A rice field heavily damaged by saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta in 2016 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam should calculatein advance damage caused by climate change as its effects have become moreobvious and devastating in recent years, with changes in temperature andrainfall, sea level rises and extreme weather.
According to the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) in Vietnam, the drought triggered by El-Nino in 2015-2016affected millions of Vietnamese farmers and the national economy.
Pham Van Tan, Deputy Director of the Departmentof Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change under the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment, said Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countriesdue to climate change.
However, many organisations, businesses andlocals have not been fully aware of climate change and green growth, he said,noting that coordination between ministries, departments and localities is lacking.
To date, all ten relevant ministries and 63localities have promulgated action plans to cope with climate change and sealevel rises. Nevertheless, only a few ministries and departments study the impactsof climate change on socio-economic development plans.
Coping with climate change is a big problem thatneeds time and investment, Tan said, adding that mobilisation of financialresources from individuals and businesses remained limited.
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Deputy Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Hoang Van Thang said Vietnam needs measures and tools to calculatelosses caused by climate change.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Vietnamneeds to address relations between promoting growth and coping with climatechange in each period and mitigate its negative impacts and enhance adaptationto climate change to bolster sustainable development.
More social investment should be mobilised to implementstrategies and plans on climate change adaptation and green growth.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment alongwith relevant ministries and departments has proposed the arrangement of publicinvestment in 2016-2020 to focus on preventing saltwater intrusion and coastalerosions in the Mekong Delta and droughts in the Central Highlands and southcentral coastal regions.
Ministries, departments and localities arestepping up coordination in implementing mechanisms and policies to deal withenvironmental changes and increase awareness-raising campaigns among thebusiness community and citizens.
Akiko Fujii, UNDP Vietnam Deputy CountryDirector, suggested Vietnam establish an inter-ministry working group tocollect data to analyse risks posed by climate change and put forth adaptivemeasures.
According to the World Bank, Vietnam loses 1-1.5percent of GDP annually due to natural disasters, which hinders the country’ssocial and economic development.-VNA
VNA
