Geography and climate

The Province of Lam Dong is located in the southern part of the central highlands. Dalat ,the provincial capital and its largest city has 190,000 inhabitants. Dalat is located 1,500 m above sea level in the north east of the province and is 300 km away from Ho Chi Minh City.

Lam Dong is characterized by several high plateaus with fertile soils: the Lang Bian Plateau in the north east (ca. 1500m) and the plateaus of Bao Loc and Di Linh (700-900m). The south-eastern part of the province descends to the low-lying plains north of Ho Chi Minh City.

The climate of Lam Dong is dominated by tropical monsoons with moderate temperatures and high humidity (80 - 90%). The mean annual temperature ranges from 21 °C in the lowlands to 14 °C in the highlands. In the course of the year the south-west-monsoon (May until October) with high rain falls and the dry north-east-monsoon (November until April) alternates. In the rainy season up to 90% of the annual precipitation can be recorded, with values between 1600 - 2700 mm per year.

The province of Lam Dong offers a multiplicity of different geological structures from the time between jurassic and quaternary. The massif of the Lang Bian plateau and the mountain ranges of the Di Linh - Bao Loc plateaus consist of granites and basalts. Quaternary deposits are located in the river valleys and the floodplains of the Dong Nai system.

Prevalent soil types in Lam Dong are Ferralsols and Acrisols. Both together covers 88% of the province. Alluvial soils are developed are along the streams.

In the year 2006 there were 1.2 Million people living in Lam Dong. 62% of the population live in rural areas, only 38% in urban areas.

In 2006 the birth rate of the province Lam Dong amounted on an average to 19,9 ‰, which is above the national average which of 16.6 ‰.

The province Lam Dong is a multiethnic province. The Kinh that mostly migrated to the province from northern and central provinces during the 80s and 90s represent the biggest share of population with 80%. Original population groups are the Koho (12%), Ma (2.5%), M Nong, Churu (1.5%), Raglai and Stieng.

Economy

In 2006 the gross domestic product of the province Lam Dong amounted to 415m. Euro. 48% of the BIP were achieved in agriculture, forestry and fishing 31% in the services sector and 21% in industry and construction.

Tourism has a high weight for the economy in Lam Dong and a big growth potential. In 2006 more than one million tourists came to Lam Dong.

Main cultivation products besides coffee and tea are cashew, mulberries, flowers, vegetables and fruits. Altogether a surface of 279,000 ha is under cultivation. A large proportion of the province is covered by forests. Around 61,732 ha of planted forests and 559,572ha of natural forest account to about 64 % of the total area of the province.

Several national roads connect the province to neighbouring provinces. Most roads are asphalted, except roads in remote rural areas.

The Vietnam General Company of Electricity provides power supply for 87% of the population. However the power supply in some district is assured by diesel generators. Several major dams for hydropower plants are located in the province.

Dalat’s Lien Khuong airport has daily flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Dalt is an educational centre; its university has about 25,000 students.

There are numerous rivers with sufficient water flow throughout the year. The quality of rivers at the upper reaches is good but water quality decreases downstreams. Responsible for these pollutions are the intensive agriculture with discharge of fertilizer and pesticides and of discharge of sewage from settlements.

Ground water is mainly used in the granular soils of the flood plain and in the hardrock aquifers. The ground water quality is likely to be affected by pollution from the agriculture, too.

In many of the rural areas there is no public water supply. In these cases water is taken from rivers with electronic pumps or hand dug wells. Around 80% of the rural population cover their need for water in this way.

Currently the main source of water supply is surface water (80%) while 20% use groundwater. 

Since 2007, the center of Dalat city has a modern sewage system and wastewater treatment plant. However, most domestic wastewater in the province receives no or minimal treatment in septic tanks only.