Landside caused by climate change in the Mekong Delta. (Source:cand.com)Can Tho (VNA) - Vulnerable groups including women and low-income earners should be taken better care of during climate change response initiatives, experts said.
Nguyen Thi Yen from CARE Vietnam suggested poverty reduction and gender equality be among key targets in all strategies and investment projects on climate change.
The vulnerable groups, especially women, need to be involved in implementing climate change-related projects and making socio-economic development plans at all levels, she said.
A majority of the poor, including women, mainly come from ethnic minorities, coastal areas in the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta. They suffer from more severe climate change damage due to a lack of resources for recovery, according to Yen.
Increasing natural disasters and sea level rise also pose serious threats to agricultural production and the ecosystem, threatening the livelihoods of women who live on the land, Yen elaborated.
Meanwhile, Ky Quang Vinh, a local environmental official from Can Tho, highlighted achievements in developing relevant methods of cultivation and animal farming in the context of climate change, thus ensuring the livelihoods of impoverished communities.
Sharing Vinh’s view, Tran Van The from the Institute for Agricultural Environment under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development called for incentives for the poor in the response to climate change. He stressed the need to strengthen communication work in a bid to raise awareness about climate change adaption.
Non-profit organisations and localities should also provide financial and technical assistance for farmers in the Mekong Delta region who are vulnerable to climate change, The said.
According to Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Southwestern Region Nguyen Quoc Viet, a number of programmes on climate change have been implemented to ensure sustainable development in the Mekong Delta region and the nation.
A climate change scenario shows that some 35 percent of the Mekong Delta region’s population, or nearly 6.3 million people, are expected to suffer from direct damage due to climate change.
Of these, women, children, the elderly, those with disabilities and the poor are the most vulnerable.-VNA
