The country’s largest economic hub has been identified as one of the 10 cities in the world most likely to be severely affected by climate change, and the need to deploy an adaptation plan is urgent, officials have said.
Ayumi Konishi, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s country director for Vietnam, said the effects of climate change could cause a 7.3 percent drop in the city’s GDP in the near future.
Konishi spoke at a workshop on July 14 in HCM City on the impact of climate change and the need for the city to move from study to action. The municipal People’s Committee and ADB organised the workshop.
The HCM City Adaptation to Climate Change study, which is being carried out with financing from the ADB and the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM) in partnership with the city People’s Committee, is an initial step in a planned response to the challenges in adapting to climate change.
“The study explores climate threats and their impact on areas, communities and sectors in the city and makes recommendations for adaptation options,” Jeremy Carew-Reid, director of the ICEM, said.
The report identifies a number of key principles to guide climate change adaptation in HCM City, including building on experiences in responding to natural disasters, rehabilitating and maintaining flexibility and resilience in city design, and decentralising adaptation capacity.
The key recommendation arising from the study is the development of a HCM City Climate Change Adaptation plan to be prepared by the People’s Committee in accordance with the National Target Plan.
Budget allocations should also be used to pilot innovative adaptation measures, including climate proofing the city landscape through measures of the kind set out in the report.
The People’s Committee should also shift its existing flood and storm control committee into a climate change adaptation and mitigation committee, with authority and resources to enforce adaptation plans, the report recommends.
A climate change adaptation and mitigation fund is necessary to receive regular replenishment from government, international contributions and adaptation plan deposits from developers.
The city should enter into regional collaborative agreements on climate change adaptation with neighbouring provinces.
Between 1997 and 2007, almost all of the city’s districts were affected by natural disasters.
The total value of property damage from natural disasters over the last 10 years is estimated at 12.6 million USD. Losses in the future are expected to increase.
Changes in the tidal situation as a result of a sea level rise will result in areas of the city becoming permanently inundated, according to the report.