Abstract:

The Nam Dinh coastal area elongates over ~72 km, from the Red River mouth to the Day River mouth. This is one of the areas, where has been directly affected by the anthropogenic and natural elements. Our study results showed that: The Red River estuary is experiencing sediment accumulation, which formed the mangrove swamps and sand bars while the coastline from Giao Hai Commune to the Day River mouth underwent erosion process at an average rate of 5 – 7 m/year during the recent decades. The natural factors such as geology, geomorphology and marine hydrology demonstrate less influence on erosion process in this area. In contrast, the human activities together with construction of hydropower dams in the upstream of the Red River and its tributaries (Da and Lo/Chay Rivers) is supposed to be the main controlling factor on coastal variation and hence the erosion during the recent years