THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY HOANG MY HAO TOPIC TITLE: ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION ACTIONS OF THE H'MONG ETHNIC MINORITY IN KHUAY DAY VILLAGE, BINH TRUNG COMMUNE, CHO DON DISTRICT, BAC KAN PROVINCE BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode : Full-time Major : Environmental Science and Management Faculty : Advanced Education Program Office Batch : 2016 - 2020 Thai Nguyen, December 2020 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY HOANG MY HAO TOPIC TITLE: ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION ACTIONS OF THE H'MONG ETHNIC MINORITY IN KHUAY DAY VILLAGE, BINH TRUNG COMMUNE, CHO DON DISTRICT, BAC KAN PROVINCE BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode : Full-time Major : Environmental Science and Management Faculty : Advanced Education Program Office Batch : 2016 - 2020 Supervisor : Dr. Truong Thi Anh Tuyet Thai Nguyen, December 2020 DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student name Hoang My Hao Student ID DTN1653040057 Thesis Title Assessing The Impact Of Climate Change And Adaptation Actions Of The H'mong Ethnic Minority In Khuay Day Village, Binh Trung Commune, Cho Don District, Bac Kan Province Supervisor Dr. Truong Thi Anh Tuyet Supervisor’s signature Abstract: As natural resources are further stressed due to rising levels of social demand, it is strategically necessary to consider the effects of climate change on different components of the natural environment in the management of this essential resource. This study focuses on analyzing and assessing the impact of climate change on water resources of the H'mong ethnic minority people in Khuay Day village, Binh Trung commune, Cho Don district, Bac Kan province.
Data for this study was collected through focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and field observation to gather the impacts of climate change on production, water resource and how local people adapt to climate change. This study documents weather changes that help local communities better understand climate change and can find suitable adaptation measures. The case of the H’mong people in Bac Kan province agrees they are vulnerable to climate change and they need to have supports from government to enhance resilience to climate change in adapting to it. Keywords Climate change, natural resources, H’mong, adaptation, vulnerable Number of Pages 54 Date of Submission i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to lecturers in the Advanced Education Program and to lecturers at the Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, who have given me profound knowledge not only of my subjects but also of my soft skills and have given me the great opportunity to complete my thesis.
It is my pleasure to work with a profound supervisor- Dr. Truong Thi Anh Tuyet, who always helped me any time. She also gave me the best conditions, supported all materials for my research and discussed any problems I got whenever I did a survey and analyzed data. She also helps me a lot in spending much time checking my thesis report.
Finally, I would really like to express my appreciation to my family and friends, who are always beside me. Their support and encouragement provided the pump which led me to my success. Sincerely, Hoang My Hao ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iii LIST OF TABLES .v LIST OF FIGURES. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Research questions and hypotheses. Significant of research.
Social vulnerability by climate change. Impacts of climate change on natural resources availability. Impacts of climate change on livelihood and human health. H’mong ethnic minority.
Indigenous or local Knowledge. General information of participants. Main sources of income. Changes in climate over the past 10 years.
Impacts of climate change on water resources. The status of water sources. Effect of Climate change on water resources. Effect of climate change on production.
Local people adapt to climate change. The other challenges for adapting to climate change. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION .45 APPENDICES iv LIST OF TABLES Table 4. Social-economic background of respondents.2: The experience of climate change over the past 10 years .3: The water source for irrigation .4: The way that local people are adapting to climate change .5: Using indigenous knowledge as an indicator for the weather change.6: The other challenges to adapt to climate change and suggestion of local people.1: Climate change adaptation activities in agricultural production of farm households in Quang Nam province (Chuong et al, 2020).43 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: How inequality and insecurity are directly and indirectly linked.1: The map of research area .1: Income sources of H’mong people in the village .2: The location of all water points in Khuay Day Commune.3: The water source for household activities .1: Temperature variation of Bac Kan Province over the last 50 years.40 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS FGDs : Focus group discussions IK : Indigenous knowledge vii PART I INTRODUCTION 1.
Research rationale In recent years, the phrase "climate change" has been concerned and searched by many people. Climate change is a real challenge for future socio-economic development, climate change response is considered as a priority activity of any locality, country, the territory in the world. Responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach: Adaptation and Mitigation (Martens et al., 2009) Vietnam is evaluated as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change ( Can, 2010; Dasgupta et al. Recent climate change studies in Vietnam have shown that the effects of disasters have increased, especially on poorer and rural communities in the mountainous and coastal regions (Shaw, 2006; Bangalore et al., 2016; Delisle and Turner, 2016).
