In December 19, in Can Tho, the Worldwide Fund for Nature in Viet Nam (WWF-Viet Nam) held a workshop with the theme "Sustainable Sand Management in the Mekong Delta and what solutions to scarcity of sand”.
According to information at the workshop, over the past time, WWF-Viet Nam has implemented the project "Mitigation of climate change impacts and prevention of natural disasters through the participation of the public - private sector in sustainable sand mining in the Mekong Delta”.
The project will be implemented from July 2019 to May 2024 to contribute to maintaining important ecological functions and reducing socio-economic risks due to climate change in the Mekong Delta. One of the project's goals is to increase awareness among the public and decision-making agencies about the impact of unsustainable sand mining, which increases natural disasters in the region. Thereby promoting the search for alternative sources of sand and gravel in the construction field.
Currently, the project has completed survey and measurement activities in the field of two main work packages, the Sand Bank package and the River Morphology Maintenance Plan package. It is expected that the official results will be announced in March 2023.
Scientific documents show that the Mekong River Basin contributes sediment to the Mekong Delta with an average annual deposition rate of 0.3 - 1.8mm. The amount of sediment poured in plays an important role in combating subsidence, landslides, saltwater intrusion... and is a source of maintaining and nurturing the delta. However, according to the report of the Mekong River Commission published in 2018, the total amount of sediment (including sand) pouring into the Tien and Hau rivers is decreasing and is expected to only be about 4.5 million tons of sediment in 2040.