:

• Raising environmental awareness for the people through the policy-makers at various levels
• Supporting scholarships and fundings from both inside and outside the country for young scientists and students in approaching environmental science
• Translating and publishing essential documents and books on environment into Vietnamese (with the support of the United States OBOR and Worldwatch Institute, Washington DC, CERED has published Vital Signs in a Vietnamese version).

POLICY CONSULTATION

CERED has a major role in advising policy-makers on environmental issues. Briefings are organised for decision-makers. CERED's role is to find the experts to match the project or consultation requirements. Project leaders may approach CERED for advice on matters concerning the environment.

Briefing activities include dozens of workshops/conferences from 1991 to 2006, for example:

• Two ministerial briefings held by CERED in 1991 focused on the impacts of climate change and sea level rise in Vietnam.
• CERED/UEA Workshop on Environmental Change & Vulnerability: Lessons from Vietnam and the Indochina Region. Hanoi, 1998.
• CERED/TOYOTA Enviromental Training workshops for Vietnamese senior policy-makers (twelve workshops in 2001-04)
• APN/DIVERSITAS/IGCN Scoping Meeting on Biodiversity, Phnom Penh, 2004.
• WMO/NOAA/IGCN Workshop on Climate Forecasting in Indochina, Vientiane, 2004.
• Twelve briefings held in 2001-04 considering environmental protection and sustainable development for two thousand senior policy-makers across Vietnam.
• Environmental Forum on Ho Chi Minh City television, 2005
• Enviromental propaganda in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, 2005.
• Consultancy for the Like-Minded Donor Group (LMDG)/CIDA/Embassy of Canada on the environmental analysis of the socio-economic development plan of Vietnam period 2006-10.

EVERGREEN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM

The Evergreen Environment Program was established in April 2005.

With the warning of increasingly and seriously damaged environment, the Evergreen Environment Program will be a reminder and a message to refer the behavior and attitude of every organization and every citizen towards law on environmental protection.

The Evergreen Environment Fund will support activities of art performance, communication, education, and knowledge popularizing for the community and will help deploy environmental and sustainable development projects in Vietnam, especially in remote parts.