Participants of the conference (Photo: VNA)Can Tho (VNA) – Experts have emphasised the need to addresschallenges and boost linkages for sustainable development in the Mekong Deltaregion.
Attending the Conference on Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Development ofthe Mekong Delta, which opened in Can Tho city on September 26, they agreedthat the Mekong Delta is facing existential threats. According to studies, 39percent of the delta could be underwater by the year 2100 and some areas of thecoast are already eroding at a rate of 30 metres a year.
Early last year, the region suffered the worst drought in 90 years, which,together with rising sea levels, led to a heavy intrusion of saltwater intorice-growing areas. The mangrove forests along the coast, which protect thehinterland from floods and storms, are also in dramatic decline.
These problems threaten the future of the Mekong Delta and its ability toprovide essential ecosystem services in which the communities of the delta andmillions of people around the world depend.
Christian Henckes, Director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur InternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ)’s Integrated Coastal Management Programme in Hanoi, saidthe biggest risk was the land sinking into the ocean at a faster rate thanever. “The land has subsided by several centimetres each year, especially in CaMau, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu,” he said.
As the region faces rising sea levels, more land will be underwater. “I thinkwe won’t lose the whole delta, but I also think that we can’t maintain itexactly as it is,” Henckes said.
“We should expect a common understanding on how our finances can be mobilised andhow the government is going to spend them,” he added.
Because of the risk of land loss along the coast, Henckes said that “weneed right now to protect the frontline of the coast against the sea, but alsoto figure out the second line of defense for 20-30 metres inside the area, justin case the first line breaks, to protect the people and villages.”
“We’ve been working on the Integrated Coastal Management Programme for nearly10 years now. We began focusing on coastal protection and reinforcing the dykesystem, as well as supporting the people who live behind the dyke to help themincrease their incomes,” he said.
Now, the programme is focusing on agriculture and governance, getting provincesto work together, and investing in the projects that are needed most.
“This year, for example, we are working with Vietnam on a complete coastalprotection plan for 720km of the Vietnamese coast,” he said.
According to Hermen Borst, deputy delta commissioner of the Netherlands Delta Programme,his country has developed a special programme with two goals related to climatechange: flood prevention (the Netherlands is a highly urbanized area) andsufficient fresh water provision for the economy, now and in the future.
“We also have a special dedicated fund for the implementation of proposedmeasures,” he said.
The Mekong Delta, home to 17 million people, is Vietnam’s most importantagricultural region. Producing 55 percent of the country’s rice, it feeds morethan 245 million people worldwide.
The region is also the country’s third largest industrial region after themetropolitan areas of HCM City and Hanoi.
The conference is jointly organised by the Government Office and the ministriesof Planning and Investment, Natural Resources and Environment, and Agricultureand Rural Development.
On September 27, the event continues with a speech by its chair, Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc.-VNA
Attending the Conference on Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Development ofthe Mekong Delta, which opened in Can Tho city on September 26, they agreedthat the Mekong Delta is facing existential threats. According to studies, 39percent of the delta could be underwater by the year 2100 and some areas of thecoast are already eroding at a rate of 30 metres a year.
Early last year, the region suffered the worst drought in 90 years, which,together with rising sea levels, led to a heavy intrusion of saltwater intorice-growing areas. The mangrove forests along the coast, which protect thehinterland from floods and storms, are also in dramatic decline.
These problems threaten the future of the Mekong Delta and its ability toprovide essential ecosystem services in which the communities of the delta andmillions of people around the world depend.
Christian Henckes, Director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur InternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ)’s Integrated Coastal Management Programme in Hanoi, saidthe biggest risk was the land sinking into the ocean at a faster rate thanever. “The land has subsided by several centimetres each year, especially in CaMau, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu,” he said.
As the region faces rising sea levels, more land will be underwater. “I thinkwe won’t lose the whole delta, but I also think that we can’t maintain itexactly as it is,” Henckes said.
“We should expect a common understanding on how our finances can be mobilised andhow the government is going to spend them,” he added.
Because of the risk of land loss along the coast, Henckes said that “weneed right now to protect the frontline of the coast against the sea, but alsoto figure out the second line of defense for 20-30 metres inside the area, justin case the first line breaks, to protect the people and villages.”
“We’ve been working on the Integrated Coastal Management Programme for nearly10 years now. We began focusing on coastal protection and reinforcing the dykesystem, as well as supporting the people who live behind the dyke to help themincrease their incomes,” he said.
Now, the programme is focusing on agriculture and governance, getting provincesto work together, and investing in the projects that are needed most.
“This year, for example, we are working with Vietnam on a complete coastalprotection plan for 720km of the Vietnamese coast,” he said.
According to Hermen Borst, deputy delta commissioner of the Netherlands Delta Programme,his country has developed a special programme with two goals related to climatechange: flood prevention (the Netherlands is a highly urbanized area) andsufficient fresh water provision for the economy, now and in the future.
“We also have a special dedicated fund for the implementation of proposedmeasures,” he said.
The Mekong Delta, home to 17 million people, is Vietnam’s most importantagricultural region. Producing 55 percent of the country’s rice, it feeds morethan 245 million people worldwide.
The region is also the country’s third largest industrial region after themetropolitan areas of HCM City and Hanoi.
The conference is jointly organised by the Government Office and the ministriesof Planning and Investment, Natural Resources and Environment, and Agricultureand Rural Development.
On September 27, the event continues with a speech by its chair, Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc.-VNA
VNA
