Every drop of water tells a story, and the Mekong Delta speaks volumes. In late 2023, I found myself on an airplane heading to Southern Vietnam as part of a reciprocal exchange project through the YSEALI program. Surrounded by the meandering rivers, lush greenery, dense cities with traffic that flowed like water, and warm-hearted communities of the Mekong Delta, I witnessed firsthand how water is more than a necessity; it is a lifeline, a livelihood, and a legacy. This journey was not just an exploration of a new place but a meaningful reminder of the shared responsibility we all carry protecting the waters in our respective communities.
This trip was one of four projects selected from over 80 proposals by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and American Councils for International Education, as part of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellows Program (AFP). Earlier that spring, Spokane Riverkeeper hosted Linh Nguyen, a Cycle 1 YSEALI fellow from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in collaboration with Gonzaga University’s Center for Global Engagement. Linh, who temporarily left her fundraising role at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), spent four weeks with Spokane Riverkeeper learning about its operations, including programs, funding sources, business structure, and community partnerships that protect the Spokane River Watershed. At the end of the fellowship, Linh submitted a winning proposal, which brought me to Vietnam to contribute to a "Nature-based Weekend" (NabaWe) program. This initiative empowers young Vietnamese people with knowledge and tools to address environmental challenges using Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
Presenting at the American Center at the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Spokane Riverkeeper Meets Mekong — An Exchange of Worlds
"Cửu Long", or the Vietnamese name for the Mekong Delta, translates to "River of Nine Dragons." This name symbolizes the nine distributaries of the Mekong River that branch out and flow into the South China Sea. The tendrils at the mouth of the expansive Mekong River resemble mythical dragons in Vietnamese tradition. Revered as benevolent creatures associated with water, rain, and prosperity in Vietnamese mythology, the "Nine Dragons" are seen as guardians of the land, bringing life and fertility to the region through their flowing waters. With both cultural and ecological significance, these waterways are vital to the region's agriculture, aquaculture, and daily life.
The Mekong River is the 12th longest river in the world and approximately 2,700 miles. It originates in the Tibetan Plateau in China and flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia before it reaches Vietnam and the Delta of the “Nine Dragons”. A biodiversity hotspot, the river is home to around 800 fish species and over 20,000 plant species. It supports one of the world's largest inland fisheries, providing food and livelihoods for millions. In some places the Mekong's flow varies dramatically between the wet and dry seasons, creating unique phenomena like the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia, which reverses its flow depending on the season. Irrigating rice paddies, sustaining ecosystems and serving as a transportation route for goods and people, the Mekong is vital for agriculture, aquaculture and trade in the region. That said, it is not without environmental challenges and like the Spokane River, dams, climate change and pollution threaten the ecosystems and the communities that depend on it.
The morning of December 2nd I awoke to the gently prodding seedling tone on my iphone alarm. It was 4 AM and I had 15 minutes to meet Linh. I pulled on a long sleeve shirt that I would surely shed after sunrise but the moist air of Can Tho was thick and cool at the moment. Stuffing a mangosteen, compliments of the hotel whose heyday appeared to be decades ago, into my pocket for later, I groggily headed to the lobby. Linh and I met a young woman there who would be our guide to the Cai Rang floating market that morning. Like the young woman from XO Tours who guided me through Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, on the back of her Vespa a few days before, our guide was hospitable, knowledgeable and exuded a certain warmth and friendliness that strangers in other parts of the world can be hard pressed to share. We walked together down to the docks and loaded on a motorized wooden boat built for 30 people, not two tourists and three guides, and headed out into the dark waters of the river canal in order to arrive at the famous market at first light.
The first major bridge in Can Tho wasn’t completed until 2010. The Can Tho Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Hau River (a distributary of the Mekong River) replaced the ferry system that previously connected Can Tho City with Vinh Long Province. Nonetheless, the vast network of river canals continue to be vital for the region's economy and way of life. As we headed under one of the bridges, a cacophony of high-pitched chirping and clicking pierced the darkness. We killed the motor to listen to the edible-nest swiftlets for a moment and Linh explained how these birds made highly prized nests entirely out of their solidified saliva. These nests are the main ingredient of bird nest soup, a delicacy throughout Southeast Asia cuisine and a symbol of wealth and status that is believed to promote health, beauty and youth.
