Vietnam Mekong Delta Listed among 3 Hardest-hit Regions by Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has named Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region among three hardest-hit delta regions by climate change worldwide. The information was released at a forum on natural conservation on the Mekong Delta provinces co-held by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the National Committee of Program on Vietnam People and Biosphere in Kien Giang province’s Rach Gia city June 23. The participants urged local authorities to seek measures to preserve and manage biological diversity sustainably in an effort to tackle climate change. If sea levels rise by one meter, 90% of Mekong Delta’s areas will get salt intrusion, the IPCC noted. The region is considered the hub of biological diversity in Asia Pacific, which is home to 1,000 new species discovered during the last decade. The Vietnamese government is also mulling over a plan to establish a national forum on natural disaster mitigation and adaptation to climate change.