HCM City (VNS/VNA) - More people in the MekongDelta are planting trees and building embankments made of naturalmaterials to prevent erosion along rivers and canals.  

The delta, which has a dense river and canal network, hasfaced increasing erosion along rivers and canals in recent years becauseof human activity and climate change.

In Hau Giang Province, the Irrigation Sub-departmentbuilt three natural embankments with a total length of 380 metres on apilot basis to prevent erosion in Phung Hiep District and Nga Bay Town in 2017.

The natural embankments are made by filling eroded areaswith soil and setting up a barrier made of cajuput trunks or bamboobetween the embankments and water. 

Cajuput and crabapple mangrove trees are planted inside thebarriers so that their roots prevent soil erosion. Permeable fabricor fine nets are installed outside the barrier to hold the soil.

At the embankments, water hyacinths are grown along banks toreduce the strength of waves hitting the banks.

In Phung Hiep District’s Bung Tau Town, more than 100households, mostly along the Bung Tau and Ngang canals, have built suchembankments along the canal bank in front of their houses.

Nguyen Truong Sanh in Bung Tau’s Tan Phu A2 Hamlet said hebuilt an embankment on a 10 metre stretch of the canal two years agoand it cost only about 500,000 VND (22 USD). Local authorities providedhim free cajuput trees to grow on the embankment.

Later, he expanded the embankment to more than 100metres long.

“The embankment is stable now, and the cajuput trees havegrown and provide shade and look beautiful,” he said.

Local households in Bung Tau grow other trees like đienđien (Sesbania sesban) and ca na (Elaeocarpus hygrophilus) on suchembankments and harvest đien đien flowers and ca na fruits for sale.

In Hau Giang, the Chau Thanh District Farmers Association hasbuilt natural embankments to farmers to protect their lands along riversand canals from erosion.

Nguyen Thi Be in Chau Thanh’s Dong Phuoc A Commune said:“After the commune’s Farmers Association supported the model,we agreed to build such embankment.”

She has also donated bamboo plants and other trees to planton the embankment.

Chau Thanh has four such embankments, according to thedistrict Farmers Association. The association plans to expand themodel to erosion-prone areas and grow more crabapple mangrove treeson natural embankments.

Hau Giang now has about 200km of natural embankments,according to the Irrigation Sub-department. 

Localities in the delta are also expanding the model ofplanting trees along river and canal banks to prevent erosion.

In Ca Mau Province, people have planted mangrove trees alongbanks to prevent erosion since their roots are thick and protect the soil.

Natural embankments made by planting mangrove trees arepopular in the districts of Cai Nuoc, Nam Can and Dam Doi in Ca Mau.

In Dong Thap Province, water hyacinths are grown nearriverbanks and crabapple mangrove trees planted at river banks to preventerosion in Lai Vung District.

In Lai Vung’s Tan Duong Commune, people in Tan Thuan A and TanThuan B have done the same along the Sa Dec – Vam Cong River.

Nguyen Thi Phuong in Tan Duong said they provideshade and beautiful view, and stabilise the soil.

“Seeing the effectiveness of the model, many people haveplanted hyacinth and crabapple trees to protect the riverbank in frontof their house,” she said.

Nguyen Tan Tai, chairman of the Tan Duong FarmersAssociation, said the model is low cost and is efficient. It is being expandedthroughout the delta./.