Assessment of the effectiveness of the pile-rock breakwater pilot in Vinh Chau area, Soc Trang province

Abstract

The objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the pilerock breakwater pilot in Vinh Chau town, Soc Trang province since 2021. The assessment process includes field survey, and interviewing experts and local people about the economic-technical effectiveness and the environmental and social impacts of the pilot. Pilot project documents and data were collected, the elevation/terrain surrounding the pilot was measured, and the settlement of the pilot was monitored. The results showed that the breakwater settlement ranged from 43 mm to 49 mm at three monitored locations indicating high stability after three years of operation. Notably, the elevation behind the breakwater increased significantly, with the highest level of +1,257 mm (MSL) at location B1 and the lowest level of +983 mm (MSL) at location B2, compared to the national benchmark. The reforestation of mangroves, combined with the breakwater project, has significantly improved this previously severely eroded coastal area. The possitive economic-technical effectiveness and environmental-social impacts of the pilot were highly evaluated by experts. Feedback from local people living in the project area was also very positive.

Keywords: Breakwater; economic-technical effectiveness; environmental and social impacts; Vinh Chau town; Soc Trang province.