Vietnamplus

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoRE) has called on provinces and cities nationwide to step up the conservation of groundwater resources.

A hybrid nationwide ceremony has been held by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to kick start a series of events to mark World Water Day, World Meteorological Day, and Earth Hour 2022, all to be celebrated this month.

Vietnam is making efforts to protect groundwater – the hidden source of life – in response to World Water Day 2022.

The theme of this year’s World Water Day (March 22) is “Groundwater”, which directs attention towards the hidden water resource that has always been critically important but not fully recognised in sustainable development policymaking.

Vietnamese and Dutch experts gave recommendations on measures to respond to land subsidence and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta region during a scientific conference on January 12.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region needs “consistent strategies” to deal with groundwater extraction, land subsidence and saltwater intrusion in an increasingly urbanising area, experts said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on November 25.

Thailand is working to tap into groundwater resources in its most arid regions in the face of severe drought in the hottest season.

The overexploitation of groundwater in the Mekong Delta has contributed to severe land subsidence, which could lead to devastating consequences if the practice continues, experts have said.

Thai authorities have urged 31 out of 77 provinces and administrative areas nationwide to brace for severe drought in 2020.

More than half of the Mekong Delta will disappear under sea level in the next two generations if no action is taken now, research has found.

The Mekong Delta is subsiding at an alarming rate, and if the situation continues without effective solutions, the livelihoods of tens of millions of people will be threatened, especially those in coastal areas, heard a recent workshop.

Low and late floods have further worsened saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta region, heard a workshop held in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on October 4.

High tides, dykes and land subsidence are causing serious flooding in urban areas in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region, according to Nguyen Huu Thien, an expert on the Delta's ecosystem.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said that there is an urgent need to build a giant sea wall around Jakarta to prevent the coastal capital from sinking.

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City is taking measures to restrict groundwater exploitation, which has led to increased water pollution, flooding and subsidence.

Improved water management can help Vietnam tackle the threat of climate change, Belgium Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen said at a workshop held in Hanoi on May 28.

Nearly the entire Mekong Delta region of Vietnam – an area that makes up 50 percent of the national rice output, 65 percent of seafood, and 70 percent of fruit – could sink underwater by the year 2100, scientists from the Netherlands’ Utrecht University have warned.

A factory treating surface water of the Duong River to supply for about one-third of Hanoi’s population was officially put into operation on October 13.

Ho Chi Minh City’s authorities plan to reduce the exploitation of groundwater from now to 2025 to prevent land subsidence and protect residents’ health.

Ho Chi Minh City highly values the role played by advanced technologies of foreign countries, including Japan, in the city’s development, said Le Thanh Liem, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee.