The Mekong River Delta is Vietnam’s most important and largest region with respect to agricultural and aquacultural production systems. The city Can Tho, also referred to as the economic centre of the Mekong Delta, and with that in most parts only about two meters above sea level, is at high risk of flooding. The combination of three different flood regimes comprising of tidal floods from the South Chinese Sea, increased precipitation and the Mekong River’s flow variation create a challenging situation for the city and its increasing trend of urbanization.

Flood and heat wave adaptation measures were analyzed for the city of Can Tho (in selected districts) with respect to their cost-efficiency and effectiveness on adaptation and risk reduction. 17 measures (10 measures for flood, 4 measures for heat waves and 3 measures for both, flood and heat waves) were successfully assessed using the modelling platform CLIMADA. The Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) framework is set out to develop practical recommendations that enable national and local decision-makers to build a comprehensive assessment of the climate risk that their economies are facing while minimizing the cost of adaptation through cost-efficient strategies. A particular emphasis is made on a robust and integrated approach based on sound scientific facts.

The ECA applied here contains three elements supported by the modelling platform CLIMADA: 1. Climate risk identification: Conduct an identification of climate risk in a defined region (e.g. urban area), identify areas and people at risk, spanning all significant climate hazards and the full range of possible impacts for different sectors 2. Climate risk quantification: Calculate the expected damage across multiple climates and economic scenarios 3. Identification and prioritization of CCA measures (using Cost-Benefit Analysis of CCA measures): Determine strategies including a portfolio of specific CCA measures with detailed cost/benefit assessment.

Results of the study can be found here in the Executive Summary of Can Tho.