Hanoi hosts an international seminar on sustainable groundwater use

An international seminar on the sustainable use of groundwater was organised in Hanoi on July 5. 
The seminar focused on disussing included research and development of groundwater sources in Vietnam, northeast Thailand and Quebec (Canada), as well as management solutions to the exploitation of groundwater in the Mekong River area. 
Associate Professor Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, principal of the Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment - one of the seminar organisers, said the event was expected to garner experts’ opinions and measures to develop the valuable resource. 

Speaking at the event, Adichat Surinkum, head of the Co-ordinating Committee for the Geoscience Programme in East and Southeast Asia, said his agency, which plays an important role in developing regional groundwater, hopes to strengthen connection and experience exchanges among countries and organisations inside its network. 
Vincent Cloutier from the University of Quebec’s groundwater research institution noted stronger policies and mechanisms toward environmental protection is a key measure to sustain the resource. 
The Prime Minister recently approved a project on studying the impact of groundwater use to land subsidence in Hanoi, HCM and the Mekong Delta. 
The project will give insight into the management of groundwater exploitation and locations of depleted groundwater.  It will also assess the condition of land subsidence and its relation to groundwater use. 
Based on these findings, measures to address the issue will be suggested. 
Vietnam is among the countries that rely heavily on groundwater and where exploitation is on the rise. Most provinces and cities nationwide exploit groundwater for both household and business use, with daily exploited groundwater reaching about five million cubic metres in total. The figure is predicted to increase to meet new demand pushed by urbanisation and development.
The overexploitation of groundwater had caused land to subside in HCM City, Ca Mau province, and Can Tho City, and the challenge remained immense.