Land erosion worsens in the Mekong Delta
he damage caused by landslides in the Mekong Delta provinces has been increasing yearly.
Localities such as Ca Mau, Dong Thap, An Giang, Tien Giang, and Bac Lieu have declared a state of emergency because of landslides. Solutions to limit the damage caused by landslides in the Mekong Delta are now a top priority.
The Mekong Delta was formed by sand and alluvial soil over the last 6,000 years. In that process, it was natural to see one side of a riverbank wider than the other side. However, according to scientists, since 2005 there have been more landslides than land accretion in the Mekong River Delta provinces.
The Mekong Delta region loses about 50 metres of land each year, causing a serious threat to people living along the riverbanks in the region.
Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent expert on Mekong Delta ecology, told Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper that landslides are caused mostly by a shortage of sand, the blockage of alluvial soil by many hydropower dams, and the mass exploitation of sand along the Mekong River.
The most serious problem is the massive illegal sand mining occurring in Cambodia and Vietnam, Thien said.
VNS/VNA
