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Workshop participants |
A workshop on Partners in implementing the Mekong Delta Climate Resilience Program (MCRP) was organized in Can Tho City on November 1 by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in coordination with the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The MCRP project has been implemented in 13 Mekong Delta provinces since 2019, funded by the Swiss Government and the German Government. The project’s goal is to support Vietnamese management agencies to improve their ability to adapt to climate change in the Mekong Delta, through the establishment of an institutional framework to promote regional development linkages and apply innovation and creativity in rural and urban areas.
Mr. Jens Schmid-Kreye from the Embassy of Germany in Vietnam, emphasized the MCRP project is an outstanding example of successful cooperation between the Government of Germany and Vietnam. Vietnamese agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Construction, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, along with 13 Mekong Delta provinces have cooperated closely in carrying out the MCRP Project. Thanks to the good cooperation, the project achieved specific results and the project developers aim to build a sustainable development strategy and adapt to climate change for the Mekong Delta region.
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The project helps many places in Can Tho City not to be submerged |
Activities in the project include supporting the establishment of an institutional framework to promote links for the Mekong Delta region’s sustainable development and adaptabilities to climate change, working on planning/investment planning to manage urban and rural water in the Mekong Delta to adapt to climate change with a focus on gender equality.
Simultaneously, the project will promote the application of innovative technology solutions in preventing landslides, riverbanks and coastal erosion, as well as enhancing the climate resilience of rural infrastructure and ecosystems and deploying sustainable urban drainage and anti-flooding infrastructure solutions for climate change adaptabilities.
The project results have paved the way for Ca Mau province's investment proposal, including more than 200 water storage infrastructure projects which was submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for approval in 2023. Construction of 2 temporary steel dams with new technology in Ca Mau will help protect 120 hectares of agricultural land from the impact of saltwater intrusion, stabilizing livelihoods for more than 80 households.
Moreover, the project contributed to the installation of 21 automatic water monitoring stations in Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces and the provision of real-time water data for agricultural production. The pilot shrimp-rice production model was successfully carried out on 461 hectares at 2 shrimp farming cooperatives in Ca Mau province, helping to increase people's income. The rice-shrimp production value chain is strengthened through promoting cooperation with the private sector.
According to Ms. Sibylle Bachmann, enhancing the ability to adapt to climate change in urban areas is a top priority in the development cooperation of Switzerland in Vietnam, especially for urban areas in the Mekong Delta because climate change-related problems are very complex, requiring good coordination amongst governments of all levels. Switzerland pledged to continue supporting the Southeast Asian country for a future of sustainable development and adaptation to climate change.
As a representative of the managing agency of the MCRP project, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s International Cooperation Bureau Pham Ngoc Mau said that the Mekong Delta is one of the key economic regions of the country, but this region is facing many challenges due to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. The project is expected to be implemented practically and consistently with the actual situation in natural disaster prevention and control, towards sustainable development in the Mekong Delta.
