Vietnam expressed its wish that the Partnership in EnvironmentalManagement for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), an internationalorganisation, will assist the sustainable development of its coastalregions, at a seminar in Hanoi on Dec. 5.
At the seminar onconsultation to expand the management of coastal regions in Vietnam forthe 2011-2020 period, it was announced that between 10 and 14 coastalprovinces in Vietnam will be partially financed for sustainabledevelopment.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and EnvironmentChu Pham Ngoc Hien said the Vietnam Sea and Islands General Departmenthas worked with localities to implement the five-year plan on coastalregion management in selected localities.
Representative fromPEMSEA Nancy Bermas said the implementation of the East Asia marinesustainable development strategy requires good management andutilisation of water supplies, pollution reduction and waste management,along with coastal region and urban development and biodiversitypreservation.
Vice Director of the Sea and Island ExploitationManagement Department Hoang Duy Dong said almost 50 percent of bigcities in Vietnam are in coastal regions and 23 percent of thepopulation living in coastal areas have been affected by climate changeand rising sea levels.
Since 2003, PEMSEA has assisted sevencoastal provinces in Vietnam, namely, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh,Khanh Hoa, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Soc Trang and Kien Giang in povertyreduction for coastal communities, biodiversity conservation, andsustainable fishing management./.