Some residents at Hon Dat District illegally built houses on a local sea dyke.

Destruction of protective forests and illegal settlement are destroying the dykes that protect coastal areas of the Mekong Delta.

Much the same has happened in neighboring Ca Mau Province, where two kilometers of dyke has been damaged by strong waves and high tides, the provincial government reported in June.

In recent days, the erosion of a 380-meter section of dyke in Tan Tien Commune, U Minh District has worsened markedly, according to Nguyen Long Hoai, head of the Ca Mau Irrigation Department.

Hoai says the damage is so severe that the whole dyke could collapse.

Nguyen Huu Hoa, head of the Agriculture and Rural Development office of Kien Giang’s An Bien District, says 57 families have “invaded” 17 kilometers of dyke in the district and are living on it and using the land for farming.

It’s the same in Hon Dat District, where 37 families are occupying more than three kilometers of the dyke and digging up the soil to lay irrigation pipes.

Nguyen Thi Hoa from Kien Giang’s Chau Thanh District moved there with her three children more than six years ago.

She knows it’s illegal but the government officers who come every year and threaten to fine her never make good on their threat.

Cao Van Nam, head of the Kien Giang Irrigation Department, admits that the dyke has not been managed properly and says his agency will work with the provincial government to make more people aware of the law and raise their awareness of the dyke’s importance to Kien Giang.

Source: Tuoi Tre