UK project to tackle climate and disease challenges in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

Led by the University of Stirling, the £3.5 million project will develop a digital tool using satellite and sensor data to combat pollution, climate change, and disease in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

Pictured (l-r) Professor Margaret Crumlish, HE Mr Iain Frew, and Dr Chris Payne. Credit University of Stirling

From left to right: Margaret Crumlish, Iain Frew, and Chris Payne at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture. Credit: University of Stirling

March 20, 2025

The £3.5 million AquaSoS Project, funded by UKRI and led by Professor Simon MacKenzie, Head of the Institute of Aquaculture (IoA), will carry out research in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Drawing on Earth Observation and water quality expertise from Stirling’s Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BES), the interdisciplinary project will utilize data from satellites, sensors and labs to address challenges such as pollution, climate change and disease.

AquaSoS will ultimately create a digital tool to protect ecosystems and promote sustainable aquaculture. This will equip scientists, policymakers, and industry leaders with vital information required to balance environmental protection with food production.

“Rivers, seas and deltas are particularly vulnerable to rising water temperatures, salinization, pollution, and changes in sediment flow due to environmental change. These changes disrupt ecosystems, reduce biodiversity, and threaten food and water security, disproportionately impacting developing nations such as Vietnam,” said MacKenzie. “We have chosen to develop our AquaSoS framework in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam because there is multi-species production at scale, but an increasing burden of infectious diseases. Indeed, infectious diseases in Asian and global aquaculture are a major continuous threat to sustainable production. AquaSoS will be designed to address this problem.”

“The University of Stirling is leading the way globally in aquaculture research, and the decades-long work undertaken in Vietnam contributes significantly to the livelihoods of fishermen and communities throughout the Mekong region. The fundamental work on tackling disease outbreaks in Pangasius and efforts to overcome antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will ensure that aquaculture in the Mekong thrives for decades to come,” Iain Frew, Britain’s Ambassador to Vietnam, said. “I’m delighted that UKRI funding will enable the university to continue their world-class research partnerships in the Mekong through the development of AquaSoS, developing tools to address the challenges posed by climate change and facilitating Vietnam’s transformation to a more resilient food system.”

AquaSoS is one of four projects to be announced as part of a £12 million UKRI initiative to enhance sustainable aquaculture in Southeast Asia, addressing climate change, food security and community resilience.

The projects are funded through the UK Government’s International Science Partnership Fund Official Development Assistance budget and delivered by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).