Why does the river erosion situation become more complicated in the Mekong delta?

Abstract

Being a young river located in the delta that has been forming for a few thousand years now and developing during the several hundred years in the recent past under the pressure of socio-economic development, the impact of climate changes, rise in the sea level, and the Mekong upstream development, the riverbeds and coasts in the Mekong Delta have currently transformed the erosion from an acceptable "chronic" and "essential" situation to a complicated, unpredictable, and alarming one. This is the cause behind the serious damages to local people and the infrastructures along the river banks and coastlines. Understanding the basic causes, recognizing the continuous trends, or proposing the effective and feasible response solutions are the most important problems for the local people and the authorities, those of the Central Government and the those in the localities. Therefore, we must prepare for river banks' or coastlines' and valuable materials' or entities' protection, plan and stabilize the populated areas along the river banks and coasts, especially in the high-risk erosion areas. These are the major contents that would be presented as follow.