(VNF) - On June 10th, the World Bank approved USD310 million to help Vietnam build climate resilience and ensure sustainable livelihoods of 1.2 million people living in nine Mekong Delta provinces affected by climate change, salinity intrusion, coastal erosion, and flooding.

The approved project supports better climate-smart planning and improved climate resilience of land and water management practices, thus benefiting farmers (especially rice) in the upper delta provinces and aquaculture farm and fisher-folk households along the coastal provinces in the region, including the Khmer ethnic minority people living in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces.

“Recent extreme weather in the Mekong River Delta, including drought and salinity intrusion, are negatively affecting the lives of the farmers - most of whom are poor. We believe this innovative project brings together an effective multi-sectoral model to help farmers adapt agriculture and aquaculture livelihoods to the impacts of climate change”, said Achim Fock, Acting Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s annual rice exports of USD4 billion account for more than one-fifth of the global total. The Mekong Delta alone contributes half of Vietnam’s rice, 70 percent of its aquaculture products, and one-third of country’s GDP. But the region has also been identified as one of the most vulnerable deltas to the impacts of climate change as well as upstream development.

According to Ms Anjali Acharya, Environment Sector Coordinator for the World Bank in Vietnam, working on complex landscapes such as the Mekong Delta, which faces both climate change and development threats, requires a partnership with the Government.

“This project also exemplifies the value and benefit of close cooperation among key development partners, and can be replicable in other countries”, she said.

The USD387 million - project is a critical part of the World Bank’s long-term engagement in the Mekong Delta to strengthen integrated adaptive delta management by bringing together the different sectors and provinces to plan, prioritize, and implement resilient investments.

The International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest, is financing USD310 million./.

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