The rapid population increase as well as agricultural development and aquaculture in the last decades have significantly reduced the natural value of Mekong Delta.

Erosion and subsidence along canals, rivers and coasts have been severe in many areas in the Mekong Delta and local authorities are struggling to raise funds for works to prevent them.

Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent ecologist in the Mekong Delta, talks to Nhân Dân (The People) about the causes of saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta and measures to cope with it.

The Ministry of Transport has directed the Cuu Long Corporation for Investment Development and Project Management of Infrastructure (CIPM) to conduct a pre-feasibility study for two expressway projects in the Mekong Delta.

Seafood companies have vowed to bring catfish to Vietnamese dining tables after their success in the world market.

The Mekong Delta is expected to introduce two more major expressways, whose total investment exceeds VND67.4 trillion, in the years to come to bolster the region’s socioeconomic growth, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Hau Giang Province, the largest sugarcane producer in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, is growing less and less of the crop as prices fall sharply.

Ecological expert Nguyen Huu Thien speaks on the need for clearer environmental regulations for thermopower plants in the Mekong Delta to reduce risks to the region’s aquatic resources.

The Mekong Delta is taking steps to ensure sufficient freshwater supply for household use and agricultural production in areas affected by saltwater intrusion and drought.

Authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta and Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) regions are taking precautionary measures to protect forests facing high risk of fires due to the prolonged hot and dry weather.

Though saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta was predicted to come earlier and with higher level of salinity than that recorded in the 2015-2016 dry season, the damages to farming areas are expected to be less serious.

The drought in the dry season this year will be quite harsh and water shortage may occur in many places. The central region may face serious water shortage from June.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Mekong River Commission (MRC) say the river bed of Mekong’s two main tributaries in Mekong Delta fell by 1.4 meters in 1998-2008 due to sand overexploitation.

With favourable natural conditions, the Mekong delta region is home to diverse fruit species. When Tet (Lunar New Year) comes, exotic fruits are offered for sales to serve people’s demand.

 A team of researchers and students at the HCM City University of Science have succeeded at making a prototype lithium-ion rechargeable battery from rice husks, a common agricultural waste in Vietnam.

The Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, an area that helps feed about 200 million people, is predicted to sink underwater by 2100.

Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta might reduce between late March and June this year, according to Phung Tien Dung, head of the Hydrological Forecasting Department for the Central, Central Highlands and Southern region.

Artisans in the Mekong Delta are busy turning out hundreds of altar cabinets before the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, the peak season of the year.

Aquaculture is one of the economic pillars and important livelihoods of the Mekong Delta. However, it is threatened by coal-fired thermopower plants.

Meeting barriers in foreign markets, catfish processing companies have decided to exploit the domestic market.