This video comprises a presentation by Samir Patitunda and Syed Samsun Nabi describing some of the physical and social problems caused by extreme weather events in the Sundarbans of West Bengal. Further presentations from Tran Van, Tran Man and Paul Truong describe how the Vetiver System has been used effectively since the late 1990s for coastal sea-dyke and estuarine river-bank stabilization in north and central Vietnam and the Mekong Delta, under conditions not unlike those in the Sundarbans. Mohammad Shariful Islam describes his 20 years of vetiver research and development in successful applications for coastal infrastructure stabilization in areas next to West Bengal’s Sundarbans.

These presentations are followed by an open discussion. Interesting points include the need for full community acceptance and participation; the need for quality plants and site applications; the potential use of jute fiber matting with vetiver to improve stability in the first year of establishment, especially on sandy and “liquid” soils; and the value of well-planted vetiver hedges of sufficient density and number, which reduce wave run-up damage to embankments and are equivalent to about a 10% saving in dyke or embankment height, a significant saving in construction costs. Also important is planting vetiver on the inside slopes of dykes to prevent erosion from overtopping storm surges. Post-application maintenance is relatively simple, low-cost and important for long-term durability. Rules have to be agreed with local communities on how the dykes are used, and once agreed, kept.

West Bengal participants: Samir Patitunda is a political and social activist from West Bengal and a founder member and leader of the Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS). He currently works to mitigate disasters and support people after disasters in the region. Syed Samsun Nabi is coordinator of the India Vetiver Network. He was Chief Coordinator for the successful pilot implementation of VGT throughout West Bengal through the MGNREGS.

The Vetiver Network International participants: Dr. Tran T. Van (Vietnam): geologist and geotechnical engineer; Director (retired 2021) of the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, responsible for recommendations for Vietnam’s disaster mitigation programs. He founded and coordinated the Vietnam Vetiver Network and developed Vetiver System applications for protecting and strengthening Vietnam’s cyclone protection infrastructure (sea walls, dykes, levees) and for stabilizing highways and other infrastructure, including the 2,000 km Ho Chi Minh Highway. Tran Man (Vietnam): civil engineer, certified in vetiver bio-engineering; manages bio-engineering projects using vetiver for slope stabilization, river-bank protection, wastewater treatment and sediment control with Veticon Australia; coordinator of the Vietnam Vetiver Network; currently Head of Investment, Appraisal and Supervision of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Da Nang. Dr. Mohammad Shariful Islam (Bangladesh): Professor of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, who has researched and developed the Vetiver System for flood levee and river-bank stabilization in Bangladesh for many years and is a major contributor to its promotion for disaster mitigation. Dr. Paul Truong (Australia): Technical Director, TVNI; Director of Veticon Consulting; leading vetiver researcher with a special focus on treating contaminated land and water; formerly Department of Natural Resources, Queensland; working with the Vetiver System since 1990. Jim Smyle (USA): watershed management specialist, President and Coordinator of TVNI; formerly World Bank environmentalist, since consulting for IFAD, ADB, the World Bank and others on rural poverty reduction, sustainable natural resources management and climate change adaptation in agriculture and forestry. Dick Grimshaw (USA): agriculturist, soil conservationist and land use planner, and founder of TVNI; formerly World Bank, including head of its agricultural group in New Delhi (1982–87); working with the Vetiver System since 1986 and with TVNI since founding it in 1995. Dr. Dale Rachmeler (USA): agronomist; previously USAID project manager of vetiver-related agricultural projects in Africa; currently Secretary of TVNI.

This webinar was held on November 17. Its five presentations are on separate YouTube videos (links in the table). The main takeaways were: (1) the China Vetiver Network, under the leadership of Liyu Xu, has operated for 24 years and has played an important and sustained role in promoting the Vetiver System in China; (2) much has been learned from VS applications in China in that time; (3) the Chinese Government’s Climate Action policies are giving the VS new momentum and prominence; (4) the quality of VS applications in China is very good; (5) private sector companies play an important role; (6) applications are carried out at impressive scale: 270,000 ha of rice with reduced stem borer incidence due to the Vetiver System; a single company producing 90 million vetiver plants over four years; and tertiary treatment, to environmental standards, of 80,000 tons a day of the City of Wenzhou’s sewage effluent using floating vetiver; (7) a growing appreciation that vetiver applications have many important secondary ecological and economic benefits that follow automatically from the primary use; and a realization that environmental awareness needs to be taught to children at a young age.

The webinar’s (55 minutes) guest speaker, Dr. Zhongxian Lu of the Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China, is professor and head of crop insect pest management. He shared the experimental and field development of ecological engineering for rice insect pest management, focusing on the critical use of vetiver grass to control pink and striped stem borer of rice. So far 270,000 ha of rice in 13 provinces of south China have been protected using the technology developed by Dr. Lu and his team. Using vetiver for this application has reduced pesticide use for stem borer control by 80%, improved rice quality and net income per hectare, and appears to be reversing pest resistance to the pesticides still in use. The presentation includes some very interesting data and figures; we recommend using the pause button frequently while watching.