VZCZCXRO6930
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1228/01 3080902
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030902Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8681
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5258
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001228 
 
( C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y - ADDED ADDRESSEE) 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, OES/EGC, OES/STC 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE, G/ENV, EGAT/ESP (CHIP BARBER) 
STATE PASS TO EPA/OIA (DENNIS CUNNINGHAM AND MARK KASMAN) 
STATE PASS TO NOAA/NOS/OIA (JONATHAN JUSTI) 
USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE/INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS (CYNTHIA MACKIE AND 
KELLI YOUNG) 
INTERIOR FOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (GREG SMITH) 
BANGKOK PASS TO RDMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG ECON KGHG VM
SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE 
 
Ref:   A. Hanoi 677 B. Hanoi 537 
 
HANOI 00001228  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  At the October 28 Donor Committee on Climate Change 
meeting, the Danish Ambassador detailed Prime Minister Dung's  plan 
for the roll out of Vietnam's National Target Program to Respond to 
Climate Change.  Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao 
Duc Phat reiterated the seriousness with which the Government of 
Vietnam (GVN) views climate change and provided statistics detailing 
sea level and temperature increases within Vietnam.  Donors 
emphasized the need to coordinate Vietnamese responses with global 
efforts.  End Summary. 
 
Prime Minister Takes Lead in GVN Response 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 28, UNDP hosted a meeting of the Donor 
Coordination Group on Climate Change to brief representatives from 
various Embassies, multilateral organizations, and NGOs about the 
status of GVN efforts to address the impacts of climate change. 
Danish Ambassador, Peter Hansen, who co-chairs the Donor 
Coordination Group with UN Resident Coordinator John Hendra, 
provided details of his recent meeting with Prime Minister Dung. 
During that meeting, the Prime Minister announced his intention to 
release the GVN National Target Program (NTP) as soon as he obtains 
Politburo approval - possibly in November.  The Politburo continues 
to try to balance the roles of the Ministry of Natural Resources and 
Environment (MONRE) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural 
Development (MARD), both vying for primacy in the GVN response to 
climate change.  While the Prime Minister assigned MONRE 
responsibility for the NTP, MARD has also developed its own climate 
change capabilities, making coordination difficult (Ref B). 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to the Danish Ambassador, the Prime Minister does 
not plan to wait for approval from the National Assembly, but wants 
to issue the NTP directly from his office to show his commitment to 
the issue.  Earlier this year, Prime Minister Dung agreed to 
personally head the GVN steering committee overseeing the NTP 
effort.  He also raised this issue during his recent visit to 
Washington (Ref A).  Once his office has published the NTP, the 
Prime Minister will meet in January 2009 with key members of the 
National Assembly to review implementation and financing, before 
National Assembly consideration of follow up measures at its 
scheduled meeting in May 2009. 
 
Agricultural Minister Stresses GVN Coordination . . . 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) MARD Minister Phat stated that climate change was 
irreversible and that the GVN was firmly committed to working with 
the international community to address its impact.  Phat agreed that 
the GVN needed to raise awareness of climate change throughout 
various ministries, including his own.  Hoping to diffuse some of 
the tensions within the GVN, Phat stated that MONRE was in the best 
position to coordinate the GVN climate change response.  While 
acknowledging friction between MARD and MONRE, Phat stated that he 
and the MONRE Minister have established excellent communications 
(Note: the Danish Ambassador told Phat that better communications 
need to extend to lower level officials as, well). 
 
. . . and Notes Challenges 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Phat then described ongoing impact of climate change in 
Vietnam.  According to Phat, Vietnam now faces stronger typhoons 
during longer storm seasons.  Of greater concern, these typhoons, 
which historically came ashore in the north or central parts of the 
country, now are striking a broader geographical region, including 
the heavily populated and intensively farmed Mekong Delta.  Phat 
stated that over the past 40 years, Vietnam has seen sea level rise 
of roughly five centimeters per decade and he expects this pattern 
to accelerate in the future.  According to MARD statistics taken at 
sites throughout the country, average temperatures increased 0.8 
degrees Celsius from 1980 to 2007.  Other sampling had shown growing 
salt water intrusion in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. 
 
Donors Emphasize Need to Plug Vietnam 
into Global Efforts 
 
HANOI 00001228  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Donors agreed to improve coordination.   Representatives 
from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) highlighted the need to integrate 
Vietnamese responses into regional and global programs.  IOM noted 
that Vietnam already sees a large number of people leaving the 
Mekong Delta during flood season to live temporarily in Ho Chi Minh 
City.  This flow will increase dramatically as sea levels rise, 
floods increase, and salt water intrusion intensifies.  Noting 
Vietnam's position as the world's second largest rice exporter, ADB 
emphasized that any shortfalls in Mekong Delta rice-crops (the 
Mekong Delta is Vietnam's rice basket) not only threaten domestic 
food security, but global rice supplies. 
 
MICHALAK