Germany, Australia Plan $63.7M for Vietnam Climate Change Program by 2016

The governments of Australia and Germany will fund $63.7 million to help carry out the Climate Change and Coastal Ecosystems Program (CCCEP) in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region until 2016, sate media reported. An agreement to this effect was inked in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang on June 3, under which Germany, through its cooperation development agency, GIZ, will contribute $39.4 million in the form of technical and financial cooperation, while Australia, via AusAID, will finance $24.3 million to the program. CCCEP will be implemented in the five regional provinces of Kien Giang, An Giang, Ca Mau, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu from July 2011 through 2016. The five-year program will help map out plans to respond to climate change, including mangrove rehabilitation and coastal forest protection, promotion of alternative income opportunities for communities dependent on coastal forests, demonstration of alternative farming practices and improved dyke construction and management. The Vietnam-Germany-Australia cooperation is an excellent example on how donor countries can jointly assist Vietnam in mitigating the impacts of climate change, Fisel Roesle, Consular Attache from the German Consulate-General in HCM City said. Vietnam is one of the countries most seriously affected by climate change, especially the Mekong Delta region, situated in a lowland area, is being threatened by rising sea levels and a rising number of natural disasters.  Up to 38% of the Mekong Delta region’s areas are likely to be submerged for six to eight months yearly by 2020 due to climate change, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dao Xuan Hoc warned, adding that 90% of the delta may suffer from salt intrusion and around 8.5 million locals could become homeless. The Mekong Delta is the largest rice granary and aquaculture region in the Southeast Asian country, making up 50% of the country’s rice output and 52% of the aquatic product volume. (laodong.com.vn June 4, vietnamplus.vn June 3)