Lecture 4 Climate change, Environment issues and Impacts

The poor are also most at risk because they have little diversity in their income sources. They lack the resources and ability to invest to absorb climate related risks, or to recover from extreme events.

Lecture Climate change, Environment issues and Impacts Lam Thi Thu Suu CSRD Suu.csrd@gmail.com http://climatechange.worldbank.org/ sites/default/files/documents/Vietn am-EACCSocial.pdf Vietnam as the top four countries affected by sea level rise Mekong delta as one of three hardest-hit delta regions by climate change worldwide (IPCC 4th Assessment Report, 2007) Sea level rise (m) Land lost (%) Pop displaced (%) # 1.0 # 25 # 20 (3.5 mil.) # 2.0 # 50 # 75 (14 mil ) Contribution percentage % of rivers flow into Vietnam 24,000 (2011) 23.269.316 T 22,000 20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 1995.0 1997.0 1999.0 2001.0 2003.0 2005.0 2007.0 2009.0 2011.0 Delta supplies more than 53% of the nation’s rice and crop food, 80% of the total fish production, and 75% of fruits for domestic and export Climate trends Trends Dry duration prolonged  Wet duration  Annual mean temperature  Heat waves  Precipitation in critical season  Abnormal rainfall in wet season  Upstream floods  Sedimentation  River bank erosion  Drought  Abnormal strong wind (Whirlwind)  Current impact and Expected impacts - Upper stream :river banks eroded water shortage, fire, insects, delayed growth of trees and plantation, Tiredness and illness, lost of income - Middle part: house and vegetable damage, lost income and lost of livelihood, low productivity due to salty soil, flooded, eroded river banks - Lower stream : death, injures, infrastructure damage, lost and damage of rice, fishing gear, lost of land, lack of water, shrimp farming affected, delayed fishery processing activities Vulnerability - Physical vulnerability : always suffering from extreme weather (land territory, tropical monsoon climate and regional climate variation) - Social –economic vulnerability (poor infrastructure, lack of insurance system, credit, knowledge, poor management, irigation,ect) Who are vulnerable? - People living along in low deltas and coastal belts - Migrant and poor labor residents in cities - Ethnic minority, women, children and elderly The poor are also most at risk because they have little diversity in their income sources They lack the resources and ability to invest to absorb climate related risks, or to recover from extreme events Xayaburi dam and Don Sahong being constructed in Lower Mekong river in Laos Water Conversion Project along the Mekongs Discussion • Watch the video and review the reading “Are Vietnam’s Delta dying?” • Discussion : How the Mekong river delta become??? 180 industrial zones, 12,259 healthcare facilities, 72,012 enterprises, discharge hundreds of untreated wastewater cubic meters into its rivers a day Water from rivers near Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are now deeply polluted, “not at all suitable for agricultural uses and absolutely not available for domestic use Thi Vai River pollution • Vedan Company discharging untreated waste water into the Thi Vai river (5000m3 /day in 10 years), making the river dead • Nicotex Thanh Thai company dumped untreated toxic waste poisoning the land in Cam Thuy district, Thanh Hoa province The bauxite-alumina project in the Central Highlands => The"red" dust waste causing Air pullution, Water Pollution, fishery pollution (the bauxite site to dump the red sludge, seriously harmful to the heath of a population of 30 million and causes agricultural damage to the highland farms) Mining Formosa and poison ocean Formosa apologizes for polluting the ocean but continues to burry the hazardous waste in forest • “Everyone has the right to live in a clean environment, and the obligation for environmental protection” (Article 43, Constitution 2013) • Very few guildlines/ document under laws mentions how to control the water polution • The Nicotex company was fined only VND 421 million (USD20,000) • Vedan company was fined only VND 267 million ( USD 13,000) • Formosa compensate 500 million USD for the damages • No case of pulution is brought to the court Pollution and Heath • Only about 60% of the Vietnamese people have access to water that is clean and drinkable • Many water supply systems in South East & HCM is under standard • 80% of diseases in Vietnam are caused by polluted water resources (MONRE) such as cholera, giardiasis, cancer, miscarry, inborn disable, infection (women), • The red sludge puts health and human lives at risk of being lost or harmed due to air, water and fish pollution • The medical statistics prove that prolonged toxicity may cause encephalopathy, osteoporosis, anemia, and possibly Parkinson diseases Every day, more projects • Coal Thermal Plants (Vinh Tan, Long An, Hau Giang…) • Steel Plant (Hoa Sen Group) • Paper Mill Plant (Lee & Man) • Industrial Zones (hundred of factories…) Forest and land problem • Forests in mountainous areas are being chopped down for logs • Coastal mangrove forests are being cleared for fish farms Land confiscations From 2001 to 2009: - 1,116,000 of agricultural land were taken for investment projects - Every year, 124,000 of agricultural land are transferred to development projects - More than 50% of confiscated land were at the most densely populated areas of the Red River delta and Southeast and Mekong delta Impacts of land confiscation (MARD survey): • Land confiscations affected badly 627,000 peasant households, 950,000 laborers & 2,5 million people • 53% of households had incomes reduced • only 13% of households were able to move to new jobs • 87% fell into unstable employment or uncertainty in livelihoods • Landless peasants have been on increase and found difficulties in seeking new jobs • Every one hectare of rice land confiscated, 15 to 20 rural laborers will become unemployment Think for next step • Environment in transition • People and environment in climate change context • New form of poverty, who are the poor, the vulnerable and the new poor? • New “benefit group” • Political agenda • Who has the power ? ... Vietnam 24, 000 (201 1) 23.269.316 T 22,000 20, 000 18,000 16,000 14, 000 12,000 1995.0 1997.0 1999.0 200 1.0 200 3.0 200 5.0 200 7.0 200 9.0 201 1.0 Delta supplies more than 53% of the nation’s rice and crop... wildlife and fish • Dead river (no water, run off) • Lost of Sediment • CH4 – green house gas • Downstream impacts (too dry and too floody) • Risks and Resettlement : Big issues Risks of leaking and. .. m2 forest land • 500 m2 for rice field So many social and environment issues • All the ressetlement have problems with land shortage and quality • Companies try to minimise the cost and ignore