World Bank Oks $310M Funding to Raise Vietnam Climate Resilience

The World Bank on June 10 approved a $310-million aid to Vietnam to enhance its climate resilience and better livelihoods of 1.2 million people living in Mekong delta provinces which are affected by climate change. The funding to be provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest, will enable nine Mekong delta localities which are under impacts by salinity intrusion, coastal erosion, and flooding, to “brings together an effective multi-sectoral model to help farmers adapt agriculture and aquaculture livelihoods to the impacts of climate change.” The project is a critical part of the World Bank’s long-term engagement in the Mekong Delta to strengthen integrated adaptive delta management by bringing together the different sectors and provinces to plan, prioritize, and implement resilient investments, according to Acting Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam Achim Fock. The approved Mekong Delta Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Project supports better climate-smart planning and improved climate resilience of land and water management practices following the development of the agriculture sector, particularly in the Mekong delta. The wetlands and estuaries of the delta are important sources of biodiversity and has contributed significantly to the development of Vietnam as well as to regional food security. But the region has also been identified as one of the most vulnerable deltas to the impacts of climate change as well as upstream development. The project will benefit farmers, especially rice growers, in the upper delta provinces and aquaculture farm and fisher-folk households along the coastal provinces in the region, including the Khmer ethnic minority people living in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces. (Worldbank.org June 10)