Deltares: Scenarios for Mekong Delta Plan in Vietnam

Following on from the Delta Scenarios for the Delta Plan in the Netherlands, Deltares is now also involved in drafting the socio-economic scenarios for the Mekong Delta Plan in Vietnam.

Alongside climate change, socio-economic developments in that country are vital factors determining the use of land and water in the Mekong Delta.

Scenarios important in decision-making for adaptive delta management

Scenarios are important tools in decision-making. They generate a picture of a range of possible developments in the long term, making it possible to assess policy plans in terms of ‘robustness’. Delta Plans depend vitally on information about the sustainable use of land and water, as well as security and resources. Socio-economic factors play a role here.

The increased awareness generated by varied long-term presentations of the future will help Vietnam to establish adaptive delta management for the Mekong area. The Vietnamese government works with Master Plans for periods of five years that are based on a single vision of the future. Scenarios sketch a range of possible outcomes, making sustainable and adequately flexible options more relevant.

Knowledge about delta areas needed for scenarios

Knowledge about a delta area is indispensable when it comes to drafting good socio-economic scenarios for a Delta Plan. What impacts will population or economic growth have on the use of land and water? What are the consequences of that growth for security, water quality and sustainable planning? And does that match development ambitions for the future?

Deltares has the required scientific and technical knowledge about delta areas.

Four long-term scenarios for using land and water

In collaboration with the Vietnamese stakeholders, four long-term scenarios have been developed for land and water use. They generate a picture of the uncertainties relating to socio-economic developments and the associated measures and investments.

The Mekong Delta Plan

The Mekong Delta Plan was established in a close partnership involving the Dutch and Vietnamese governments. It supplies a long-term vision and recommendations for the sustainable and safe development of the Mekong Delta. The drafting of the plan was coordinated by Cees Veerman, the special consultant to the Vietnamese prime minister Dung, the former chairman of the Committee for Sustainable Coastal Development (2007-2008) and a former Dutch Minister of Agriculture (2002-2007).

Minister Schultz hopes that the Mekong Delta Plan will open up new opportunities for future alliances in the region.

[mappress]

Press Release, January 9, 2014