Saltwater intrusion threatens rice paddies in various deltas including the Mekong and Red River Deltas in Vietnam, the Chao Phraya River Delta in Thailand, and the Ayeyarwady River Delta in Myanmar.
Salinity has been shown to be on the rise using satellite data. In the Mekong Delta, the area affected by severe salinity unsuitable for rice production has roughly doubled since the ’90s or, in specific years, almost tripled.
In 2016, 270,000 hectares of rice land in the Mekong were affected by severe salinity.
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More on tackling salinity in rice production areas:
Water, Land and Ecosystems in the Greater Mekong
WLE Greater Mekong contributes to alleviating these knowledge deficits, accompanied by a robust framework to ensure that, when decisions are made about water, they are supported by evidence and sound analysis. In order to do so, all of WLE’s activities within the Greater Mekong address. Our goal is to improve the governance and management of water resources and associated land and ecosystems in the Greater Mekong Region by generating and sharing the knowledge and practice needed to do so.
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