VietNamNet Bridge – Several colleges of teacher training in the Mekong Delta provinces have closed in the last several years because of a shortage of students.

The southern province of Dong Thap on Wednesday extended its state of emergency as the erosion worsened, with a section of the riverbank covering some 600m affected so far.

VietNamNet Bridge - Experts have pointed out that field research results about the Pak Beng hydropower project in Laos are sketchy and do not provide sufficient information. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Resources have been applied to prevent landslides in the Mekong Delta, but the problem has proven to be difficult to solve.  

More than 60 percent of water to Vietnam comes from other countries. Scientists have warned that 45 percent of land area in the southern region will suffer serious saline intrusion in the future.

VietNamNet Bridge - Rapid population increase and urbanization have put pressure on waterways in the country. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Saline intrusion, unexpected hot and cold weather, and tropical low pressure that causes long rains are all influencing agricultural production and people's lives.

VietNamNet Bridge - Thousands of households along the coast in Ca Mau province have been living in fear as hundreds of meters of protective forests have been lost to the sea each year.

VietNamNet Bridge - Landslides have been eroding coastal areas and tourism sites, seriously affecting the lives of thousands of people.

Several coal thermal power plants are expected to be built in the Mekong Delta under the 2011-2020 plan for national power development. What are the options for energy development in Vietnam?

VietNamNet Bridge - Land subsidence in the Mekong Delta is becoming increasingly serious, caused mainly by overexploitation of underground water.

Last year’s drought devastated crops and caused serious losses for farmers in the Mekong Delta. This year, authorities are restructuring crops, building dykes and erecting sluices in anticipation of continuing weather disasters.  

Weather experts expect the southern region to  experience less drought and salinity and more unseasonal rain during this year’s dry season.

VietNamNet Bridge – Signs of growth stagnation in the Mekong Delta in recent years have been blamed on climate change, which has contributed to drought and saline intrusion.

Dr Le Tuan Anh, deputy director of the Research Institute for Climate Change at Can Tho University, speaks to Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper about the negative impact of climate change.

VietNamNet Bridge - The volume of freshwater on canals in the Mekong Delta has decreased quickly, while saline intrusion has begun in many areas.

VietNamNet Bridge - Ten years ago, Vietnam began calling upon farmers to restructure agricultural production, but no considerable changes have occurred. 

Ca ho (Catlocarpio siamensis), vo co (Pangaius sannitwongsei) and tra dau (Pangasianodon gigas) living in the Mekong Delta are all large-size fish which can reach 300 kilos in weight and three meters in length. They are all in danger of extinction.

VietNamNet Bridge - Shrimp waste - heads and shells – are being used to produce animal feed and biological derivatives, resulting in high profits and a reduction of air pollution at processing plants. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – Mekong Delta provinces face a threat of H5N1 bird flu with the disease season just starting and farmers leaving their ducks to freely feed in fields following the completion of the winter-spring rice harvest.