Hanoi (VNA) - In the combat against desertification, Vietnam has gradually obtained double results, successfully preventing land degradation and bringing economic benefits to farmers.
The theme for this year’s World Environment Day (June 5) is “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience”. It aimed to appeal to countries around the globe to join hands in restoring land, preventing desertification, and improving drought resilience to ease climate change and improve food security for billions of people worldwide.
Land degradation accelerates climate change and biodiversity loss, and also contributes to drought, forest fires, involuntary migration as well as the emergence of zoonotic diseases.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) Le Cong Thanh said according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), up to 40% of the planet's land area has been degraded, directly affecting half of the world's population and threatening about half of global GDP (44 trillion USD).
The Deputy Minister said that the frequency and duration of droughts have increased by 29% since 2000. Without urgent action, drought could affect more than three-quarters of the world's population by 2050. Therefore, soil restoration is one of the main goals of the decade of ecosystem restoration and sustainable development.
Like other countries in the world, Vietnam is considered a country affected by drought, soil degradation and mobile sand dunes.
Director of the Centre for Natural Resources and Environment Communication under the MONRE Nguyen Viet Dung said that Vietnam has nearly 12,000 hectares of land, accounting for 35.74% of the total natural land area of the country, which is affected by degradation and desertification, leading to desertification.
He said the current situation of land degradation, desertification and desertification in Vietnam is taking place at a rapid and widespread pace.
Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh suggested ministries, sectors and localities strengthen the implementation of measures to prevent and control heat, drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion. They should investigate and assess the current situation of desertification, build a database and drought maps for directly affected areas, and monitor developments in soil environmental quality.
Along with that, coordination should be strengthened among all-level administrations, sectors and localities and create conditions for local people to participate in accessing information and techniques to prevent drought and desertification. They need to increase the supplementation of central and local funding sources, human resources, weather forecasts, and hydro-meteorological means in combating desertification and drought.
In addition, the ministry also called on stakeholders to hang banners, panels, and posters at appropriate agencies, units and public places to promote World Environment Day 2024.
In response to World Environment Day and the launch of the Month of Action for the Environment in 2024, the cities of Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Thua Thien - Hue, Can Tho, Thanh Hoa, and Long An organised practical response activities. They include events like “Joining Hands to Act for a Green Hanoi”, tree planting, creating environmental landscapes, clean roads and residential areas, and a thematic exhibition on overcoming the consequences of post-war chemical poisoning under the theme, "Orders from the Heart"./.
