On November 6 in Hanoi, the Department of Water Resources Management, in collaboration with the Italian Development Agency and international experts, organized a seminar titled "Exchange of Experiences in Water Resource Management and Risk Mitigation."
In his opening remarks, Deputy Director General of the Department of Water Resources Management, Mr. Ngo Manh Ha, highlighted that the 2023 Water Resources Law clearly outlines the regulation and distribution of water resources. This includes the coordinated operation of reservoirs, dams, and other water-use infrastructures and the allocation of water usage across river basins through a real-time decision-support system for reservoir operations. A priority in current management is the joint operation of interconnected reservoirs to ensure water supply during drought seasons and flood prevention during rainy seasons, as well as establishing forecasting and warning systems for water-related risks.
According to Deputy Director General Ngo Manh Ha, with support from the Italian Development Agency, the Department of Water Resources Management has partnered with the CIMA Research Foundation to implement the technical assistance project "Capacity Enhancement in the Water Sector: Real-Time Joint Reservoir Operations in Vietnam."
The seminar’s overview
During the seminar, Mr. Ngo Manh Ha encouraged experts from the CIMA Research Foundation and Viet Nam to share water resource management lessons in Italy and Viet Nam. He also suggested discussions on technologies and methodologies for water-related risk reduction to meet the objectives set by the partnership.
Participants heard from representatives of the Italian Development Agency about the ongoing cooperation between Italy and Viet Nam in the water resource sector. Additionally, representatives from the Department of Water Resources Management provided an overview of Viet Nam's water management landscape, including legal frameworks, regulatory mechanisms, and insights into existing issues in the water monitoring network and early warning systems (for floods and droughts).
A representative from the CIMA Research Foundation presented an overview of water resource management in Italy, sharing lessons from Italy and other countries on legal frameworks, institutional structures, decision-support systems, real-time monitoring, and early warning systems.