Vietnam is one of the countries most susceptible to the effects of climate change and should weigh its impacts when planning development strategies, an expert said.

 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thuc

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thuc told DTiNews at an international conference on climate change in Hanoi on August 17 that socio-economic development should be carried out in a way that would minimise the effects of climate change, especially on poor and disadvantaged communities.

He added that, “The wealthy are able to afford certain protections such as well-built homes, while many poor people in the country live in houses that are more vulnerable to bad weather conditions. If we can improve the living conditions of the poor, the effects of climate change could be dramatically reduced," he said.

The official pointed out that ministries and agencies have been so busy with activities such as poverty reduction and HIV/AIDS that they have not given enough attention to climate change issues. Many urban planning projects are designed without consideration of climate change because it could raise costs, he said.

At a recent forum, some environmental experts also mentioned this lack of consideration in HCM City’s recent urban planning, saying that the city does not consider climate change as the real danger that it is when carrying out municipal projects. Most focus on inner-city areas, while largely disregarding outlying districts. This is the cause, some said, of the flooding problem on many roads after heavy rains. At the same time, the number of high-rise buildings in the city is increasing rapidly, while parks and green public spaces are disappearing.

Both urban management and limited awareness among the public are largely blamed for the neglect, along with budgetary limitations.

“The State has too many issues on the agenda with limited means. We have a national programme and sci-tech development programme for climate change. Still funding is short, despite foreign grants and investments from large international organizations such as the UN and the ADB," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thuc  said.

Source: Dtinews