(Photo by Malingering via Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
What is the Mekong Delta?
The Mekong Delta is a region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River empties into the East Sea (or the South China Sea). The Delta has collected sand, clay, gravel, and other aggregates for over 6,000 years from the Mekong River. Running more than 5,000 km starting from China, the Mekong River is the longest in Southeast Asia, flowing through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and finally Vietnam. Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is the final 250km of the river.
The Mekong Delta holds significant environmental, historical, cultural, social, and economic values to the Vietnamese people. It is home to 17,4 million people, the majority of whose livelihoods depend on the Delta and its diverse ecosystems. Additionally, the Mekong Delta is a critical area for Vietnam as a leading rice producer in the region. Between 2023 and 2024, this southwestern Delta produced around 23,75 million metric tons of rice. The Mekong Delta accounts for 90% of Vietnam’s rice export and 50% of the national production, thus being named “Viet Nam’s Rice Bowl.”
The Mekong Delta not only sustains people’s lives through agriculture, fishery, and tourism, but also plays an important role in maintaining a balance of the natural environment. Over 1,300 types of fish and different endangered species live in this diverse environment. Furthermore, during the U.S.-Vietnam War, the Delta provided the Viet Cong (the guerrilla force of liberating Vietnam) with the much-needed food resources.
What is the Mekong Delta Crisis?
The Mekong Delta suffers from a “double water crisis.” While climate change directly affects the Delta negatively, the upstream dams’ operations worsen the situation. These hydroelectric dams, built upstream, block the sediment needed for the lower part of the river. UNDP estimates that by 2100, 40% of the Mekong Delta will be underwater, affecting the lives of 55% of the local population. This results from floods, droughts, rises in sea levels, etc., all of which are climate change effects. It is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world.
At the same time, the Mekong Delta witnessed a series of hydropower projects built by upstream countries. Since the 1990s, China has spearheaded hydropower production through Mekong River upstream dams. While China leads the upstream Mekong with 12 dams, Laos has an overwhelming number of 98 projects in the lower region.
Admittedly, the development of hydropower in the region significantly benefits the host countries. It brings energy security, economic growth through job creation and the sale of electricity, and flood/drought prevention through the control of water. Furthermore, there are private businesses extracting sand legally in the Delta as well.
However, gains for a few come at a serious cost to others. Although the Mekong River is a self-regulating ecosystem, it cannot accumulate enough clay and sand to keep up with the speed of erosion. This erosion is a product of both climate change and upstream exploitation. Upstream dams disrupt the water flow, the natural environment, and the local farming communities, putting the Mekong Delta into an extremely fragile position.
Who Suffers?
Local people who have little to no control over the Mekong Delta crisis pay the highest prices. The UNDP predicts that the Delta will be deep underwater only in 2100, but the region already suffers from the consequences. The Mekong Delta is running out of sand within the next decade. “Everything’s gone. There’s nothing left. How will I live now?” said Vo Minh Thao, whose house in 2022 disappeared into the water due to erosion.
As houses give in to rising sea levels and deeply eroded lands, these locals lose their means of living, memories, and a place they call home. Due to high levels of flood and erosion risks, the General Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control estimates that a number of 20,000 households would need resettlement. The true number might be much higher.
The double effects of downstream climate change and upstream dams are generational. Upstream dams keep important agricultural nutrients away from Vietnam’s farmers, worsening the lower region’s environmental issues. According to Vo Minh Thao, the 48-year-old who lost his house to the water, starting a new life from scratch is a reality that the local communities must get used to.
Even then, making a living in the Mekong Delta is no longer easy: the region has witnessed an increasing number of outmigrations. People do not leave to pursue bigger dreams in the cities, but because their homeland offers no dreams left to build.
Do Thi Son Ca, a single mom of two 11-year-old twins, had to leave her children as newborns to seek work in Ho Chi Minh City. The twins are left in the care of their grandmother, who makes $4 a day. The family of three lives on a small houseboat and must move from place to place depending on the Delta conditions. As young kids, Tran and Trung are full of hopes and dreams, but in reality, they have already missed two years of school. These 11-year-old kids have already realized their fate: leaving the Mekong behind and trying to survive in the big city.
The Perils of Water Diplomacy
While both upstream and downstream countries share responsibilities over the degrading conditions of the Mekong Delta, the power dynamics are definitely unbalanced. Countries that own hydropower dams have control over the River’s water flow. This superficial power causes disruptions to the Delta’s self-regulating mechanisms, resulting in erosion and droughts.
Vietnam, being at the very end of the Mekong River, finds itself in a tough position. It has to protect its economic interests as well as the livelihoods of the local communities against upstream exploitation. At the same time, it has to tread lightly yet proactively in its relationships with the three neighbours, China, Laos, and Cambodia. With China operating 12 dams and Laos and Cambodia pursuing multiple upstream Mekong projects, the costs are too great to ignore.
The Mekong Delta stands out as a highly controversial and critical dilemma as the U.S. and China currently compete for influence in the Southeast Asia region. China’s rapid dam-building efforts bring a clear bargaining leverage over Vietnam, which is maintaining a neutral and multilateral approach to the U.S.-China rivalry. Vietnamese scholar Phan Xuan Dung raises concerns about China using its control over the Mekong water as “a coercive tool,” by stopping water in droughts or releasing water during floods.
Vietnam has so far maintained neutrality. Yet, it is hard to say how long the country will be able to hold this position, as thousands of households are at risk of flooding, and the Delta is experiencing record-high temperatures.
The Right to Life or the Right to Development?
As an upstream country, China claims its dams help prevent floods and control droughts. Situations on the ground tell a different story.
For Laos, the justification is more complex. As a less developed nation, Laos sees these hydropower projects as projects that boost economic growth and improve citizens’ living standards. However, it is unclear whether the wealth generated from these projects would trickle down to their citizens. This is due to the country’s domestic challenges, China’s involvement, and potential pushbacks from neighbours. In the meantime, generations of Vietnamese locals have already faced the destruction of their homes, livelihoods, and futures.
This dilemma reveals a deeper question: Can one nation’s right to development justify another’s loss of the right to live safely and sustainably?
In reality, both are fundamental human rights. One is not without the other. If there is to be a future in the Mekong Delta as well as other parts of the long Mekong River, upstream and downstream countries should treat each other with respect, not as competitors with bargaining power but as teammates sharing the same lifeline.
Edited by Lubaba Mahmud
