A seminar was held in Hue city in the central province Thua Thien-Hue from October 21-23 to review the Mekong-Building Resilience to Climate Change in Asian Cities (M-BRACE) project in the 2011-2014 period.

The project was implemented in four cities of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, namely Hue and Lao Cai city in Vietnam, and Phuket and Udon Thani in Thailand.

Studies show that Vietnam is one of the five countries most vulnerable to climate change, which negatively impacts on production, especially agriculture, and the economy in general, M-BRACE Director Kenneth MacClune said.

The project outcomes will help local authorities clarify priorities for future efforts to adapt to climate change, he added.

Vice Chairman of Hue’s People’s Committee Phan Ngoc Tho said his city in particular, and Thua Thien-Hue province in general, are prone to natural disasters, such as floods, storms, droughts, tidal surges, saltwater intrusion and land erosion, which are becoming more frequent, severe and unpredictable each year.

It is therefore crucial to identify the possible effects of natural disasters resulting from climate change in order to be able to develop appropriate response measures to minimise their impact on Hue, he noted.

Over the last four years, M-BRACE experts provided technical assistance to local officials on the development of climate change response plans.

Using the experience generated during the first phase, Thua Thien-Hue will continue the second phase of project implementation in an effort to improve its climate change resilience.-VNA