More than 200 delegates from Thailand , Laos and Vietnam gathered
in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang on October 15 to share
experiences in the adaptation to climate change in their coastal areas.
Addressing the Second Coastal Forum on Building
resilience to Climate Change Impacts in Coastal Southeast Asia, Robert
Mather, director of the International Natural Reserve Organisation in
Southeast Asia , said coastal communities in the three countries are
facing common challenges posed by climate change, forcing them to find
ways to adapt to the changing atmosphere.
The four-day forum agreed on nature-based solutions as the key to cope with the phenomenon.
Le Thanh Tri, Vice Chairman of Soc Trang People’s Committee, said the
event is an opportunity for his province to meet international
organisations and scientists to learn about their experiences in climate
change adaptation-related issues.
For two years, in
eight coastal provinces of the three nations, over 30 pilot projects
have been designed for the localities to help raise residents’
adaptation capacity, helping them cope with the anticipated impacts of
climate change.
In Vietnam , 10 pilot projects
have been implemented in four coastal provinces of Soc Trang, Can Gio,
Kien Giang and Ben Tre to increase the resilient capacity to climate
change.
The second annual coastal forum- Building
resilience to Climate Change Impacts in Coastal Southeast Asia was
co-organised by the International Natural Reserve Organisation (IUCN),
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Vietnam
Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) and GIZ of Germany.-VNA