Climate change threatens Vietnam imminently

Subject Impact of climate change on Vietnam's agriculture. Significance The agriculture sector accounts for some 40% of employment in Vietnam and around 15% of its annual export earnings. Meanwhile, the country is experiencing more extreme weather events. Impacts Critical river dykes and canal banks will erode faster than anticipated, especially in the south. As water-processing plants fail to contend with increasing salt intrusions, contamination levels in food will increase. Crop diversification could reduce Vietnam’s carbon footprint, with more diversified farms acting as carbon sinks.

2021 ◽  
pp. 431-442
Author(s):  
Adnan Nazir ◽  
Heman Das Lohano

AbstractClimate change-induced variability in rainfall patterns and temperature has caused significant losses to the agriculture sector in Pakistan. Crop diversification is recognized as an effective risk management strategy for farmers to cope with climate-related risks and is therefore a potentially sustainable community-based solution for enhancing community resilience to climate change. This chapter examines how past exposure to extreme weather events, risk attitude, and other communityand farm characteristics affect the farmer’s decision of crop diversification. Using farm-level data from 480 farmers in Sindh province of Pakistan, the study examines the determinants of crop diversification decisions. The results show that previous exposure to flood or excessive rainfall in the community, farm size, and farmer’s risk attitude significantly affect crop diversification. Furthermore, location-specific factors account for differences in local climatic and agro-ecological conditions and significantly determine the extent of crop diversification.


Significance As well as responding to extreme weather events internationally, this reflects increasing awareness of Chile’s own vulnerability, particularly as regards water availability. Mounting public concern about climate change is mirrored in a number of bills before Congress. Impacts Chile’s drought conditions look increasingly like a permanent change in climate. By shifting to the Andean Plateau and possibly the far south, rain would be concentrated in areas with limited agricultural potential. Industries anticipate that sector-specific carbon budgets may be introduced as early as 2022.


Subject The political and economic implications of greater scientific understanding of extreme weather events. Significance Preparatory talks for the UN climate summit in Paris have seen representatives from developing countries ask the United States and EU for greater compensation for damages caused by extreme weather. The link between climate change and more extreme weather events is clear -- energy from higher temperature levels can be translated into kinetic energy and disrupts usual weather patterns -- but distinguishing the extent of a causal connection, especially for specific events, has until recently been difficult. Impacts Extreme weather events will affect the insurance industry, agriculture, tourism, and food and beverage sectors. In the United States, the South-east will see the highest risks of coastal property losses due to climate change impacts. Hurricanes and other coastal storms combined with rising sea levels are likely to cause growing annual storm losses in the Caribbean. Infrastructure will grow in cost as it must be proofed against new extremes in weather stress.


Subject Responses to climate change in South Asia. Significance The Maldives last week hosted the fourth Indian Ocean Conference, at which representatives from South Asia and beyond discussed challenges to the region such as climate change. South Asian countries are experiencing increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as flooding and drought. Impacts The Maldives and Sri Lanka, the region’s island nations, will invest heavily in flood-defence systems. South Asian authorities will be under pressure to improve medical services to help cut deaths from flood-related diseases. Climate change will be an increasingly prominent feature of political debate in many of the region’s countries.


Facilities ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 502-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive M.J. Warren

PurposeClimate change is predicted to have a significant effect on the frequency of extreme weather events and the occurrence of natural disasters. There is a need for facilities managers to mitigate against potential disruption and prepare for future events. Current practice, however, as illustrated by the literature shows that little risk assessment is currently undertaken with few organisations preparing integrated disaster management plans or business continuity plans to help them meet the challenge. This paper aims to describe the current climate change predictions and the likely consequences for building assets in the face of extreme weather events.Design/methodology/approachThe paper was based on literature review of current climate change data and published research and guidance for facilities managers in preparing risk assessment and disaster plans.FindingsThe research reveals that there exists a divergence between current scientific data relating to potential effects of climate change on the built environment and the level of disaster planning and organisational resilience to extreme weather events.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper provides an overview of the recent changes in disaster occurrence and the potential for increasing climate‐related crisis and disasters which have potential to significantly compromise the ongoing use of an organisation's facilities. The paper concludes that facilities managers need to be proactive in their risk assessment and disaster planning.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights the potential for increased climate change‐related natural disasters. Property assets are likely to be significantly impacted and as a consequence facilities disaster plans should address the issue of natural disaster preparedness. Current literature reveals a limited level of disaster planning is occurring.Originality/valueThe paper provides an important link between current climate change predictions, the increasing levels of natural disasters resulting from climate change and the potential for significant disruption to business facilities. The paper builds on earlier research highlighting the potential for climate‐related natural disaster.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
James Kimani

