63% of Vietnam Water Reserves Sourced Outside Territory: VACI

Up to 63% of Vietnam’s water reserves are sourced outside the territory, state media reported, citing the Vietnam Water Cooperation Initiative 2015 (VACI 2015). Water security, therefore, depends mainly on the developments of foreign countries on international rivers that flow to Vietnam, according to the report presented at the event which was held in Hanoi on Oct 19. The water security will challenge Vietnam’s socioeconomic development, experts said at the event, which marked the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai. Mr. Hai said that Vietnam, which is aware of its water shortage, will complete legal documents and strategies on exploitation, using and managing water resources together with promoting international cooperation for fair exploitation and better use of water. Two big rivers in Vietnam namely the Red river in the north and the Mekong river in the south both originate from China. Local experts have been warning the Vietnamese government of signing legal documents to set obligations for China to avoid unexpected situations. Earlier this month, China’s opening floodgates caused flooding and damage to Vietnam’s northern locality. Noticeable, Chinese forces made the discharge without warning Vietnamese authorities. Vietnam’s Red river in Lao Cai section is polluted due to the discharge of toxic water into the river from the upstream while Vietnam’s Mekong delta has been gradually impoverished due to dozens of hydropower plants in the upper part of Mekong river that China has built for the past decades. (Baochinhphu.vn Oct 19, Lao Dong Oct 20 p4)