People in Cho Lach district (Ben Tre province) dig ponds to store fresh water for production during the drought and salinity season.
Salt water penetrates deep into the land
According to the report of the Ben Tre Province Hydrometeorological Station, the current salinity is 1‰ on the river 50 to 73km from the sea. The situation of salinity intrusion is complicated, localities with large areas of seedlings and fruit trees in Ben Tre province such as Chau Thanh, Cho Lach, Mo Cay Bac... are actively taking solutions to cope with drought and salinity.
Mr. Le Thanh Tam's family, residing in Long Thoi commune (Cho Lach district) hired 2 workers to dig the ground and build a bank to prevent salt water from entering his family's 2,500m2 durian garden. Mr. Tam said: "In recent years, salt water has intruded into Long Thoi area, so people have been worried about storing fresh water and building local sluices to serve the irrigation of the durian garden. Currently, the salinity measured on the river is nearly 1‰, so the family cannot help but worry because durian trees are very sensitive to salt water".
Mr. Tam's family hired workers to dig the ground to prevent salt water from flooding into the durian garden.
Nearby, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chin's family, who has a 2,000m2 durian garden, is also very worried. Ms. Chin said: "Three years ago, saltwater flooded in and killed all the durians, so my family had to replant them. In recent days, the strong wind has caused saltwater to reach the river in front of our house, so people here are very worried about the impact on their garden. Many households here hope that the construction of the Long Hue sluice (near the Ham Luong River) will be completed soon to prevent saltwater intrusion and store fresh water for people in this area."
The incident of saltwater intrusion from the Co Chien River and Ham Luong River deep inland has occurred frequently in recent years. Many times, saltwater has caused great damage to people growing seedlings in the communes of Vinh Thanh, Hung Khanh Trung B, Tan Thieng, Long Thoi, Phu Son, etc. of Cho Lach district.
Mr. Le Thanh Tam, residing in Long Thoi commune (Cho Lach district) takes care of his durian garden during the drought and salinity season.
Mr. Nguyen Van Liet, resident of Tan Thieng commune, said: “In the past, this area had fresh water all year round due to its distance from the sea, but recently it has also been affected by saltwater intrusion. Meanwhile, people who grow seedlings are very sensitive to saltwater, so they have proactively stored fresh water in ponds and garden ditches for use. In addition, every family has purchased a salinity meter to regularly check before watering the plants.”
According to Mr. Liet, after the historic saltwater intrusion that had never happened before in the locality, people have proactively responded and gradually adapted to the increasingly erratic weather to avoid damage.
Proactively responding to drought and salinity
Cho Lach district is the largest producer of seedlings, flowers, and fruit trees in Ben Tre province. This is a locality located deep inland but has recently been affected by drought and salinity. The agricultural sector and local people are finding ways to respond and gradually adapt to increasingly harsh climate change conditions.
Tran Huu Nghi, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Cho Lach District, said: “Currently, salinity of 1‰ has penetrated 2/3 of the area of Cho Lach District and the peak salinity will fall in March 2025. To adapt, the district has many solutions to store water through irrigation works, dig ponds and pumping stations, and change the crop structure to ensure enough irrigation water during the drought and salinity season. Authorities also regularly warn of salinity and inform people to respond. Currently, the locality has closed irrigation works covering 93% of the area, so it has regulated water to serve people's production during the drought and salinity season.”
The agricultural sector regularly measures salinity to have timely response solutions.
Recently, the Ben Tre Farmers' Association has launched a call for all cadres and farmer members to actively respond and proactively implement drought and salinity prevention and control. Chairman of the Ben Tre Farmers' Association Nguyen Van Ban said: "The Provincial Farmers' Association Standing Committee has launched a call for all levels of the Association, cadres and farmer members to effectively respond to, prevent and control salinity intrusion and consider it a key and urgent task to focus on propaganda, with the highest political determination, at the same time, continue to launch a call for members and farmers to carry out the peak of the "Dong Khoi" movement to store fresh water for daily life and production during the drought and salinity season.
In addition, the Association at all levels proactively and regularly updates information on monitoring, forecasting and warnings from professional agencies on the situation of water resources and salinity daily to the people to proactively respond".
The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ben Tre province has sent a document to localities and units requesting them to continue to closely monitor information on saltwater intrusion forecasts, water sources, and hydrometeorological forecasts from specialized hydrometeorological agencies; determine the level of impact to proactively deploy specific and appropriate response measures to the actual situation in the locality and unit.
Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ben Tre province Doan Van Danh said: “The saltwater intrusion situation in the 2024-2025 dry season is forecast to be lower and less deep than the 2023-2024 dry season, at a level equivalent to the 2022-2023 dry season. However, there are still saltwater intrusion waves on the rivers according to the peak tides during the day. In order to effectively prevent and respond to natural disasters and minimize damage caused by saltwater intrusion in the coming time, the agricultural sector will continue to advise the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to issue documents requesting agencies, units and localities to proactively ensure water sources for agricultural production and people's lives.
A project to prevent saltwater intrusion and store fresh water is being built in Long Thoi commune, Cho Lach district.
At the same time, the agricultural sector will continue to coordinate with specialized units to closely monitor the developments and situation of saltwater intrusion; strengthen salinity monitoring and promptly inform relevant agencies and localities; urgently repair and upgrade embankments, saltwater prevention sluices, dredge and clear the flow of intra-field canals, ensuring the best conditions for saltwater prevention and freshwater storage.
Along with that, the sector will continue to recommend and guide people to implement appropriate farming and production solutions, especially for crops with high economic value, seedlings, ornamental flowers, etc.
In addition, before the end of the annual rainy season, Ben Tre province has proactively launched the "Dong Khoi" movement to store rainwater and freshwater to mobilize each household, organization and enterprise to proactively store freshwater. Currently, nearly 99% of households in the province have sufficient conditions and equipment to store rainwater and fresh water for production and daily life during the drought and salinity season.