Author(s): Duong Vu Hoang Thai; Van Trinh Cong; Franz Nestmann; Peter Oberle; Nam Nguyen Trung
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Mekong delta; Flood; Land use; Hydraulic modeling; Satellite products
Abstract: The Mekong Delta, Vietnam is one of the largest river deltas in the world with 39.712 km2 and home to over 18 million inhabitants. It is located in the lower Mekong river, which originates at the Tibetan plateau and crosses China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia before entering the territory of Vietnam. The delta was formed by the deposition of sediments from the Mekong River over thousands of years and considered as a rice bowl of the whole country when contribution approximately 52%of the national rice production and 70%of national rice exportation, introducing Vietnam at the second place in the world rice market. With an area of only about 5%of the total catchment area of the Mekong River and low natural ground (mostly below+2), the Mekong delta should always bear directly impacted flooding from the upper part of the delta. Extreme land use occupation for rice intensification in the upper provinces of Mekong Delta in recent years with of double and/or triple cropping, is influencing the seasonal flood regime of the Delta, significantly. Due to progressive poldering of the flood plains (to protect the rice crops from flood waters), the flood plains are increasingly restricted. This paper will present flood situations in the delta based on land use analysis. Hydraulic modeling and satellite products are used for this study.
Year: 2014