Môi trường - Lecture 4: Climate change, environment issues and impacts

Lecture 4Climate change, Environment issues and Impacts Lam Thi Thu SuuCSRD Suu.csrd@gmail.comSea level rise (m)Land lost (%)Pop. displaced (%)# 1.0# 25# 20 (3.5 mil.)# 2.0 # 50# 75 (14 mil. )Mekong delta as one of three hardest-hit delta regions by climate change worldwide (IPCC 4th Assessment Report, 2007) Vietnam as the top four countries affected by sea level rise 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. (2011)23.269.316 TContribution percentage % of rivers flow into VietnamClimate trendsTrendsDry 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)Upper stream :river banks eroded water shortage, fire, insects, delayed growth of trees and plantation, Tiredness and illness, lost of incomeMiddle 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 activitiesCurrent impact and Expected impacts 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 eventsXayaburi dam and Don Sahong being constructed in Lower Mekong river in LaosWater Conversion Project along the Mekongs DiscussionWatch the video and review the reading “Are Vietnam’s Delta dying?”Discussion : How the Mekong river delta become??? Hydropower development in VNThu Bon (10,350 km2), Vu gia (5,500km2)Average flow: 400m3/sDry season :40 -50 m3/SRaining season: 2700 m3/SVu Gia Thu Bon River Hydropower dams in Quang Nam Dams and plants1995 – present: > 800 hydropower plants 118 big plants (>30MW ) (49 operating, 47 under construction, 22 planned) generating 24,893 MW. Impacts and costsLost of forestLost of bio diversityLost of wildlife and fishDead river (no water, run off)Lost of Sediment CH4 – green house gasDownstream impacts (too dry and too floody) Risks and Resettlement : Big issues Risks of leaking and failure Risks of EarthquakeDamages and worry900 house damaged and borkenPeople worry day and nightPeople don’t want to work, can’t sleepEnterprise hesitate to invest People tend to move outPeople don’t want to invest People evacuated by dam flushProblems of dam– induced resetlement A luoi ressetlementLand for rice field provided for the ressetled No compensation money for land, just for asset on land (100 mil VND/ avarage)500 m2 for house and garden 5000 m2 – 20.000 m2 forest land 500 m2 for rice fieldResettlement So many social and environment issuesAll the ressetlement have problems with land shortage and quality Companies try to minimise the cost and ignore full compensation Affected people have low voice in raising the issue Environmental issues  Air, water, land and solid waste pollution. 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 provinceThe 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 oceanFormosa 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 HeathOnly 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 standard80% 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 problemForests in mountainous areas are being chopped down for logs Coastal mangrove forests are being cleared for fish farmsLand confiscationsFrom 2001 to 2009: - 1,116,000 ha of agricultural land were taken for investment projects. - Every year, 124,000 ha 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 deltaImpacts 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 jobs87% fell into unstable employment or uncertainty in livelihoodsLandless peasants have been on increase and found difficulties in seeking new jobsEvery one hectare of rice land confiscated, 15 to 20 rural laborers will become unemployment Think for next step Environment in transitionPeople and environment in climate change context New form of poverty, who are the poor, the vulnerable and the new poor?New “benefit group”Political agendaWho has the power ?