Chapter 29
Management of Peatland in the Mekong
River Delta of Vietnam
Quoi Phat Le and Thuyen Xuan Le
Abstract Peatland area in Vietnam is very small compared to that in other countries
in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. After years of
exploitation, most of the peatland areas in Vietnam became negligible except in a
few locations in the Mekong River Delta (MRD).
Peatlands in the MRD were formed mainly after the middle Holocene transgression period until hundred years ago. The typical types included: ancient coastal
marsh peat mixed swampy peat and modern coastal swamp peat. Most of the
peatlands are found in ancient swamps and ancient abandoned channel courses
scattered across the delta.
Many peatland areas in the MRD have been lost, others severely degraded due to
inappropriate management practices for decades. They include (1) uncoordinated
sectoral approach leading to overlapping management, (2) limited capacity for
peatland management, (3) lack of systematic researches on peatlands, and
(4) demand for land for food production of poor people living in and around peatland
areas. Inappropriate management and lack of knowledge about peatland resources
have led to activities that caused loss of peatland resources, including conversion to
agricultural land, drainage, mining for organic fertilizer production, fuel, among
others.
Previously, the area of peatland was estimated to be tens of thousands of hectares.
Its area has decreased to about 13,000 ha. The largest area of peatland is mainly in
the U Minh region, and few small areas scatter in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle, in the
MRD. U Minh peat-swamp is considered a very large peatland located in U Minh
Thuong (Kien Giang Province) and U Minh Ha (Ca Mau Provinces), currently, the
total remaining peat area is only about 12,667 ha, in which U Minh Thuong and U
Minh Ha account for 3231 ha and 9436 ha, respectively. Although only a small area,
Q. P. Le (*)
Institute for Environment and Natural Resources (IER), HCMC National University, Ho Chi
Minh, Vietnam
T. X. Le
University of Nature Science, HCMC National University, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
e-mail: lxthuyen@hcmus.edu.vn
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_29
775
Management of Peatland in the Mekong
River Delta of Vietnam
Quoi Phat Le and Thuyen Xuan Le
Abstract Peatland area in Vietnam is very small compared to that in other countries
in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. After years of
exploitation, most of the peatland areas in Vietnam became negligible except in a
few locations in the Mekong River Delta (MRD).
Peatlands in the MRD were formed mainly after the middle Holocene transgression period until hundred years ago. The typical types included: ancient coastal
marsh peat mixed swampy peat and modern coastal swamp peat. Most of the
peatlands are found in ancient swamps and ancient abandoned channel courses
scattered across the delta.
Many peatland areas in the MRD have been lost, others severely degraded due to
inappropriate management practices for decades. They include (1) uncoordinated
sectoral approach leading to overlapping management, (2) limited capacity for
peatland management, (3) lack of systematic researches on peatlands, and
(4) demand for land for food production of poor people living in and around peatland
areas. Inappropriate management and lack of knowledge about peatland resources
have led to activities that caused loss of peatland resources, including conversion to
agricultural land, drainage, mining for organic fertilizer production, fuel, among
others.
Previously, the area of peatland was estimated to be tens of thousands of hectares.
Its area has decreased to about 13,000 ha. The largest area of peatland is mainly in
the U Minh region, and few small areas scatter in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle, in the
MRD. U Minh peat-swamp is considered a very large peatland located in U Minh
Thuong (Kien Giang Province) and U Minh Ha (Ca Mau Provinces), currently, the
total remaining peat area is only about 12,667 ha, in which U Minh Thuong and U
Minh Ha account for 3231 ha and 9436 ha, respectively. Although only a small area,
Q. P. Le (*)
Institute for Environment and Natural Resources (IER), HCMC National University, Ho Chi
Minh, Vietnam
T. X. Le
University of Nature Science, HCMC National University, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
e-mail: lxthuyen@hcmus.edu.vn
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_29
775