Vietnam's southernmost province steadily loses land to erosion

The Mekong Delta province has 46 riverine and six coastal areas that are "severe" erosion hotspots, its agriculture department warned recently.

The erosion caused by rivers is in the districts of Nam Can, Phu Tan, Cai Nuoc, Ngoc Hien, Dam Doi, and U Minh and Ca Mau Town, while the coastal erosion is occurring in U Minh.

Local authorities said climate change, "which leads to complex and unpredictable natural calamities," has been making the erosion worse in recent years.

The province has yet to formulate a long-term response to the threat, and has merely put up warning signs in the threatened areas.

It was announced in September that the government would earmark VND3 trillion ($129 million) for the fight against erosion in the Mekong Delta in 2019-20.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said while announcing the allocation of the money, "Climate change is becoming increasingly complex, threatening national development, especially that of the Mekong Delta, our rice and fruit basket and biggest aquaculture production hub."

In the last 10 years Vietnam has spent VND16.1 trillion ($694 million) on anti-erosion works in the region.

In 2018 and 2019 VND4.04 trillion ($174 million) was allocated.

Overall in the delta, there are 564 erosion spots along rivers and coasts measuring a total of 834 kilometers.