On the importance of recognizing the large regional and temporal variability of coastal mangrove processes along the Mekong Deltaic Coast

The analysis to be presented is focusing on the importance of the large historical regional variability and large recent temporal variability of mangrove processes along the Mekong Delta Coast. Such variability is insufficiently recognized in literature. Existing research and proposed solutions are often targeting specific provincial issues, presenting local not thoroughly tested solutions, and more importantly that are not generally applicable to other regions and sometimes even detrimental for other regions.

A thorough description is given of the longer-term differences in geography and physical processes, on centennial scales and on more recent, decade-scale human impacts on the various coastal regions of the Mekong Delta. For each of these regions, we present an analysis of the above-mentioned aspects, based on geological, historical, and recent observations of coastal evolution. Current physical process insights on mangrove dynamics are discussed, while including recent and expected impacts of human-induced and climatic change-induced impacts. A most pivotal finding is the quite recent occurrence of a tipping event causing the Mekong Deltaic Western Coast and parts of the Mekong Deltaic Eastern Coast turning to extreme erosion while having been stable over 100 years in the last century.

Our analysis aims to elucidate the profound geographical and temporal variability of coastal mangrove processes along the Mekong River Delta. This provides important information for new research studies that are welcomed strongly to support Vietnam in its quest to solve mangrove issues along the Mekong Delta Coast in a sustainable, nature-inspired manner. The Mekong Delta is of paramount national importance in an economic sense, and at least as important the delta is home to nearly 20 million inhabitants, who have their livelihood based on the coastal region.