Mangrove Rehabilitation in the Coastal Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Abstract

The economically important and densely populated Mekong Delta in Vietnam was once fringed by extensive mangrove forests, varying in width from less than 100 m in Soc Trang province to almost 30 km in the Ca Mau peninsula (Figure 1). Moquillon (1950) estimated 200,000 ha of mangrove forest in the Ca Mau peninsula, where 149,982 ha were primary forests. Mangrove forests provided coastal protection, a variety of wood and non-wood products, and habitat for flora and fauna species, including nursery grounds for fish and shellfish species.