The Mekong Delta is a large land mass primarily at the southern tip of Vietnam that is dominated by the Mekong River. The delta includes a system of rivers, tributaries and distributaries that eventually spill into the South China Sea.
The Mekong River is the world's 12th longest. It begins in the Tibetan Plateau and runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. As you fly over the southern part of Vietnam you can see countless wide rivers twisting and turning in huge oxbows across the countryside and through cities like Saigon.
The delta is rich in wildlife and aquaculture. It is a primary means of transportation for many. It is a major factor in the tourist industry. Like the region as a whole, it has not been properly protected as an environmental resource. It is too often used as a dumping ground and management of the Mekong River in particular, as a natural resource, has been challenged by the construction of dams in the north which have dramatically effected water flow.
As a visitor it is sad to see what has been allowed to happen, because the vast system of waterways that make up the delta are obviously so powerful and vitally important. When at normal levels the rivers run high and strong. They yield millions of pounds of fish that fill street markets on land and end up on dinner tables. The banks of the waterways are dotted with housing on the shore and people living in houseboats and working vessels.
It doesn't take advanced water testing to see that some traditions die hard and the tradition of using the delta as a convenient dumping ground is just one practice that endangers the entire system. And so when I say this has been "allowed to happen" that is exactly what I mean. It is a completely man-made environmental disaster.
As big as the problem is, we know from experience in other parts of the world (including the United States) that vast waterways can be cleaned up. There are two parts to the process: The actual clean up of existing pollution and education to ensure past bad practices are put to a stop.
Given that combination of actions a river will eventually clean itself. In fact, even today, the sheer volume of water that moves through the Mekong Delta tends to mask the full impact of pollution in the larger waterways of the system, while smaller rivers and streams - where most people live and harvest the water they use everyday - are heavily contaminated. This means of course that the contamination caused by pollution is finding its way into the food supply.
When you visit this part of the world you notice there are not many hills. The delta is flat and wide open. It is highly susceptible to flooding and among the parts of the planet most likely to be affected by climate change. A study released earlier this year predicted as water tables rise (over the next 50 years in south Vietnam) as many as 12 million people may be forced to relocate.
Both the government and the people seem ill-equipped to even begin to address the problem. In terms of pollution, the policy mistake already evident is allowing things to get this far. When it comes to global warming Vietnam and most other Asian nations are as guilty as any of the other nations on earth when it comes to dumping carbon into the atmosphere, the major man-made cause of climate change. Curbing pollution, whether it be in the air or the water has clearly never been a public health priority for governments here.
Most of the population of the Mekong Delta is poor and living day to day. The one resource many rely on for food and to make a living is the one resource that has been threatened by their own behavior and the indifference of the government institutions that should be regulating how that resource is used.
Here again, as is the case with so many issues I came across while traveling in Vietnam, a global solution is necessary. For centuries we have lived on this planet divided by artificial man-made borders. We have divided ourselves by language, religion and skin color. But when it comes to the environmental degradation of places like the Mekong Delta we are only now beginning to think about the need to take action from a cooperative global perspective. We all live in the delta just as we all live in the coal country of the United States, and the Amazon rainforest.
Credits:
© Dean Pagani 2019