The Mekong Delta must come up with ways to address the consequences of
climate change, especially rising sea levels and salinity intrusion,
delegates said at a workshop in Hanoi on August 2.
Covering an
area of about 3.96 million hectares, the Mekong Delta is home to more
than 22 million residents who mainly make a living by farming. When
climate change causes sea levels to rise, salt water penetrates the
soil, affecting their crops and thus their livelihood. The region also
suffers floods, droughts and unusual weather patterns.
Participants
at the workshop emphasised the necessity of attracting more investment
in eco-friendly technology and energy, as well as making changes to the
legal framework.
The country’s laws and policies deal in detail
with natural disaster prevention, but only touch upon climate change
adaptation, according to the NA team supervising the enforcement of
climate change policies and laws. Currently, there is no comprehensive
policy on climate change adaptation.
Meanwhile, provinces and cities across the country still lack funding to enforce such policies as well as pilot projects.
“The
result of the enforcement of climate change policies and laws can be
seen mainly in quantity, not in quality and effectiveness,” said Nguyen
Duc Ngu, former general director of the Vietnam Meteorology and
Hydrology Centre.
Workshop participants recommended that regional
localities create pilot projects and models under the ongoing national
target programme to respond to climate change.-VNA