In the context of climate change, the Mekong Delta is affected by several causes like sea level rise, flood and salinity intrusion, which for example affects the agriculture. DONRE and the People’s Committee support the local people and introduce different mitigation and adaptation activities. The project started in 2011, is funded by AFAP (The Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific Ltd) and will end in 2014. To get an impression about the project activities and how some of the results could be integrated in the teacher’s manual wws (water, waste and sanitation), on Friday 4th of May, me, Daisy and Ms. Mai Thi visited the People’s Committee in Nga Nam district and some households where they established some activities.
At the People’s Committee, Mr. Vu, Mr. Khoi and Mr. Nha informed us about the project activities. The project includes several activities of climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• One activity is awareness raising. Therefore students studied about climate change and created a dance to take action on climate change. From every school one selected team participated at a competition on district level. The winner school received funding from the AFAP to build small projects about sanitation under student’s management.
• Because of the low-lying terrain, Nga Nam district is impacted by flooding in rainy season. Thus, a rice-fish model is integrated to diversify farming and to combine rice production and fish farming.
• The Pig and fish combination consists of special fishes: cá trê, cá vồ, which eat the excrement of the pigs. These fishes help to treat the waste and can afterwards be sold at the market. So meat production is combined with aquaculture.
• Another new aquaculture activity is the establishment of a new high valuable fish: cá bống tượng. This fish will be feed with other low valuable fishes, which will be cached in flooded areas during the rainy season. While in the dry season the fish food has to be bought.
• Raising house floor and pig cages level as an adaption to the rising sea level and the flood.
• Biogas model: Pig excrement is used for the production of biogas. This helps to save fuel, like gas and firewood and reduces the production of greenhouse gases. For the project the Can Tho University supports technical help.
Visiting some project's models
Biogas
A household with a bag-tank biogas was visited. The excrement of the pigs, which were held in cages, is used for the biogas production. Therefore the cages are cleaned with water (from a well), this water flows through a pipe into the bag tank. In this bag gasses will be produced and then flow through a pipe into another bag, which contains the gas. From this bag a pipe leads into the kitchen, where the gas will be burned and used for cooking. The wastewater will leave the bag-tank through a pipe which leads to a pond with fishes . These fishes will eat the excrement. Because the produced biogas exceeds the usage of the household, the project plans to combine the neighbor household with a pipe to the biogas production. At the moment the biogas isn’t stored, if there is a surplus production the gas will diffuse in the atmosphere. The project plans to expand the biogas production also by using the human excrement.
Stove fueled by biogas
The pig cages
The plastic bag type biogas
The plastic bag type biogas
The water bottle removing odour from the biogas when it passing by
Water outlet pipe from biogas bag to the fish pond. The overflow can be used to irrigate the rice field.
Compost pile
Compost pile
Inside the compost pile
Water Treatment
A
water treatment construction is installed to turn the water
from the river into drinking water. Therefore you put river water into
the construction, where it will evaporate. During the evaporation the
water will be separated from the dirt. After the water condensed it will
flow into a trench. Through a tap you can put it in a bottle or a tank. The system has to be cleaned every second day. In average
four to five liters per day are produced, which are used from one
family. A maximum of 10 liters per day can be reached. The project has
planned to install 20 to 30 more water treatment installation, which
should have a different construction (wooden), so that they are
portable.
Rebecca and the house owner
