Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP)held a workshop in Hanoi on November 24 to launch a project on improving the resilienceof vulnerable coastal communities to climate change related  impacts in Vietnam.

The project worth more than 29 million USD is funded by theGreen Climate Fund (GCF) through the UNDP and will be implemented during2017-2022.

It aims at raising the resilience to bad consequences ofclimate change in Vietnam through building safe homes, increasing the coverageof mangrove forests, and providing trustworthy information about climate risks.

Accordingly, the project will help build 4,000 housesdesigned to resist flood and regenerate 4,000 hectares of mangrove forests, andupdate information about losses of disasters and climate.

The project is expected to benefit 28 coastal localities,with the focus on northern Nam Dinh province, central Quang Binh, ThuaThien-Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces, and Ca Mau province in thesouth.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Hoang Van Thang, Vietnam is one among the countries most affectedby climate change.

The ministry is building a national plan on disasterprevention and control and looking to build a provincial plan on disasterprevention and control, he said.

Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, pledged tohelp fully implement the project to improve the resilience of vulnerablecoastal communities to climate change impacts.-VNA