Prompt measures should be taken to adapt to climate change at a timewhen it is increasingly affecting the city, a HCM City officialhas said.
Speaking at a three-day conference in HCM City , Dao Anh Kiet,director of the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment,said the city was enduring severe impacts from climate change.
The sectors affected include water resources, urban flooding, agriculture, forestry and urban land use.
"The main sources of water for daily use as well as for industry andagriculture are taken from the Dong Nai River basin , but therehas been a shortage of water because of a drop in rainfall andincreasing salination in districts 7,8 and Nha Be," he said.
Urban flooding has occurred at 155 out of 322 wards around the city.During its peak, flooding occupied 110,000ha of urban land, affectingabout one million residents.
Kiet forecast that the frequency of floods would increase sharply by 2050.
"If the city does not take proper measures, the number of flooded wards would be 265," he said.
Furthermore, salination and temperature rise would negatively affect1,520ha of rice paddy, 2,970ha of sugarcane fields and 34,000ha offorest.
The flooding could destroy forest biodiversity inCu Chi District and Can Gio mangrove forest and several species couldface extinction, Kiet said.
In addition, urban landmanagement would be more difficult for city authorities when 61 percentof residential land and 67 percent of industrial land in the city isflooded.
Authorities have set up a city-level steeringboard for climate-change adaptation and have established an action planfor the 2011-2015 period, based on advice from experts from theNetherlands .
The city has also funded 4 trillion VND (192 million USD) for 30 proposed projects for climate-change adaptation.
Kiet recommended that the city enhance the operation of the steeringboard and speed up projects for quick results on climate changeadaptation.
The conference involves participation ofexperts from countries including Japan , Kenya , Ghana , Thailand ,Malaysia and Bangladesh .
The conference was held onWednesday by the UN Centre for Regional Development and VietnamNational University in HCM City .
Following thesessions of the conference, participating experts will conduct fieldtrip to the Mekong Delta on Saturday and Sunday./.
Speaking at a three-day conference in HCM City , Dao Anh Kiet,director of the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment,said the city was enduring severe impacts from climate change.
The sectors affected include water resources, urban flooding, agriculture, forestry and urban land use.
"The main sources of water for daily use as well as for industry andagriculture are taken from the Dong Nai River basin , but therehas been a shortage of water because of a drop in rainfall andincreasing salination in districts 7,8 and Nha Be," he said.
Urban flooding has occurred at 155 out of 322 wards around the city.During its peak, flooding occupied 110,000ha of urban land, affectingabout one million residents.
Kiet forecast that the frequency of floods would increase sharply by 2050.
"If the city does not take proper measures, the number of flooded wards would be 265," he said.
Furthermore, salination and temperature rise would negatively affect1,520ha of rice paddy, 2,970ha of sugarcane fields and 34,000ha offorest.
The flooding could destroy forest biodiversity inCu Chi District and Can Gio mangrove forest and several species couldface extinction, Kiet said.
In addition, urban landmanagement would be more difficult for city authorities when 61 percentof residential land and 67 percent of industrial land in the city isflooded.
Authorities have set up a city-level steeringboard for climate-change adaptation and have established an action planfor the 2011-2015 period, based on advice from experts from theNetherlands .
The city has also funded 4 trillion VND (192 million USD) for 30 proposed projects for climate-change adaptation.
Kiet recommended that the city enhance the operation of the steeringboard and speed up projects for quick results on climate changeadaptation.
The conference involves participation ofexperts from countries including Japan , Kenya , Ghana , Thailand ,Malaysia and Bangladesh .
The conference was held onWednesday by the UN Centre for Regional Development and VietnamNational University in HCM City .
Following thesessions of the conference, participating experts will conduct fieldtrip to the Mekong Delta on Saturday and Sunday./.
