Progress toward resilient and sustainable water management in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Sinking and shrinking, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta is a materialization of dynamic river flows, sediment flows, and coastline processes. Past policy aspirations and extensive water infrastructures have shaped the delta into one the most significant food producing landscapes in Southeast Asia. Yet, these changes have also created new environmental risks by transforming the hydrological system. Research has produced a growing and increasingly diverse empirical literature on the delta's environmental context, without necessarily providing water resource managers, policymakers and practitioners with the information needed to galvanize more resilient development. This focus review presents a detailed overview of the recent scientific findings, exploring how the management of water resources is changing, as well as their inter-relationship with land use, policy, socio-economic transitions, and global environmental crises. Compound and systemic risks to the delta include climate change, hydrometeorological hazards, upstream developments and an unsustainable development trajectory. We outline scientific knowledge gaps, as well as the pressing need for sharable analysis-ready data and innovations. Finally, we provide recommended future research avenues for multiscale actions toward a sustainable and resilient delta future.This article is categorized under:Human Water > Water GovernanceScience of Water > Water ExtremesScience of Water > Water and Environmental Change

Automated summary

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta, shaped by past policy aspirations and extensive water infrastructures, is a significant food producing landscape in Southeast Asia. However, these changes have also created new environmental risks by transforming the hydrological system. This focus review provides an overview of recent scientific findings, exploring the changing management of water resources and its inter-relationship with land use, policy, socio-economic transitions, and global environmental crises. The article highlights the compound and systemic risks faced by the delta and emphasizes the need for sharable analysis-ready data and innovations to ensure a sustainable and resilient future.