VOVNews interviewed Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Prof. Dr. Dao Xuan Hoc on the issue. The full text of the interview follows.

VOVNews: What do you think of the consequences caused by natural disasters in 2007?

Mr Hoc: In 2007 natural disasters played havoc with the country. Never before in the country's history have we had such big floods like those seen in the central region. Water levels in all rivers from central Quang Binh province to northern Hoa Binh province rose to the third alert level at the same time.

Six consecutive floods hit the central region. In Quang Binh, floodwaters surpassed the 1999 historic flooding levels, causing heavy damage to agricultural production and people’s daily life, including children's schooling and social activities.

VOVNews: Vietnam is a disaster-prone country and it is one of the countries to be affected first by the climate change. What are your ministry’s plans?

Mr Hoc: This is a very big issue. Vietnam has been affected by the climate change over the past 10 years. We could say it started with the Linda typhoon in 1997 and followed by serious droughts everywhere in the country in late 1997 and early 1998. In 1999, the central region was hit by very big flood. In 2000 and 2001, the Mekong delta were submerged under water. In 2002 and 2003, flash floods were reported in many parts of the country. In 2005, many sea dykes in the north collapsed during big storms. In 2006, many storms affected our country. Of course, those were the consequences of climate change.

At a recent meeting with the United Nations Development Programme, experts came up with two scenarios relating to the rising sea levels in Vietnam over the next 100 years.

The first scenario is the lowest water level of 0.69 m and the second one is with a water level of 1 m. It is forecast that in the coming 30-40 years, the sea level will increase rapidly. After that it will keep rising, but at a lower speed.

Based on this estimate, MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat has ordered the establishment of a National Steering Committee to give directions on how to cope with climate change and has asked its sub-committees to assist the Ministry of Construction to develop a plan of action in response to the two scenarios.

VOVNews: Do you think that we should apply the plan to "live with floods" in the central region as it has been practiced in the Mekong delta?

Mr Hoc: I don't object to the idea. But in the strategy for natural disaster prevention and control, people use the word "evade the floods" as consequences are very serious due to the surging floodwaters.

So when we talk about flood control whether in the central region or anywhere, we should consider actions to delay the arrival of floods and increase the drainage capacity.

To delay the coming floods we should have more reservoirs in the catchments and grow forestry to impede the water flow. To increase the drainage capacity, this issue relates to construction works like roads, industrial parks or entertainment centres. We should review whether these works block the drainage. If they do, we have to take corrective actions immediately.

In addition we need to do the frequent dredging of estuaries in the central region as the water in these estuaries are rather complicated due to the different flows along the riversides and upstream resulting in the quick accumulation of alluvium at the estuaries. The MARD has asked foreign experts to help solve this problem, but so far they have not come up with very effective measures.

Parallel with that, the government has worked out plans to relocate people living in disaster prone areas. As this will take time, we will focus on what should be done first.