Decision Support Tool for Integrated Water Resources Management Based on GIS, Remote Sensing and SWAT Model: A Case Study in the Upper Part of Dong Nai River Basin, Vietnam

Abstract

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been a promising approach to ensure sustainable water resources management. Therein, the management tool is one of the key components for successful IWRM implementation. This paper introduces the IWRM decision support tool for the upper part of the Dong Nai (UPDN) river basin, which plays a pivotal role for the socio-economic development in the Southeast region of Vietnam, through the application of an integrated technology of GIS, remote sensing, and SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. The paper also describes how to calculate water balance and map water resource vulnerability index (VI) for the UPDN as well as its sub-basins. Landsat satellite images and data related to water resources information (quantity and quality) of the basin were collected. The results show that the UPDN basin’s water pollution and water vulnerability were at a moderate level of which VI was 0.318. However, there were relative differences of these between sub-basins. The VIs of the sub-basins of Dak Nong, Dak R’Keh, and La Nga rose up 0.4–0.7 as highly vulnerable areas which should be prioritized for sustainable water management actions. These results evidenced that the integrated techniques could be an efficient approach to provide useful information on the status of water resources to stakeholders in terms of sustainable basin development and management via IWRM.