Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on the Japanese Government to provide long-term support for Vietnam in adapting to climate change, especially drought and saline intrusion.
United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson made a fact-finding trip to the southern province of Ben Tre on May 5 to find out about the impacts of ongoing drought and saline intrusion.
Nearly 18 billion VND (800,000 USD) from the State budget has helped the southernmost province of Ca Mau with recovery from the severe drought and saline intrusion.
Ben Tre has called off all fruit exhibitions and festivals scheduled for this year, with authorities saying drought and saline intrusion have decimated its orchards and there is nothing more to show.
A torrential rain lasting for more than one hour on afternoon April 30 improved saline instruction in Long My district in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang.
Many farmers in the Mekong Delta provinces have switched from growing rice to drought-resistant crops to cope with the region’s worst drought in 100 years.
As many as 4,000 households hit by drought and saline intrusion in the southern province of Tra Vinh have received financial assistance worth 500,000 VND (22.7 USD) each.
Long-lasting drought and saline intrusion has caused a total loss of nearly 1.1 trillion VND (49.5 million USD) in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh.
The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee presented a water filter system to Ba Tri district’s An Duc commune in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on April 24.
Vietnam must take drastic measures to tackle drought and saline intrusion to help ensure water security and prevent the politicisation of water in the region.
Different countermeasures are being employed by many provinces to get through the impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion on local agriculture and aquaculture.
Tien Giang province is speeding up the construction of a water facility to supply fresh water to more than 30,000 households in the drought-hit Go Cong Tay and Tan Phu Dong districts.
Farmers in the Mekong Delta were advised authority’s guidance on when to start growing rice for the new crop as the water discharged from China’s hydropower station arrived in the region on April 4.
Foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and enterprises committed to providing assistance for Vietnamese communities hardest hit by drought and saline intrusion.
In their fight against drought and saline intrusion, farmers in Tieu Can district in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh have contributed their own money to build canals and ditches.