The workshop marked the beginning of voluntary cooperation between scientific groups in Australia, including the Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals and Experts in Australia (VASEA), the Association of Vietnamese Experts and Intellectuals in Queensland (AVESQ) and Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ) under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The online workshop attracted the participation of over 200 delegates from the Departments of Science and Technology, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Construction, Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality of 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta, representatives of research institutes, universities, experts, scientists in Australia and Vietnam,... PhD. Ha Minh Hiep - Acting Director of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality and Dr. Pham Thu Hien, CSIRO, Australia gave an opening speech, introducing the project and cooperative efforts between Vietnam and Australia.
Opening the workshop, Dr. Quach Van An - Deputy Director of Ca Mau Department of Science and Technology presented the situation of sea level rise in Ca Mau province and existing and ongoing solutions. According to Mr. An, sea level rise is becoming a significant threat with increasing impacts globally, especially in Vietnam. Ca Mau, with its intricate river system connecting to the sea, is one of the areas most heavily affected. Although there are priority projects to respond to climate change and sea level rise, there are still challenges in mobilization, inconsistent operations and lack of funding to implement response programs.
Regarding water security, Dr. Nguyen Phuong Dung - Lecturer at Water Resources University, Professor. Nghiem Duc Long - Lecturer at Sydney University of Technology and PhD. Nguyen Duy, CSIRO, Australia introduced challenges from both natural and artificial conditions to water security, such as water resource sharing, climate change and subsidence and erosion in the delta.
Experts also introduced modern monitoring and forecasting technologies, including the use of satellite data and artificial intelligence, as well as new water storage and filtration technologies that Australia applies and is likely to apply in Viet Nam. |