Uncovering the lack of awareness of sand mining impacts on riverbank erosion among Mekong Delta residents: insights from a comprehensive survey

Abstract

Global sand demand due to infrastructure construction has intensified sand mining activities in many rivers, with current rates of sand extraction exceeding natural replenishment. This has created many environmental problems, particularly concerning riverbank stability, which adversely affects the livelihoods of people in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). However, sand mining’s social impacts in the region remain inadequately understood. Here we assess locals’ perception of sand mining activities in the VMD and its impacts on riverbank erosion. Residents living along the Bassac River, a hotspot of sand mining, were interviewed. Our results showed that while sand mining is perceived as destructive to the environment, few were aware of its role in worsening riverbank erosion. Only residents directly affected by riverbank collapse were aware of the implications of sand mining and its negative effect on bank stability, as they seem to have actively sought clarification. Our findings highlight the need for greater awareness and understanding among the locals regarding sand mining’s impact on riverbank stability.

A Deep Learning framework to map riverbed sand mining budgets in large tropical deltas

“…Excessive SM can lead to an array of environmental issues such as riverbank instability, tidal dominance, saltwater intrusion, changes in flow regimes, disrupted flood frequency, ecosystem destabilization, decreased groundwater table, reduced aquifer recharge, degraded river water quality, ineffective irrigation systems, and loss of agricultural land and productivity (Anthony et al, 2015;Eslami et al, 2019;Loc et al, 2021;Park et al, 2020;Park et al, 2022). Social issues, such as community displacement, livelihood disruption, health problems, infrastructure damage, and increased social inequality, could also arise (Loc et al, 2021;Tran et al, 2023). , 2015).…”