it_team4_FOREst 27 March 2021Rapid Shoreline changes and movement of sediment caused by erosion and deposition is a major concern for managing the coastal zone in the Mekong Delta in Southern Viet Nam. Such morphologic processes are the result of natural and man induced processes of erosion. During the last century, this is summing up to thousands of square kilometer of eroded or silted coastal areas in the Mekong Delta, especially in Soc Trang Province. The lack of an integrated approach to sustainable coastal zone management in the Soc Trang Province and rising economic interests in shrimp farming have led to rising concerns over environmental and social impacts in the Mekong Delta region of Viet Nam. The actual land management strategies have resulted in the unsustainable use of natural resources in the coastal zone thus threatening the protection function of the mangrove forest belt and reducing income for local communities.
To understand the morphological development of coastlines, the original hydrology of coastal areas as well as the former distribution of mangrove forests, a key tool of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICM) is used, the analysis of historical maps, aerial images, and satellite images. The GIZ-project “Management of Natural Resources in the Coastal Zone of Soc Trang Province”, commissioned the creation of a historical shoreline geodatabase at HNEE. It includes historical maps and historical aerial photos from French colonial archives, aerial photos, recent satellite images, as well as digitised land-use shape files. The database helps to understand historical land-use and shoreline changes along the coast of the province and hence the planning progress of future activities. Such historical datasets are compared with recent satellite images, land-use and irrigation maps.
Involved in the project (2021-2014) were Susann Klatt (HNEE); Maximilian Roth (giz); Klaus Schmitt (giz) & Jan-Peter Mund (HNEE).