Review Afternoon 22/5/2007

1. Review Afternoon 22/5/2007 Impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss

2. Presentations from different sectors…. • Biodiversity conservation • Agriculture/forestry • Fisheries and aquaculture • Proper management and utilization of water resources • Infrastructures • Green House Gases’ emission from industries • In relation with livelihoods of local people

3. Biodiversity conservation • Weaknesses in biodiversity conservation: • Lack of comprehensive and detailed planning • Too many protected areas but area of individual protected areas is small and linkage among protected areas is weak • Unclear boundary demarcation • Limited budgets (mainly from the Government’s funds) • Lack of policies • Classification system • Training/awareness raising

4. Fisheries and aquaculture • Current status of fishery exploitation: • Fishery output increases so fast; difficult to provided likely predictions. • Small-scaled fisheries using traditional fishing tools • Fisheries and aquaculture is almost the only means of livelihood of communities living in coastal areas • Impacts of climate change on fisheries • No specific study in Vietnam conducted • Preliminary statistic figures reveal that damages and losses due to storms and flood tides in recent years -> have been increasing since 2001 until 2006 • Aquaculture takes place mainly in the Red River an Mekong River deltas

5. Proper management and utilization of water resources • There are many sustainable elements in water resources of Vietnam • Two third (2/3) water areas are out of the mainland • Uneven distribution • Difficult to access and exploit • Increasing scarce • Impacts of climate change on water resources: obvious and significant • Increasing temperature • Storms, droughts, and flash floods • Additionally, improper and ineffective use

6. Infrastructure • Strongly affected by climate change -> proper adaptation for future: • Construction planning (e.g. urban and rural planning, industrial zone and energy planning, transport, irrigation, and public work planning), especially in sensitive areas (e.g. coastal areas, islands, Red River and Mekong river deltas; mountainous areas) • Design for works (e.g. architectural designs; loading capacity and impacts should be calculated; identify conditions for comfortable life; design water drainage and supply systems, energy for works); especially in sensitive areas (e.g. coastal areas, or cold winter-affected regions) • Develop and issue new sets of criteria on climate and environment, which are applicable in construction works

7. Industry • The Industrial sector is affected strongly by climate change • Increasing emission of GHGs from industrial production activities (power, cement, steel, paper production): total volume remains modest but it increases dramatically • Economic growth rate of Vietnam is relatively high – 7.5 to 8.5%/year -> Industrial growth rate: 14-16%/year -> huge volume of fossil fuels have been used • Measures to mitigate GHG’s emission: awareness raising; policies for economic development must pay sufficient attention to effective and efficient use of energies and use of clean energy

8. With local people’s lives • Relationship between biodiversity loss and livelihood improvement • Vietnam biodiversity maps -> biodiversity loss happens in many places • Poverty and protected area maps • Not only people living in coastal areas but also people living in mountain areas are encountering many difficulties to access to natural resources, technologies, or funds, etc. • Solutions • Give local people opportunities to manage their natural resources themselves

9. Some conclusions • In Vietnam, although systematic baseline studies on impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss on different economic sectors have not yet been conducted, initial statistic data and individual studies have revealed that such impacts are significant, direct, and increasing. • Specific, feasible measures/initiatives for adaptation to such negative impacts are needed. • Every economic sector should study and asses these impacts and prepare specific strategies and actions plans to adapt to bad scenarios of climate change and biodiversity loss in the future.

10. Countdown 2010 • Please join this network to strive for biodiversity goal by 2010 – halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 significantly at global, regional, and national scales as a contribution to reducing poverty reduction and sustaining life on the Earth by 2010 2010

11. Information exchange with press • Please send messages of this Symposium to wider audience and that is one of useful measures to make people aware of and then take necessary actions for biodiversity conservation and mitigation of negative impacts of climate change in Vietnam as well as in the world.