On April 7, 2021, the workshop on the saline intrusion situation and current solutions was held at the Cuu Long Hotel, My Tho city, Tien Giang province. The objective of the workshop was to present the situation of saline intrusion and drought and solutions in Tien Giang province through case studies in Go Cong Dong and Tan Phu Dong districts. At the workshop, the role of the early warning forcommunities to mitigate the damages from drought and saline intrusion was also introduced and discussed.
The workshop attracted representatives from commune, district and provincial levels of Tien Giang province, and representatives from the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Irrigation Sub-Departments, Departments of Natural Resource and Environment and Department of Information and Communication of the most affected provinces by drought and saline intrusion in the Mekong River Delta. Those include Long An, Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Ca Mau.
The workshop was an opportunity for the participants to gain a better understanding about the situation and current solutions to adapt to saline intrusion and drought in Tien Giang province through a survey report conducted earlier in Go Cong Dong and Tan Phu Dong districts of Tien Giang province by the Center for Environment and Community Assets Development (CECAD). In addition, the status and the role of the Early Warning System & the transmission of saline intrusion warning messages to the local people was also presented and introduced through the speeches of the official from the Irrigation Company and Tien Giang Hydrometeorological Station. Moreover, the representative from the Tien Giang Radio – Television Station gave a speech on the role of the Tien Giang Radio – Television Station in broadcasting news and reports on salinity from automatic saline intrusion monitoring system. They expressed their desire to enhance their capacity and the collaboration with CECAD in this project would help them improve their communication profile on drought and saline intrusion. All of these showed the cooperation between departments and related units in Tien Giang province in response to saline intrusion and drought when it occurs.
Regarding to other solutions on prevention and response to saline intrusion and drought at the project level, Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung, the consultant on Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP), presented his research findings on how the Commune Socio-Economic Development Plan was developed and introduced a manual to enhance community participation in the development of the Communal SEDP integrating sustainable freshwater management. The presentation of the SEDP consultant drew the attention of the authorities of Kieng Phuoc and Phu Tan districts. They wanted to receive support from the project in integrating sustainable freshwater management into the Communal Socio-Economic Development Plan so that commune’s People’s Committee and local people could manage freshwater resources effectively, in particular in the context of drought and saline intrusion.
The Tien Giang Youth Union representative presented the activities and contributions of Tien Giang young generation to the prevention and response to saline intrusion and drought in the province. Especially, as part of the project activities, the Tien Giang Youth Union representative presented the competition on Youth-led innovative initiative on adaptation to drought and saline intrusion, which was co-organized by Tien Giang Youth Union and CECAD. The aim of the competition is to encourage the participation of the Youth in taking actions and providing solutions to solve social issues at local levels.
Lan Anh