The Central Highlands is one of the most important agricultural regions in Vietnam, where coffee, rubber, pepper, vegetables, and fruits are grown for export. At the same time, Vietnam is one of the countries most affected by climate change, and the project region is particularly sensitive to extreme weather events, such as those caused by El Niño. El Niño events are present typically every two to seven years and often lead to severe droughts during the dry season in the project area, which have noticeable effects on agricultural production as well as the environment and socio-economic sector. The anthropogenic climate change impacts can make these effects stronger.

Drought-ADAPT aims to develop innovative approaches to support short-, medium- and long-term planning and adaptation to drought situations and their impacts in the context of climate change. The project operates at different levels, locally: technically innovative engineering solutions at village level to support local communities in securing their investments and high agricultural productivity, and regionally: development of innovative climate services.

The project implements innovative methods and a combination of approaches in the field of remote sensing, meteorology, hydrometry, climate and hydrological modeling, engineering and planning, as well as in the field of land management and policy consultation. Subsequently, solutions will be developed in cooperation with Vietnamese partners from research areas as well as from provincial authorities responsible for the Srêpốk river basin in provinces of Đắk Lắk and Đắk Nông in Central Highlands of Vietnam and relevant stakeholders.