The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre is one of eight provinces in Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia benefiting from a project on strengthening the localities’ coastal resilience.

Other seven provinces include Ho Chi Minh City , Soc Trang and Kien Giang of Vietnam , Kampot and Koh Kong of Cambodia and Trat Chanthaburi of Thailand .

The project worth 3.2 million EUR is being implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its partners, of whom the EU is the main donor.

The project, which will run from August, 2011 to June, 2014, aims to strengthen the preparedness and adaptation of local government and local people to future climate risks.

At the August 2 meeting between IUCN, the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands and leaders of Ben Tre province, the insiders agreed to combine the project with other ongoing projects with the focus on building response plans based on the local ecosystem and developing mangrove forests.

Ben Tre is one of the areas of the world predicted to be most affected by sea level rise./.