Saltwater intrusion and

drought in Vietnam’s
Mekong Delta
NAME: HOANG THI HONG NHUNG
SID: 7111195407

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CONTENT
1. Saltwater intrusion: Current situations

2. Causes analysis

3. The policies of government and local administration

4. Suggestion

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BACKGROUND
The Mekong River Delta:
Include 13 provinces and cities
Total population: 19 million people (19.5% of
country’s population)
The largest agricultural, fishery and fruit
production in Vietnam (rice production: 50%
 exported rice: 95%; seafood: 60%; fruit:
near 70%)

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 Rice and crops fields in Ben Tre province

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/

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 CURRENT SITUATION
Economic effects
In 2016: total damage of VND8.9 trillion ($380 million), destroyed 250,000 hectares of rice, 130,000 hectares of
other crops, and 30,000 hectares of fruit farms

In May 2020: affect 362,000 hectares of rice and 136,000 hectares of fruit trees.

Well-being effects
In 2016: 500,000 households in the delta suffered a shortage of daily use water

In May 2020: 120,000 households faced a shortage of daily use water

 The poor and the people who live far away from cities are affected significantly (health and well-being
conditions)
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CURRENT SITUATION
 Saline intrusion occurred in combination with the sophisticated tidal flooding:

- Areas 30 - 40km away from the sea: From December 2019, salinity exceeds 4 g/l, wider 3-5km than
in the same period in 2016.

- Areas 45 - 65 km away from the sea: January 2020 – April-May 2020, high salinity (> 4g/l), wider 3-
7km than in the same period in 2016.
 From January to May: unable to get freshwater from estuaries, wells  the shortage of water supply
for domestic uses and production activities  significant damage to crops, agricultural production,
livelihoods
 10/13 provinces were affected, 5 of them had announced the emergency statement

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 Long queues at public wells and tankers to get freshwater

Source: https://congthuong.vn/

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CAUSES ANALYSIS
 Climate change:
 El Nino - Abnormally low rainfall
 The raise of sea water level
 China’s dams and other dams in upstream of Mekong

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Mainstream dams on the
Mekong River
Source:
https://www.stimson.org/2020/mekong-mainstream-dam
s/

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Policies
 After the intrusion crisis 2016:

Nov 2017: Released government Resolution 120/NQ-CP on Sustainable and Climate-Resilient

Development of the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam (vision to 2100)
 Agricultural production:

 Change the schedule of planting the winter-spring rice a month earlier than usual,

 Urging farmers to shift to drought-resistant crops,

 Building embankments to store irrigation water as well as adding more water pipes

 Providing and encourage famers use the huge plastic bags with a capacity of 20-30cu.m each to store
irrigation water

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Policies
 Clean water for daily use:

 Use the water containers with a capacity of 2-3cu.m

 Expand the water pipes system

 Provided drinking water by government tanker truck

 April 2020, government provided 530 VNDbil ($22.7 million) to the provinces cope with the
situation

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Suggestion
International cooperation:
 The Mekong River Commission (MRC): cooperating Mekong nations to build plans that could
benefit each nation in long term;
 ASEAN: top of the agenda of ASEAN

 Lan cang – Mekong Cooperation (with China)

 NGOs/NPOs, IOs: UNDP, Red Cross,…

 Foreign government: Technology transfer; Technical training and support (Netherlands, German,
Italy, Japan…)

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Suggestion
Vietnam’s people and administration - Proactive for long-term adaptation:
 Change the structure of crops and livestock adapting to changing weather conditions and saving
water
 Water for production: a system to control the intrusion of saltwater and push water into fields during
high tides
 Clean water for people’s life:

• Store as much fresh water as it can, including groundwater;

• Upgrade the inland (provincial and inter-provincial) drainage and reservoirs system;

• Improve the awareness of citizens about protecting, sharing and saving water resources.

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Suggestion
Vietnam’s people and administration - Proactive for long-term adaptation:
 Support the poor and vulnerable people who are affected severely by the drought and saltwater
intrusion.
 Research and develop the comprehensive supply chain of production and distribution the adapted
crops.
 Promote the public – private partnership in implementing all resolutions.

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THANK YOU!!!

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