We continued on toward our destination and as the sky’s hue started to turn pink, a bustling maze of wooden boats of all sizes appeared around us. A particularly shabby vessel, with raw, weathered grey planks pulled up swiftly beside our boat and before I even knew what was happening, a cà phê sữa đá (iced milk coffee) was handed to me with a quick exchange of change between the boats. We passed bigger boats laden with vibrant produce—mounds of tropical fruits like mangoes, durians, and pineapples, along with fresh vegetables, flowers, and local delicacies. In the not too distant past, the merchants would arrive at dawn clamoring for the best deals the boats filled with wholesale goods would bear. Today the tradition continues but a number of the trading boats have been replaced by tourist vessels as land-based trade and modern infrastructure, like roads and bridges, have made transportation and commerce less dependent on the waterway system.
After a hearty breakfast of pho was again served from one restaurant boat to ours, and a visit to a building in the middle of the river that boasted traditional treats along with a lesson on how to make rice noodles, we headed back up the river to our hotel. Along the way we passed an Ocean Cleanup Interceptor. The Interceptor™ known as 003 or René, launched in Can Tho River in 2022 is capable of extracting up to 50,000 kg or over 110,000 pounds of trash daily. Rivers are the main source of plastic pollution in our oceans with 80% of the riverine pollution coming from about 1000 rivers worldwide. Vietnam is frequently cited as being among the top 4-5 countries in the world that contribute to the leakage of plastic waste into the ocean. I mused on the herculean task at hand in protecting our watersheds from plastic and other litter be it high-tech René or our scrappy 16 foot Rift Raft often seen on the shores of the Spokane River.
International NGOs play a crucial role in tackling environmental issues in Vietnam. Earlier this week, I participated in a panel discussion at the American Center of the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), alongside Dr. Thuy Nguyen, Managing Consultant at Environmental Resources Management (ERM) Vietnam, and Tien Trinh, Mekong Delta Communication Officer for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Together, we introduced the Nature-Based Weekend project to a room of predominantly university students. The discussion highlighted critical environmental challenges facing the Mekong Delta, such as the transition from coal-fired energy systems, rising sea levels due to climate change, hydropower development, and intensive agricultural practices. While the Spokane River grapples with reduced summer flows caused by declining snowpack and early runoff, the Mekong Delta faces intensified flooding, salinity intrusion, and sediment load reduction. Organizations like ERM and IUCN are supporting Vietnam—one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations (Global Climate Risk Index, 2021)—with adaptation and mitigation strategies, including Nature-Based Solutions (NbS).
Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
IUCN defines nature-based solutions as: “actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges (e.g. climate change, food and water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”. As as leading worldwide conservation organization, IUCN has helped establish global standards for Nature-Based solutions included quality design and project scaling up for maximum impact, safeguards from overexploitation, engaging all stakeholders, incentivizes positive sustainable change using a consistent framework of criteria and indicators that is based on knowledge co-creation through conservation science, social science and traditional knowledge. In the Mekong Delta some examples of NbS are implemented through Food Systems Based Approaches (FBA) which focuses on leveraging natural ecosystems and food systems to better support the 20 million people of the Mekong River Basin which produces 20% of the country’s rice and 60% of aquaculture export value ($8.6 billion/year). Replacing intensive rice production with flood-based crops in the Mekong Delta is one such example that reduces flood risk, improves water quality, and increases farmers’ incomes.
Climate Resilient by Nature (CRxN) Mekong Project led by WWF-Vietnam works with the local communities of Vinh Dai and Thanh Hung Communes in Long An Province to pilot flood-based livelihood strategies including a mixed aquaculture model for floating rice and fish farms; access to green financing mechanisms; and fish restoration programs as well as enhancing sedimentation and water storage through the restoration of natural flooding processes in the Delta. Furthermore, two large corporations have committed to buy the floating rice product, on marketing and alternate product development (e.g. rice noodles). Spokane Riverkeeper and other conservation organizations in our area use NbS in our riparian restoration projects that support the Upper Columbia United Tribes salmon reintroduction and recovery efforts. We have also implemented solutions in our policy that are informed by nature like the City of Spokane’s Drought Response Code that triggers response measures when the river drops below certain flow or CFS levels.
