It is feared that climate change could have dramatic effects on the socioeconomic and environmental settings in which human societies reside. It is projected that the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) will be among the most heavily impacted areas, as its coastal plains are considered to be highly vulnerable to both sea level rise and upstream discharge changes. This fluctuation in discharge could come about as a consequence of different changes further upstream, including shifting hydrological and land cover patterns, and socioeconomic development (especially hydropower development).

In this chapter, the change in water resource patterns is presented to provide the general context of the situation in the VMD. Then the problems currently being experienced in the coastal plains are discussed, in order to illustrate changes in patterns of saline intrusion and its consequent impacts. Finally, water management strategies to sustain the development of the coastal plain in the context of climate change and upstream development are discussed.