Presentation on the legal framework around disaster risk reduction in Vietnam by IFRC Southeast Asia Disaster Law delegate at the DIPECHO 17-year review workshop.

1. Disaster Law Programme
How Law and Regulations support Disaster
Risk Reduction
Lucia Cipullo
IFRC Regional Disaster Law Delegate
Dipecho workshop
Hanoi, December 2015

2. Disaster Law Programme
Overview of presentation
 Background: what kind of laws and
why are they important?
 Disaster law in Vietnam: VNRC &
IFRC involvement
 Overview of Vietnam DRR law study:
findings, gaps, conclusions
 Some recent initiatives
 Developments in the Southeast Asia
region
 Moving forward…

3. Disaster Law Programme
Red Cross, disaster law, and resilient
communities
 189 National Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies
worldwide, working everyday to keep
communities resilient through education,
information, training and school safety.
 Disaster risk reduction is at the heart of our
mandate: helping communities prepare for and
respond to disasters
 NS also working to support governments to
strengthen resilience through the development
and implementation of national disaster laws
 This work is particularly strong across the
ASEAN region, especially in Vietnam

4. Disaster Law Programme
What is disaster law?
The laws and regulations which:
 address the roles and
responsibilities to manage
and respond to disasters
 minimise impact of disasters
 reduce disaster risks

5. Disaster Law Programme
The role of the RCRC in disaster law: keeping
communities at the centre
Red Cross
Auxiliary
Role
Provide technical
expertise through
IFRC DL
programme
Contribute to
development of
laws and policies
Bring relevant
stakeholders
together to discuss
and overcome key
challenges
Promote
awareness and
enhanced
implementation at
community level

6. Disaster Law Programme
What kind of laws are we talking about?
Building codes
Land use
plans
Environmental
protection
and climate
change
Institutional
arrangements
Health,
education etc.
 Strengthening DRR requires a broader DRM approach –
not just about DM law
 Focus on different sectoral laws, including:

7. Disaster Law Programme
Why does law matter? A foundation for effective
disaster risk management and resilience
Certainty and predictability
in a very complex
environment
Promote whole of
society approach: not
just government and
national authorities
Outlines roles and
responsibilities at all
levels
Mandate
adequate
resources

8. Disaster Law Programme
Priority 2: Strengthening disaster risk
governance to manage disaster risk :
 Review and strengthen legal frameworks to
enhance transparency
 Enhance levels of compliance with safety-
enhancing provisions of sectoral laws and
regulations (building codes, urban planning)
 Assign clear roles to community
representatives within legislation

9. Disaster Law Programme
Regional frameworks
 AADMER Agreement: a binding
regional cooperation agreement
 Governments in SEA must take
legislative measures to implement the
AADMER and development national
laws that address response AND risk
reduction

10. Disaster Law Programme
RCRC tools: Law and Disaster Risk Reduction
Law and DRR study DRR Law Checklist

11. Disaster Law Programme
Disaster law in Vietnam
• VNRC and IFRC published an IDRL study in
2009: focus on international assistance
• Continued engagement with National
Assembly and key partners during the new
law making process
• In 2013, the ‘Law on Natural Disaster
Prevention and Control’ was adopted with a
chapter on international assistance
(recommendations from RC) and an
integrated DRR approach
• 2014 DRR law study: examines how laws
from different sectors can support disaster
risk reduction e.g. land use planning,
building codes etc.

12. Disaster Law Programme
DRR Law case study: 7 key areas
DRR in disaster
management law and
institutions
Responsibility,
accountability and
liability for (natural)
DRR
Laws on specific hazards
(earthquakes, tsunamis,
fires)
Legal framework for
early warning and risk
mapping
Regulation of the ‘built
environment’ (building
codes, land use plans)
Regulation of the
natural and rural
environment (e.g. forest
management, food
security etc.)
DRR education and
awareness

13. Disaster Law Programme
Key findings and conclusions
Good practice Gaps in the legal
framework
Effectiveness of
community level
implementation
Overall
conclusions
about how law
and regulations
support DRR

14. Disaster Law Programme
1. Good practice Experience highlights why laws
are important
• The new DRM law integrates most legal
issues related to DRR, but still many
sectoral laws, regulations etc.
• Legislation on ‘structural prevention’ (e.g.
establishment of dykes and drains to
prevent flooding) and ‘non- structural
prevention’ (e.g. community awareness
activities) = a substantial reduction in lives
lost from flooding and storms.
• According to MARD, the flood level in the
Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam in 2011
was similar to 2000 BUT the number of
deaths from floods dropped from 600 down
to 60.

15. Disaster Law Programme
1. Good practice (continued)
 Law and regulation protecting
mangrove forests
 Before the introduction of the Law
on Forest Development and
Protection (2004) and Decree on
Handling Environmental Violations
(2009), mangrove forests were
occasionally transformed into
seafood farms.
 The enactment of these laws
provided the basis to stop
destruction of mangrove forests,
which protect sea dykes and
coastal areas and prevent flooding

16. Disaster Law Programme
2. Gaps in legal framework
 The Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Law
(2013) does not supersede / override all relevant laws
 Therefore, the legal framework is spread out over a
collection of laws, ordinances, decrees and decisions
 Link between climate change adaptation and DRR not
clearly integrated
 Manmade / technological disasters not included in
NDPC law
 Further develop institutional arrangements for
coordination between different sectors
 Enforcement lagging for building codes; land-use
planning under-utilized as a DRR measure

17. Disaster Law Programme
3. Community level implementation
 NDPC Law contains provisions on
community awareness raising and
DRR at the commune level
 The government, VNRC and key
partners are working to better
address CBDRM through the 1002
scheme
 Need to develop and sustain
capacity in CBDRM
 at the time of writing, some
informants suggested there was
insufficient capacity to implement
the 1002 scheme at all levels

18. Disaster Law Programme
4. Conclusions
Law and
regulations are
crucial to support
DRR
Strong legal
framework has
been developed
over time
Details on
institutionalization,
implementation,
resources
Need to close the
gaps in law and
practice

19. Disaster Law Programme
Some recent initiatives: peer – to – peer learning

20. Disaster Law Programme
Southeast Asia: making great progress in disaster
law
 Brunei
Darussalam
 Cambodia
 Indonesia
→ Lao PDR
→ Malaysia
 Myanmar
 Philippines
→ Singapore
 Thailand
 Vietnam

21. Disaster Law Programme
Moving forward
 Create awareness at all
levels through targeted
disseminations – also
builds capacity and
understanding
 Continue to work on the
implementing rules,
circulars, decisions etc –
close existing gaps in the
legal framework
 Use the DRR checklist
 Implementation is key!
 Capacity, sustainability,
sector-wide approach

22. Disaster Law Programme
Thank you for listening!
Questions? Comments?
Public website:
www.ifrc.org/dl
Online library:
https://sites.google.com/site/drrt
oolsinsoutheastasia/
Email:
lucia.cipullo@ifrc.org

23. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Ms. Lucia Cipullo
Regional Disaster Law Delegate, Southeast Asia
International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC)
lucia.cipullo@ifrc.org