The Mekong Delta Resilient Business Network (MRBN) has been established, announced the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) chapter in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and The Asia Foundation (TAF).

The network, under sponsorship of the UPS Group, is the first one for firms to join hand in seeking measures to improve business capacity and contribute to policy building in the backdrop of climate change.

Director of VCCI Can Tho Nguyen Phuong Lam said the MRBN aims to create a community of various stakeholders which can connect entrepreneurs, scientists and policymakers in building climate change adaptation for firms in the Mekong Delta.

The network will update information and techniques in the field, bolster firms’ operations as well as their role in policymaking and social responsibility.

In the first phase from 2021 to Q1 2022, the MRBN will focus on completing its organisational structure and at the same time launch research studies on impacts of saline intrusion on firms in the Mekong Delta and propose effective policies, along with collecting information on renewable energy development in the region.

The Mekong Delta, known for its fertility and rice fields, has been facing enormous challenges posed by climate change and upstream activities, according to environmental officials.

According to the World Bank’s assessment, Viet Nam is one of the five countries hardest hit by climate change, with a one-metre rise in sea levels likely to affect 10 per cent of population and cause losses equal to 10 percent of GDP in delta regions. — VNS