Effects of water shortage in Vietnam

Agriculture accounts for more than 70% of Vietnam’s total water use, providing about a third of the country’s jobs. The agricultural sector plays a pivotal role in the economy and society in the country. In Vietnam, agriculture includes crop production, animal husbandry, fisheries and forestry. The tropical climate, fertile soil, abundant water resources, as well as rich biodiversity have led the country to develop a diversified commercial agriculture industry to meet domestic and global needs after 40 years of constant innovation.

However, today farmers are struggling due to lack of fresh water and clean water. Increasingly severe droughts due to climate change, the increase in dams being built in the upper Mekong River and insufficient intervention by the administrative authorities have led to water pollution, imbalance in distribution of water resources, salinity invasion and disparity between rich and poor across the country (2). Not only that, Vietnam’s position as the 2nd largest agricultural exporter in Southeast Asia and the 15th in the world will also be shaken (3). With the water supply from the Mekong River — the river that brings water to the largest Western province rice crop in the country is being threatened — Vietnam will lose its political power against its international counterparts.

In March 2018, the Clean Water Alliance together with the Center for Environmental and Community Research (CECR) — part of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Organizations — released a detailed report on the industry Industry has changed water quality in Vietnam. The report shows that about 70% of waste from industrial zones is discharged directly into the environment. These contaminated waters carry chemicals that are dangerous and cause disease (4). Pollution is the biggest threat to watersheds, which drain into water outlets across the country. In the areas with the highest levels of pollution, sewage has contaminated the air to the point where the air becomes foul-smelling and toxic.

Mistakes in exploiting water resources in Vietnam.

People living in rural areas suffer the most from water sanitation problems. Only 39% of rural people have access to clean water. Furthermore, most people have to use wells that flow into aquifers to compensate for the lack of clean surface water (5). These spontaneous wells make the soil structure weaker and less stable. Especially for houses near rivers, the sea. Water wells contribute greatly to landslides, causing damage to the land itself, making the ground structure even weaker if storms/floods come. (6).

Another failed solution is the construction of water reservoirs. In theory, this is clearly a great solution for storing the heavy rainfall coming to Vietnam — up to 700 to 5,000 mm of rainwater annually (7). However, these lakes are often built by clearing large numbers of forests in the vicinity. Natural forest ecosystems are much more able to regulate the tropical monsoon weather in Vietnam, with forest trees having sturdy roots as well as dense foliage.

In addition, many water reservoir projects in Vietnam are often built carelessly and/or without planning, without operational control, without a real expert in operation, leading to waste of time, money and the huge environmental cost by clearing hectare of forest area. We can look at some projects that have been postponed or delayed in recent years such as the Krong Pach Thuong reservoir irrigation project (a) (total investment capital is more than 4,400 billion VND), initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, or the Ban Mong reservoir project (b) in Nghe An (after 10 years of construction and VND3,740 billion of capital which remains unfinished).

Water conservation solutions that Vietnam needs to learn

Towards a future where there is no shortage of clean and fresh water to serve the people’s living needs as well as agricultural and industrial production, Vietnam needs to explore and test new solutions and initiatives to make a difference. One of the the groundbreaking idea that the world has witnessed that has already been put into operation is buy turning seawater into drinking water.

Israel — a leader in making seawater drinkable — plans to pump excess salt water from its desalination plants into the Sea of Galilee, a sea that has been depleted by overuse and threatened by climate change (8). Israel now plans to tackle the challenge by reversing the flow of water through the nation’s vast network of pumps, pipes and tunnels dating back to the 1960s. Israeli authorities consider the project a first step to bring Israel’s advanced desalination and water management technology to the world stage.

In addition to scientific projects and technological advances, awareness is also the most important factor in water conservation in Vietnam. Every Vietnamese citizen must be aware of the current state of water resources, the issue of climate change, and the economic, social & political effects of drought. To achieve this, government agencies as well as all public and private organizations in the country need to organize education and disseminate knowledge about water-saving measures through school curriculum as well as other means. communication ( c ). Only when each Vietnamese person shares the same direction in the mission of protecting water resources, will we be able to carry out great projects in the future.