With a long coastline, coastal erosion is a constant threat to Vietnam and is getting more serious as a consequence of more storms and rising sea levels caused by climate change, experts reported at a workshop in Hanoi on July 17.

Addressing the workshop, which discussed the national assessment report on coastal erosion, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands Vu Si Tuan said Vietnam has implemented an array of programmes at different levels to assess the situation of erosion and deposition, particularly in key regions, and built scientific bases for prevention measures.

However, the country has not been able to solve many problems relating to this threat, he said, adding that the YEOSU coastal erosion project run by the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) is greatly helpful to COBSEA members, including Vietnam.

The drafting of the national assessment report on coastal erosion will provide input information for COBSEA to build a regional project to address challenges posed by climate change in general and coastal erosion in particular.

According to the project’s consultant Rey Monila, it aims to build COBSEA members’ resilience and management capacity of coastal erosion and sea level rise threats.

At the workshop, participants suggested a number of measures, for example protecting forests, raising local people’s awareness and building a database of coastal erosion.-VNA