The German government pledged non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) of 1.6 million USD. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will contribute 97,000 USD. Improving the management, exploitation and protection of underground water resources will help prevent degradation, depletion and salt intrusion due to climate change. The project will cover fundamental research and improvements to the salt intrusion monitoring network in the Mekong Delta, and is expected to raise public awareness of ground water issues.