The reservoir at the Đắkđrinh Hydropower Plant in Quảng Ngãi Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Water resources in Việt Nam are under increasing pressure, with degradation and depletion emerging as urgent issues that raise concerns over both the quantity and quality of supply.

Nguyễn Minh Khuyến, deputy director of the Water Resources Management Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said that Việt Nam has around 3,450 rivers longer than 10km. Yet about 60 per cent of the country’s water originates beyond its borders, while supplies are distributed unevenly across regions and seasons.

“Việt Nam’s water depends heavily on flows from neighbouring countries, accounting for as much as 60 per cent, while demand has risen sharply in recent years," he told the Voice of Vietnam.

"The dry season lasts seven to nine months, but contributes only around 28 per cent of total annual flow, making it extremely difficult to secure reliable supplies for daily use, production and economic development.”

Competition over water use has also become increasingly intense in recent years. Conflicts often arise between upstream and downstream needs, with demand for hydropower, agriculture, inland waterway transport and industry. At the same time, downstream areas face growing risks from water-related hazards, while water quality in many parts of the country is reaching alarming levels.

Khuyến said that Việt Nam is confronting serious challenges to water security. Rapid socio-economic development has sharply increased demand for the resource. Over the past five decades, water use has tripled, driven by population growth, agriculture, industry and urbanisation.

Forecasts indicate that annual demand could rise to about 122.5 billion cubic metres by 2030 and 131.7 billion cubic metres by 2050.

Alongside rising demand, pollution has become more severe. Accelerated urbanisation and expanding industrial and agricultural activity have led to greater volumes of wastewater, much of it untreated, being discharged into rivers, streams and aquifers. This has placed heavy and growing strain on both the quantity and quality of the country’s water resources.

Disputes over water use are also intensifying, largely due to conflicting economic interests between sectors and regions. Tensions often occur between hydropower generation and irrigation, as well as with industrial, domestic and agricultural needs downstream.

Another challenge lies in inefficiency. Water use remains wasteful and productivity is low, particularly in agriculture and urban areas. Although Việt Nam’s per capita GDP rose to more than US$2,500 in 2018, 2.5 times higher than in 2002, the value generated per cubic metre of water was only $2.37 — just 12 per cent of the global average of $19.42.

Meanwhile, watershed forests have been reduced, with little improvement in either coverage or quality, undermining water retention. Climate change and sea level rise are further compounding pressures, with salinity intrusion increasingly severe in the dry season and flash floods, landslides and riverbank erosion worsening during the rains.

“These are among the key drivers behind more frequent flash floods, landslides, droughts and saltwater intrusion in recent years,” Khuyến said.

The deputy director further highlighted institutional gaps, noting that Việt Nam has yet to establish a unified system of decision support tools for water resource planning, allocation and regulation at the river basin level. As a result, management remains fragmented, water use is often wasteful and exploitation is inefficient, undermining efforts to ensure water, food and energy security.

International organisations have ranked Việt Nam’s water security at just two out of five, a level far below that of regional peers such as Indonesia, rated at three, and developed countries like South Korea and Australia, which reached four — the world’s highest score in 2020.

Experts warn that the water security issue has yet to receive the attention it deserves. Despite being a vital national resource, water is still widely regarded as a free gift of nature rather than an economic asset. This perception has led to wasteful practices and limited awareness of the need for conservation.

Although the State has increased investment in the water sector in recent years, resources remain insufficient and unevenly distributed across industries. Particularly concerning is the lack of funding for fundamental tasks like resource surveys, inventories and assessments, as well as for protection and restoration efforts. Measures to curb degradation and depletion of water resources have also been underfunded.

At the same time, investment in reservoirs and water storage facilities has not kept pace with demand, leaving gaps in management and hampering the enforcement of water resource laws. These shortcomings threaten Việt Nam’s ability to secure stable supplies of water to meet the country’s growing socio-economic development needs, especially essential drinking and domestic use.— VNS