CAN THO, Vietnam — Huynh Van Loi, 50, a farmer who spent most his life in the same small
"The water is salty," he said. "I've been living here since my childhood but this is the first time we've had salty water. All my crops were destroyed.”
The region’s worst drought in 90 years, combined with rising sea levels and rampant development are causing a crisis in the Mekong Delta, known as Vietnam’s rice bowl. The delta is home to 20 million people and accounts for more than half of Vietnam’s rice and fruit production, 90% of its rice exports and 60% of fishery exports.
But this year, paddy rice fields resemble parched desertscapes as farmers wait for a rainy season that is late to arrive. Small farmers such as Loi, who grows watermelons and orange trees about 40 miles from the
The drought, caused by
A
The figures are alarming but could grow worse if weather extremes become more common in years to come.
“This year is not a special case,” said Duong Van Ni, an environmental management professor at
Ni said the rapid agricultural development that turned postwar Vietnam from a famine-stricken country into one of the world’s leading rice exporters has exacerbated the effects of climate change.
“A long time ago, there were also typhoons, also saltwater intrusion, also drought,” Ni said. “But the impact was not as severe as now, because at that time the ecosystem wasn't changed by humans. Now the system is already damaged: by canals, by dikes, by water management, by land use.”
Then there are the dams. China has built seven hydropower dams on the upper Mekong, known locally as the
The existing dams in China already hurt the Mekong, affecting everything from water levels to water temperature to fish migration patterns. The dams on the Lancang also trap as much as 80% of the sediment that reaches them. The sediment is needed to fertilize downstream floodplains and protect against coastal erosion.
“The biggest impact is the trapping of silt,” said Richard Cronin, director of the
Without the sediment, the low-lying delta is eroding and actually sinking. Vietnam’s
Vietnam is trying to fend off the effects of drought and climate change by introducing salt-resistant rice and increasing autumn and winter rice crop quotas to make up for this year's shortfall. The Ministry of
“I find it difficult to be optimistic," said
Can Tho University’s Duong Van Ni called the problem alarming.
“I wonder if the situation of the Mekong basin, especially the Mekong River, should be upgraded as a global issue, as soon as possible,” he said. "It's not isolated to six countries in Asia.”
On a recent day, farmer Nguyen Tran Ngoc was digging a canal to try to irrigate some new crops: watermelon, flowers, squash, pumpkin and cabbage. He used to grow rice but stopped because of the lack of water. He remained stoic as he explained that he doesn't know how much longer he can make a living from farming.
"Worry or don’t worry, it's all the same," he said. "Change is coming and we can't control it."
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Monsoon rain will come. It is a cycle.
2016-04-23 21:12