Vice Chairman of Da Nang People's Committee cum Chairman of PNLG Le Quang Nam, on Wednesday afternoon, co-chaired an online forum of the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) themed ‘Strengthening Coastal Resilience towards Sustainable Local Blue Economies’ which was hosted by Tangerang City, Indonesia.

Vice Chairman of Da Nang People's Committee cum Chairman of PNLG Le Quang Nam speaking at the event. Photo: HOANG HIEP

In his remarks at the forum, Chairman of PNLG Le Quang Nam said that the purpose of the forum was to discuss important issues of climate change adaptation and mitigation ahead of the 27^th conference on global climate change slated for November 2022 in Egypt. This affirmed the commitment of the PNLG to contribute to and align the actions of local governments in the network with globally agreed actions on climate adaptation and mitigation.

Mr. Nam added that, in order to cope with the increasing impacts from floods, storms and coastal erosion, Da Nang has been focusing on implementing an integrated coastal zone management programme with drastic measures to enhance community resistance to climate change. Included are creating a natural buffer zone against water level rise due to storms, and improving systems of forecasting, early warning, response and recovery.

He added Da Nang has also built storm shelters, and upgraded more than 6,500m of sea dykes to prevent sea waves as well as saltwater intrusion caused by sea level rise, thereby saving more than 400ha of agricultural land.

In addition, through PEMSEA, Da Nang has collaborated with the Plymouth Marine Research Institute in the UK to conduct research on the ability to receive and self-treat organic substances and carbon derived from the mainland and the value of socio-economic at the Da Nang Bay.

Chairman of PNLG Le Quang Nam said that sharing, discussing and learning from each other's knowledge and practical experience allowed localities in the network to ensure the sustainable development of the coastal areas, especially the contents reflected in PNLG Network’s strategic action plan during the 2022-2030 period and in line with the timeline of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

The municipal People's Committee has issued a plan to implement the strategic action plan of the PNLG Network for the 2022-2030 period, thereby affirming Da Nang's commitment to contribute to the targets and actions of the network to 2030.

“We are all committed to implementing the PNLG Network's strategic action plan between 2022 and 2030 which is one of the key programmes to adapt to climate change, and reduce disaster risks and climate change as well, in order to contribute to realising the goal No.13 on climate change adaptation.

The PNLG Network is a proud non-national partner of PEMSEA. The localities in the network wish to enhance cooperation in technical assistance, capacity building and knowledge sharing with national and non-national partners of PEMSEA such as PEMSEA Resource Fund and PEMSEA Learning Centres.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP - Translating by M.DUNG