Empowering Young Minds — The See-Think-Wonder Approach
On December 4th, Linh and I prepared to meet 20 students at the DRAGON-Mekong Institute at Can Tho University. These students, participants in the Nature-Based Weekend Project, had traveled from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to Can Tho after attending the initial panel discussion at the U.S. Consulate. Hailing from various universities across HCMC, they represented a wide range of academic fields, not all necessarily related to environmental studies.
The DRAGON Institute - Mekong – CTU (also known as the Research Institute for Climate Change at Can Tho University) was founded by the U.S. and Vietnamese governments to advance research and training focused on sustaining ecosystems and major river deltas in the face of climate change. Its mission is to become a globally recognized hub for research on climate change impacts, community resilience, and ecosystem health. The Institute emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, stakeholder partnerships, and scientifically-driven solutions, particularly for river deltas like the Mekong.
Before our highly anticipated field trip to Con Son Islet, we gathered for a discussion featuring Trung Ky Phan, Senior Researcher at Can Tho University, and Ms. An Tran, Project Manager for WWF-Vietnam’s Climate Resilient by Nature (CRxN) Mekong Project. During this session, Can Tho University students presented innovative projects addressing challenges in the Mekong River. These included telemetry sensor technology for monitoring water quality, solutions to tackle plastic waste pollution, and community-driven approaches to building resilience and raising awareness about climate change and sustainable development. Participants were encouraged to think critically, engage collaboratively, and explore diverse perspectives on potential solutions.
After a lunch filled with local fish specialties, the group boarded a riverboat to visit Con Son Islet on the Hau River. This small, 70-hectare landform is renowned for its fertile soil, fruit orchards, and floating fish farms. At one stop, we learned about traditional and sustainable aquaculture practices, observing a range of freshwater fish species such as the zig-zag eel, redtail catfish, and fire eel. While some students giggled over koi fish providing foot massages, the entire group was captivated by the flying snakehead fish, which leapt from the water to catch food on cue.
The journey continued to Con Son’s famous tropical fruit gardens, where we were warmly welcomed by the community. Since 2014, the residents have operated under a community-based ecotourism model, combining farming and tourism to expand their income opportunities. Every household on the islet contributes to this collective effort, creating a harmonious blend of sustainability and economic growth.
As our boat made its way back to the port for the return journey to HCMC, the group buzzed with animated voices and laughter. The air was filled with the excitement of shared discoveries and new connections. In front of me, two young women leaned toward each other, their faces glowing as they reflected on the day’s experiences—not just the challenges the Mekong Delta faces in a changing climate, but the possibilities for a more sustainable future.
Lessons Learned and Path Forward
The NabaWe project successfully brought communities and students together to explore adaptive models and nature-based solutions, inspiring both action and connection—cornerstones of Spokane Riverkeeper’s watershed work. One student expressed their gratitude at the end of the weekend, saying, “I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for the fantastic field trip experience. The positive learning environment you created allowed me to gain valuable insights into environmental issues and climate change. Meeting talented individuals and exploring diverse perspectives was truly eye-opening. Thank you for changing my perceptions and contributing to a memorable learning journey.”
As young people are increasingly exposed to environmental issues through media, many are motivated to act. However, despite the prominence of buzzwords like #climatechange and #microplastic, they often lack a deeper understanding of the root problems, the communities most affected, and the concrete actions needed for meaningful local impact. It is essential to provide young people with opportunities to reflect on the interconnectedness of Earth as our shared home and equip them with a holistic perspective for becoming future decision-makers.
While the Mekong Delta faces different environmental challenges than the Spokane Watershed, the core strategies for mitigation and adaptation—community involvement and nature-based solutions—are similar. By fostering collaboration across diverse perspectives and experiences, we can develop creative, actionable ideas to tackle climate change and its impact on watersheds.
The evening before my departure, I shared a meal with a small group of YSEALI program alumni. Over plates of exotic greens, herbs, and flavorful sauces, these young professionals shared how they are working within their communities to harness the power of collaboration, shared knowledge, and nature to address pressing environmental challenges. Like the students from the NabaWe project, they came from diverse fields yet took the time to explore, support, and actively engage in nature-based solutions and community-driven environmental efforts. I encourage you to do the same.
