WB helps build environmental data centre in Mekong Delta

Experts from ministries and the World Bank discussed the content of a project on building a database serving climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta Region at a workshop in Hanoi on October 5.

The database is expected to serve climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta Region.

The database has been given an investment of nearly US$14.5 million, with the World Bank providing US$13.8 million in official development assistance (ODA) loan for its construction.

According to Vo Tuan Nhan, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, the regional data centre will collect, integrate, analyse, and store data on natural resources and the environment, thereby providing reliable information on climate change to aid in the preparation of sustainable development plans in the region. The centre is scheduled for completion by 2022.

Addressing the workshop, WB expert Anjali Acharya, Head of the project, highlighted the significance of the database to the future of the Mekong Delta Region.

The centre will provide scientific evidence for climate change, contributing to assisting regional authorities in restructuring agriculture, bettering the quality of water resources and infrastructure systems and developing appropriate livelihood models, she said.

The data centre is part of the Mekong Delta Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Project, which aims to enhance the region’s capacity to adapt to climate change by improving planning, promoting resilient rural livelihoods and constructing climate-smart infrastructure in the region.

The Mekong Delta Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Project, the recipient of a total investment of US$384.9 million, comprises several components, namely monitoring and analysing data, managing floods in the upper delta, adapting to salinity transitions in the delta’s estuary areas and protecting coastal areas in the peninsular area, among others.

It will be carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu.

(Source: NDO)