For a long time, the water story in the Mekong Delta was mainly approached in a response direction. When water is scarce, they find ways to store it, when saltwater intrudes, they close sewers to prevent saltwater intrusion.
However, reality is raising a bigger problem when water sources are no longer as stable as before. Flow from the upper Mekong River is decreasing, the flood season is no longer regular, while tides and saltwater intrusion are increasing in both intensity and frequency. This makes what was once considered abnormal now become "new normal".
Instead of trying to maintain a fixed production model regardless of water conditions, people have proactively adjusted to reality. When fresh water is scarce, they reduce dependence on crops that consume a lot of water. When saltwater and brackish water increase, they switch to farming more suitable objects. This is not only a temporary adaptation, but also a shift in thinking, from resisting to "living with" natural conditions.
From a management perspective, because water does not flow along administrative boundaries, each locality's own way of managing will be difficult to create long-term effects. Even in some cases, individual solutions can affect each other, so water governance issues need a more comprehensive approach, inter-provincial and inter-regional.
This includes connecting water storage systems, sharing data on flow and salinity, as well as coordinating the operation of works according to a common scenario. At that time, water is no longer a story of each province and city, but a common problem of the whole region.
Another important change is the perception of saltwater and saline water. For many years, this has often been seen as a negative factor that needs to be prevented. But in the current context, this perception is gradually changing from prevention to management and effective use.
If managed appropriately, saltwater and brackish water can completely become a resource for development, especially in aquaculture.
The Mekong Delta is facing an important turning point. When water is no longer as scheduled as before, all development plans, from production to livelihoods, also need to be redesigned.
Proactive adaptation or continued passive response, that is the current choice. And this choice will determine the sustainable development capacity of the entire Mekong Delta region in the coming years.
