Every year since 1990, natural disasters have cost Vietnam on average about 1 per cent of GDP and caused some 500 casualties. It was affected by 12 major storms last year, which caused deadly floods and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and hectares of crops.Vietnam’s vulnerability is exacerbated by its 2,150-mile-long coastline and proximity to the tropics. Its 95 million people and the bulk of its economic assets, including a large rural population, are concentrated in the coastal lowlands, which are susceptible to typhoons.The IMF believes climate change will likely exacerbate pressure on the environment. More frequent and more intense storms could affect crop yields and production, impacting rural incomes, food security, and commodity exports.Increased rainfall intensity will damage roads and railroad networks. Higher temperatures will raise demand for electricity. Risks will weigh disproportionally on the poor, who could be forced to migrate inland or towards large cities. By 2100, climate change could impact more than 12 per cent of the Vietnamese population and reduce growth by 10 per cent, according to the IMF.Wanted: More sustainable growthVietnam’s strong economic performance has helped reduce poverty over past decades. However, rapid industrialization since the late 1980s has relied on intensive and unsustainable exploitation of forests, fisheries, and other renewable and non-renewable natural resources.Moreover, Vietnam’s stock of natural capital has declined as mineral and non-mineral resources have been depleted. Agriculture and industry have contributed significantly to the degradation of natural capital. Vietnam’s extensive use of fertilizers largely contributes to polluting land and… [Read full story]
The recent World Forest Day focused international attention on the urgency of better managing forests for food, fuel, climate change and natural disaster responses at a time when the stakes have never been higher. The Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam, The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and RECOFTC - The Centre for People and Forests hosted a four day workshop from late March to discuss challenges and opportunities for improved forest governance with the participation of delegates from 10 countries across Asia and Africa. Today, 1.7 billion forest-dependent people find themselves marginalized or in conflict with private…... [read more]
At the meeting, participants shared their knowledge and experience and compared notes on best practices for prioritizing and managing climate change to develop cohesive and comprehensive regional and national plans.They also addressed alternative methods of attracting necessary working and equity capital to fund short- and long-term projects aimed at abating the harmful consequences of climate change.Vietnam is already a global hotspot for tropical cyclones and other climatic events and is highly vulnerable to increased intensity of storms and droughts that will result from climate change, said Tran Thi Hong An, vice president of the Vietnam Red Cross.Most of the country…... [read more]
Medical workers give check-ups to the elderly (Photo: VNA)Geneva (VNA) – Vietnam has called on countries to integrate measures for protecting community health and ensuring the right to food, housing, and education into national climate change response programmes and policies. The process should focus on gender equality and the rights of vulnerable groups like women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, said Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh – head of the Vietnamese delegation to the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organisation and other Geneva-based international organisations. He delivered a speech at a discussion on a study on the impacts…... [read more]
Drought kills crops in Mekong Delta region (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat asked for greater efforts to restore the growth of the agriculture sector which is suffering from El Nino and climate change impacts during a meeting with the media in Hanoi recently. In the remaining months of this year, the agriculture sector must focus on recovering from disasters and propose measures to maintain domestic and foreign markets, he said. He also urged the Ministry’s Cultivation Department to grow rice and vegetables on the largest scale and restore acreages of perennial plants following…... [read more]
A report by the Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP), a not-for-profit organization aimed at improving the management of climate change, found that just under a fifth of the top investors - or 97 managing a total of $9.4 trillion in assets - were taking tangible steps to mitigate global warming These include investing in low polluting assets or encouraging the companies they invest in to be greener. A further 157 investors managing a total of $14.2 trillion were taking "first steps" towards addressing climate change, while 246 managing $14 trillion were doing nothing at all, the report said. "Climate change…... [read more]
