by Simon Eccleshall, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
The droughts in the southern and central
provinces of Vietnam are part of the annual cycle of wet and dry seasons
in this part of the world. For the past two years, this cycle created exceptionally
high levels of flooding in the Mekong Delta. But now, large areas are experiencing
a severe drought and devastating forest fires.
In the southernmost provinces of Kien Giang and Ca Mau, local authorities have been battling forest fires which, during the last month, have burnt more than 8,000 hectares of natural forest. In Ca Mau, more than 3,000 hectares of valuable cajeput forest (valued above US$ 4 million) have been destroyed in the U Minh Thong National Park.
The national park is ranked as the world's second largest mangrove forest and very rich in biodiversity.
The fires, which began on March 23, still threaten 10,000 hectares of forest. More than 4,000 soldiers, police and local residents have joined in the fight to contain and extinguish the fires with fire-fighters clearing corridors in the forest to act as 'fire breaks'. High temperatures and a metre-thick layer of coal burning beneath the surface are fuelling the blaze while a lack of appropriate fire fighting equipment and water, due to the drought, are hampering efforts to extinguish the flames.
The Viet Nam Red Cross and the International Federation are monitoring the situation closely and will conduct a needs assessment to support local relief efforts if the situation deteriorates further for the thousands of poor families who live in the area.
There has been some relief in some areas though. Heavy rains late last week helped put out some of the fires, such as in Kien Giang province, where Truong Quoc Tuan, chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said "a large part of primitive forest with biological and historical value has been burnt," but that it was too early to put a price tag on the damage.
However, in many of the prime agricultural areas - source of premium rice, coffee, pepper and vegetables - rain has not fallen for nearly half a year. This is the worst dry spell in the region since the El Nino weather pattern struck first in 1998.
Water levels in the four key reservoirs in the south at Da Nhim, Tri An, Thac Mo and Dau Tieng, are alarmingly low - between one and three metres. Springs and irrigation ditches are dry and ground water levels are at their lowest levels since the 1998 El Nino drought.
Vietnam Red Cross staff and volunteers in the provinces of Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan are distributing emergency food supplies to around 500 of the most affected families. The prolonged drought in the area and the resulting forest fires have made a substantial number of families extremely vulnerable to food shortages between the cropping seasons.
The Red Cross has allocated approximately US$ 3,000 as an initial and immediate response to the developing disaster - targeting those areas that are already facing food shortages as a result of crop failures.
Bo Backström, head of the Federation's delegation in Vietnam, says that the forest fires and prolonged drought "may well be another indicator that the regular cycle of wet and dry seasons is changing and that climatic extremes are becoming more severe." The impact of such environmental disasters, he adds, "will inevitably have a serious economic and humanitarian impact on the population, as most people in these areas are dependent on cash crops and subsistence farming for their livelihood."
Recent statistics from 10 of the 18 provinces in south Vietnam indicate that more than 30,000 hectares of rice fields and over 20,000 hectares of forest have been lost or severely damaged by the drought.
About 100,000 households throughout 50 districts of Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Dac Lac and Gia Lai provinces are consequently facing food shortages.
Although there has been heavy but patchy rains in the last week, the Dac Lac Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warns that despite the timely shower, the forecast is for continuing hot dry weather and a prolonged drought.