Mekong Delta faces risk of sand resource depletion

(HG) - The World Wildlife Fund in Vietnam (WWF Vietnam) has just coordinated with partners to announce the results of a sand bank study for the Mekong Delta. This is the first sand bank in the world to be implemented on a delta-wide scale.

Due to the increasing demand for river sand in the Mekong Delta, this area will face the possibility of sand resource depletion in the next 10 years.

Research results show that the current measured sand reserves at the riverbed in the Mekong Delta are 367-550 million ^m3 . This is the amount of sand that has been accumulated over hundreds of years, playing an important role in the stability of the delta. However, what is worrying is that a recent survey by the authorities shows that currently only about 0.6 million ^m3 of sand flows to the coastal area each year; meanwhile, the amount of sand flowing to the Mekong Delta from upstream has decreased to 2-4 million ^m3 /year, because most of it is retained in hydroelectric dams upstream. Thus, with the current sand exploitation rate in the Mekong Delta of 35-55 million ^m3 /year, the sand reserves accumulated over hundreds of years in the Mekong Delta are forecast to be depleted in the next 10 years, thereby seriously affecting the morphological stability and resilience of the delta.

Specific evidence of excessive river sand exploitation is considered one of the main factors causing sediment deficit, leading to increased riverbed erosion, riverbank and coastal erosion, tidal amplification and increased saltwater intrusion in the dry season. According to the latest results, by the end of 2022, the entire Mekong Delta region had up to 596 riverbank erosion locations (with a total length of 582.7 km) and 48 coastal erosion locations (total length of 221.7 km), of which 99 locations were classified as particularly dangerous. In Hau Giang province alone, from the beginning of 2023 to now, the whole province has had 63 riverbank erosion locations, with a total erosion length of 1,550 m, and a land loss area of 9,362 m ² . Compared to the same period, the number of landslides increased by 46 points, the length of landslides increased by 1,089m, and the area of land loss increased by 6,528m ² . The above landslides have been directly affecting the economic and social lives of millions of people in the Mekong Delta, directly threatening the ecosystem and natural environment of the largest rice granary in Vietnam.

News and photos: HUU PHUOC

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