Landslide in Lai Chau province. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) -Scientists have created a map that warns land degradation risks in the northernmountainous provinces of Dien Bien and Lai Chau.
The research, led by Associate Professor Pham Quang Vinh at the Institute ofGeography under the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, investigatesand assesses the status of land degradation in these localities using remotesensing technology and geographic information system (GIS) mapping. The goal isto safeguard socio-economic development and ensure sustainable land use.
According to experts, land degradation in Vietnam in general and in thenorthwest region occurs following various natural and social impacts.
The warning map against land degradation risks was made based on thecombination of a map on current land degradation status and a map showingpotential factors causing land degradation.
The map on current land degradation status demonstrates land degradation typesand levels. It was created based on analyses on natural factors such asgeological, geomorphological and hydrological conditions, ecologicaldiversification and socio-economic factors such as methods of cultivation, landuse, population density and urbanisation.
The land degradation risk level is divided into three levels: high, medium andlow risk.
Areas at low risk account for 48.9 percent of the two provinces’ areas,comprising mostly flat terrains such as deltas and valleys.
Areas at medium risk account for 31.64 percent of the total researched area(589.128ha).
Areas such as Than Uyen, Tan Uyen, Sin Ho districts of Lai Chau province; and TuaChua and Tuan Giao districts of Dien Bien province are warned to be highlyexposed to severe land degradation.
These areas, making up more than 19.4 percent of total natural area, arelocated mainly on high positions with high density of rivers and streams,relatively thin soil layer and a large volume of rain.
Experts also found out that natural factors such as slope, rain volume, andplant layer affect the land degradation in these two provinces.
Land degradation is occurring in many major areas in Vietnam, especially mountainousareas which make up three quarters of the nation’s land fund. According toexperts, causes of land degradation range from erosion, soil with lowfertility, acid soil, saline soil, soil emaciation, flooded land to landslides,desertified soil and polluted soil.-VNA
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