Vietnamese and foreign specialists working to prevent climate change andland subsidence held a workshop in Can Tho city on March 11 to discussenvironmental problems in the Mekong Delta region.

Speaking at the event - which was organised by the Netherlands’ UtrechtUniversity and Can Tho University - Professor Le Van Tri, Director ofthe Institute of Climate Change Research in the Mekong Delta, noted thatthe region is faced with risks of land sinking , salt intrusion anddeclining groundwater sources.

He added thatland erosion causes the collapse of vital infrastructure and drasticallyincreases the risk of flooding. Other serious problems includedecreased agricultural production, saltwater intrusion of surface waterand changing flows in river systems.

Professor Tom Kompierfrom Utrecht University explained that experts from his department andtheir counterparts in Can Tho University have cooperated together inconducting research to analyse the geology in the Mekong Delta. Theyhave produced specific measures to limit further land subsidence in theregion.

The team has developed a model of the delta’ssubsurface land layers to forecast the future rate of subsidence. Thiswill be used to better plan the construction of transport routes,flood-control dykes and rainwater storage areas.

Kompieralso stressed the need to raise public awareness about the links betweengroundwater exploitation and land sinking, drought and bad harvests.-VNA