Viet Nam Tackles Soil Erosion With Nuclear Techniques

Intensive agriculture, along with deforestation, is a common cause of erosion, Zaman explained. Aggressive farming removes the organic matter that binds the soil particles together, leaving the area vulnerable to erosion during heavy storms. Nuclear techniques help identify erosion hot spots, enabling follow-up mitigation measures to focus on areas most at risk. "As a result of our work, treatment is more targeted, more effective and as a result cheaper," Zaman said. Following the impact of the project in various Asian countries, the IAEA is now working to replicate its success in other parts of the world and is forming a network of national experts to share best practices and know-how.     

Measuring erosion to find solutions

In Viet Nam, where three quarters of the country's territory is sloping land, erosion is a major problem. An FAO/IAEA pilot project in Lam Dong province in Viet Nam measured soil erosion rates using nuclear techniques at 27 sites. Adopting appropriate conservation practices such as intercropping, creating basins near coffee trees to trap water, and building terraces, led to a 45 per cent reduction in soil erosion, said Phan Son Hai, Director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Monitoring at the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, which has participated in the project since 2012. Similar results were achieved throughout the region (see Chart). Son Hai is now assisting colleagues across the country to introduce nuclear techniques for erosion monitoring nationwide.

In Malaysia, which is also part of the project, Othman Zainudin has been monitoring an area of high erosion in Perlis State, in the northern part of the country, for over ten years, and switched to using nuclear techniques two years ago. "With the new techniques we can obtain much more detailed information," said Zainudin, who teaches geomorphology at the Sultan Idris Education University in northern Malaysia. Previously, his team could only measure sedimentation rates in lakes, but could not identify the exact source of the sediments, he explained.

"Now that we know where precisely erosion comes from, we can undertake proper mitigation measures," Zainudin said. Later this year, in cooperation with the State Agriculture Department, he will organize a training programme for farmers on techniques to reduce soil erosion. "We could not have done such a knowledge transfer programme before because we did not know the precise source of erosion," he said.

As for Dao Thanh Canh in Viet Nam, his income has increased by over 20 per cent, with tea plants and animal fodder growing in erosion hot spots among his coffee trees. He is no longer uncertain about the future and feels free to spend his extra income, he said. Much of his extra money is now going toward schooling for his four children. "I am determined to offer them the education I could never get," he said.