Mekong Delta urgently needs climate change data: Conference hinh anh 1Illustrative photo. (Source: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn)
Can Tho (VNA) – A conference was held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on November 18 to raise local young people's awareness of the importance of a database for environmental protection and climate change response.

It was part of a project to build a communication programme to heighten awareness of the sustainable and climate-resilient development of the Mekong Delta in alignment with the Government’s Resolution 120/NQ-CP dated on November 17, 2017.

During the event, experts and researchers discussed the urgent need to develop a database for responding to climate change in the region and the role of data analysis and data science.

Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Can Tho city Lam Van Tan spoke highly of the Mekong Delta's biodiversity, agricultural development and fishery richness. However, climate change is imposing adverse impacts on the region with saline intrusion, natural disasters and diseases taking toll on agriculture and husbandry, he said.

He emphasised the necessity to provide young people with knowledge and data on climate change so they would take right actions to effectively protect the environment.

Dr. Huynh Minh Hoang, from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources’ Department of Information Technology and Natural Resource and Environment Data, said the current data about climate change adaption and natural resources in the Mekong Delta has been lacking coherence, not shared widely and remained out of date. There is also a lack of inter-sectoral data linkages, he added.

It is vital to create a database and information infrastructure for the Mekong Delta with a multi-sectoral approach and long-term vision, Hoang said./.
VNA