Mekong River, the 11th largest river in the world, is the main water source for irrigation, fishery, and domestic use In short, the living of the whole population in the Mekong Delta (MD) is depending and will be depended on this resource. The MD of Vietnam is located at the most downstream part of the Mekong river basin. With a population of 17 million inhabitants living in 4 million hectares of land, the MD has great potentials for agricultural production. The MD is the most important agricultural production region for the whole country. It supplies for more than 50% of staple food and 60% | PROPOSAL ON ESTABLISHING A SURFACE-WATER QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK FOR THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM prepared by College of Technology, CanTho University, Vietnam (Version 22 July 2004) --- oOo --- I. INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE The Mekong Delta and its main environmental problem Mekong River, the 11th largest river in the world, is the main water source for irrigation, fishery, and domestic use In short, the living of the whole population in the Mekong Delta (MD) is depending and will be depended on this resource. The MD of Vietnam is located at the most downstream part of the Mekong river basin. With a population of 17 million inhabitants living in 4 million hectares of land, the MD has great potentials for agricultural production. The MD is the most important agricultural production region for the whole country. It supplies for more than 50% of staple food and 60% of fish production and accounts for 27% of the total GDP of Vietnam. Rice and fishery products contribute significantly to the nation’s export earning. The MD is a typical river delta, with a dense water system of natural creeks, small rivers. Besides, artificial canals for irrigation, drainage and navigation have been constructed throughout the whole region. Farmers, accounted for 85% of the total population, are living in communities, which are split into small parcels, along the waterways. Only 30% of them can access to safe water, the rest using directly surface water at the rivers or canals. Unfortunately, as the consequences of a fast-growing economy, which is strongly based on agriculture, the region is facing more and more severe environmental problems like pollution of water resources by pesticides, fertilizers and animals manure, etc., especially since the past ten years. While most of local farmers have to depend totally on the surface water for drinking, irrigating their crops, fishing, aquaculture, etc., protection of this water source is crucial to ensure sustainable development of the .
