COLLECTIVE RISK ADAPTATION TO SALINE INTRUSION: A CASE IN THE VIETNAMESE MEKONG DELTA Dissertation VAN HUYNH THANH PHAM 1631621001 GRADUATE PROGRAM ANDALAS UNIVERSITY 2020 ii COLLECTIVE RISK ADAPTATION TO SALINE INTRUSION: A CASE IN THE VIETNAMESE MEKONG DELTA VAN HUYNH THANH PHAM 1631621001 Dissertation In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctoral degree in Development Studies at the Graduate Program Andalas University GRADUATE PROGRAM ANDALAS UNIVERSITY 2020 APPROVAL Title of Dissertation: Collective risk adaptation to saline intrusion: A case in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta Name: Van Huynh Thanh Pham Student Number: 1631621001 Program Study: Development Studies This dissertation have been examined in form of oral defense in front of the doctoral examiner committee at the Graduate Program Andalas University, and declared PASSED at the date of 17th May, 2019 Approved by: 1. Dissertation Committee Prof.Sc Chairman Prof. Thong Anh Tran Committee Member Committee Member 2. Coordinator of Study Program, 3.
Director of Graduate Program Andalas University Prof. Nursyirwan Effendi NIP:19590815198503 1004 NIP. 196406241990011002 For the PhD journey, It may not be what I have thought at the beginning, but I think I have arrived where I needed to be. A good dissertation is the finished one (The 1st supervisor’s quotation) A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY Van Huynh Thanh Pham is currently a lecturer in Rural Development and Natural Resources Management Department, Agriculture and Natural Resources Faculty, An Giang University in Vietnam.
I am living in Long Xuyen city, An Giang province, locating on the southern west of Vietnam. I was born in 4th October 1978 in Tra Vinh province locating on the southern east of Vietnam, bordering Pacific Ocean to the east. My father name is Pham Van Yem and my mother name is Huynh Kim Thieu, both of them are teachers. Growing up in this family, I had been given such emotions guiding me to be a lecturer after finishing university degree.
I got Bachelor degree in Crop Science at Can Tho University (Vietnam) in 2001. Since this time, I have been working in An Giang University (AGU), the second public university in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. In 2006 I obtained a Master’s degree in Sustainable Rural Development, awarded at the Royal Agriculture University, England, United Kingdom. I started my PhD in Development Study at the Graduate School of Andalas University, West Sumatra, Indonesia in August, 2016 and the PhD degree was achieved in 2019.
I enjoy teaching at the university. I am also interested in doing research, to produce long – term agricultural products whilst protecting natural resources, especially in the case of climate change. ORIGINALITY DECLARATION I, VAN HUYNH THANH PHAM, hereby declare that in this dissertation there were no works that had been submitted by other people to obtain an academic degree at any university, and as far as my knowledge was also not there were works or opinions that had been written or published by others, except those written in the text and mentioned in the references list. Padang, 20 January 2020 Author Van Huynh Thanh Pham COLLECTIVE RISK ADAPTATION TO SALINE INTRUSION: A CASE IN THE VIETNAMESE MEKONG DELTA By: Van Huynh Thanh Pham (Supervised by: Prof.
Rudi Febriamansyah, Prof. Afrizal and Dr. Thong Anh Tran) Abstract Saline intrusion causes serious risks for agriculture and social life in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Maintaining and improving coastal livelihoods under the challenging condition of scarcity of fresh-water places greater pressures for rural societies.
This dissertation explores saline water intrusion status, its trend and its impact on the livelihoods of coastal farmers in order to address issues of forms and roles of collective risk adaptation for strengthening group adaptive capacity to sustain development. Based on collective action theory and institutional analysis development framework, the model study of this study had been built to understand the collective adaptation, its forms, outcome, and factors related to both internal and external ones affecting this process. By adapting the social-ecological approach, this research was conducted in Tra Vinh and Kien Giang provinces, the two main coastal areas adversely affected by the saline intrusion in recent years. Stratified sampling and mixed methods using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, case study and household surveys were used.
The results suggested persistent exposure to saline intrusion in the two coastal zones. Farmers’ perceptions are different in the two areas, due to different scales of impacts, occurring more in the West than the East. The trend is also estimated to continue its growth in future time. In addition, increased impacts of salinity and high demands of shrimp in the market enabled farmers to shift from rice cultivation to shrimp cultivation in both sides of the Delta, extensive system in the West and intensive system in the East.
This adaptation brought better income for some but created social impacts on those having less adaptive capacity to meet this challenge. Regarding social impacts, social change happens more in the West to solve difficulties of shifting process. In terms of community adaptive capacities had been found to be different between the West and the East that structure various forms of collective adaptation named social groups and formal organizations. It acts in different roles in the West and the East to reduce social impacts.
