BergerWorld: 4th Quarter 2005

Farmers have cultivated rice and other crops in the Red River Delta for over 2,600 years. This prosperous 170,000-square-kilometer delta spans northern Vietnam and portions of southern China, draining into the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea. Early farmers relied on irrigation through a large network of canals and dikes to flood rice paddies and improve soils with nutrient rich silts from the Red River. Today, the Red River basin includes 25 of Vietnam's 64 provinces, making this river system one of the nation's most valuable resources. However, modern farmers are threatened by salt water intrusion and flooding from the Red River and Gulf of Tonkin. Deforestation has also taken its toll, contributing to increased soil erosion, flash floods and declining water quality. Sustaining economic growth and reducing poverty for the mostly rural agriculture-based population within such a complex natural environment is truly a challenge.

As part of a massive program to increase agricultural productivity, the government of Vietnam, assisted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the governments of France and the

Netherlands, is sponsoring the $156 million Second Red River Basin Sector Project. This project is designed to improve water resource use in the Red River basin and delta, strengthen water resource management and expand stakeholder participation.

The Berger Group was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to supervise the rehabilitation of irrigation, drainage and watershed protection systems serving 100,000 hectares and improve flood protection works safeguarding about 1.5 million hectares in the valley.

In addition to rehabilitating irrigation and flood protection systems, Berger experts trained Vietnamese engineers in the latest irrigation project operation and management techniques and

encouraged the creation of community-based rural development programs to optimize the benefits from the improved water services. To assist MARD in planning and implementing new irrigation and drainage programs, the Berger Group assessed MARD's staffing and financial needs and identified funding sources for future irrigation programs. Berger specialists also worked with several communities to evaluate the operations and management of regional systems and increase participatory irrigation management. Berger experts then compiled detailed documentation on water use and irrigation and drainage operating conditions and worked with the Vietnamese Institutes for Water Resources Management and Research to identify opportunities for improved watershed management.

To ensure the continued upgrade of irrigation systems, the Team also drafted rural development support guidelines and assisted regional cooperatives in identifying and constructing small-scale infrastructure, including on-farm irrigation canals, pumps, footbridges and potable water access while initiating supporting agricultural extension and watershed management programs.