Vietnam News 2 Apr 10;
MEKONG DELTA — It was high time for Viet Nam, especially Mekong Delta provinces, to put climate change on top of its list of concerns, experts said at a recent conference on climate change response plans for the Mekong Delta, held in Can Tho City.
Over the last 30 years, the delta's average temperature has increased 0.5 degrees Celsius, while the number of days with temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius has also increased, according to vice chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Son.
Natural resource exploitation and construction projects along the rivers had affected water levels, said Son. River waters had been reduced by 30 per cent in both the dry and rainy seasons compared to last century, leading to a shortage of water and the encroachment of salinated waters.
These changes have also affected people's health, livelihoods and agricultural production.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment's recent climate change scenario, the delta's temperature may increase 10 degrees Celsius by 2050, and another 10 degrees Celsius by 2100, rainfalls may increase by 0.8-1.55 per cent and the sea level may rise 33-75cm. The delta will be inundated if the level goes 1m higher, with the hardest-hit localities including Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Long An, Soc Trang, Kien Giang and Can Tho.
"Learning experiences from other countries, including the Netherlands, is necessary for Viet Nam, especially for the Mekong Delta provinces, to respond to and mitigate the impacts of climate change," said minister Pham Khoi Nguyen.
Nguyen emphasised that helping the delta respond to climate change effectively and safely was a great task, for both national and international food security.
The Netherlands' former Minister of Agriculture, Cornelis Pieter Veerman, said that the two countries had many geographical similarities and both faced huge risks of rising sea levels and climate change.
At the conference, delegates shared information about climate change, then jointly set up targets and medium- and long-term strategies based on practical situations.
Professor Eelco Van Beek said that the delta provinces needed to improve their dykes and their sewage systems to raise capacities to cope with floods, set up drought/flood warning systems and to raise people's awareness.
Also on this occasion, experts from the Netherlands came to work with relevant sectors in Viet Nam.
The final plans, once approved by Vietnamese authorities, will be designed in detail to call for investments. Experts also had concerns about the frequent occurrences of landslides along the banks of the Hau River and the Tien River, even during the dry season.
In Can Tho City, along with the recent collapse of the Tra Nien Bridge, the authorities warned that six other bridges were facing high risks of landslides. Landslide warnings were also issued for Vinh Long, Ben Tre and Dong Thap provinces.
Unstable foundations and excessive sand exploitation from the rivers were blamed for the landslides, said Cao Van Be, director of An Giang Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
The conference, held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the embassy of the Netherlands in Viet Nam, was one of the activities under the co-operation memorandum signed by the two countries last October. — VNS
