VIETNAM MINISTERIAL AND MEKONG DELTA PROVINCIAL AGENCIES INTRODUCED TO SAND BUDGET MODELLING

Can Tho, July 2023 – Under the framework of the Sustainable Sand Management Project funded by IKI (IKI SMP), WWF-Viet Nam and VNDDMA* co-organized a two-day training course on sand management for technical staff from 09 Mekong Delta Provinces / City and relevant Ministries. This was one of the capacity building activities to introduce decision makers to the sand budget modelling and its development tool. The aim was to enable them to utilize the final product of IKI SMP’s key research: Development of the Delta-wide Sand Budget for the Viet Nam Mekong Delta for sand mangament and associated management activities in the future.

Picture: Mr. Ha Huy Anh, IKI SMP Project Manager, introducing the project and Sand Budget concept   © WWF-Viet Nam

Trainers from Deltares Joint Ventures – the consultants of the Sand Budget Development package – introduced the overview of the sand budget model and Delft3D-FM, a synthetic model that simulates various hydrodynamic processes and their interactions over time and space. After each theoretical session, the participants practised establishing a computational model of sediment transport from Tan Chau to My Thuan (Tien River). The model setting involved:

• Creating a computational grid
• Interpolating depth
• Declaring boundaries and input data (water level, flow)
• Setting calculation parameters and running the model
• Processing calculation results

There were 24 technical staff from Ministrial Departments like VNDDMA, VNMC and VGDG, their provincial agencies and institutions from the Mekong Delta. The pre-training assessment showed that around 90% of trainees did not know about the sand transport model. By the end of the course, 94% of trainees rated the course’s content from good to excellent and 97% agreed that their knowledge of the sand transport modelling had improved significantly. The participants also suggested an advanced course to enhance their skills in the near future.

By September 2023, the Mekong Delta Sand Budget will be launched and handed over to WWF-Viet Nam’s government partners.