The European Union (EU) has decided to provide 60,000 EUR (66,600 USD) in humanitarian aid for the Mekong Delta to help local residents cope with drought and saltwater intrusion.
The February consumer price index (CPI) slipped 0.17 percent from the previous month due to falling demand for goods after Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, falling petrol prices, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has earmarked roughly 9.2 billion VND (over 396,700 USD) to provide 4,000 drought-hit households in Cang Long and Chau Thanh districts with access to clean water.
Little rainfall is forecast across the country in March and April, the remaining months of the dry season, particularly in the central region, said Vu Duc Long, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta is taking steps to ensure sufficient freshwater supply for household use and agricultural production in areas affected by saltwater intrusion and drought.
Cai Lay district of the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has decided to spend 7.68 billion VND (over 326,000 USD) from the local budget on urgently building facilities to prevent saltwater from harming local fruit cultivation areas.
Saline intrusion has occurred earlier than normal in the Mekong Delta and is expected to affect a greater area this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in February and March will be lower than that in the previous month if the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel of the coronavirus (Covid-19) ends in Q1, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
By 2050, 60 percent of farming areas in Vietnam will be equipped with water-saving irrigation systems, according to the country's Water Management Strategy, which was recently approved by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has forecast saltwater intrusion for 10 of the 13 provincial-level localities in the Mekong Delta this dry season, and the phenomenon has already appeared in eight so far.
By 2050, 60 percent of farming areas in Vietnam will be equipped with water-saving irrigation systems, according to the country's Water Management Strategy, which was recently approved by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.
A conference was held in Ben Tre province on January 3 to discuss measures for coping with drought and saltwater intrusion which are getting more serious in the Mekong Delta this dry season.
The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) and its chapters will strengthen social supervision and criticism, especially those related to administrative reform, citizens’ satisfaction with enterprises, and public complaints and denunciations.
The Mekong Delta may experience sooner and even more serious droughts and saltwater intrusion in the 2019 – 2020 dry season, compared to the situation in 2016 when historic saline intrusion was recorded, an official has said.
ASEAN-member countries have vowed to take immediate action to resolve problems caused by worsening drought in Southeast Asia, especially in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, which is especially susceptible to global warming.
Society
