“The rice bowl of Vietnam will be severely affected” without needed action, Nguyen Khac Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of the Hydrometeorology and Climate Change, told reporters before key global climate talks next week in Copenhagen.

“It’s not only for Vietnam’s sake but also for the world’s food safety,” Hieu said.

Hieu will be part of Vietnam’s delegation at the December 7-18 conference which is tasked with framing a new deal for tackling global warming and its impact beyond 2012, when existing commitments under the Kyoto Protocol expire.

Vietnam is one of the most at-risk countries for sea level rise and increased saline water intrusion. A United Nations Vietnam report says the country is planning for a one-meter rise in sea levels by 2100, which would inundate a total of 30,945 square kilometers of land nationwide, an area about the size of Belgium, without measures such as strengthening dykes and drainage systems.

Source: AFP, TN