Climate Change Likely to Hit 300 Coastal Urban Areas in Vietnam

More than 300 coastal urban areas in Vietnam will be hit by the negative impacts of climate change and rising sea levels in the coming years, a local official said. Luu Duc Cuong, director of the Center for Environment Research and Planning in Urban and Rural Areas, made the statement at the 3rd national workshop on mitigating the impacts of climate change held in Hanoi Oct 18. The event held by Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network of 10 cities in India, Indonesia and Vietnam, focused on the discussions of plans and activities to respond to climate change in cities. Regarding to the construction sector’s role in boosting climate change resilience, Cuong said climate change issues have not been integrated in urban development programs and plans in a thorough manner, urging that urban planning should be the first thing taken into account in building climate change resilience plans, especially coastal areas. The public awareness of climate change has been considerably improved over the past few years thanks to enhanced communications, Truong Duc Tri, deputy head of the Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change, said.
“Despite becoming more interested in the topic, it did not mean people gain better knowledge on the issue,” he said, adding that many falsely thought of climate change as the reason for all weather’s variables. Up to 10 localities so far have drafted action plans to tackle climate change as part of a national target program on coping with the issue which was launched in 2010, Tri added. But, he also admitted that plans did not provide adequate and reliable information about localities’ climate change, which could only be found through comprehensive analyses and thorough research.
Vietnam is listed among five hardest-hit countries by climate change. If sea level rises one meter, 5% of Vietnam’s land, 11% of its population and 7% of its agricultural land would be affected with the losses estimated at 10% of GDP. (Vietnam News Oct 19, Thanh Nien –Young People Oct 19)