The Vietnamese government has received more than $300 million from the international donors to implement projects on climate change adaptation in 2013, said an official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Truong Duc Tri, deputy head of the ministry’s Hydrometeorology and Climate Change Department, released the figure at a seminar in Hanoi on Dec 3. At the event, French experts shared their experiences and know-how in monitoring and evaluating state expenditure for the projects and a representative from the French Agency for Development briefed on his country’s climate change fighting policies. As a country vulnerable to the climate change impacts, Vietnam has been developing a set of policies on fighting climate change over the past years, Mr. Tri attributed. An increasing number of foreign donors have shown special interest in supporting the climate change fight in Vietnam. Their funding for this field has risen to $300 million from $100 million in 2009, he added. Climate change is a real threat to Vietnam’s socioeconomic development. If sea level rises one meter, 5% of the country’s land, 11% of its population and 7% of its farmland would be affected, causing a total loss of 10%-11% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). (Quan Doi Nhan Dan – People’s Army Dec 4 p4, Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi Dec 4 p8)
