As a coastal province with a 200km long coastline, the southernprovince of Kien Giang is facing great challenges posed by climatechange and rising sea level, which requires the province to take quickand drastic actions.
Vice Chairman of theprovincial People’s Committee Mai Anh Nhin said hydro-meteorologicalobservations show that the sea level is rising by an average of 1centimetre every year.
If the water level rises by0.5 metre, more than half of the plain areas in the province will besubmerged, exerting devastating impact on the local life and economysince the agro-forestry-fishery sector accounts for nearly 38 percent ofthe provincial gross domestic product (GDP), he said.
Since 2010, erosion has become more common along coastal areas, whichaffected hundreds of housholds in Hon Dat, An Bien, and An Minhdistricts, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture andRural Development.
At the same time, drought andsalt water intrusion have worsened in dry season while high tides andfloods became more serious over the year.
Accordingto the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, KienGiang province needs over 5.3 trillion VND ( 245 million USD) tobuild a sluice system and upgrade damaged sea dykes between 2015 and2020 and beyond to cope with rising sea levels.
Director of the Department Nguyen Van Tam said the province isimplementing a programme to upgrade the sea dyke system that runs fromcentral Quang Ngai province to Kien Giang, and projects to upgrade the212-km sea dyke from local Ha Tien town to Tieu Dua commune in An Minhdistrict.
The construction of 27 sluice gates toprevent saltwater intrusion on the An Bien – An Minh dyke is alsounderway, he added.
Local authorities are exertingefforts to increase the coverage of protective forests as well as adjustand supplement development plans in accordance with the sea level risescenarios, and improve management of flood-controlling systems.
The province has been allocated 59 billion VND (2.81 million USD) toimplement three forestation projects in coastal areas. Meanwhile, theprovincial authorities will set aside nearly 600 billion VND ( 27.7million USD) to improve the irrigation system to serve aquaculture inVam Rang – Ba Hon region in Hon Dat district and Kien Luong town.
It plans to carry out projects to improve infrastructure for coastalurban areas such as Rach Gia city, Ha Tien, Phu Quoc and Kien Luongtowns, while studying plant and animal strains as well as agriculturemodels that are adaptive to climate change.
At thesame time, the province will improve the quality of natural disastersforecast and keep a close watch on the issue to proactively mitigate theimpact of climate change.
Kien Giang has around8,770 hectares of land dedicated to coastal protective forests. However,only 2,950 hectares are currently covered in trees.-VNA
Vice Chairman of theprovincial People’s Committee Mai Anh Nhin said hydro-meteorologicalobservations show that the sea level is rising by an average of 1centimetre every year.
If the water level rises by0.5 metre, more than half of the plain areas in the province will besubmerged, exerting devastating impact on the local life and economysince the agro-forestry-fishery sector accounts for nearly 38 percent ofthe provincial gross domestic product (GDP), he said.
Since 2010, erosion has become more common along coastal areas, whichaffected hundreds of housholds in Hon Dat, An Bien, and An Minhdistricts, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture andRural Development.
At the same time, drought andsalt water intrusion have worsened in dry season while high tides andfloods became more serious over the year.
Accordingto the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, KienGiang province needs over 5.3 trillion VND ( 245 million USD) tobuild a sluice system and upgrade damaged sea dykes between 2015 and2020 and beyond to cope with rising sea levels.
Director of the Department Nguyen Van Tam said the province isimplementing a programme to upgrade the sea dyke system that runs fromcentral Quang Ngai province to Kien Giang, and projects to upgrade the212-km sea dyke from local Ha Tien town to Tieu Dua commune in An Minhdistrict.
The construction of 27 sluice gates toprevent saltwater intrusion on the An Bien – An Minh dyke is alsounderway, he added.
Local authorities are exertingefforts to increase the coverage of protective forests as well as adjustand supplement development plans in accordance with the sea level risescenarios, and improve management of flood-controlling systems.
The province has been allocated 59 billion VND (2.81 million USD) toimplement three forestation projects in coastal areas. Meanwhile, theprovincial authorities will set aside nearly 600 billion VND ( 27.7million USD) to improve the irrigation system to serve aquaculture inVam Rang – Ba Hon region in Hon Dat district and Kien Luong town.
It plans to carry out projects to improve infrastructure for coastalurban areas such as Rach Gia city, Ha Tien, Phu Quoc and Kien Luongtowns, while studying plant and animal strains as well as agriculturemodels that are adaptive to climate change.
At thesame time, the province will improve the quality of natural disastersforecast and keep a close watch on the issue to proactively mitigate theimpact of climate change.
Kien Giang has around8,770 hectares of land dedicated to coastal protective forests. However,only 2,950 hectares are currently covered in trees.-VNA
