Reduction of groundwater exploitation against land subsidence
Q. H. Ha
Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam
P. J. S. Minderhoud
Wageningen University, the Netherlands
T. Luu
Center of Water Management and Climate Change, Vietnam
H. Q. Nguyen
Institute for Circular Economy Development, Vietnam
P. Teatini
Dept. ICEA, University of Padua, Italy
V. H. Pham
Division for Water Resources Planning and Investigation for the south Vietnam, Vietnam
ABSTRACT
The Mekong Delta is increasingly suffering from land subsidence, at rates of up to
several cm per year, a magnitude larger than global warming-induced sea-level rise (i.e.,
~3.7 mm/year). As such, land subsidence has become the dominant force that determines
if and when certain parts of the Delta will fall below sea level. Projections show that this may
occur within the next decades for large parts of the Delta, if land subsidence is not slowed
down. One of the factors driving land subsidence in the Mekong Delta is the overexploitation
of groundwater in the Delta's various aquifers. Awareness of this connection between
groundwater exploitation and land subsidence has been increasing in recent years, and
several government-led initiatives and policies have been developed aiming to reduce
groundwater extraction and slow down subsidence. Here we provide an overview of the
status quo with regard to groundwater and land subsidence, along with current and
future-planned initiatives, and evaluate their implementation for several cases in cities and
provinces in the Mekong Delta. Furthermore, we identify bottlenecks that are currently
hampering effective implementation, and provide policy recommendations to improve
future efforts to limit groundwater overexploitation and land subsidence in the Mekong Delta.
