Dang Duy Hien, deputy director of
the Water Works Management Department, spoke with Viet Nam News about this
year’s drought and ongoing saltwater intrusion.

What are your thoughts about this year’s drought and do you have a forecast for
next year’s rainy season?

A lot of
local lakes in Son La, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang and Thac Ba are 20 to 30 per cent
lower this March.

Local
rivers in southern provinces have been penetrated by salt water intrusion. Salt
water intrusion continues to move deeper and deeper inland.

Saltwater is forecast to penetrate key rivers and will reach 30 kilometres
deeper than in previous years.

The
drought has been ongoing since early March and is forecast to continue until the
end of April, so far it has affected 42,000ha nationwide.

What is causing the drought?

Rainfall
is less than the average in previous years.

Rainfall
is down by 40-50 per cent on average in the Central Highlands and has decreased
by 40 per cent in the northern mountainous region and 60 per cent in the south.

While
climate change has affected the weather this year, urban development has also
been blamed for the salt water intrusion.

Has the drought and salt water intrusion been affecting the entire country? What
solutions has the ministry come up with to help localities deal with the
situation at hand?

Firstly,
localities need to show local farmers how to plant rice and how to store
freshwater to prevent the negative impacts of drought from occurring and prevent
saltwater intrusion.

In
addition, it is necessary to take the initiative to prevent saltwater intrusion
and store freshwater. The Government has assigned the agricultural ministry to
draft plans to help improve irrigation systems.

The
ministry has also ordered agriculture departments to create plans to save water,
store water and plant trees that only need a little of the liquid to survive.

The
departments will also work with the Industry and Trade Ministry and Electricity
of Viet Nam to manage hydro-electric reservoirs and release water so that
communities will have water for their irrigation networks.

The
ministry has sent a plan to the Prime Minister, which asks for VND45 billion
(US$2.1 million) in aid to be directed to the drought-affected provinces of Gia
Lai, Dak Lak and Kon Tum.

The
Government will transfer VND65.3 billion ($3.1 million) from national reserve
funds to Long An, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, An Giang and Bac Lieu provinces, which
have been heavily affected by the drought.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News