Analysing potentials, advantages, disadvantages of natutal conditions, resources to make a basis to orient reasonable exploitation and use of ba river basin

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE OF HNUE
Natural Sci., 2008, Vol. 53, N
◦
. 5, pp. 149-160
ANALYSING POTENTIALS, ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES
OF NATUTAL CONDITIONS, RESOURCES TO MAKE A BASIS
TO ORIENT REASONABLE EXPLOITATION
AND USE OF BA RIVER BASIN
Bui Thi Mai and Nguyen Van Cu
Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology
Abstract. Ba River basin is of strategic importance site in economics, pol-
itics, security & National Defence to the Highlands, Southern Central Viet-
nam and the whole country. Protection and exploitation of potentials and
advantages of the basin is very limited, natural resources are degrading, the
rate of poor and hungry families is high, the cultural life of the people is
low. To uphold potentials and advantages and overcome the above shortcom-
ings, it is necessary to renew policies, mobilize at highest external sources to
push up the economic development. Select sectors, fields of potentials and
advantages as the breakthroughs for the development of each area. Increase
the knowledge of ethnic groups and training of cadre staff. Especially, the
Government should consider and give the decision to establish management
units of the Ba River basin.
1. Introduction
Vietnam's strategy for socio-economic development in the impending period,
up to 2020 and the vision to 2050, assessing the natural resources for the sustainable
development of the whole basin is important and of pressing significance.
Ba River basin is the largest interland basin of the Southern Central Coast.
The basin is rich with natural conditions and resources and ecologial environment,
playing an imprortant location for the economy, polictics, security and defence of the
country. However, there is the existance of natural disasters, unreasonably exploited
by local people, which has caused the strong changes to natural resources.
The economy of the Ba River basin is strongly and totally developing at the
current time and in the future to intergrate into the economic development of the
whole country. The natural resources explitation has appeared with a lot of prob-
lems at different levels. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide concerns, solutions
and preventative measures to these problems. Therefore, analysing advatanges and
disadvantages of natural conditions and resources will become a foundation for ori-
enting suitable exploitation and use of natural resources, environmental prevention
and lightening natural disasters at the basin, which is of great significance both
scientifically and practically.
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2. Content
2.1. Potentials and advantages of natural conditions and re-
sources
2.1.1. Geographical location
Ba River basin and the upstream of the Central Highlands together share the
border with Cambodia. The region plays an important role in security, politics, de-
fence and the ecological environment. It is considered to be a home roof of the
Southern Central Coast with high potential for agricultural-forestal development
and especially for industrial trees. This region is diversified of fauna and flora, wild
animals listed in the Vietnamese, Southern Eastern Aisan and International Red
Book. There is Highway No. 26, 27 and 14C connecting with the Central Highlands
and the Southern Central Coast, the road 40 to Atopu (Laos), which forms good
conditions to establish border gates to broaden international cooperation to the
West. The downstream of the Southern Central Coast with a coastal line of 80 km
in lengh, which will provide favourable conditions to develop a complex of coastal
economy. In particular, this is the best location to build an Eastern and Western
road, railway to Central Highlands along the Highway 25, with possibilities to con-
struct a sea-port and an air-port, based on this information, Phu Yen Province will
become an intersection to exchange economy and goods between the North - South
and West - East of Vietnam.
Besides the advantages, the basin of requently copes with natural disasters
such as: storms, floods, drought etc, especially in the lower regions, which causes
serious damage to property and the lives of local people.
2.1.2. Terrain
The basin has a terrian with varied features of altitude layering that forms
continous belt. According to the document [1,2,3], in the researched area exists
several terrain layers as follows:
- Layer I with an altitude greater than 1,500 m is the highest terrain layer in
the basin. There still exists primeval forests in 5 layers in which there are 3 layers
of wooden trees playing as a preventative layer.
- Layer II with the altitude from 800 - 1,500 m popularly covers at upstream
level. The fauna here is rich with a lot of big wooden trees, also playing as a pre-
ventative layer. The flora here is diversified of wild and rare animals listed in the
Vietnamese and International Red Book.
- Layer III with the altitude from 400 - 800 m covers at upstream and middle
stream levels. The forest at the terrain has 4 layers with a lot of specious woods
playing preventative layers. Together with the annual average temperature of 21
o
C;
average rainfall from 1,500 - 2,000 mm and humidity coefficient 1.5, it creates a good
condition to grow tropical trees (rubber, pepper) and subtropical trees (tea, coffee
and mango).
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Analysing potentials, advantages, disadvantages of natural conditions, resources...
- Layer IV with the altitude from 250 - 400 m covers mostly at the middle
stream and downstream. Annual average temperature is 22
o
C, anual average rainfall
from 1,500  2,000 mm, humidity coefficient of 1 - 1.5. The terrain is populated with
local people and suitable to grow tropical and subtropical trees.
- Layer V with the altitude from 50 - 250 m mainly covers downstream where
most local people live and is a center of culture, ecnonomy, politics concerning the
basin and a most favourable location to develop an economic complex.
