(VOVworld) - Nguyen An Nien, an expert from the Ho Chi Minh City’s science and technology association, has said Vietnam’s participation in the 1997 United Nations Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses will facilitate the perfection of water planning and management in Vietnam.

Hau river is a tributary of the Mekong river in Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)

He was speaking on Monday in the northern port city of Hai Phong at a national consultation on the convention held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Centre for Sustainable Development of Water Resources and Adaption to Climate Change. He said that Vietnam lies in the basin of many big rivers so joining the convention is vital to prevent floods in downstream areas caused by massive water discharge in rain seasons. He expected that the membership helps ensure water for irrigation and development in deltas and protect the ecological environment in dry seasons.