Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

We conducted a field study in the coastal province of Ben Tre, Viet Nam. Saline intrusion is a reality
for people living in this province and one objective of our study was to ask for views and
consequences of this phenomenon. The study was conducted by making qualitative interviews with
farmers and various authorities in the province during the spring of 2011. Water samples were
collected and the total electrical conductivity was measured in order get an understanding of the
range of saline levels in the region. The study was done in cooperation with Can Tho University, Viet
Nam and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.

The majority of the interviewees regarded saltwater intrusion to be a problem and a challenge.
Problematic features observed in the study were for instance that the levels of salinity had increased
during the last several years and that saltwater had intruded further into the province during that
time. Farmers expressed their concern that there was little they could do to change their situation.
Answers received from our interviews differed between farmers and local authorities with respect to
their way of communication. This calls for a development and strengthening of the cooperation and
communication between local authorities, researchers and farmers. Adaptations and measures that
have been taken into account during the past several years include the building of dams and
installing of gates. Switches of cropping systems have been frequent in the area with a significant
rate of change from rice cultivation to integration of shrimp and prawn cultivation by using rice
varieties with a short rotation period. In order to obtain a lasting improvement we believe that a
holistic and long-term approach is necessary to minimize the negative impacts of saline intrusion.