Abstract
River sand mining has been a concerning problem for the southern Asian developing nations. The rampant growth of urbanisation in developing countries has led to an extensive need for and consumption of sand. The Mekong River and its delta are an essential part of southern Vietnam, and also a global biodiversity hub that is currently being exhausted by intensive sand mining. The understanding of the cause–effect of the sand mining over the Mekong delta region and river, from a systems-thinking perspective, is lacking, not only with Vietnam but also with other countries along the Mekong River. The DPSIR framework (Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response) is a useful tool to assess and describe the cause–effect within an ecosystem to aid in a better systems-thinking approach for stakeholders, policy makers, and governance managers to draft response measures. This study used the DPSIR framework to assess the different effects of sand mining on the ecosystem services and human well-being in the Mekong River and delta region of Vietnam. Rapid population growth, urbanisation, and infrastructure development needs remain as primary drivers for the sand consumption. The DPSIR study showed a holistic view of several interlinked pressures and state changes in Vietnam’s Mekong, along with some potential responses, to form systematic, sustainable approaches for mitigating and adapting the impacts caused by extensive river sand mining.
Highlights
The Mekong River is one of the longest rivers in the world, running 4800 km from the Tibetan plateau, passing through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam [1]
The preliminary investigation was complemented by Google search, Google Scholar, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Mekong River Commission, the United Nations Developmental Programme (UNDP), and the statistics office of Vietnam, for further information
The qualitative study demonstrates the potential of the DPSIR framework for analysing and mapping the leading causes and effects of excessive sand extraction in Vietnam’s Mekong delta
Summary
The Mekong River is one of the longest rivers in the world, running 4800 km from the Tibetan plateau, passing through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam [1]. The population living in the Mekong basin depends on the river and its ecosystem services for livelihood and well-being [2]. In Vietnam, the Mekong delta, known as Cuu Long or Nine Dragons, covers a small area in the south of the country, around 60,000 km2 [3,4]. Despite covering the smaller region, about one-fifth of Vietnam’s population and a quarter of its overall gross domestic product is represented by the Mekong delta [8]. In recent times the sediment load in the Mekong delta region of Vietnam has been reduced through dams, intensive sand mining, hydropower growth, and climate change, intensively affecting the flow regime and hydro morphology of the river [5]
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