Purpose: Climate change can disrupt food availability, reduce access to food, and affect food quality.  Projected increases in temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, changes in extreme weather events, and reductions in water availability may all result in reduced agricultural productivity. Increases in the frequency and severity extreme weather events can also interrupt food delivery, and resulting spikes in food prices after extreme events are expected to be more frequent in the future.  Increasing temperatures can contribute to spoilage and contamination. The general objective of the study was to establish the effect of Adaptation practices to climate change and its impact on agricultural production by farming household.    Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Findings: The study found out the locals households prefer multiple adaptation strategies to counter the effects of climate variability and change. The current local adaptation strategies include crop, diversification, shifting planting dates, off farm jobs and diversifying from farm to non – farm activities. However majority of the respondents employ crop diversification as the main adaptation strategy. For the locals’ crop diversification does, to an extent, guarantees good harvests although there are years in which farmers report total crop losses Recommendations: The study recommends that policy efforts should be directed at enforcing  adaptation measures of climate change in order to boost agricultural  production


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Loosemore ◽  
Vivien Chow ◽  
Denny McGeorge

Purpose – A predicted increase in climate change-related extreme weather events will present hospitals with new health-related and physical risks which were not originally anticipated in building and infrastructure designs. Markus et al.'s building systems model is used to analyse a range of adaptive strategies to cope with such events. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Focus group interviews were conducted with a wide range of hospital stakeholders across three case study hospitals in Australia and New Zealand which have experienced extreme weather events. Findings – It is concluded that effective adaptive strategies must balance responses across different organisational sub-systems. Contrary to previous research, the findings indicate that hospital managers do see hospital infrastructure as an important component of disaster response. However, it is the least adaptable of all response subsystems, making other options more attractive in the heat of a crisis. Research limitations/implications – A focus on three case studies allowed the researchers to explore in-depth the experiences of stakeholders who had experienced extreme weather events. While producing highly valid results, the inherent limitation of this approach is the lack of breath. So further case studies are needed to generalise from the results. Practical implications – Recommendations are made to improve the adaptive capacity of healthcare facilities to cope with the future health challenges of climate change risk. Originality/value – By acknowledging that no one group holds all the knowledge to deal with extreme weather events, this paper capture the collective knowledge of all key stakeholders who have a stake in the process of responding effectively to such an event. It shows that hospital adaptation strategies cannot be considered in isolation from the surrounding emergency management systems in which a hospital is imbedded.


Author(s):  
Sergio A. Molina Murillo

Most scenarios indicate that people in developing countries are more vulnerable and less capable of adapting to climate change. Since our public understanding of risk toward climate change in developing countries is limited, this article presents results from Costa Rica and Nicaragua, two countries which are socio-economically distinct, but which are expected to suffer similar extreme weather events. From October of 2008 until May 2010, a total of 1,047 respondents were surveyed in cities of both countries. The main results indicate that climate change is a widely known concept but other notions such as “carbon footprint” are foreign to most respondents. Despite the general concern with its negative consequences, respondents’ foremost concern is linked to their socioeconomic situation, and how it will be impacted by climate change in such aspects as poverty and social security. The results presented here contribute to advance national and international policies aiming to support mitigation or adaptation strategies in developing countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-75
Author(s):  
Robert Ddamulira

This article addresses three research questions: How does climate change impact food production? What are the governance challenges associated with managing such impacts? What are the conditions for future success in managing the impacts of climate change on food production? To answer these questions, the researcher undertook a document review and analysis to address these various aspects with a major focus on East Africa. The study finds that climate change affects food production largely through its physical impacts on precipitation and increased the frequency of extreme weather events. Within a context of weak governance; climate change further challenges governance institutional structures and mechanisms. The study concludes that specific aspects of the prevailing climate change governance regime require major reforms (particularly the role of the state, corporations and civil society) while other climate governance mechanisms need to be completely overhauled (for example through establishment of a new World Environment Organization).


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