Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Acts on Salinity Crisis

Authorities and citizens of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have been applying all possible measures and mobilizing available resources to minimize the damage caused by salinity. In Nga Nam Commune, Soc Trang Province, authorities have requested residents to measure around the clock the salt content in fresh water in order to issue prompt warnings and alternatives, said Le Hoang Khuong, a local official. Whenever salt content reaches 2%, all water supplies will cease pouring into the fields to prevent the crops from being affected by salinity, Khuong added. The People’s Committee in Soc Trang has also purchased modern devices to measure the salinity level in major rivers, while advising local farmers to narrow their crop area in order to reduce potential damage, according to Nguyen Van The, secretary of the provincial Party Committee. Thanks to these actions, only 12,800 hectares of paddy field in the locality has been damaged, which is not insurmountable, The said. Similar measures have also been carried out in Bac Lieu Province, according to Huynh Cong Quan, vice chairman of the People's Committee of Gia Rai Town. Local authorities have installed 12 water pumps working relentlessly to provide consistent water supplies for rice fields in the province, resulting in 6,500 hectares of paddy field being unharmed by rising salinity, Quan continued. In Hau Giang Province, several artificial wells, which can provide 2,000 cubic meters of water per day, are being constructed in areas of high salinity damage risk, said Duong Van Tho, general director of the Hau Giang Water Supply and Sewerage – Projects Urban JSC. A project to build another eight wells with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters a day, requiring capital investment of over VND12 billion ($538,080), has also been submitted to the local People’s Committee, Tho added. Authorities in Kien Giang Province have funded 96 temporary dams to deter the intrusion of salt water, according to Nguyen Van Tam, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. A proposal has also been submitted to the Vietnamese government to allocate VND102 billion ($4.57 million) to the dredging of all canals in the province, Tam said. Meanwhile, in An Giang Province, authorities and citizens have actively coped with salinity and drought since late 2015, with 616 projects active, including dredging local canals and renovating dams, the sewer system, and reservoirs, Lu Cam Khuong, deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated. “We have constructed 26 anti-salt dams and invested in building a water supply station to provide fresh water for two salinity-hit districts, namely Tri Ton and Thoai Son,” Khuong said. As the projects are considered urgent, local authorities have requested VND487 billion ($21.83 million) worth of financial support from the central government, Khuong added. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Mar 9)