The 1st Mekong Delta Climate Change Forum was held in Can Tho City between November 12-13 to promote community’s awareness and cooperation.

In late April 2009, thousand of people in Vi Thanh commune, Hau Giang province had to buy fresh water because sea water encroached into all rivers and canals in the area. This phenomenon had never happed so far in the region. Experts attending the Mekong Delta Climate Change Forum said in the future it will happen more frequently.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Kien Giang Province reported that since 1997, many coastal areas in this province have been eroded. Meanwhile the mangrove forest area has narrowed by over 25 percent.

In Ben Tre province, sea water has encroached into the mainland, causing a serious shortage of fresh water in the dry season in many districts.

In Dong Thap, climate change has changed river flows, and has resulted in the losses of over 30 hectare of land annually.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, if the sea level rises by 1m, around 70 percent of the Mekong Delta will be infected with salt water, resulting in the loss of around 2 million hectares of rice fields.

Many provinces will be submerged, including over 1130sq.km (over 50 percent of area) in Ben Tre, nearly 2200sq.km in Long An (nearly 50 percent), over 1000sq.km in Tra Vinh (nearly 46 percent), over 1400sq.km in Soc Trang (nearly 44 percent), and over 600sq.km in Vinh Long (nearly 40 percent).

The Mekong Delta cities of Can Tho, Ca Mau and Long Xuyen have been flooded more often while droughts have become more serious and salt water encroachment is increasing.

Urgent solutions required

Dr. Le Anh Tuan from the Institute for Climate Change Research of the Can Tho University, says fishermen, farmers, salt makers and urban poor people who are living along the coast and river will suffer the most because natural resources they have been using will become exhausted gradually.

Vietnamese and foreign experts attending the forum agreed to call for urgent action at multinational scale to prevent damage caused by climate change in the Mekong Delta in the near future.

Salt water control projects will be implemented in coastal areas of several Mekong Delta provinces, such as Go Cong, Ben Tre, Nam Mang Thit, Quan Lo – Phung Hieu and the Long Xuyen quadrangle.

Changing crop seasons to avoid times of drought and salt water encroachment, building sea and river dikes to control salt water and curb fresh water loss are all being considered as urgent measures. The Southern Irrigation Planning Institute also suggests Mekong Delta provinces protect and develop coastal mangrove forests.

Dr. Klaus Schmitt, chief advisor of the GTX CZM project in Soc Trang province, said that as each hectare of mangrove forest is damaged, it will cause a loss of 1.08 tonnes of fish. By investing $1.1 million in developing mangrove forest, Vietnam can save $7.3 million a year in maintaining dikes.

Officials of many Mekong Delta provinces agreed to boost research and see out new species of plants that can adapt themselves to climate change. In addition they hope top re-organise residential areas and infrastructure to diminish losses causes by the rising sea level.

VietNamNet/Dat Viet