More than 385 km of river and sea dykes in the southern province of Kien Giang have been damaged, posing great danger to local people, especially as the rainy season is coming.

The most serious damage is seen at the 200-km sea dyke from Mui Nam (Ha Tien) to Tieu Dua (An Minh) bordering southernmost Ca Mau province, the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment said, adding that the cost for dyke repair would exceed the local budget’s ability.

Experts said besides impacts from climate change and rising sea level, the sea dykes suffer from the loss of protective coastal forests.

Meanwhile, heavy traffic in rivers coupled with floods put great pressure on river embankments.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Lam Hoang Sa, a project sponsored by the Vietnamese and German Governments will come into force in 2015 to restore and develop protective forest in coastal areas.

In addition, under a master plan on developing a multi-purpose irrigation system for the Mekong Delta, Kien Giang will receive investment to upgrade its sea dykes and a number of major river embankment sections. A number of irrigational works will also be built to prevent land erosion along rivers and coastal areas.

In the immediate future, the local authorities will do their utmost to reinforce affected areas and plant trees to restore mangrove forest to cope with the coming rainy season.-VNA