A DPSIR Assessment on Ecosystem Services Challenges in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Coping with the Impacts of Sand Mining

River sand mining has been a concerning problem for the southern Asian developing nations. The rampant growth of urbanisation in developing countries has led to an extensive need for and consumption of sand. The Mekong River and its delta are an essential part of southern Vietnam, and also a global biodiversity hub that is currently being exhausted by intensive sand mining. The understanding of the cause–effect of the sand mining over the Mekong delta region and river, from a systems-thinking perspective, is lacking, not only with Vietnam but also with other countries along the Mekong River. The DPSIR framework (Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response) is a useful tool to assess and describe the cause–effect within an ecosystem to aid in a better systems-thinking approach for stakeholders, policy makers, and governance managers to draft response measures. This study used the DPSIR framework to assess the different effects of sand mining on the ecosystem services and human well-being in the Mekong River and delta region of Vietnam. Rapid population growth, urbanisation, and infrastructure development needs remain as primary drivers for the sand consumption. The DPSIR study showed a holistic view of several interlinked pressures and state changes in Vietnam’s Mekong, along with some potential responses, to form systematic, sustainable approaches for mitigating and adapting the impacts caused by extensive river sand mining.