At the conference (Source: VNA) Can Tho (VNA) – The Integrated Coastal Management Programme (ICMP) in theMekong Delta region has brought about marked economic benefits to targetedlocalities, heard a conference in Can Tho city on July 24.
Theprogramme was launched in 2011 at a cost of 23 million EUR (26.9 million USD)funded by the German and Australian governments via the German Development CooperationOrganisation.
Runningfive projects, the programme has come to the Mekong Delta provinces of SocTrang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, and An Giang, with the aim of coastalprotection using the ecosystem; supporting local farmers in agriculture andaquaculture; and promoting cooperation among provincial governments.
Its overallobjective is to make the Mekong Delta region more resilient to the severeeffects of climate change.
At theevent, participants looked into the projects’ achievements in response toclimate change over recent years in the agriculture, fishery, and forestrysectors.
On thisoccasion, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development launcheda programme on climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta based on humanapproaches and science and technology for 2019-2021.
The MekongDelta is Vietnam’s most important agricultural region, contributing around 52percent to the country’s rice production. It is also a biological hotspot, withmany endemic species.
Accordingto official studies, 38 percent of the Mekong Delta region is at risk of beingunderwater by the year 2100, with some parts of the coast facing erosion at apace of 30m each year.
Furthermore,the protective mangrove forests are in considerable decline, and the intrusionof saltwater into ground water is becoming a serious problem as it damages thefertile soil for agriculture.
Inaddition, human activities in the region, such as clearing coastal forests,altering natural waterways, and adopting intensive agriculture and aquaculturepractices, are threatening the ability to provide essential ecosystem servicesin the Mekong Delta. –VNA
VNA
