VietNamNet Newspaper

With over 6,500 dams and reservoirs and a few past accidents having already occurred, ensuring the safety of small and medium-scale hydropower dams has not received enough attention in Viet Nam. At the time of design, engineers did not consider possible changes due to climate change, so any damages caused by natural calamities could be serious.

Maps demonstrating areas vulnerable to elevated water levels caused by hurricanes in coastal provinces are at the heart of a project to cope with super typhoons conducted by the National Steering Committee for Flood Control and Prevention, reports VietNamNet...

'The question that we have here is how to help the private sector to protect themselves, help others and promote new business opportunities from disasters,' said Jerry Velasquez, senior regional co-ordinator of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, adding that even climate change could create new business opportunities...

Dr Duong Van Ni of Can Tho University has urged authorities to adopt approaches specific to each region of southern Viet Nam because the impact of climate change varies from area to area. He has also encouraged authorities to collaborate and exchange information on water levels and other specific data...

The loan will include support to improve the country's flood and drought management and reduce economic losses. To improve flood and drought preparedness, the project will link infrastructure upgrades in Dong Thap and Tien Giang provinces in the Mekong Delta with community-based disaster-risk management and enhanced regional forecasting...

In the fight against climate change, Denmark is Vietnam’s largest donor with 40 million USD for a programme on climate change adaptation and impact mitigation. Vietnam is the only country in Asia where Denmark implements a research programme on climate change adaptation...

UNDP Resident Representative Louise Chamberlain advised Viet Nam officials to manage public finance to stimulate private sector investment in climate change plans since the State budget alone would not be sufficient while the national and international private sector held vast amounts of investment potential and modern technology...

Red Cross is supporting a VND7.5 billion (US$360,000) two-year climate change adaptation project in the Ca Mau province of Vietnam. The region is prone to landslides, salinisation and tide rises. There are five other projects in the province that aim to reduce the impacts of climate change and sea level rise...