The FAO-ESCAP pilot project on national water visions. From vision ...

In addition, Viet Nam attached importance to international cooperation and intensified cooperation on
training cadres and on <strong>project</strong> research and investment, especially <strong>project</strong>s on rivers shared with
neighbouring countries. In international cooperation, Viet Nam preserved the rules of national
sovereignty and national interest, exploited and protected domestic water resources while seeking to
harmonize relations among, and the national interests of, the countries along the banks of the Mekong
River. Overall plans on water resources development in deltas were drawn, particularly for the Red
River and the Mekong River deltas, creating the premise of an overall national plan. Plans were also
drawn for key regions to serve investment <strong>project</strong>s on water resources and other industries in order to
guarantee the balanced development of water resources among the regions. A draft law on water
resources was prepared for submission to the government. <strong>The</strong> water resources agencies also drew
plans for water resources development in the 1996-2000 period and development <strong>project</strong>ions for
2010. <strong>The</strong> government had a programme to evaluate the country’s water resources and water usage
and issued a series of standards on quality of surface water, groundwater, wastewater, etc.
In spite of those achievements, there were still many problems, as listed below:
a. <strong>The</strong> Red River delta
Most dykes, built with earth, were usually eroded. Pumping stations had been in use for more
than ten years, sometimes more than twenty, and electricity systems were backward. Annual
maintenance and repair cost much money and effort, but the government budget was
insufficient and irrigation and drainage fees were much lower than production costs; thus, the
structures deteriorated. Meanwhile, water demand for production increased and there was a
growing need for irrigation and drainage.
After the Hoa Binh hydroelectric plant came into operation, there occurred both positive and
negative changes in the Red River delta and hydro-agricultural systems had to adjust to such
changes.
Annual flooding was still a challenge to the sustainable and stable development of the delta,
not only for agricultural production but also for the whole economy. Protecting dykes,
consolidating the water infrastructure, preventing internal instability as well as overflows had
to be done frequently with proper investment. In addition, it was vital for the sustainable
development of the delta to combine the water resources plans for the Lo Gam and Da rivers
with reforestation and forest protection.
b. <strong>The</strong> Mekong River delta
Due to ecological changes and upstream exploitation, the Mekong River’s flow regime in the
dry season and in the rainy season is very complicated. Saltwater was spreading and fresh
water shrinking as the demand for water in the dry season increased. <strong>The</strong>refore, the urgent
task was to build saltwater-preventing structures, including surrounding dykes and drainage
systems. Apart from agricultural development, industrialization in the Mekong River delta
created a great demand for water.
<strong>The</strong> Mekong River’s floods on the one hand made life difficult for the local people,
particularly those in newly developed regions whose houses were not suited to flooding
conditions; on the other hand, they provided alluvial deposits, increasing the fertility of the
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National water visions in Southeast Asia