The International Green City Program (OPCC) is a program implemented by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to encourage and disseminate climate change response actions for provinces and cities around the world. It was piloted in Sweden in 2011 and spread throughout the world. OPCC recognizes and honors provinces and cities that effectively respond to climate change. From 2015-2016, Hue was the first city to participate in the program, Dong Ha city, Quang Tri province, along with Hoi An ancient town, Quang Nam province and Da Nang city participated from 2017-2018.

Khe May Lake will be renovated and built into a green space in the heart of Dong Ha city through funding from the Central Coastal Urban Development Project. Photo: TN

With the goal of building Dong Ha city into a green city, responding to climate change in accordance with the city's planning until 2030, with a vision to 2045 from a loan from the French Development Agency (AFD), Dong Ha city has implemented the Central Coastal Urban Development project towards green growth and responding to climate change with a total investment of 42.36 million Euros, implementation period from 2024-2027.

Dong Ha City, like many urban areas in the Central region, is located in an area that is heavily affected by climate change, storms, floods, riverbank erosion, and saltwater intrusion. The Central Coastal Urban Development Project, aiming at green growth and responding to climate change in Dong Ha City, is being implemented in 9 wards with a total area of ​​about 73 ^km2 .

This is an old urban area with a high population density, causing flooding and environmental pollution, affecting people's lives and activities and destroying the urban beauty. In fact, for many years, during the rainy season, Hoi Song has often been eroded with a length of nearly 5,000m. For the West bank of Thach Han River and the North bank of Vinh Phuoc River, many sections have not been built with embankments to prevent riverbank erosion. Every year, during the rainy season, the riverbank is eroded deep into the ground, causing loss of people's productive land.

In addition, the drainage system downstream of Trung Chi Lake and Khe May Lake, currently the drainage channel is located in the heart of the urban area, wastewater and garbage are dumped into the channel causing environmental pollution; on the other hand, there are locations where land encroachment occurs, narrowing the channel, blocking the flow, causing local flooding.

From that reality, the project was implemented with 2 components of construction investment and technical support, capacity building including the following items: construction of an embankment and combined dredging of the flow around Hoi Song, about 4,690 m long; embankment of the West bank of Thach Han River and the North bank of Vinh Phuoc River, including 5 sections with a total length of about 7,018 m; construction of an embankment combined with dredging of the flow from the downstream of Trung Chi Lake flood spillway to Dong Luong ward fields and the system of works on the embankment.

Improving the drainage system downstream of Khe May Lake; upgrading infrastructure on the southern bank of Hieu River; upgrading and renovating infrastructure in low-income areas; supporting urban development planning, climate change adaptation and flood management; supporting the pilot city program to implement urban development plans and green growth in Vietnam; supporting local economic activities and creating green jobs.

Once the Song embankment is built, it will clear and expand the flow, regulate the water volume, prevent landslides, complete the urban infrastructure system, ensure rescue and relief tasks when there are natural disasters, improve living conditions, preserve cultivated land and stabilize people's lives. The construction of the embankment to protect the southern bank of the Hieu River will contribute to preventing flooding in residential areas living along the riverbank, preventing saltwater intrusion, limiting landslides, stabilizing the riverbank, avoiding damage to people's lives and property. The renovation and improvement of the downstream canal system of Trung Chi and Khe May lakes in the city will improve the urban appearance and limit environmental pollution.

In addition, the project also invests in building regulating lakes to create green space, reducing the temperature during the hot season. In addition, the project to invest in upgrading infrastructure of Nam Hieu River and traffic infrastructure, water supply and drainage of low-income residential areas will create a space with modern landscape, at the same time manage land funds, ensure environmental sanitation, prevent water pollution, contribute to improving the quality of life of people around the area, building residential areas towards green and sustainable development.

The Central Coastal Urban Development Project towards green growth and climate change response in Dong Ha city contributes to fundamentally solving the challenges of flood prevention, riverbank erosion, and saltwater intrusion in Dong Ha city in the context of increasingly complex and unpredictable climate change.

In addition, the project's construction works will contribute to completing the urban infrastructure system, ensuring green growth, maintaining biodiversity and responding to the negative impacts of climate change, creating modern urban spaces and landscapes, creating green jobs, increasing income, promoting economic development, creating a safe and sustainable living environment for local people; especially actively participating in the international green city program of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Tan Nguyen