The prolonged nationwide drought in Vietnam is a menace to the livelihood of millions, writes Thanh Thu.

An extended drought in Vietnam has also caused water levels in the Mekong Delta to drop to their lowest points in nearly 20 years. Tens of millions of people depend on the two river basins for farming, fishing and transportation. Needless to say this drought has alarm bells ringing loud and clear.

Nguyen Sinh Hung used to be a fisherman on the Red river. Now the 52-year old from sells fruit on land. “I fished on the river for 20 years but since last September the river has been dry,” he says. Pointing to his rusty boat which now sits on a dusty, sun-baked river bed, Hung says: “We have never suffered such a plight.”

Previously, even when the Red River water was at its lowest levels during Vietnam’s dry season, fishermen could still skillfully negotiate the boats upstream and downstream. But in the last couple of years, the water has completely dried up leaving fishermen marooned on the shore. What was a bustling waterway is now a play ground. Kids laugh and scream as they race across the riverbed, but their parents stare at this lifeless waterway with great anxiety.

“If there is no water in the coming days…” says 47-year-old farmer Pham Thi Hong, who has just planted her spring rice seedlings. “…it will all die.” Farmers all along the Red River have had no choice but to pay out large sums to buy pumps to suck dwindling amounts of water out onto their fields.

“We have been working on the field for 50 years, but this is the first time we have to water our fields with pumps,” says Nguyen Thi Phan, a farmer from Hanoi’s Co Dien commune. But some cash-strapped farmers cannot afford to buy a pump. According to Phi Thi Ninh, Phan’s neighbour, the cheapest pump available is VND5 million ($320). “That’s nearly four months worth of income for us,” she says.

Another local farmer, Pham Thi Dung, who owes 1,440sqm of rice, also claims that the pump is not a sure bet. “I have been pumping a lot of water onto my crops but even now I am not sure if they will survive,” says Dung.

River runs dry

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Water Resources Department, this year, nearly 80,000 of the total 630,000 hectares of arable land in the north of Vietnam is at risk from this prolonged drought and more than 5,700 hectares will be forced to shift to other crops in need of less water.

Nguyen Lan Chau, vice director of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting (NCHF), ascribed the scarcity of rains since last September to a persistent decrease in the water levels of all rivers in northern Vietnam and to forest fires in provinces nationwide.

Vinh Phuc province’s Natural Resources and Environment Department said the province had taken the heaviest hit from the drought as nearly 7,000 hectares of rice fields now had no water for the new season. In Thanh Hoa province, the Ma river’s water level has also been at a record low.

El Niño rears his head

According to the NCHF, the return of El Niño, the cyclical warming pattern, is the real culprit causing Vietnam’s long lasting drought, which will continue in the coming month. Even this summer, when rainfall often increases every year, rainfall will decrease.

Decreasing rainfall in dry months will lead to increased drought risks, in particular in the southern regions especially when combined with higher temperatures. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in Vietnam, the rainfall in the dry season from March to May will drop by 4-7 per cent in the north and by 10 per cent in the northern central region. Rainfall in the dry season in the south will decrease by 10-15 per cent.

Forest fires

MARD’s Forest Protection Department has warned that with no rain fall since mid-2009, Vietnam’s forests were at risk from forest fires. Drought-driven forest fires in Vietnam so far this year have already razed more ground than in the whole of 2008 or 2009.

The department reported that fires had destroyed 1,600 hectares of forests so far this year. That’s 10 times the rate measured in the first two months of 2008 or 2009.

“Forest fire alerts have been set to the highest level in many places where forest areas can easily be caught up in bushfires that will be extremely difficult to extinguish,” says Ha Cong Tuan, the head of MARD’s Forest Protection Department.

Tuan says seven provinces are on red alert, including Kien Giang, Ca Mau and An Giang in the Mekong Delta, and Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Lam Dong in the Central Highlands and Son La in the north.

The perfect drought?

Tuan blamed El Niño for pushing up temperatures 2-3 degrees Celsius higher than usual. A short rainy season with little perspiration and the early-arrival of the dry season this year has also contributed to the problem.

Le Minh Hoang, director of Kien Giang province’s U Minh Thuong National Park says his agency has also raised the alarm as water levels in mangrove forest areas dropped dramatically. The nearby U Minh Ha National Park also reported more than 2,000 hectares of forest were at risk of fire and another 1,000 hectares would be added to this list by next week as the drought has yet to reach its peak.

“Such a long-lasting drought is quite different from previous years,” says Do Thanh Hai, also from MARD’s Forest Protection Department. “Dry weather and high temperatures are coinciding with the time farmers burn their fields to prepare for cultivation, which has created a very high risk for forest fire.”

Desperate times…

According to Ian Wilderspin, senior technical adviser for disaster risk management at the UN Development Programme in Hanoi, climate change means Vietnam will experience droughts that arrive sooner and last longer.

He said the government and localities need to look at ways and means to build resilience of local communities, whether by providing drought-resistant seeds, planting different crops or protecting fresh water sources. He said droughts were a slow, silent disaster, which in the long run had a more profound impact on peoples’ livelihoods.

To cope with the extreme weather, earlier this month Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged relevant ministries and agencies to implement more effective prevention and combat measures against the high risks of drought and forest fires.

Dung ordered all chairmen of provincial People’s Committees to actively take more preventive methods to deal with the effects of drought and guide relevant agencies in the locality to set up action plans for irrigation systems and saving water, while making suitable adjustments to crops to ensure the highest possible productivity.

VietNamNet/Timeout