- Lay ... , the content
of chemical elements of Cu
+2
, Zn
+2
, Pb
+2
,... are over permitted standards and in-
creasing in the coastal areas. The areas affected by tide is salty contamination areas,
especially in the dry season when the water from upstream is low. Salinity of Ba
River water in the coastal areas changes from 0.02 - 6%0. At Tuy Hoa station, the
largest salinity is 5.52%0, the smallest salinity is 0.017%0. Largest salinity of river
water often occurs in the dry season and by June reaches 1.01%0 [3].
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2.1.6. Land resources
Land resources in Ba River valley are much diversified and found in many
different terrains, belonging to 9 groups as follows (Table 3):
Table 3. Land groups in Ba River valley [6]
No
Name Area (ha) Ratio (%)
1 Sandy soil group 5,320 1.04
2 Alkaline soil group 608 0.11
3 Alluvial soil group 45,999 9.0
4 Stagnate sloping soil group 611 0.12
5 Infertile soils group 81,649 15.97
6 Black soil group 26,612 5.2
7 Yellow-red soil group 308,156 60.3
8 Humus soil in mountain 18,924 3.7
9 Gravel eroding soil 23,321 4.56
Total 511,200 100.0
Table 4. The area of form of using lands of whole valley [3,7]
Whole
valley
Total
Fish-breeding,
agricultural
dedicated
lands
Agricultural,
forestry and
changed
lands
Production
forestry
lands
Protecting
forestry
lands
Area (ha) 1,390,000 343,793.7 454,840.6 326,650.5 264,715.2
% in com-
parison
with total
areas
100.00 24.73 32.72 23.50 19.5
Among 9 groups of land above (Table 3), the groups having the best conditions
for socioeconomic development of the valley are alluvial soil; stagnate sloping; yellow-
red soil and black soil with total areas of 381,378 ha (as 74.62%). These groups of
soils are exploited to increase water rise, vegetables and crops, agricultural, forestry
development with high productivity. The groups of sea sanded soils, alkaline soils
with total areas of 5,928 ha. At present a part of this area is for growing vegetables
and crops, fruit-trees but low in productivity, the remaining are fallow lands. The
groups which are heavily regressed are groups: alluvial soil and infertile soils with
total areas of 104,970 ha. These groups of soils loss the humus layer and agglomerate
layer, there are no smooth layers instead of that are the grit gravel layers on the
surface layer. The soils of these groups are growing natural grasses and brushwood
on the free soils and bare hills.
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Analysing potentials, advantages, disadvantages of natural conditions, resources...
2.1.7. Organism resource
Ba River valley is in the area of organism geography of Tay Nguyen and
Southern Central Coastal provinces with diversifies in a complex terrain, many high
mountains over 1,000 m creating a diversified ecosystem. Natural floristic composi-
tion in Ba River valley with different cover degrees (from over 60% to below 30%)
structure of forest with multi-layers. Cover degrees of floristic composition of forest
distribute unequally in the valley, in the upstream, the cover degree is high from 50 -
55%, however in the lower section, the cover degree of floristic composition is below
30%. Though the documents [3,5] the forest areas of Ba River valley at present have
only 571,569 ha, as 41.1% of valley areas, in which there are 12 types of natural
floristic compositions and 7 artificial floristic compositions.
The fauna of Ba River valley is very diversified and plentiful in nature reserves.
Kon Cho Rang Nature Reserve studied 392 types of animals, including 62 types of
beasts, 169 types of birds, 161 types of butterflies. In 62 investigated beasts there
are 23 beasts are noted in the Vietnamese and International Red Book, there are 4
types of beasts which are endemic animals of Vietnam and Indochina. Kon Ka King
Nature Reserve studied 221 vertebrate animals in 42 beasts there are 08 beasts noted
in the Red Book of IUCN in 1996, 7 kinds are written in the Vietnamese Red Book,
in which there are 07 vertebrate animals from Indochina [5].
In the recent years the forest areas in Ba River valley is increasing. In the
stage from 1995 - 2005 increased by 30,000 ha, in which growing forest increased
by 20,000 ha. However, natural forest is being destroyed; there are about 145,000
ha land with forest but becoming barren forest. The areas of free lands are over
308,000 ha, as over 22% of valley areas [7]. Free lands, milpa land take about 35%
of valley areas and have the risk of high erosion. To reduce the areas of rich forest is
to decline the multi-biology, reduce quantity, elements of species and gene sources.
2.2. Shortcomings
2.2.1. Natural catastrophe
In Ba River basin in recent decades, there has been often natural catastrophe
phenomenons on a great scale and intensity. The consequences of natural catastro-
phes is serious loss in assets and human lives, causing natural source degradation,
destroying eco-environment, and causing social disorder. The common natural catas-
trophes in Ba River are:
- Torrential rain floods: The studied area, especially the lower section in effect
of many weather forms which cause heavy rain for example: storms, tropical low
pressure, cold air mass and tropical convergence strip thus the collection of rain
amount is massive.
