Mekong Flow Strongly Reduced in Vietnam

The flow of the Mekong River has been greatly reduced in Vietnam as a result of upstream hydropower development and climate change, according to government officials participating in an annual forum on the Mekong Delta, held in Vietnam’s Long An province last week.Nguyen Van Nghia of the water resources department at Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, which co-hosted the forum with Long An officials, said dams, flood protection dikes, salinization and over-fishing are all destroying the delta’s fragile ecosystems.He cited overuse of groundwater in the area -- groundwater levels have dropped by almost a meter in some places -- as a cause of harsher droughts, increased salinity, and coastal and river erosion...