The governments of Vietnam and Netherlands will enhance cooperation in climate and water services as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the issue recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The MoU was signed by between the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment in Hague last Sept on a PM’s Dung’s official visit to the European country. It is part of the two governments’ efforts to carry out the strategic partnership agreement on climate change adaptation and water resource management. Under the agreement, both sides will establish legal framework for expanding bilateral cooperation in remote sensing, earth monitoring, geophysics, water and climate. The impacts of climate change is showing clear signs in Vietnam, including the recent increase in atmospheric temperatures, sea level, droughts, floods, unseasonable storm, which will severely hit agricultural production, its related processing industries, as well as sea, island areas and ecology, experts warned. Vietnam is listed among five hardest-hit countries by climate change. If sea level rises one meter, 5% of the country’s land, 11% of its population and 7% of its agricultural land would be affected with the losses estimated at 10% of GDP. Earlier, many foreign nations, including Japan, Poland, Denmark, the U.S. and Sweden pledged further support for Vietnam to tackle climate change and environment issues. The Vietnamese government has so far mobilized more than $1.2 billion in aid from the international community in efforts to dealing with the issue. The WB estimated that Vietnam will need some $850 million per year for climate change projects from now to 2050. (Thoi Bao Ngan Hang – Banking Times Mar 5 p2, baodientu.chinhphu.vn Mar 3)
