Funded by the Space Climate Observatory from October 2023 to October 2025
MERIMEE, the Space Climate Observatory in Vietnam, is considered the continuation of the VietSCO project.
Reducing methane emissions is seen as one of the most effective and low-cost strategies to mitigate short-term climate warming. In 2020, Vietnam committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, focusing primarily on reducing methane emissions through the management of rice paddy irrigation.
In flooded rice paddies, the decomposition of organic matter in an oxygen-free environment produces methane. While rice paddies are traditionally flooded throughout the plant’s growth cycle, it has been shown that intermittent drainage can reduce methane emissions by 40 to 50% and water use by 30%, without affecting rice yield.
Although some drainage practices have been initiated, they are not yet widely adopted in Vietnam. To expand these practices, the government needs dynamic maps of rice paddy irrigation status (continuous or intermittent flooding), enabling targeted efforts for incentives and infrastructure development across the Mekong Delta.
MERIMEE will provide Vietnamese users with regional-scale maps of irrigation practices and methane emissions.
