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Coastal erosion in An Minh - An Bien, Kien Giang province, causes and countermeasures

Hoang, Nam To / Do Minh, Toan

Located in the west and shares a border with the Gulf of Thailand, Kien Giang province in general and the coastal area of An Minh - An Bien in particular has the general feature of the Southwestern climate. Here, the sea regime and currents are complicated by the activities of rivers, the system of canals flowing into the sea, along with seasonal ocean currents and waves. In terms of geology, the coastal zone of An Minh - An Bien area is formed from young sediments (mbQ23, amQ23) located right on the surface which comprise of silty clay mixed with sand (thickness from 2 – 5 m) and very prone to instability. This shows that the research area is very sensitive to the mechanical impacts of sea waves and currents. In such natural conditions, the coastal erosion in An Minh - An Bien area has been happening in many places. Coastal erosion has encroached on the land for hundreds of meters, destroying many areas of protection forest, cultivated land, aquaculture, houses, infrastructures …, leaving serious consequences for local people. Recently, the cause of coastal erosion has become more and more serious in An Minh - An Bien area due to the strong waves combined with the coastal currents which lead to imbalance in the amount of mud – sand. The root of the problem is the impact of climate change causing the abnormal weather and sea level rise. In order to effectively prevent coastal erosion in the study area, it is necessary to synchronously apply many countermeasures, including structural and non-structural types. Each countermeasure must be suitable with the characteristics of each section and follow the reasonable procedure…