Vietnam PM Asks Ministries to Check Land Erosion in Mekong Delta

The Vietnamese prime minister has asked ministries to inspect the situation, reasons, and forecast for land erosions in the Mekong Delta and propose long-term measures, state media reported. The move came as many localities in the region, including Ca Mau and Soc Trang, have declared urgent erosion situation. Following the order, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on September 25 formed an inspection team comprising officials from the ministry, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to check the work in five provinces. On the same day, the team inspected erosion response in Ca Mau province. They will go to Kien Giang and An Giang on September 26 and to Dong Thap and Tien Giang on September 27. In a related development, Vietnam’s southernmost province of Ca Mau is seeking VND947 billion ($41 million) from the government for emergency works to prevent erosion, which is increasingly threatening lives. Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is losing 500 hectares of land to erosion every year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. By 2050, the lives of an estimated one million people will be directly affected by this. The Ministry of Construction last year made a proposal to build concrete barriers to protect 44,800 families in the region from river erosion. (NDH, Tin Tuc, Nhan Dan, Nhan Dan, Tin Tuc, Nhan Dan, VTV, VOV, Bao Chinh Phu, Bao Chinh Phu, Tin Tuc, Thanh Nien, VTV, VTV, Nhan Dan, VietnamNet, Lao Dong, VTV, rfa, Tuoi Tre, moitruongvadothi, thuongtruong, moitruongvadothi, VietnamNews, Tuoi Tre, Dang Cong San)