Every year, on the Ba River basin, there are on average of 3 - 5 floods, the
least is 1 - 2 floods, and the most is 6 - 7 floods, these occured 4 continuous flood
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Bui Thi Mai and Nguyen Van Cu
crests at emergency level III in one year. In the period from 1990 up to now, Ba
river basin has undergone historic floods, which evaluated as the greatest in 70 years
to the present time. The flood intensity increased very quickly, the crest was sharp,
water levels were all above the emergency level III from 0.5 to approximately 2 m
and maintained for several days [2]. The years of the super floods, especially years
of historic floods are usually related to amount of rainwater such as: in that year;
in that rainy season; during two heavy rainy months; in the most rainy month,. . .
that exceeded the average of numeric values of other years. As in references, in 1993
in the lower section, there was a historic flood, numeric values of that flood in Son
Hoa station are as follows: Total amount of rainwater of that year was 2,901.7 mm
exceeding the average of numeric value of many other years 1,131.6 mm; amount of
rainwater in the most rainy month is 1,478.8 mm exceeding the average of numeric
value of many other years 3.1 times.
Poor capacity of flood discharge in the Ba River lower section and Da River
gate, plus many natural obstacles and artificial obstacles make quick floods and
floods last for a long time. In the upper section and neutral section, there is only
local flooding, the submergence depth is 0.5 - 1 m and flood often lasts for about
24 hours and they are only flooded once or twice per year. Ba River lower section,
notably Tuy Hoa city, every year must face direct flooding and storms which cause
serious floods. The lower section has the flooded area of about 25,000 ha, at the
depth of 0.5 - 1.5 m and flood duration is often 1 - 3 days.
- Flash flood: At Ba River basin, flash floods occur often. In recent years, flash
flood have occured more and more seriously, causing great damage to assets and
human life in many regions. Typically the flash flood dated 14/10/1993 leveled the
irrigation system of Cam Dong, destroyed many sections on the highway 1A, swept
away 270 houses, destroyed 1,620 ha of rice and especially serious was that it took
the lives of 27 people [3].
- Erosion in river gate, sea gate: The coast of Phu Yen province is about 80 km
long but at present, there are 16 sections of erosion with the total length of erosion
at 23.4 km. Thus, on an average, about 3.5 km of coast there is eroded sections
and the total length of eroded sections takes 29% the total length of the coast of
province. The length of each eroded section is 1 - 3 km, importanly 7 km of the coast
section in Song Cau town, the eroded section encroaches the land at a distance of
20 - 50 m, also 100 - 150 m in Hoa Hiep Trung (Tuy Hoa), An Ninh Dong commune
(Tuy An) [8].
- Drought: Since the year 1980, droughts occur almost every year on a different
scale and it trends to increase more and more. Serious drought and medium drought
in crop seasons is increasing, the cycle is between 5 - 10 years. The cycle of winter
crop draught is 5 - 7 years. Since 1980, continuous droughts have occurred in both
crops in lower and upper sections, and in the lower section, droughts always occur
in all three crops, in which, serious drought often occurs in summer-winter crops.
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2.2.2. Environment facts
- Flooding in the storm season can not be overcome quickly, this not only
causes serious damage to assets and human life but also makes great changes in the
social and natural environment, changing ecosystems in the area, and causes affects
to public health, arising and development of epidemics.
- The development of technical infrastructure and urban social infrastructure
is slower than that of the population. And the disorder deforestation, unreasonable
land exploitation,. . . have caused environmental pollution, land degradation, water
exhaustion in the dry season and great floods in the rainy season, underground water
declination,... which have a great affect to the socioeconomic development.
- A point need to be considered now is that in some rural areas, there are still
a lot of mines, or agent orange (dioxin) left by the war. These toxicants have serious
affects on the environment and public health, study programs on this issue alone is
essential.
3. Conclusion, proposal
Ba river basin is a strategically important site in economics, politics, security
& national defence to the Highlands, Southern Central Vietnam and the whole
country. Protection and promotion of potentials and advantages will create dynamic
development steps of the basin in a stable ecologic environment, improve the people's
living quality, and also create economic close relationships between the basin and
the Highlands, Southern Central Vietnam and the whole country.
At present, the exploitation of advantages of the basin is still limited. To
uphold potentials and advantages and overcome these shortcomings, great effort
should be focused on the following issues:
1- Uphold internal strength, and also renew the policy, mobilize at the highest
external sources to push up the economic development. Perfect planning of industry-
agriculture, service development and select sectors, fields of great potential and
advantages such as the breakthrough for the development of each locality, section
by section.
2- Economic development must go in parallel with efficient solutions of social
issues and environment protection, reasonable use of resources. It is necessary to
focus the State resources, even foreign capital borrowing to develop and protect
forests to keep the eco-environment, and also attract labourers, solve more social
issues and preserve cultural values.
3- Build economic-social infrastructure. Give preference to invest in traffic,
irrigation, hydroelectricity, industry, service in connection with science-technology
development and processing industry, export industry.
4- It is necessary to raise the knowledge of ethnics groups and push up cadre
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staff training. This is a permanent strategy for the people to access modern produc-
tion technology.
5- Propose detailed content of study on reasonable use of resources and envi-
ronment protection and natural disasters prevention.
6- It is proposed that the Government should soon consider and give the
decision of establishing management units of the Ba River basin.
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