Detail Project Plaza

Integrated Water Resources Management on river basin level: Projects IWRM Vietnam and IWRM South Africa

MeetingVIWC2026
TopicProject Plaza
AuthorHarro Stolpe | Christian Jolk
OrganizationUniversity Bochum Environmental Engineering and Ecology | University Bochum Environmental Engineering and Ecology
ID2022.1672218753

Content

Vietnam is a country with rich water resources. A dense river network provides an abundant supply of water. Despite this comfortable situation Vietnam faces numerous challenges:

    • The uneven distribution of the river network, the uneven rainfall across Vietnam and the prolonged dry seasons result in water supply problems in some areas.
    • Vietnam is a downstream country. Many of the important rivers drain from bordering countries into Vietnam. The quantity and quality of the surface water depends on the water usage in the upstream countries.
    • Infrastructure for water supply, wastewater management, flood protection etc. is still deficient and large investments will be required during the coming decades.
    • Fast urbanization, industrialization and intensification of agriculture in Vietnam leads to a rapidly increasing water demand and to enormous water pollution. Institutions in Vietnam do not yet have the capacity to efficiently plan water resources usage and control water pollution.
Also South Africa is facing major challenges in the water sector. The uneven distribution of the water-body network and of precipitation leads to water-supply shortages, especially in dry season. There is a lack of water infrastructure and deficits in the management of water supply and wastewater treatment. The rapid industrial growth, the progressing urbanization and the industrially organized agriculture lead to increasing water demand and water quality problems. Since 2007 the joint research project Integrated Water Resources Management Vietnam (IWRM Vietnam) and since 2010 the joint research project MOSA both funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) are developing Planning and Decision Support Tools (PDST) adapted to Vietnamese and South African conditions.

water resources, river network, South Africa