Can Tho City has many advantages for developing green tourism based on the characteristics of a riverine city in the Mekong Delta.
Turn challenges into opportunities
The Mekong Delta is facing increasingly severe and unpredictable challenges and adverse impacts from climate change. Therefore, green economic development has become an inevitable trend – a new approach to ensure economic growth goes hand in hand with environmental protection, climate change adaptation, and improved quality of life. Located in the heart of the Mekong Delta, Can Tho City is also transforming its growth model in line with this general trend.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Nhi, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, the Department has advised the City People's Committee to implement many proactive solutions to respond to climate change, strengthen resource management, protect the environment, and adapt to climate change. This is not only a regular, long-term task, but also an urgent requirement for the city's sustainable development and prosperity in the future. With the support of the ADB, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has coordinated with relevant departments and agencies to advise the City People's Committee on the pilot implementation of integrating the green growth action plan and climate change response, aiming to comprehensively approach and grasp the simultaneous benefits of investment projects based on the analysis and assessment of risks due to climate change. Through this, many opportunities and potentials for investment projects in green growth and adaptation to climate change have been connected, as well as being linked to various other funding sources.
According to Brendan Coleman, Climate Change Specialist, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, and Head of the ADB delegation, Can Tho City has many opportunities for strong development, and to ensure long-term sustainability, it is necessary to integrate elements related to environmental protection and climate resilience. Therefore, we need solutions that are not only focused on Can Tho but also coordinated and inclusive among all stakeholders. This is very important.
"ADB's commitment to developing member countries, as well as to Vietnam, is to implement sustainable development activities. In the goal of developing an action plan to respond to climate change, we aim to support environmentally friendly solutions and projects on transitioning towards a low-carbon economy. We also want to support Can Tho City in turning policies into reality and implementing concrete actions. ADB is ready to play a key role as a partner and support the development of Can Tho City into a sustainable and climate-resilient city," said Mr. Brendan Coleman.
Prioritize green investments.
Can Tho, the central city of the Mekong Delta, prioritizes the development of two key sectors: green tourism and green industry (high-tech, environmentally friendly manufacturing), thereby promoting the restructuring of the economy towards sustainability and modernization. According to ADB experts, Can Tho City has many natural advantages and heritage sites that can be used to develop unique and attractive tourism products. However, the development of green tourism also faces certain challenges. Firstly, the rapid pace of urbanization and the increasing pressure from tourists have significant impacts on local communities and the natural environment. Secondly, changes in local lifestyles pose challenges to heritage preservation and sustainable growth in Can Tho City.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, a Green Tourism expert from the ADB, the future action plan for green growth and climate change response in Can Tho City should focus on supporting capacity building for tourism management officials in areas related to destination management, data management, and data-driven strategy development, meeting green and sustainable tourism development standards, and being prepared to respond to crises. The next group needing support includes tourism businesses and accommodation establishments to ensure service quality, safety and security procedures, and enhance digital skills for local businesses. Farmers' associations and agricultural producers need to participate in green farming practices and develop agricultural cultural narratives to integrate into tourism products and the tourism value chain. There is a need for dedicated credit funds for small and micro-enterprises, which could combine low-interest loans with credit support for businesses to transition to greener, more sustainable operating models.
Regarding the development of green industries, according to Mr. Pham Duy Tin, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Can Tho Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks, the city aims to develop green and ecological industries. However, this process needs to be linked with digital transformation to become an ecological industrial park and a digital industrial park. The whole country is currently undergoing digital transformation. If industrial development is not linked with digital transformation, it will be impossible to monitor the ecological process. Digital transformation is needed in automated monitoring (water monitoring, climate monitoring), automated camera systems for identification, security, and traffic monitoring, and automated human resource management. To form an ecological industrial park, there must be ecological enterprises, each ecological enterprise coexisting with each other, applying the circular economy to jointly build the ecological industrial park. At the same time, there must be strong and attractive policies and mechanisms from the State and international credit institutions.
Article and photos: MINH HUYEN
Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/huy-dong-nguon-luc-uu-tien-dau-tu-xanh-cho-tp-can-tho-a192954.html
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