CON CHIM, Vietnam — Off the coast of Vietnam’s Tra Vinh province lies Con Chim, a tiny stretch of land where the wind sweeps in off the water, weaving through mangroves and rustling across fields of rice. This land, all 62 hectares (153 acres) of it, is a rare example of what much of the Mekong Delta looked like before industrial rice cultivation expanded in Vietnam more than 50 years ago. Some 220 people live here, practicing traditional rice farming and sustainable fishing methods while also welcoming tourists to their newly launched ecotourism operation. In an era dominated by climate concerns, Con Chim has quietly become a symbol of hope for a sustainable future in Vietnam. “Coming to Con Chim was like going back in time,” says Nguyen Huu Thien, a local ecologist who has dedicated his life to understanding the delta’s ecosystem. “As a conservationist, I was amazed by Con Chim, by the way of life that people could practice.” Thien recalls his own childhood in a delta village, where he learned the ropes of farming and fishing. Back then, he says, money was scarce, but life was abundant, defined by clean water, plentiful fish and — always — rice. But today, even with more money in their pockets, they can’t buy what they once had. “It was a paradise that’s now lost,” Thien says. Today, climate challenges like droughts, floods, rising sea levels, and high salinity affect rice farming in the Mekong Delta. And after five decades of…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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