The 5^th Asia-Pacific Coastal Aquifer Management Meeting (APCAMM 5) was held at Danang from 17 to 19/7/2017. The Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment hosted and co-ordinated the meeting in combination with the University of Danang. of the meeting was participated by nearly 120 international and national experts, scientists, researchers and managers from around the world.

View of meeting

The meeting is a forum for scientists, managers and policymakers to meet, exchange and share both experiences, research and results on water resources management - especially groundwater management in the context of climate change and salinity intrusion. The meeting is also a great opportunity for scientists to study on groundwater and coastal aquifers management that can coordinate, develop and expand their networks of cooperation in education, training and research.

Opening Remarks from Dr. Vo Tuan Nhan, Vice-Minister Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

            Dr. Vo Tuan Nhan, Vice-Minister Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said: Groundwater management is always a great focus in the world. As mentioned by UNESCO's International Hydrological Program (EHP) in its focal area on Enhancing sustainable groundwater resources management: “Sustainable groundwater management is based on holistic, multidisciplinary and environmentally sound approaches and studies that include groundwater quantity and quality, relationships between groundwater and surface water and groundwater dependent ecosystems and land use planning and practices”. In Vietnam, groundwater is one of the most important natural resources to coastal areas. As surface water is being polluted and salinity intruded, most of coastal communities as well as agricultural and industrial activities have been depending on groundwater for their daily water demand.

            To meet the demand of socio-economic development, groundwater use and exploitation have been increasing, especially groundwater from coastal aquifers. However, scientific information of the origin, yield and quality of coastal aquifers' groundwater needs to be further researched and studied, especially in the context of climate change and sea-level rise as this can have severe impacts on coastal areas.

            Groundwater is a special mineral having flexible movement. The reserves can be recharged with sustainable use and exploitation. Groundwater is also vulnerable to climate change, environment and human activities such as groundwater abstraction, mineral exploitation, industrial zone construction, landfill, fertilizer and pesticides use in agriculture, sand prawn aquaculture, etc. These lead to the decrease in water level, land subsidence, impacts on ecosystem, saltwater intrusion and changes in. Climate change such as unusual rainfall, sea level rise, and salt intrusion has severe impacts on water resources, especially in coastal nations.

Welcoming and Opening Speech Assoc. Prof. Dr Nguyen Ngoc Thanh - President, Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment (HUNRE)

            Assoc. Prof. Dr Nguyen Ngoc Thanh - President, Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment (HUNRE) said: Vietnam has been using groundwater as one of the main water supply sources. The groundwater pumping rate has been continuously increasing over these recent decades. The over-extraction with limited insights of groundwater systems, inappropriate planning of wells and weak protection and management policies have resulted in severe environmental impacts in many areas of the country. To overcome such challenges, a number of strategies and initiatives are being implemented in Vietnam including the improvement of legal framework and its enforcement; international and regional cooperation; the baseline investigation, monitoring, prediction and planning; public communication and education.

            The increasing of groundwater demand, climate change, and global sea level rise has caused many challenges to groundwater management in our region such as groundwater contamination, salinization and land subsidence. As such, we should cooperate more to share knowledge, experiences, and solutions in coastal groundwater resources and management. I hope this meeting will highlight possible opportunities for cooperation among universities, organizations, which will in affect have positive impacts on the coastal groundwater management of the member countries.

Prof.Dr Tran Van Nam - President, University of Danang during his speech at the meeting

            The 5^th Asia-Pacific Coastal Aquifer Management Meeting in Da Nang with participation of hundreds of international and national experts, scientists, researchers and managers from around the world create a valuable platform for discussion and experience sharing of innovative solutions for priorities issue of water management in Asia-Pacific region.

            This Meeting also offers great opportunities for more collaboration among scientists and researchers on saltwater intrusion along coastal areas in order to achieve sustainable socio-economic development.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Pham Quy Nhan (HUNRE) reported at the meeting

 
Prof. Dr Namsik Park reported at the meeting

Dr. Pham Huy Giao reported at the meeting

Dr. Kriengsak Srisuk reported at the meeting

Prof. Dr Jimmy Jiao reported at the meeting

Dr. Dang Duc Nhan reported at the meeting

Prof. Dr Adrian D. Werner reported at the meeting

President Assoc.Prof.Dr Nguyen Ngoc Thanh give souvenir to Dr. Pham Huy Giao

President Assoc.Prof.Dr Nguyen Ngoc Thanh give souvenir to Dr. Weixing Guo

President Assoc.Prof.Dr Nguyen Ngoc Thanh give souvenir to Prof. Dr Namsik Park

Prof.Dr Namsik Park give souvenir to Prof.Dr Jimmy Jiao

Prof.Dr Namsik Park give souvenir to Prof.Dr Adrian D. Werner