Abstract
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is dissected by a dense system of natural rivers and manmade canals which are connected to the sea, and has a coastline of more than 700 km in length. In recent years, coastal erosion, river bank erosion and landslides have become more serious, and are considered as disasters because they have such severe impacts on the livelihoods of residents in the region. Flooding, heavy rainfall in the wet season, soft alluvial soils, extraction of sand from the Mekong River, and increasing river traffic are all factors contributing to riverbank erosion and landslides. Whereas, rising tides, strong waves, deforestation of coastal areas, and reduced sediment transport from upstream in the Mekong River (due to upstream dam construction) are the main factors contributing to coastal erosion. This paper will discuss causes, property damage and impacts on livelihoods caused by these disasters as well as the government’s solutions and people’s attitude to cope with them.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anthony, E.J., Brunier G., Besset M., Goichot M., Dussouillez P., Nguyen V.L. (2015). Linking rapid erosion of the Mekong River delta to human activities. Sci. Rep., 5, pp 1–12
Besset M, Gratiot N, Anthony E. J., Bouchette F, Goichot M, Marchesiello P. (2019). Mangroves and shoreline erosion in the Mekong River delta, Viet Nam. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 226, 106263
Bravard, J.P., Goichot, M., Gaillot, S., (2013). Geography of sand and gravel mining in the lower Mekong River. EchoGéo, 26.
Chi, M. (2019). Mekong Delta losing land from subsidence, landslides. VIETNAMNET, https://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/215794/mekong-delta-losing-land-fromsubsidence-landslides, accessed 18/06/2019
Clark, P. U., Shakun J. D., Marcott S. A., Mix A. C., Eby M et al., (2016). Consequences of twenty-first-century policy for multi-millennial climate and sea-level change. Nature Climate Change, 6, 360–369.
Erban, L.E., Gorelick, S.M., Zebker, H.A., (2014). Groundwater extraction, land subsidence, and sea-level rise in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Environ. Res. Lett., 9, 84010
Fujihara Y., Hoshikawa K., Fujii H., Kotera A., Nagano T and Yokoyama S, (2016). Analysis and attribution of trends in water levels in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Hydrol. Process, 30, 835–845
GSO (General Statistics Office of Viet Nam), (2018). Statistical Yearbook of Vietnam 2018. Statistical Publishing House, 1024 pages. ISBN 9786047511082
Hung, L. (2019). Ca Mau: Pressure of forest and land loss due to coastal erosion. Natural Resources and Environment (The online paper of MARD), the article in Vietnamese language, https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/phat-trienben-vung-dbscl/ca-mau-ap-luc-mat-dat-matrung-do-xoi-lo-bo-bien-1270741, accessed 18/06/2019
IMHEN and UNDP (2015). Summary report serves policy makers. In the Special Report of Vietnam on Disaster Risk Management and Extreme Events to Promote Adaptation to Climate Change (the Report in Vietnamese language). Viet Nam Publishing House of Natural Resources, Environment and Cartography, pp. 2–27.
Kondolf, G. M., Schmitt R.J.P., Carling, P., Darby S., Arias, M., Bizzi S, Castelletti, A., Cochrane T.A, Gibson, S., Kummu, M., Oeurng, C., Rubin, Z., Wild, T., (2018). Changing sediment budget of the Mekong: Cumulative threats and management strategies for a large river basin, 625, 114–134
Li, X., Liu J. P., Saito, Y., Nguyen, V.L., (2017). Recent evolution of the Mekong Delta and the impacts of dams. Earth-Science Reviews 175, 1–17.
MONRE (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), (2018). 2,500 billion VND to overcome landslide in the Mekong Delta. http://www.monre.gov.vn, accessed 12/06/2019
Phong, N.T., Parnell, K.E. & Cottrell, A., (2017). Human activities and coastal erosion on the Kien Giang coast, Vietnam. Journal of Coastal Conversion, 21 (6): 967–979.
Takagi, H., Esteban, M and Thao, N. D. (2014). Coastal Disasters and Climate Change in Vietnam: Engineering and Planning Perspectives. Elsevier. Pages 424. ISBN: 9780128004791
Thuy, N. (2019). Climate change heavily impacts on the Mekong Delta (the article in Vietnamese language). https://nongnghiep.vn/bien-doi-khihau-tac-dong-nang-ne-den-dong-bang-songcuu-long-post243685, accessed 20/06/2019.
Tri, V.K. (2012). Hydrology and hydraulic infrastructure system in the mekong delta, Vietnam. In: Renaud, F.G., Kuenzer, C. (Eds.), The Mekong Delta System: Interdisciplinary Analyses of a River Delta. Springer Environ. Sci. Eng., pp. 49–82
Tung, H. (2019). Treatment of landslides in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, (the article in Vietnamese language). https://www.nhandan.com.vn/nation_news/item/39798302-xu-ly-sat-lo-dong-bo-vung-dongbang-song-cuu-long, accessed 09/06/2019
Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, (2019). Workshop on “Solutions to handle river and coastal erosion in the Mekong Delta”, April 9th, 2019 (the article in Vietnamese language). http://phongchongthientai.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoithao-ve-giai-phap-xu-ly-sat-lo-bo-song–bobien-vung-dong-bang-song-cuu-long/-c8708, accessed 03/05/2019
VNN (VIETNAMNET) (2018). Kien Giang faces serious riverbank, coastal erosion. https://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/206663/kien-giang-faces-serious-riverbank--coastal-erosion, accessed 12/05/2019
VNS (VIET NAM NEWS) (2019). Sea dike erosion worsens in Kiên Giang. https://vietnamnews.vn/society/521592/sea-dikeerosion-worsens-in-kiengiang.html#R01XSozakJ81dsHv.97, accessed 22/06/2019
WB (World Bank) (2017). Toward Integrated Disaster Risk Management in Vietnam: Recommendations Based on the Drought and Saltwater Intrusion Crisis and the Case for Investing in Longer-Term Resilience. World Bank, Washington D. C, USA
Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges Dr. Barry Clough for very constructive comments and for reading the English manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Van Tho, N. (2020). Coastal erosion, river bank erosion and landslides in the Mekong Delta: Causes, effects and solutions. In: Duc Long, P., Dung, N. (eds) Geotechnics for Sustainable Infrastructure Development. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 62. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2184-3_125
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2184-3_125
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-2183-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-2184-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)