VietNamNet Bridge – The first quarter of 2016 has passed and major challenges for Vietnam's economy have been revealed, not promising a bright future as we had expected.

Hundred thousands of rice in the Mekong Delta died of droughts and saline water intrusion.

GDP growth rate in the first quarter was only 5.46%, compared to 6.12% in the same period of 2015. The major factors of the decline were said natural disaster and climate change, specifically drought and saline water intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

However, the damage could have been substantially reduced if we prepared in advance, not in the current situation of “letting the grass grow under one’s feet”.

Without a change in thinking and vision, then serious consequences will not only occur for the agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta but also the entire economy and on a national scale.

Regarding the responsibility for the ongoing drought and saline water intrusion, which is the most serious in the past 100 years in the Mekong Delta, besides the external factors of climate change, caused by El Nino and the construction of giant dams in the upstream Mekong Delta, Vietnam has its own responsibility.

The country did not well prepare for this though it had been warned of the disaster a long time ago by Vietnamese and international experts.

Until saltwater intruded into 8 out of 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta did we begin finding solutions.

At the same time, some countries, typically Thailand, have prepared very early so they don’t have to suffer serious consequences like Vietnam does.

When China began construction of large dams in the Lancang River (Chinese name of the Mekong River) for hydropower development, and to lead water to industrial facilities and to reservoirs in Yunnan province, Thailand immediately made a response.

For years, Thailand built large irrigation systems, using water from the tributaries of the Mekong River.

Now when droughts occur on a large scale, it is time for Thai people to operate these systems to take water to the areas that are subject to drought and water shortage, such as Nong Khai and the northeastern provinces of the country.

Although the irrigation systems cannot solve the entire drought in this country, they also help minimize the impacts of drought.

In Vietnam the situation is almost opposite. Vietnam has hardly done anything to deal with the risk of drought.

As a result, saltwater intrusion attacked 8 out of 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta. Local people are in severe shortage of fresh water for daily use.

Until now Vietnam rushed to respond to natural calamities but it is late. Drought has not only devastated agriculture in the Mekong Delta, but also holds back the growth of the country’s GDP.

The main reason leading to this disaster, nothing but lack of adequate preparation or the vision, is also similar to the way Vietnam dealing with other matters of the economy.

The current natural disaster in the Mekong Delta is an expensive warning about what Vietnam will suffer if we don’t change our thinking and our vision.

In a globalized world, where the world changes every second, it is clear that any delay would mean incalculable consequences.

Le Ha