Accordingly, Vietnam's ethnic minorities, who are largely resident in these peripheral regions, are particularly susceptible and vulnerable to their impacts and are more likely to face rapid risks (Son, 2013; Wildcat, 2013; Savo et al., 2016; William et al., 2016; and Ella et al. Water source does not only plays an important role in human health but also has a great impact on life, agricultural production, and industry. Especially for ethnic minorities, their life is mainly based on agriculture, they need water for production and daily activities. However, the net negative effect of climate change on water supplies and freshwater habitats is predicted to be encountered in almost all regions of the world (IPCC, 2007).
And the intensity and features of the impact can differ significantly from region to region. It is possible that certain areas will face water shortages. This is likely to result in significant rises in the number of people at risk of 1 water shortages, combined with rising demand. In most of the planet, the frequency of floods and droughts will definitely increase.
The economic cost is likely to be high and the total yield of crops will decrease, raising the risk of hunger and poverty. Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country with 54 ethnic groups living together. The Kinh made up 85.4% of Vietnam's population, with 78. The remaining 53 ethnic minorities account for only 14.6% of the national population with nearly 14 million people living on an area of 17 million hectares, accounting for more than 50% of Vietnam's territory, concentrated in mountainous, midland, coastal, estuarine areas, watershed forests and river basins, coastal forests, remote areas (HRC, 2018).
However, they are also scattered throughout Vietnam due to war and immigration. Ethnic minorities living in urban areas are often more affluent than ethnic minorities living in rural areas (UNFPA, 2017). Many villages and communes have 3-4 ethnic minorities living together. Geography plays an important role in the cultural traditions and agriculture practices of ethnic minorities, but at the same time creates barriers in accessing infrastructure and public services such as health and education (Phung Duc Tung, et al 2015).
With a population of 1.189 people accounting for 1. 24% of the total population of Vietnam, H’mong ethnic minority ranks fifth in size among ethnic groups in the country (Census, 2009). The H’mong usually reside at an altitude of 800 to 1500 m above sea level and live primarily in 20 provinces, but the majority (over 91%) are concentrated in Vietnam 's northern mountain regions in a relatively large area, along the Vietnam - China and Vietnam - Laos border, from Lang Son to Nghe An, which mainly concentrates in provinces of East and Northwest of Vietnam such as Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Son La, Yen Bai, Cao Bang, Bac Kan (UNPFA, 2011). 2 As a result of their local terrain, the H’mong people have developed their own unique indigenous systems of terraced farming, farmers have a tradition of intercropping with main crops such as potatoes, vegetables, peanuts, sesame, beans.
The H'mong people breed mainly buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens and horses. Besides, they develop a variety of crafts such as knitting, forging, saddle making, wooden furniture, especially containers, papermaking, silver jewelry to serve the needs and tastes of the people. According to Research Center for Human Rights in Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas (2015), the percentage of H'mong ethnic people who can read and write in general is 48.6%, so little is known about their vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation to climate change. This study assessed the impact of climate change in Bac Kan province of the H’mong people in one Village in Bac Kan Province on their main income, change in weather in recent years, impacts of climate change on natural resources and livelihood, the other challenge to adapt with climate change, the actions that the local people have done to adapt and mitigate climate change, and their experiences with and understanding of weather prediction.
Focus group discussion was used as the main methodology. FGDs is a measure that is easily accessible to local people, from which there can be open, frank discussions on climate change-related issues, and helps to build the knowledge of households and communities to adapt to changing situations. The main objective of this study is to begin to work towards integrating indigenous knowledge into climate change adaptation and mitigation planning to include ethnic minority communities around the world in the discussion of global resilience to climate change. Research’s objectives To raise H’mong ethnic people have more awareness of climate change and the impacts that climate change cause on natural resources with focus on water resources.
Specific objectives include: a. To determine the changes of weather in the past 10 years in research area; b. To evaluate the impact of climate change on natural resources and livelihood in the research area; c. To assess how H’mong ethnic people mitigate and adapt to climate change; d.
To find out the other challenges to adapt to climate change in the research area; 1. Research questions and hypotheses 1. Research questions This study wants to address the following questions: a. What are the changes in weather over the past 10 years? b.
How does climate change impact on natural resources and livelihood in the research area? c. What measures have been taken to mitigate and adapt of local people to suit with climate change? d. What are other challenges of H’mong ethnic to adapt with climate change? 1. Hypothesis This research wants to address the null hypothesis: a.
The weather does not change significantly over the past 10 years b. Climate change does not impact on natural resources and livelihood in the research area c. There are no challenges of H’mong ethinic to adapt with climate change d. Local people have not been taken to mitigate and adapt to suit with climate change 4 1.
Significant of research a. The students: Research results can be used for secondary data for study and students' level of understanding and interest in climate change with living conditions of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Local people: Research results can be used as information to educate H’mong ethnic people to know more about climate change and how to protect the water sources and finding suitable solutions for them responding to climate change.