Securing water resources amid El Niño: [3] Nature-based adaptation

From drought response to water resource management

The year 2016 marked a historic turning point for the Mekong Delta, as the region faced one of the most severe drought and saltwater intrusion events in decades. The disaster damaged hundreds of thousands of hectares of cropland and left millions of people struggling with freshwater shortages for daily use. The crisis prompted both authorities and local communities across the delta to fundamentally change their approach to water management and climate adaptation.

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Securing water resources amid El Niño: [1] Mounting pressure

Securing water resources amid El Niño: [2] Vinh Long responses

Ten years on, as meteorological agencies forecast that El Niño is almost certain to persist from mid-2026, strengthen in the second half of the year, and potentially continue into early 2027, with a 60-65% probability of a very strong El Niño event, a key question has emerged: How much has the Mekong Delta strengthened its resilience against increasingly extreme natural fluctuations?

According to Associate Professor Dr. Le Anh Tuan, Scientific Advisor of the Climate Change Research Institute at Can Tho University, the biggest difference between the Mekong Delta today and in 2016 lies in a shift in thinking on water resource management.

Previously, many localities focused on preventing saltwater intrusion at all costs. Today, the approach has gradually shifted towards adaptation and regulating water resources in a more nature-based manner. Instead of viewing saline water entirely as a disaster, many areas now consider it part of the natural ecosystem and organize production systems accordingly.

Dr. Tuan said that drought and saltwater intrusion remain complex challenges as freshwater flows from the upper Mekong River continue to decline. Through numerous field surveys, he has observed that in recent years, saltwater intrusion often occurs about a month earlier than the long-term average. At times, the 4% salinity boundary has penetrated 50-65 km inland, reaching as far as 70 km in some areas.

However, actual damage has been significantly reduced compared with 2016, thanks to improved forecasting capacity, more proactive water regulation, and better production planning by local authorities.

According to Dr. Tuan, saltwater intrusion should not be viewed solely as a natural disaster. Many coastal areas have effectively utilized brackish and saline water resources to develop aquaculture, shrimp - rice farming models, and multi-value production ecosystems, generating much higher economic returns than monoculture rice farming.

The concept of living in harmony with nature in water resource management does not simply mean accepting natural conditions passively. Rather, it requires understanding the movement patterns of water, salinity, and dry-season cycles to arrange production appropriately, make efficient use of different water sources, and minimize interventions that disrupt ecological balance.

Not only fruit-growing areas have benefited, but rice production zones and shrimp-rice and rice-fish farming models in Go Quao, An Bien, and Vinh Thuan have also become more proactive in accessing freshwater or regulating brackish water sources for production.

Mr. Le Quoc Khanh, a farmer in An Bien Commune, said that in previous years, every dry season brought concerns about farmland being affected by salinity. Today, more reliable water sources have encouraged local residents to confidently develop more diversified production models and gradually improve their incomes.

According to Mr. Trang Hong Nghia, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Go Quao Commune (An Giang), the irrigation system has significantly helped reduce the negative impacts of climate change and enabled more effective water resource management in the locality. Based on this foundation, the commune is implementing various climate-adaptive livelihood models while ensuring sufficient water supplies for agricultural production and daily life.

Water security remains a long-term challenge

Following the historic drought and saltwater intrusion event, a series of large-scale water regulation projects have been invested in across the Mekong Delta. A notable example is the Cai Lon-Cai Be irrigation system, with a total investment of more than VND 3.3 trillion, considered the largest irrigation project in the region. The system was put into operation at the end of 2021.

After nearly six years of operation, the project has largely achieved its goal of flexibly controlling freshwater, brackish water, and saline water resources across a natural area of more than 384,000 hectares, supporting agricultural and aquaculture production in several localities, including An Giang, Can Tho, and Ca Mau.

Beyond large-scale irrigation infrastructure, many coastal localities have also strengthened their capacity to ensure domestic water supply for residents.

In the Go Cong Freshwater Project area (Dong Thap Province), the network of regulating sluices is now operated regularly to support agricultural production, mitigate environmental pollution, and proactively respond to unusual weather events.

Mr. Phan Van Nha, Chairman and Director of Tien Giang Irrigation Works Exploitation One Member Limited Liability Company, said that the sluice system in the project area has been operating effectively, contributing to water regulation for rice cultivation, vegetable production, and daily life.

At the same time, many centralized water supply facilities have been newly built or upgraded. Numerous households have also taken the initiative to install storage tanks, reservoirs, and rainwater ponds to secure water supplies during the dry season.

Dr. Tuan said water supply agencies need to develop plans to source water from upstream areas, relocate water treatment plants where necessary, or gradually apply technologies to convert saline water into freshwater to ensure long-term water security.

For agricultural production, Dr. Tuan recommended continuing to adjust crop structures by reducing rice cultivation in areas without reliable access to freshwater. Instead, these areas should develop less water-intensive crops or shift to aquaculture models that are better suited to brackish and saline water conditions.

According to Dr. Tuan, although the Mekong Delta has made significant progress in adapting to drought and saltwater intrusion, it cannot yet be considered fully prepared for extreme climate events.

The biggest challenge today is that water flows from the upper Mekong River are becoming increasingly difficult to predict, while demand for water in production and daily life continues to rise. Many areas still lack appropriately scaled water storage facilities and have yet to make effective use of rainwater resources during the flood season.

$ 1 = VND 26,460 - Source: Vietcombank.