Nguyen Vu Bao Nam, recipient Anne van den Ban scholarship

“I’m Nam, from Vietnam. I’m a climate change researcher, wanting to further develop my expertise on enabling climate financing flows for developing countries. My aspiration is to leave a significant imprint on reducing the impacts and vulnerability of communities to adverse climate effects, while sustainably conserving vital natural ecosystems, including water resources and forests. Ever since I first learned about climate change in high school, that aspiration has become a compulsion.”

“A compulsion that has led me across the world, to earn a full scholarship for my bachelors in the United States, to conduct development and environmental research in Costa Rica, Nepal, Italy and Vietnam. It has brought me to the most remote communities with my dearest motorcycle, to first-hand witness the devastating impacts that floods and droughts have brought to communities. A compulsion that has transpired into an instinctive sense of duty, urging me to engage with youth initiatives in Vietnam to bring climate action to the forefront of the discussion.”

“I got a job at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Vietnam after my bachelors degree. For four years I worked at this research institute. I conducted research on food security in Vietnam, and how weather and climate influences this. Also I went to Rome to do research on conflict and climate change. And on the vulnerable coast of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. From these experiences, I noticed a capacity gap. I wanted to have more technical expertise in understanding climate change, and know about good policy to improve resilience of communities to climate change. We worked together with researchers and students from WUR. I really wanted to do a master there: Climate Studies. I didn’t managed to save a lot, and I didn’t want to ask more from my family. They need their own money and land for their financial security and retirement. I got the Anne van den Ban Fund and started this August.”

“I have different goals during my masters, and big plans. I want to understand how we can use environmental and social data to make good policies. I think it’s very wise to use data at the base of policy. That’s why another goal is to review different governmental frameworks, and how they implement their policies. I also want to know what the costs are of different implementations. I’m noticing that I’m already learning a lot and that I can reach my goals during this master. My personal view is that data-based decisions are more informed, and therefore better. In developing countries, and in Vietnam, the use of data to support decision making is not wide-spread, due to technical capacity gaps. If you combine environmental and social data, you can make holistic decisions.”

“But when I return to Vietnam, my plan is to go a bit from the climate change impact research track, and explore the role development finance institutions play in supporting improving community resilience and re-orienting national economies towards climate-friendly pathways. With development projects, it all comes down on money. I maybe want to work at the World Bank or Asian Development Bank, to have influence on the development and climate finance flows and explore how we can use the money most effectively to solve these critical questions for humanity. I want to join a research team who tackles these kind of questions. A holistic view on sustainable development is keyword for me. That’s what I also like about WUR. I’m meeting a lot of people from different countries, and each country has a different approach. That’s making me a holistic person also. My favourite spot is the Lumen building, because of the great architecture and all the greens.”