Regional forum warns climate change will affect millions
Update: 03/02/2009
Up to 150 government officials and experts from the Mekong region attended the Regional Forum on Mekong River Commission’s (MRC) Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative, which opened in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 2, 2009.
The two-day forum, organised using financial and technical assistance provided by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), is expected to assist the MRC member countries in formulating plans and strategies to help them cope with the challenges posed by the effects of climate change.
Speaking at the forum, the Chief Executive Officer of the MRC Secretariat, Jeremy Bird, stressed that climate change is likely to result in less rainfall during the dry season, yet more during the rainy season, increasing the threat of seasonal droughts and floods and having a negative impact on the region’s ecosystems, aquaculture and agriculture.
Any changes in weather conditions or the flow of rivers would seriously affect the lives of millions of local residents, who rely on the natural resources provided by the Mekong River and its tributaries, Bird said.
Whilst stressing the close, interconnected relationship between climate change, water sources and human lives, the official called for tighter coordination between the MRC and other organisations to help member nations identify strategies to effectively respond to the threats posed by climate change.
According to Le Duc Trung, Acting General Secretary of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee (VNMC) and head of the Vietnamese delegation, the VNMC is assisting local agencies in setting targets and drawing up plans of action to adapt to this natural phenomenon.
The MRC was established on April 5, 1995 by the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to promote joint management of their shared water sources and to exploit the economic potential of the Mekong River. It has since expanded to include two dialogue partners - China and Myanmar.