(VNF) - On February 25th, researchers, activists, representatives of international development partners and Vietnamese Government officials at the central and provincial levels, including those from five Red river delta localities (Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Quang Ninh), are gathering in Hai Phong city for the second Red river delta climate change symposium.

“The negative impacts felt by the people living in the Red river delta are shared by many communities in the US. This similar experience is in part why the US and Vietnam have a strong shared determination to reverse the course of climate change and effectively adapt to its impacts,” said US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius.

The first symposium, organized in 2014 in Nam Dinh province, offered the first-time opportunity for the above-mentioned localities to discuss the common challenges they all face and the need for coordinated responses at the delta-level as the Red river delta is particularly at risk to the impacts of climate change but often receives less attention than the Mekong delta.

Since then, USAID’s Vietnam forests and deltas program has supported updated provincial climate change action plans, which have been shared at the symposium so they will be implemented in a more concerted way.

Currently, the active cooperation programs in the region include the Vietnam forests and deltas program, the Ha Long bay - Cat Ba alliance, the Red river delta adaptation and youth program, and US sister cities disaster preparedness initiative, all managed through USAID./.

( VNF )