Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has mapped out different countermeasures for ministries and localities in the Mekong River Delta region to cope with the impacts of prolonged and serious drought and saline intrusion.

Speaking at a conference in Soc Trang province on April 28, the Deputy PM hailed the active and prompt response of the local authorities and residents in minimising the consequences of severe natural disasters.

He stressed that the local authorities should attach top priority to ensuring living conditions, particularly fresh water, for locals while keeping them updated on the situation in order to take proper measures to combat drought and saline intrusion.

He emphasised the need to efficiently allocate the local budget and wisely use funding from the State budget for drought and salt water encroachment relief.

Localities should boost regional links in order to make use of available resources in preventing drought and saltwater intrusion, he said.

He also suggested the localities adjust cultivation and production, better manage sand mining, and increase protective forest area and mangrove forests, which will help to prevent erosion, protect the environment, and develop sustainable livelihoods for locals.

He asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) to soon announce climate change and sea level rise scenarios; strengthen its monitoring and forecasting system of water resources and saline intrusion in order to devise solutions to impacts of extreme weather.

He ordered the MONRE, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to improve infrastructure, upgrade the irrigation system in the Mekong River Delta region, and boost international co-operation in the fight again climate change.

Source: Nhan dan