The conference brought together representatives from ministries, agencies, southwest localities and the 100 Resilient Cities programme, along with domestic and foreign environmental scientists and experts.   

Discussions at the event focused on challenges facing Can Tho City such as floods, rising sea level caused by climate change, drought and food security, epidemics and water management, with a view to defining the orientations of a long-term comprehensive strategy to help the city cope with climate change.  

Dao Anh Dung, Vice Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee, said according to the master plan until 2030 with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister, Can Tho will become a national-level delta city and a socio-economic centre of the Mekong Delta region.

To realise this goal, the city should enhance its capacity and take specific measures to address its weaknesses and cope with negative impacts from climate change and rising sea levels, he said. 

The official stressed that becoming a member of the 100 Resilient Cities programme is a chance for Can Tho to learn from the knowledge and experience as well as receive assistance from other cities in the network, especially from Da Nang, the first city of Vietnam admitted to the network two years earlier.

Lauren Sorkin, Director of the 100 Resilient Cities programme in the Asia-Pacific region, said Can Tho has the chance to play a pioneering role in boosting resilience for cities in Vietnam.

The 100 Resilient Cities programme was an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation, which is dedicated to help cities around the world become resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century.

VNA