Drifting Sands: Mitigating the impacts of climate change in the Mekong Delta by engaging the private and public sectors in the sand industry

Sediment transportation and deposition are essential natural processes for the formation and maintenance of the Mekong Delta. Large-scale mining of sand and gravel for the construction industry is causing the delta to sink, and also reducing its effectiveness in protecting against climate change impacts. To improve protection for this area, the project is working closely with key stakeholders to develop a sand and gravel budget for the Lower Mekong catchment area. This is being supplemented by work with the public and private sectors that focuses on making improvements to regulations and mining practice. The project is also promoting dialogue between key stakeholders in the Vietnamese construction sector while providing background to the risks associated with sand mining and proposing sustainable alternatives. The project approach can also be deployed in other large tropical river deltas after being adapted to the individual conditions as appropriate.

Project data

Countries: Viet Nam
IKI funding: 2,889,619.37 €
Duration: 07/2019 till 01/2025
Status: open
Implementing organisation: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Germany
Political Partner: Mekong River Commission (MRC)

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) - Viet Nam

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) - Viet Nam
Implementing Partner: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Viet Nam

WWF Greater Mekong Programm

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State of implementation/results

June 25, 2024: Implementation of a workshop on resource efficiency in road construction in the Mekong Delta to inform the implementation of the Road Infrastructure Plan 2025-2030 for the Mekong Delta (in cooperation with the Ministry of Construction in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam).
May 2024: Presentation of project results at the 2024 Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains of the OECD, Paris, and the Senior Officials Meeting of APEC in Arequipa, Peru.
March 13, 2024: Advising the Ministry of Environment during a consultation on the revision of the Vietnamese Mineral Law.
March 29, 2024: Conducting a workshop on circularity in the construction sector together with the Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC), with over 60 participants from politics, science and the construction sector.
December 13, 2023: Policy Dialogue to present the results of the Geomorphological Stability Plan (RGSP) with political and administrative leaders from 13 provinces of the Mekong Delta.
November 2023 - March 2024: Integration of the results of the sand budget into the sand mining planning of Can Tho Province in the Mekong Delta.
Since November 2023: Participation in the newly founded advisory technical committee on Circularity and Materials of the Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC).
October 17, 2023: Presentation of alternative aggregates for the construction sector at a workshop on road construction of the Ministry of Construction.
October 13, 2023: Joint dialog event with the Vietnam Institute of Building Materials (VIBM) for stakeholders in the construction sector and provincial construction authorities on alternative aggregates for the construction sector, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
September 29, 2023: Presentation of the sand budget for the Vietnamese Mekong Delta with media event in Can Tho, Vietnam.
September 12, 2023: Participation to Mekong River Commission roundtable on policy dialogue on transboundary water management, presentation of the sand budget.
May 22-30, 2023: Technical study tour for government representatives (MoNRE, MARD, MoC, provincial governments of Ca Mau and An Giang) to the Mississippi watershed, in collaboration with the US Army Corps of Engineers: presentations and site visits on sediment monitoring and management there, lessons learned from engineering and nature-based approaches to sediment depletion and coastal erosion.
May 2023: Sand budget and Regional Geomorphological Stability Plan (RGSP) are presented and endorsed in a workshop with government representatives.
February/March 2023: Two TV stations VTV 1 and VTV2 broadcast features on sand mining and riverbank erosion, which the project provided content and support for.
December 2022: A media workshop with over 50 participants generates widespread coverage.
November/December 2022: The project contributes through organization and content to three side events at State Party conferences to raise international awareness of sand mining and sand shortages:
- RAMSAR CoP14 (5-13.11.22), Geneva, with UNEP on climate resilience in the Mekong Delta
- UNFCCC COP27 (6-18.11.22), in Sharm el Sheik, with Agence Francaise de Développement (AFD)
- UNCBD COP15 (7-19.12.22), in Montreal, on sand mining and freshwater biodiversity.
March 2022: A training on “Method-Testing and Monitoring Approach for River Geomorphology” provides employees of provincial authorities in the Mekong Delta with important methodological knowledge for their tasks in order to strengthen technical capacity for licensing and monitoring of sand mining.
Beginning of March 2022: At a kick-off workshop in early March 2022, the project partners and service providers present the monitoring and modeling approach for the sand budget and geomorphological stability plan to more than 90 stakeholders from politics and civil society as well as research institutions. This will involve measurement campaigns from the end of the dry season to the end of the rainy season at various points in the delta to measure key parameters such as flow velocity, water levels and suspended sediment, and the topographic shape of river sections to gain a better understanding of the delta's sediment budget. As a follow-up to the inception workshop, a workshop is held for journalists to strengthen their understanding and awareness of sand mining and the link to climate vulnerability in the Mekong Delta.
March 2022: The findings and insights from this project are incorporated into UNEP's publication "Sand and Sustainability: 10 Strategic Recommendations". The recommendations lead to the inclusion of sand in UNEA Resolution EA.5/Res12 Environmental aspects of minerals and metals management.
In June 2021, an international study on good legislation and practices in sand management is completed.