“ The collapse of the Delta is becoming clearer ”: a qualitative exploration of environmental reporting on Mekong Delta

Environmental communication research on international rivers remains limited, particularly how they are represented in national media frameworks. Regarding international rivers, mainstream media in riparian countries can showcase their policies on river development and their stance on conflict or cooperation. The Mekong River is identified as common property but "appropriated for private gain," and the communities living along it have suffered from various environmental impacts, especially in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Whereas most studies have focused on how environmental impacts are transforming the socio-economic life of local people there, this research aims to unpack Vietnamese press coverage on the Mekong Delta over a ten-year period, exploring how the scientific nature of environmental issues is interpreted in relevance to socio-economic and geopolitical context. In this study, reflexive thematic analysis was used to develop three themes: (1) "Climate change impacts, and upstream dams also to blame"; (2) "Those who control water, hold power: Chinese dams in Vietnamese news as geopolitics"; (3) "Illegal sand mining for 'hungry' construction industry, the toll worsened by upstream dams." The analysis highlights a dynamic media representation which extends beyond specific natural hazards to encompass multifaceted human-environment relationships.