Diep Ngoc Nguyen - Vietnam/Italy

Keywords: climate risk assessment, livelihoods, remote sensing and GIS, structured/semi-structured/in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, travel, cultural exchanges.

​I’m Diep Ngoc Nguyen. I’m Vietnamese and currently live in Italy. I come from a small town in the Mekong Delta, where soil, water, and climate are essential features of agricultural livelihoods. Ten years ago, when I was a high school student, I had no idea what climate change was, but I observed how devastating extreme weather events impacted our lives. That motivated me to follow my bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Management and eventually to work as a junior researcher in the Water Resources Department of Can Tho University, where I had chances to go to the rice fields, orchards, shrimp ponds and talk directly to farmers to understand the impacts of changes in climate and water system on their farms and families. 

Eventually, I got an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to complete my master’s degree in Water and Coastal Management in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. I’m now a research fellow at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and an affiliate researcher of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in Venice, Italy. 

​My research focuses on the assessment of multi-risks related to climate change and extreme events in coastal ecosystems. I’m interested in applying nature-based solutions and decision support systems for climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Being a member of the Youth Advisory Board, I would like to connect with young people and experts - who are interested in making a better world and to learn about climate problems and actions across different communities and cultures.