Defending the Mekong River Delta

Climate change is drastically affecting the Mekong River, according to newspaper Vietnam News. Rising sea levels, lack of rain, a reduced flow due to upstream dams, and salt water intrusion have all made the Mekong Delta less fertile than in the past, which threatens to pull farmers in the region into poverty. Proposed solutions include revising the area's zoning plans and building sluice gates in order to keep fresh water in and salt water out.
Already introduced to some farmers of the Mekong Delta, restructured farming has helped to combat the infertility of the region by encouraging farmers to switch from growing rice to more profitable plants, such as watermelon and sesame seed. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong emphasized the need to continue restructuring in order to prevent a potential spike in poverty.
In response to the changing conditions of the river delta, some provinces have established links with each other in order to co-operate in water management and agricultural restructuring, among other things. The goal of this is to help farmers transition from small scale to large scale farming, a change they must make if they hope to stay afloat, according to a government spokesperson.
Using science and technology to solve this problem is a repeating phrase in this article, however, other than the sluice gates, there is not much specificity in how science and technology will actually be used.
Read more here: http://vietnamnews.vn/society/343589/govt-directs-mekong-delta-to-focus-...

Another article from American magazine National Interest provides a much more comprehensive and urgent description of the crisis of the Mekong River, and it blames the construction of Chinese construction of dams and this year’s El Niño pattern. Read this article here: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/china-el-ni%C3%B1o-are-killing...