An environment monitoring project for mangrove aquaculture (AQUAM) in Ca Mau was kicked off on January 15 by the Mekong Delta province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Australia’s University of Queensland and the Greenfield Consulting and Development Ltd (GFD).

A mangrove forest in Ca Mau province - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

The project, which will be implemented by UQ and GFD Ltd, aims to build an environmental monitoring system for mangrove aquaculture, provide information on management of mangrove forests and sustainable aquaculture towards improving livelihoods for and resilience of coastal communities to climate change

The project is carried out in key mangrove aquaculture areas in Ca Mau within 15 months, with a budget totalling over 500,600 AUD (384,948 USD) funded by the Australian Innovation Fund (Aus4Innovation).

According to Prof. Catherine Lovelock, Director of AQUAM, the project will apply advanced technology in water and forest environmental monitoring, and provide technical assistance in water environmental monitoring of shrimp farming and forest resource management.
 
Vice Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chau Cong Bang said the project is a timely and valuable response to the province's needs in developing ecological shrimp and crab farming in mangrove forests in association with protecting the ecological environment for mangrove aquaculture areas.

Dr. Hoang Viet Anh from the GFD Ltd said the company will apply the most advanced technologies such as automatic control, internet of things and artificial intelligence to build an environmental monitoring system for mangrove aquaculture.

He said he hopes the project will become a good example of the application of modern technology in natural resource management and agro-forestry-aquaculture production in Vietnam.