Vietnam Calls for Int’l Assistance in Dealing with Ongoing Droughts, Salinization

Vietnam needs urgent supports of international community to cope with ongoing droughts and salinization as the situation becomes too severe that the country can deal with, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat. Speaking at a seminar on the current natural disaster in Hanoi on March 15 with participation of development partners and donor, Minister Phat said the ongoing droughts and salt water intrusion are the most hardest in the past century. The natural disaster, caused by El Nino and the low water flow in the Mekong River, has caused heavy damages for agriculture in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands as well as livelihood of hundreds of thousands of local residents, Phat noted. The situation is forecast to last until June. International organizations should provide their humanitarian supports for Vietnamese people suffering from severe droughts and salinization, Phat said, adding in long term, they can provide official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam to help the country build infrastructure capable to deal with droughts and salinization. Vietnam needs $1 billion to deal with the current droughts and salinization, said Phat. So far, the government has successfully allocated around $170 million. Pratibha Mehta, UN coordinator in Vietnam, said Vietnam is one of the countries most suffered from El Nino and La Nina. The country needs to build short, medium and long-term strategies to cope with natural disasters. A representative from the World Bank said the body wants to cooperate with Vietnam to determine the need of every locality so it can provide adequate financial and technical assistance. Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry said it is opening Jinghong Hydropower Station reservoir to release more water to help other countries in the lower Mekong River deal with droughts. The move is said to start on March 15 and will last until April 10, according to the ministry’s spokesman. (Nong Nghiep Vietnam – Vietnam Agriculture Mar 16)