Strong Roots, Strong Women
An award-winning project to empower women and ecosystems
Welcome to our project page for Strong Roots, Strong Women, the winner of the 2021 RISK Award of the Munich Re Foundation in cooperation with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
This pioneering project uses ecosystem-based adaptation to empower women in the field of climate adaptation and natural hazards. The aim is to protect and promote both the resilience of local communities and the ecosystem of Tam Giang Lagoon, the largest lagoon in Southeast Asia in Vietnam.
Scientific project management Dr. Philip Bubeck
Project partner Center for Social Research and Development (CSRD), Hue City, Vietnam
Duration 07/2021 - 06/2023, follow-up project 01/2025 - 12/2028
Funding 2021 RISK Award of the Munich Re Foundation (2021-2023) and
Our successes
1. construction of a tree nursery for mangroves
Together with the local community, we have set up a mangrove tree nursery on the banks of the Tam Giang lagoon.
✔ Area: over 3,000 m²
✔ Raised mangroves: 45,000 in three planting cycles
✔ Surviving mangroves: 25,000 despite severe flooding (2021 & 2022)
✔ Reforestation: approx. 12 hectares of land
To ensure the long-term sustainability of the tree nursery, we have trained 30 volunteers in three key areas
✅ Biological aspects - selection and care of seedlings
✅ Organization - independent management of the tree nursery
✅ Finance - selling the seedlings for long-term financing
2. Participatory theater as a means of risk communication
To raise awareness of risk reduction, climate adaptation and the protection of local ecosystems, members of the local women's union developed interactive theater plays together with the community.
✔ 1,000 visitors at the performances
✔ Empowering women in disaster risk reduction
✔ Scientifically proven impact: improvement in participants' risk perception and self-efficacy
A scientific article on the positive effects of these theater performances was published in the journal Progress in Disaster Science. You can find the full article here: Sciencedirect