Handout 2.9 Issues in Southern Floodplains and the Delta
Implications for Basin Planning in Southern Floodplains and Delta
 Basin planning on the Cambodian floodplains
Whilst there is land available for irrigation, the costs of irrigation are high and
the risks are high. Opportunities to exploit the capture fishery are also limited
by low incomes (which mean people cannot afford boats or fishing gear).
As a result the annual flood and the size of the flood is extremely important – it
brings the fish onto the floodplain, it provides water for the crops and it gets rid
of the rats.
The river and Tonle Sap are important transport routes. Goods are transported
without regulation and pollutants are carried across Tonle Sap (such as petrol).
Any spill in Tonle Sap would have significant implications for the fishery
which would have impacts beyond just those living around the lake.
 Basin Planning on the Vietnamese Delta
The Mekong delta is densely populated and that population will increase
substantially (even though growth rates are low for the Mekong region).
Changes in land use on the floodplain (urbanisation and the move toward
permanent crops rather than rice) will have implications for flooding by
changing flood flows and exposing more people to flooding. Aquaculture is
very important in the delta and sustainable expansion of aquaculture will be
necessary to provide protein for a growing population and to take the pressure
off the capture fishery.
Sustainable expansion of aquaculture is a challenge. Aquaculture production
can potentially put a lot of pollutants into waterways but there is work being
done by research institutes such as in Can Tho on sustainable aquaculture/rice
rotations.
Overall, there are some major other issues for further discussion in the basin
planning. These are:
 Because of over population, increasing water demand in
all sectors, irrigated intensification and intensive land use
with increasing use of chemicals, this sub-area is facing
natural resource degradation. These include declining of
fish population, deforestation and completing demand on
water leading water shortage in dry season
 Topographical limitations to increase production such as
salinity intrusion, acidity, erosion of river bank,
Handout 2.9 Issues in Southern Floodplains and the Delta
sedimentation, flood and inundation and imbalance water
flow in dry and wet season.
 All people in the sub-areas both direct and indirect clients,
the ecology per se, and the bio-diversity are affected by
the degradation of the Mekong.
 The landless, rural poor and ethnicities in the areas are the
first groups who would suffer from the declining of the
resources. Planning issues on the shared resources of the
Delta are taken consideration the limits to growth
perspective.