Hanoi (VNA) - Climate change isdamaging production and livestock in the country’s northeast provinces, raisingthe risks that the poverty rate there could increase in the next few years,according to a new study by scientists of the Vietnam Academy of SocialSciences.

The study showed that climate change hasbeen causing extreme weather phenomena, including thunderstorms, torrentialrain, hail, prolonged heat waves and cold weather, flash floods and landslidesin the provinces for years.

For example, extreme cold weather, withtemperatures falling as low as zero degrees, has hit Lang Son province inseveral recent years. Storm Ramasun, hitting the East Sea in 2014, broughttorrential rains with the rainfall of up to 416mm in the Mau Son area.

Up to 30 flash floods reportedly occurredin Con River and Chay River in Ha Giang province between 2004 and 2010. InOctober 2017 alone, flash floods tragically killed at least 68 people andinjured 34 others in the northeastern provinces.

Due to the extreme weather phenomena,production activities were badly affected. It is estimated that over 9,000ha ofcrop have been damaged each year since 2011. The damage is up to billions of dong,the study found.

Therefore, local farmers should change thetypes of trees they grow to better adapt to climate change. They have startedto grow cardamom, anise, pear and tangerine in Lang Son province as well asorange and lemon in Ha Giang province instead of their usual crops andvegetables.

Scientists also pointed out that climatechange contributed to outbreaks of disease among animals and poultry.Increasing temperatures, along with the degree of large temperaturefluctuations, have caused more animals to experience heat shock.

Data from the Department of Animal Healthunder the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said foot-and-mouthdisease was believed to appear with higher frequency during 2006-15 than inprevious years. In 2008 alone, over 54,000 cows and buffaloes were reportedlykilled by foot-and-mouth disease in the provinces due to prolonged coldweather.

The impacts of climate change also threatenthe cause of poverty reduction in the northern provinces.

The north is a unique mountainous region dominatedby rivers. Extreme floods and other natural disasters in the area have causedeconomic losses each year at an estimated rate of 1-1.5 percent of GDP,scientists said.

According to local administrators, severeshortages of fresh water often occur in the four districts of Quan Ba, Yen Minh,Dong Van and Meo Vac in the dry season.

The various natural disasters have reducedthe standard of living for people in the northeast provinces. The localresidents have to spend money in stabilising production damaged by naturaldisasters. The expenses available for medical and educational services are thusalso reduced, the study found.

Nguyen Song Tung, vice president of theInstitute of Human Geography under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, saidauthorised agencies should help local farmers to apply new models of productionto better adapt to climate change, such as the System of Rice Intensification(SRI) model.

SRI is an agro-ecological methodology forincreasing the productivity of irrigated rice by changing the management ofplants, soil, water and nutrients.

Local farmers were also advised to applybio-pads in husbandry in general and pig-raising in particular, as well as toraise fish in cages in rivers and lakes to gain more income, Tung said.

People should grow trees that bring highereconomic value, he added.

Staff from the local agriculture agency wastold to instruct people to fertilise their trees with nitrogenous fertiliserand manure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

Local administration was asked to study andimplement measures to ensure water security for people who have suffered themost from severe shortages of fresh water in the coming time, he said.

If all the methods were efficientlyapplied, the threat of poverty increasing would also be under control, he said.

The northeast region includes the nineprovinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, BacGiang and Quang Ninh, with the total area accounting for 15.3 percent of thecountry’s area and the population comprising 9.35 percent of the country’s total.-VNA