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Last Chance for the Mekong Delta
![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - | ![]() Cai Rang floating market - Vietnam - In the Mekong Delta it is easier to transport merchandise through the river since it is completely channeled and all towns can be accessed by boat. | ![]() Cai Be dock - Vietnam - In the Mekong Delta it is easier to transport merchandise through the river since it is completely channeled and all towns can be accessed by boat. | ![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - Shrimp farm - With climate change, the level of salt has increased in delta water in recent decades. Salt killed traditional crops, such as rice, and the government encouraged farmers to build shrimp farms. To build the rafts where they are raised, the mangroves of the area must be uprooted. Mangroves are a natural parapet against erosion and rising waters, therefore the situation worsens in the long term. | ![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - Shrimp farm - On the other hand, shrimp also do not support excessive salinity and many families cannot pay the large credits requested for the construction of the rafts. Farmers end up ruined emigrating in search of employment. |
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![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - Mr Tran Van Danh and His wife Mrs Vi Thi Phan - These lands belong to his family for eighty years. Ten years ago they decided to exchange traditional crops for the shrimp farm. Each year they collect less profits. They are in the area most affected by the rise in salinity in the water. They don't know how long they can sustain this situation. | ![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - Farmers are buried in their lands traditionally. Many abandon their ancestors by losing their lands | ![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - Shrimp farm. A farmer carries food for shrimp - With climate change, the level of salt has increased in delta water in recent decades. Salt killed traditional crops, such as rice, and the government encouraged farmers to build shrimp farms. To build the rafts where they are raised, the mangroves of the area must be uprooted. Mangroves are a natural parapet against erosion and rising waters, therefore the situation worsens in the long term. | ![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - Shrimp farm and dam | ![]() Dung Islet - Cù Lao Dung District - Vietnam - Dam |
![]() Cầu Cái Bè bridge in Cai Be - Vietnam - | ![]() Vietnam - Ferry - A man transports her products on the ferry to sell on the other side of the river. | ![]() Long Xuyen - Vietnam - Long Xuyen market - Another threat that Mekong suffers is direct contamination by man-generated waste | ![]() The mass extraction of sand from the Mekong is another factor that contributes to erosion in the Delta. Dams that control the river above do not allow slime regeneration. | ![]() Can Tho - Vietnam - A ship transports sand along the Mekong River |
![]() Workers fill the landslide in National 91 in Chau Phu with sand - Global warming has also raised the level of rivers by increasing erosion in their watersheds. Global warming has also raised the level of rivers by increasing erosion in their watersheds. The demolition of houses or roads are frequent in the Mekong Delta in recent times. | ![]() Can Tho - Detachment on a street on the outskirts of Can Tho, neighbors must cross an improvised bridge to go to their homes. | ![]() Can Tho - Nguyen Minh Quang - Co-founder of Mekong Environment Forum. | ![]() Can Tho - Polyculture farm operated by Le Hoang Thanh - The technique called mangrove- based polyculture, a small-scale agricultural system where many aquacultural and agricultural crops such as shrimp, fish, crabs, vegetables, and fruits are raised within close proximity of each other by a single household. The technique is called mangrove-based polyculture, a small-scale agricultural system where many aquaculture and agricultural crops, such as shrimp, fish, crabs, vegetables and fruits... | ![]() Trần Đề District - A farmer collects sugarcane from his land |
![]() Trần Đề District - The cultivation of sugarcane produce environmental impacts through the loss of natural habitats, intensive use of water, heavy use of agro-chemicals, discharge and runoff of polluted effluent. | ![]() Trần Đề District - A farmer sprays his rice field near Trần Đề | ![]() Can Tho - Polyculture farm operated by Le Hoang Thanh - | ![]() Long Xuyen market - Shrimp sale in the Long Xuyen market | ![]() Farmers perform salinity tests on their lands to control crops |
![]() Cù Lao Dung District - Dung Islet - Farmers dry corn in the sun by the road | ![]() In the Delta there are thousands of bridges and hundreds of ferries that connect its banks | ![]() Sáu Hoài Rice Noodle Factory - Lo Vong Cung, An Binh, Ninh Kieu - | ![]() In the Mekong Delta it is easier to transport merchandise through the river since it is completely channeled and all towns can be accessed by boat. | ![]() Phong Dien Floating Market - |
![]() Gas station on the Mekong river | ![]() A woman returns to her village after having been selling her products in the floating market | ![]() Cù Lao Dung District - Dung Islet | ![]() Cù Lao Dung District - Dung Islet - Coconuts collected | ![]() Ngu Hiep - Cai Lậy District Motorcyclists await the arrival of the Ngu Hiep ferry to continue their route |
![]() Bến Phà Thới Lộc - A woman sells fish at the Bến Phà Thới Lộc ferry exit by the river. | ![]() A woman transports her products on the ferry to sell on the other side of the river |
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