Summer 2010 to be very hot

Global warming, El Nino make VN hotter, says expert

Drought could be worst for a century

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry’s Department of Water Resources Management, warns that climate “change” and the rise in sea water will impact both the quantity and quality of the nation’s water.

Viet Nam uses an average of 11,000cu.m of water per capita each year. However, the exploitation of water resources, plus pollution and water wastage, have posed a serious challenge for water resources management in the country.

The Viet Nam Institute for Water Resources and Environment Technology has forecast that a severe drought will hit Viet Nam as water from upstream becomes more scarce. It also reported on the problem of saline intrusion into the Dong Nai and Sai Gon Rivers and their tributaries. Millions of people will be affected.

Statistics released on February 27 indicated the salinity level in the Ba Cua canal and at the Ong Nhieu bridge reached 0.4 per cent, which is 0.1 per cent higher than the permissible level for agricultural production.

In the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, half the area used for agricultural production is affected by salinated water. The lives of the people have become harder due to severe droughts in recent years. More than 400,000 wells, which people use for their daily needs, are drying up and suffering from pollution. Salination is also a serious problem.

In addition to the salination threat, the volume of water in aquifers has reduced considerably in recent years. According to the Centre for Water Resources Monitoring and Forecast, under MONRE, the underground water level in the last six months of 2009 was lower than the previous year.

Besides, aquifers were seriously polluted. It was estimated that some 200,000 people have used water resources heavily polluted with arsenic.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam needs to revise its existing Law on Water Resources in order to provide a firm foundation for protecting its water resources, said Director General of the Department of Water Resources Management Hoang Van Bay.

Bay said under the national strategy on water resources from now until 2020, Viet Nam will do its best to protect its water resources by implementing various projects, including river dredging and lake rehabilitation. Priority will be given to the Nhue, Day and Cau river basins in the north, the Dong Nai and Sai Gon rivers in the south, and the Huong river in the central region.

“We will also try to curb the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture production and aqua-culture,” he said.

MONRE Deputy Minister Nguyen Thai Lai emphasised the importance of forest protection as a long term strategy in water preservation.

Increasing forest coverage with the right species of trees is imperative to preserving water because they will help prevent erosion, which contributes significantly to water shortages.

“Forest destruction is the leading cause of drought in the dry season,” said Vice Chairman of the north-western province of Son La People’s Committee Cam Van Chinh.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed Decision No 419/QD-TTg on March 31, which regulates the activities of the National Steering Committee for the National Target Programme on Climate Change Adaptation. The PM will head the committee.

The programme is divided into three stages: inception (2009-2010); implementation (2011-2015); and development – beyond 2015.

The operational budget for the 2011-15 period is VND 1.965 trillion ($109 million). Half of the funds will come from abroad. The central government will contribute 30 per cent and local governments 10 per cent, with the private sector contributing the remaining 10 per cent.

El Nino brings hot summer

Temperatures are tipped to hit more than 40C this summer, causing serious droughts due to El Nino and global climate change.

“The temperature will be several degrees celsius higher than previous years,” National Hydrometeorology Forecast Centre deputy director Nguyen Lan Chau said.

Drought in many areas would be more serious, posing difficulties for agricultural production, she said.

Rainfall decreased by 70-90 per cent of normal levels in the northern region from October last year with less rain forecast for this year’s wet season, putting many rivers and lakes at the risk of running dry, Chau said.

However, heavy rainfalls were forecast for some areas, particularly in northern and central regions, causing the threat of floods and landslides.

Climate change has already caused drought and salinisation of inland water bodies in the Mekong Delta region.

The Cultivation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said salt water intrusion would negatively affect nearly half of the 1,545,000ha of winter-spring rice crop in Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang and Ben Tre provinces.

Source: Vietnam News