At the seminar, themed “Developing the network of enterprises adapting to natural disasters and climate change in Vietnam,” held by the Danang branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Asia Foundation, Huynh Quang Vinh, general director of An Giang Fruit-Vegetables & Foodstuff JSC (Antesco), noted that climate change has significantly affected the company’s material resources, resulting in losses of VND20 billion last year.

The company later developed a disaster risk management system with the aid of the Asia Foundation. Thanks to the new system, Antesco can now store its products in its warehouse as well as in the warehouses of its suppliers and providers of storage services to ensure adequate and safe storage of materials.

The connectivity between the State and enterprises is crucial to ensure the efficiency of solutions for climate change adaptation. The State should regularly provide weather updates to enterprises, especially those in the Mekong Delta region, Vinh added.

Duong Van Chin, chairman of Loc Troi Group’s Dinh Thanh Agriculture Research Center, agreed with Vinh.

Chin noted that the cultivation of rice and other crops can cause 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while cultivating rice, Chin stressed that it is vital for experts and the local authorities to provide solutions for enterprises and farmers in flood-prone areas, such as the Long Xuyen Quadrangle in the Mekong Delta region.

According to Le Van Quy, deputy director of Binh Dinh Fishery JSC, seafood farming will be the most affected by climate change as increasing temperatures will make it difficult to preserve seafood.

He proposed the competent agencies instruct fishermen and seafood traders to preserve seafood during the fishing and transporting process, as well as educate them on legal fishing and appropriate farming techniques to minimize the impacts of climate change.

At the seminar, Nguyen Truong Son, deputy head of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, agreed on the need to create a network of enterprises to respond to disaster risks and climate change. The Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the relevant polices that have been improved will help enhance the roles of these enterprises, he noted.

Son also called for public-private partnerships and the provision of public services in response to climate change.

According to him, since 2016, natural disasters have occurred in areas that had rarely witnessed these incidents before. For example, in November last year, tropical storm Damrey hit the south-central provinces, which had not seen a storm in 20 years. The storm caused losses of more than VND22.6 trillion.