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Thien, in an interview with Nong Nghiep Viet Nam, said that sand exploitation from the riverbed will worsen land erosion in Mekong Delta, especially in the context of a large alluvium deficiency.
In theory, for a large delta like the Mekong Delta, erosion can be caused by many factors such as rising sea water levels, land depression, sea waves, the currents and the volume of alluvium.
In Vietnam, sand has been exploited in large quantities in the last 20 years.
A report by Prof Bravard and Dr Goichot says the morphology comparison of the rivers in 1998-2008 found that Tien River has lost 90 million tons of riverbed materials, and Hau River 110 million tons.
It is estimated that 27 million cubic meters, or 57 million tons, were exploited every year in 2008-2012.
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The sand volume left on Tien River and Hau Rivers should be carefully preserved and must not be exploited indiscriminately or sold cheaply, according to Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent researcher on Mekong Delta ecology. |
According to research by Brunnier published in Geomorphology in November 2014, the depth of the Hau and Tien Rivers increased considerably in 1998-2008 period and caused corollaries to the coast.
The author wrote that the volume of sand exploited in the river section in Can Tho City and the upper course of the delta is decreasing.
However, the exploitation has been increasing in Long Xuyen and Cao Lanh, where there is a lot of sand.
Also according to the author, analyses showed significant and uneven changes to the riverbed over a period of 10 years. On average, the depth of the riverbed has increased by more than 1.3 meters.
The countries in the upper course, including Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, have also been exploiting sand in large quantities.
According to Bravard, Cambodia has been dredging rivers to get sand to sell to Singapore and China.
In 2011-2012, Laos exploited 0.9 million cubic meters, Thailand 3.7 million, Cambodia 18.7 million, and Vietnam 7.8 million, or 31 million cubic meters in total.
The sand exploitation has created holes with the depth of up to 15 meters in Cambodia and 45 meters in Vietnam.
Thien has urged agencies to carry out a survey to find the volume of sand left and build up a master plan on sand exploitation on the two rivers in the time to come.
“Sand will not go to Mekong Delta in the future. The sand left on Tien and Hau Rivers should be considered a precious natural resource and carefully preserved. Sand will become scarce and sand prices will be very high,” he said.
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