(VOVworld) – Vietnam has been experiencing serious drought and saline intrusion over the past decade. A strong El Nino has pushed the temperature up and caused severe water shortages in a large area covering the southern central region, the central Highlands, the southeastern region, and the Mekong Delta. The central and local governments have been working to mitigate the impacts of the extreme weather on people’s lives and agricultural production.
It’s estimated that in the southern central region about 40,000 ha of rice fields will have to halt production and 50,000 people will lack access to clean water due to drought and salt intrusion. In the Mekong Delta, saltwater has intruded 90 km in to the mainland, 10 to 20 km farther than usual. Saline intrusion is predicted to reach its peak in May and June in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri province.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat says: “Saline water will affect half of the Mekong Delta including Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, and Hau Giang province. Only Dong Thap province will be spared. The drought season will last from March to June in the Mekong Delta. The peak of the dry season is April and May in the southern central region, June in the Central Highlands, and September in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan province.”
Government direction
On February 4 the government issued a decree on emergency measures to prevent and cope with drought and saline intrusion. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited affected regions to order drought and saline intrusion measures. At the government’s monthly meeting in February, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked localities to inspect water reservoirs and prepare water usage plans, giving priority to personal use, animals, and highly profitable crops. Deputy Head of the Government Office Nguyen Khac Dinh said: “Localities have to substitute varieties of trees, animals, and crops for the long term that are adapted to the weather. A hectare of rice needs 10,000 m3 of water while a hectare of another type of plant, such as perennial trees, requires only 2,000 to 3,000 m3 of water. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will propose to the government a plan to build dams and reservoirs for household water from 2016 to 2020 worth 55 trillion VND.”
Local activities
Ca Mau province closed its sea dykes a month earlier than usual to protect fresh water reservoirs. Nguyen Tien Hai, Chairman of the Ca Mau People’s Committee, says the province has increased communications on saline intrusion and has taught rice and shrimp farmers ways to adapt to the weather. Hai said: “There are irrigation projects to prepare infrastructure for growing rice and raising shrimp. Local irrigation projects must be coordinated so as to benefit the whole region.”
Nguyen Phong Quang, Deputy Head of the Southwestern Steering Committee, said: “We need to build dykes to preserve fresh water for key agricultural production regions in An Giang, Kien Giang, and Can Tho province. In the long term the government should work with the Mekong sub-region countries on preventing saline intrusions.”