Proactively respond to climate change

(Baonghean) -Climate change (CC) is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. It seriously affects production, life and the global environment. The 7th Conference of the Party Central Committee, 11th tenure, passed a Resolution on “Proactively responding to climate change, strengthening resource management and environmental protection”. Therefore, proactively responding to CC is an urgent task.

According to forecasts, climate change will seriously affect life, production and the environment worldwide: by 2080, grain production will decrease by 2 - 4%, while grain prices may increase by 13 - 45%, and famine may affect 35 - 60% of the world's population; rapid sea level rise may cause flooding and increased saltwater intrusion in low-lying areas, thereby affecting agriculture, industry and future socio-economic systems.

According to assessments, Vietnam is one of the countries that will be seriously affected by climate change and rising sea levels. In our country, over the past 50 years, the average annual temperature has increased by about 0.70C, sea levels have risen by about 20cm, and El-Nino and La-Nina phenomena are increasingly having a strong impact. The areas most affected by climate change in Vietnam are also those with many natural disasters, including two main areas: densely populated coastal areas with many important economic infrastructures and other inland areas (such as the Northwest, Viet Bac, and Central Highlands) with high mountainous terrain that is susceptible to drought, flash floods, landslides, forest fires and diseases... For Nghe An, with a coastline of 82km and a large western region, climate change is creating real threats to people's lives and the overall development speed of the whole province.

Quynh Luu has 9 coastal communes with a total length of 19.5km. People in coastal communes are clearly feeling the impacts of climate change on their lives. We visited Quynh Long commune - home to more than 2,000 households with nearly 10,000 people. The whole commune has 8 hamlets, 7 of which are located close to the coast with a total length of 3.9km. In these hamlets, before the sea dike was built, people always had to face sea erosion, even high waves flooding into their houses.

Mr. Tran Mao (Phu Lien hamlet) said: “During the storm season, high waves hit the shore, threatening the lives and property of many households living along the coast. I am always worried and cannot concentrate on doing business.” Mr. Mao pointed to the sea wall under construction and said: “After the storm in 1987, the waves swept away all the houses and property of the people. Households living in the row of houses close to the sea had to move. In the following years, the sea water continued to eat further and further into the mainland.”

The impacts of climate change do not only occur in Quynh Long (Quynh Luu), because according to calculations from the Department of Environmental Protection (Department of Natural Resources and Environment), high tides from late 2000 to early 2009 have increased coastal and estuary erosion in the province, directly threatening production and people's lives. 19/44 communes have been eroded with a length of about 19,290m (11,050m estuary, 8,240m wide). The average erosion rate is 42m/year. Thus, the coastal area loses about 100 hectares of land each year, many dangerous places such as Son Hai, Quynh Long, Quynh Bang, Quynh Ngoc have an erosion rate of 150 - 200m/year. Along with that phenomenon, the sedimentation of river mouths also affects people in coastal areas, causing difficulties for boats to enter and anchor...

The breakwater runs through Dai Bac hamlet, Quynh Long commune (Quynh Luu).

Due to the impact of climate change, in the past decade, the level of natural disasters in Nghe An has shown signs of increasing, with complex and unpredictable developments, causing great damage to people and property. The summary of the Department of Environmental Protection shows that: In 2005, Nghe An was affected by 6 storms and 1 tropical depression, especially storm No. 3 with post-storm circulation caused major floods in the Nam Mo River, leading to flash floods in Ky Son, Tuong Duong districts and rivers and streams passing through Tan Ky. This year's storms and floods killed 28 people and caused total estimated property damage of 372.5 billion VND.

In 2011, the province had 3 storms and 2 flash floods that killed 19 people, affected 59,433 hectares of agricultural land, collapsed 346 houses... total damage of 2,811 billion VND. And until 2012, although only affected by 1 storm and 2 floods, natural disasters still killed 15 people, affected 31,796 hectares of agricultural land, collapsed 86 houses... total damage estimated at 1,049 billion VND. In the first 6 months of 2013, the whole province also had 12 tornadoes and hailstorms in 13/20 districts, killing 2 people; collapsed and severely damaged 76 houses.

Faced with this situation, all levels and sectors of the province have taken measures to respond to minimize the damage caused by climate change. On a total length of 82km of coastline, stretching from Quynh Lap commune (Hoang Mai town) to Cua Hoi, Nghi Hai ward (Cua Lo town), 12 sea dykes with a total length of 61.02km have been built. These sea dyke projects have had a positive impact on the lives of people in coastal areas, enhancing the ability to cope with natural disasters and rising sea levels. Quynh Luu district has nearly 18km that have been and are being built with a structure to resist high tides when there are level 9 and level 10 storms, helping to protect people's lives and property.

Mr. Vu Van Nhuan, Dai Bac hamlet, Quynh Long commune, whose house is about 50m from the coast, said: "We have to buy rocks to pour in front of the house to block the waves, but sometimes the waves still "rush" straight into the house, especially during the rainy and stormy season, which is very dangerous. For more than 2 years now, since the Quynh Long - Quynh Thuan - Son Hai - Quynh Tho sea dike was built, people have been very secure! In particular, the sea dike is also a traffic route that helps people travel conveniently". Since 1997, with funding from the Japanese Red Cross Society, the provincial Red Cross Society has planted 1,375 hectares of mangrove trees in saline land, lagoons, lagoons, and saltwater rivers along the coast from Quynh Luu district to Hung Hoa commune, Vinh city.

These forest areas contribute to protecting the environment, protecting sea dykes and residents living near the sea from the impacts of climate change. However, according to assessments from the grassroots level, the response to climate change still has certain limitations. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district said: "The construction of breakwaters is very effective. However, in many places due to lack of funding, the construction speed is slow."

Mr. Tran Quang Ve - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Long Commune (Quynh Luu) suggested: "People in coastal areas often have a subjective mentality towards the risks caused by rising sea levels. Therefore, to increase awareness of climate change, the State needs to have vivid propaganda programs using pictures, billboards, etc. to change people's awareness. Besides, it is also necessary to support localities in the affected areas to build solid welfare works, ensuring that they can withstand the risks of natural disasters caused by climate change."

In order to proactively respond to climate change, Nghe An province has developed and implemented the "Action Plan to Respond to Climate Change for the 2011-2015 period up to 2020" with the specific objectives of: Assessing the level of impact of climate change on natural conditions and natural resources, socio-economic development, people's lives and livelihoods based on climate change scenarios announced by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; Developing and selecting specific solutions for the province to respond to climate change; integrating corresponding activities of the action plan into the province's development plans; consolidating and enhancing organizational capacity, institutions, and policies on climate change; raising awareness, responsibility, community participation, and resource development.

However, the implementation of the plan is facing some difficulties because climate change is a new issue, and the awareness of the people and authorities at all levels about its causes and impacts is still limited. The development of action programs and integrated solutions to respond to climate change in each industry, field and development region is facing many difficulties because the database is not yet synchronized and detailed.

Meanwhile, the State budget allocated for climate change response activities has not yet met actual needs. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome shortcomings and limitations in the implementation of the plan and be flexible in implementation to proactively respond to unpredictable changes caused by natural disasters.

Thanh Duy