In Mekong Delta, few know or worry about rising seas
Bangkok Post 8 April 08
JEFF HODSON
It's not hard to imagine the Mekong Delta under water. The fertile rice fields are flat as a table top _ except for the odd limestone mountain _ and stretch as far as the eye can see. Much of the region lies barely a meter above sea level. According to some projections, nearly half of the Delta's farmland could be destroyed from rising sea levels due to global warming.
Yet that is news to those who live here. ''Oh my god,'' said a farmer and small-scale fisherman when told of future rising seas. ''I won't be alive by then.''
Those who might be around also couldn't imagine such an influx. ''We'll stay in our house,'' said a schoolboy standing on a dusty, wind-whipped levee. ''Or we'll run to the mountain.''
While many of the planet's well-off calculate their ''food miles'' and ''carbon foot-prints,'' many of the world's poor have never heard of climate change or global warming. The irony is that the poor are likely to be hit hardest by a warming world.
This was one of the key findings by Vietnamese journalists on a recent environmental workshop in Kien Giang province, the heart of Vietnam's rice bowl, more than 250km southwest of Ho Chi Minh City and along the Gulf of Thailand.
The Delta is home to millions of Vietnamese who help make Vietnam the world's second-largest exporter of rice, after Thailand. As sea levels rise, many are expected to lose their homes and livelihoods while the nation stands to lose valuable crop land.
Higher sea levels are likely to lead to more damaging storm surges while saltwater intrusion could affect water supplies and soil quality. In addition, rising temperatures could reduce crop yields, lead to more disease, and create more flooding and drought.
Even if they do not realise it, residents of the Mekong Delta have been battling climate change. In one district, they've raised the height of a 49km dyke from 1.2 metres to 1.5 metres to keep out the ocean.
A World Bank study projects that Vietnam, with more than 3,000km of coastline, will be one of the five most affected countries in the world. Under the most extreme scenarios, it warns that the entire southern tip of Vietnam, an area of roughly 40,000sqkm, could be inundated.
Yet local officials are sceptical and complacent. ''I have heard that the media has been talking about climate change and rising sea levels,'' said Tran Xuan Nghi, vice chairman of the People's Committee in Kien Giang's Hon Dat district. ''In my opinion, I don't think that's correct information.''
Mr Nghi is the second-highest ranking official in Hon Dat, home to 150,000 people and one of the flattest, most productive rice-growing regions in the country. The head of a neighbouring district _ with 56km of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand _ also knew about climate change but essentially shrugged his shoulders, saying it wasn't the district's responsibility. ''The sea here is very peaceful,'' he said. ''It has not come to the land.''
Yet the seas are on a relentless rise. Global sea levels have increased an average of 3.1mm a year since 1991, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Levels could continue to rise by more than half a metre by the end of the century, although projections vary wildly, with some scientists saying a rise of several metres cannot be ruled out. Ocean levels are rising because water expands as it warms, and because glaciers and ice sheets are melting. Other factors compound the effect, including erosion and the loss of mangrove forests. Many cities in Southeast Asia, like Bangkok, are sinking into soft clay soils faster than the seas are rising.
What's being done at the national level? Duong Trun Quoc, a lawmaker and historian, told a recent forum in Hanoi: ''When I ask questions in the National Assembly, no one answers me.'' He said officials promise to get back to him but never do. ''I feel so sad. None of them knows anything.''
In fairness, Vietnam has been building up its defences against storms and seasonal floods for years. But only recently have officials begun to develop a national plan to deal with global warming.
A draft of the plan for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment should be finished by the end of the year, scientists say.
A coalition of 50 NGOs recently announced the creation of a ''working group'' to address how Vietnam can adapt to a warming climate. But there isn't much local data, and more research needs to be done.
Journalists could play an important role in raising awareness. While climate change is a page-one story in many countries, it has often been underplayed and ignored by the Vietnamese media. It's no wonder the farmers and fishermen of the Delta don't have a clue.
But there is little disagreement that climate change could end up being one of the biggest stories of the century. Residents of the Delta should be worried.
Jeff Hodson is a journalist and media trainer based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. |
