From 2-4 March the conference ‘Delta 2011, Deltas under Climate Change: the challenges of adaptation’ was organized in Hanoi, Vietnam. Delta Alliance organized two one-hour sessions on the comparative assessment study. With the main focus of the conference being on sustainable food production in Asian mega-deltas in times of climate change, it provided an excellent platform for communicating the objectives of Delta Alliance to the regional research community and exchanging ideas on delta-specific adaptation strategies.

Delta Alliance has recently completed a comparative assessment of the vulnerability and resilience of 10 deltas. This study was presented at the conference, organized by among others the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Hanoi is located in the heart of the Red River delta.

At this conference Delta Alliance organized two one-hour special sessions on the comparative assessment study with presentations by three Delta Alliance Wing representatives, respectively from the Yangtze, Ciliwung and Mekong delta. A general presentation about the objectives, methods and overall conclusions of the study was given by lead-author Bart Makaske, who also chaired one of the sessions.
 
More than 100 persons attended the conference, and about 50 of them participated in the Delta Alliance sessions. A number of them was interested in joining Delta Alliance and most of the participants agreed on the fact that a comparative assessment of delta vulnerability and resilience can help to develop delta-specific adaptation strategies and facilitate inter-delta research cooperation and exchange of ideas. While the present comparative assessment study is a first step and served to develop scoring methods for delta comparison, continuing efforts should be made to collect quantitative indicators per delta and scientifically develop the scoring method. Further data collection and scientific elaboration should however not delay development and implementation of adaptation measures.