News
Mekong Delta struggles to find freshwater as drought, salt intrusion continue
People in Ben Tre and Tien Giang provinces are relying on freshwater supplied by trucks since salt intrusion in rivers has made tap water unpotable. In Ben Tre, like much of the rest of the Mekong Delta, drought and saltwater have rendered rivers and canals barren ...
China’s ‘Development Approach’ to the Mekong Water Disputes
Even as COVID-19 is wreaking havoc and uncertainty around the globe, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta declared an emergency over the devastating drought in early March. Studies suggest that the frequency and severity of droughts in the Mekong region has increased in the past decades, and many blame ...
Zhang Hongzhou
Billion-dollar wildlife industry in Vietnam under assault as law drafted to halt trading
Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, has asked the country’s agriculture ministry to draft a directive to stop illegal trading and consumption of wildlife over fears it spreads disease. The directive, seen as a victory for animal rights organisations, will lead to a clamping down on ...
Chris Humphrey
Vietnam to splash out $15 mln in Mekong Delta drought fight
About VND350 billion ($15.16 million) would serve to combat drought and salt intrusion in five Mekong Delta provinces, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The money, to be derived from multiple sources, would be awarded to Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Ca ...
An Nam
Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Declares Emergency on Devastating Drought
Vietnam’s prolonged drought, coupled with an extensive buildup of salinity, have driven five provinces in the country’s rice bowl to declare a state of emergency. “This year’s drought and salinity have been way more devastating than what we saw four years ago,” said Nguyen Thien Phap, ...
Mai Ngoc Chau
Hydropower projects on Mekong River should not cause negative impacts: spokeswoman
The building of hydropower projects on the Mekong River’s mainstream must ensure that they do not cause negative impacts, including cross-border effects, on the environment and socio-economic development of the countries along the river, especially the nations in the downstream region, in line with international practice and regulations ...
Mekong Delta faces historic salinity threat
Vietnam’s Mekong Delta will suffer salt intrusion at levels that would beat the 2016 record this month, meteorologists have warned. In the period of March 11-15, salinity will rise to eventually trump the levels of mid-February and the same period in 2016, according to the hydrological ...
Minh Nga
Dams, Sand, Rice: The Life and Possible Death of the Mekong Delta
What would Vietnam be without the Mekong Delta? Envisioning such a reality is difficult, but it is entirely possible that this will come to pass, albeit long after anyone reading this in 2020 is dead. The delta is Vietnam’s most vital agricultural region, producing 50% of the ...
Michael Tatarski
Vietnam puts the Mekong's fate on ASEAN's agenda
In a nod to green diplomacy, Vietnam is raising the geopolitical stakes over the Mekong River, Southeast Asia’s largest body of water, which has dropped to record lows due to a severe drought and construction of large dams. Hanoi has signaled its intent to raise the issue this ...
Marwaan MaCan-Markar
Hundreds of corporations in VN transition to legal software, but warns of ongoing risks: BSA
Hundreds of corporations in Vietnam improved their cyber security and legal compliance by replacing illegal software with fully licensed programmes since the launch of BSA’s ASEAN software legalisation campaign last September. The Software Alliance reports that over the last six months, more than 300 corporations in Viet ...