Warning boards are erected at a dangerously eroded site along the Giao Hoà River in Bến Tre Province’s Châu Thành District. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Trí

BẾN TRE — Erosion along rivers and the coast in Bến Tre Province has worsened in the last 10 years, severely affecting the lives of local people and farming.  

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has 112 eroded sites with a total length of 134km, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

They include eight coastal sites measuring a total of 19km, where 200ha of land and 54ha of mangrove forests in three districts have been affected.

In the first half of this year, 16 sites along rivers and coastal areas in Mỏ Cày Nam, Châu Thành, Mỏ Cày Bắc, Chợ Lách, Ba Tri, and Bình Đại districts witnessed continued erosion.

Located in the downstream area of the Mekong River and with a dense river and canal network and a long coast, Bến Tre’s erosion has intensified in recent times, the department said.

It has 13km of river banks and 8.5 km of coast that are severely eroded and need around VNĐ1 trillion (US$41 million) to repair. 

In recent years, the province has taken prevention measures, including advocacy activities to enhance public awareness of the need for preventing erosion and growing trees along river banks.

It hopes to relocate 90 per cent of households affected by erosion to safe areas by 2030.

It is stepping up inspection of sand mining in rivers and coastal areas and preventing illegal mining, especially in erosion-prone areas.

It has undertaken 22 projects at a cost of VNĐ1.4 trillion ($58 million) to check erosion since 2020.— VNS