The SATREPS project was fully renamed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST): Early warning system for landslides and mud and rock floods based on the digital community and integrated risk assessment for Central Vietnam: Exploiting remote technology and assessing measures to mitigate economic damage in Thua Thien Hue province.
This is a technical assistance project using non-refundable ODA capital, funded by the Japanese Government.
The project aims to develop an early warning system for landslides and mud and rockslides in high-risk areas of Thua Thien Hue province, with the main goals: Building maps of landslide risks at a large scale of 1:5,000 for key areas, concentrated residents, high risk of landslides and mud and rockslides to serve early warning and forecasting; Develop an early warning system (EWS) for some key areas based on digital models and installed monitoring equipment (such as rain gauge stations, rain radar, satellites, etc.); Digitize the early warning system (EWS) to enhance connectivity and convey risk information, warn local people, etc.
The early warning system not only helps authorities make timely decisions, but is also digitized to enhance the ability to directly transmit information to local people.
The project also integrates demographic, economic - social factors, and the use of agricultural land in the real-time landslide risk map, to provide multidimensional analysis and assess the economic efficiency of the warning system to optimize investment policies for natural disaster prevention.
In particular, the project will build a specialized laboratory to serve surveying, measuring, sampling and conducting experiments in rooms and in the field related to landslides. Thereby, contributing to improving research capacity and transferring technology to a team of experts in the field of natural disaster risk assessment.
A set of documents guiding the map making and assessing the risk of landslides using remote sensing technology has also been compiled to serve localities in replicating the model to the entire Central region and the whole country, in the context of increasing climate change and natural disasters.
The project implementation period is from June 2026 to June 2030; Total project cost: about 3.43 million USD (~89.2 billion VND)
Sharing at the announcement ceremony, Prof. Dr. Trinh Minh Thu - Principal of the University of Water Resources affirmed that this project is of great significance, not only to universities and research institutes but also to demonstrate Vietnam's prestige with the international community.
The SATREPS project is one of the most competitive programs today. Every year, about 100 - 120 proposals are submitted to registration by countries, but only 10 topics are approved for implementation by Japan.
The selection of the University of Water Resources to join a number of other schools such as the University of Construction and domestic research institutes is a testament to the capacity and prestige of Vietnamese scientists in the field of natural disaster prevention, climate change and sustainable development.
"We are committed to implementing the project on schedule, ensuring quality and efficiency to bring a prestigious brand to educational institutions" - Prof. Dr. Trinh Minh Thu shared and affirmed that the success of the project will contribute to enhancing the position of Vietnamese science, expanding opportunities for international publications and promoting practical application in early warning programs, and mitigating natural disaster risks in Vietnam.