Both social and ecological factors contribute to form and maintain collective adaptation. Physical conditions (water scarcity, the status of irrigation system), social and economic factors (economic status, group size, market demand) and institutional system (rules in use, head of the group) are those factors shaping collective adaptation in facing saline intrusion. For the future, in view of rising sea levels brought about by global warming, dealing with the reality of saline intrusion will become more serious; collective adaptation should be kept and developed as so to enhance community adaptive capacities, and social entrepreneurship and partnership should be adopted into agricultural fields for coastal farmers to organize and optimize resources to create better living conditions. The results of this research also contribute empirical knowledge of how the enhancement of farmers’ awareness of the effects of the impacts saline intrusion can contribute to collective risk adaptation.
Key words: Collective adaptation, Intensive shrimp system, Saline intrusion, Shrimp-rice system, Social and ecological approach, the Mekong Delta i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This dissertation addresses the issue of saline water intrusion in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, to understand the current situation, future trend and its impact on the livelihood of coastal farmers. The research also explores forms and roles of collective risk adaptation in facing to saline intrusion and the potentials to strengthen group adaptive capacity to sustain development. This research would not have been possible without the encouragement and significant support from various sources. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisory panel.
I am especially indebted to Prof. Rudi Febriamansyah, who has taken care of me from the beginning to the end of my study program. Without his help, the degree program and the dissertation could not have been completed. He gave me emotional support, good care, and confidence in dealing with difficulties.
I am deeply thankful for co- advisors, Prof. Afrizal and Dr. Thong Anh Tran who also gave much valuable advice and assistance toward the completion of my work. Thanks are due to Prof.
Helmi, Head of Study program in Development Study, Andalas University for good communication and advice. Specially thank Prof. Ardi (Agricultural Faculty, Andalas University) for his encouragement and help. I met him in 2016 at An Giang University.
He informed me about this course and supported me to get in touch with the supervisors. Without his support, my study wouldn’t have been finished. My deepest appreciation to Dr Charles Howie (The Royal Agricultural University, England, UK) for his useful advice and communication, he gave me effective support on my study, thanks also for his English editing. Thanks to staffs of An Giang University, staffs of Program Pascasarjana, staffs of International officers at Andalas University for their assistance, especially to Prof, Yonariza, Dr.
Richard Stanford, Dr. Vonny and Mrs. Bety for their good advice and support. I particularly appreciate the agricultural officers in An Bien and Cau Ngang districts, Kien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces for useful conversation and assistance.
I wish to thank the farmers who shared their time for giving me very valuable information. Without their support, I could not have completed my study. My deepest thanks to Rural Development students in An Giang University, to Le Thi My Ly (DH4PN) Nguyen Thi Thoai Giang and Luong Thi Kim Anh (DH15PN); Ho Huu Phuoc, Le Truong Giang, Bui Lam Tuan, Hoa Thi Kim Ngoan, Nguyen Thi Hong Dao and Nguyen Thi Hong Cam (DH16PN) for their assistance during the fieldwork. I would like to thank my parents, my sister, and brother for their love and support, to my parents in law who gave me encouragement.
I thank and love to my husband, Tran Ngoc Van, for his support during the time I was away from home. He always trusted me and accompanied me over the course of my doctoral study. Thanks also to my loving two sons, Tran Dinh Khoi and Tran Dinh Khang who had to be away from their mother to support my study. Finally, I would like to thank Andalas University for financial support that made it possible for me to pursue this doctoral study.
Padang, January 2020 Pham Huynh Thanh Van TABLE OF CONTENT Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. i TABLE OF CONTENT. iii LIST OF FIGURES.V LIST OF APPENDIXES. Objectives of research.
Significance of the research. Structure of dissertation. Climate change, vulnerability and adaptation. Collective action in theories, forms and factors affected.
Institution and Institutional Analysis Development Framework. Applying IADF into the Vietnamese situation. Selection of research area. SALINE INTRUSION AND TRENDS.
Climate change and saline intrusion. Farmers’ perception and the future trend of saline intrusion. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF SALINE INTRUSION ON COASTAL LIVELIHOODS. Saline intrusion impacts and changes to the farming system.
ADAPTIVE CAPACITY AND COLLECTIVE ADAPTATION FORMS. Adaptive capacity at the household level. Group adaptive capacity. Forms of collective adaptation.
FACTORS SHAPING COLLECTIVE ADAPTATION. Ecological- social factors affecting collective risk adaptation. Relations of ecological and social factors. Factors affecting collective adaptation to achieve sustainable development.
Human adaptation as response to change of natural environment. Importance of social capital in forming and maintaining group adaptive capacity. Social entrepreneurship and partnership to achieve sustainable agriculture development. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.
188 v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. A review of adaptation’s definitions. Attributes of adaptation in the climate change context. Implications for adaptation evaluation criteria the context of climate change.
Factors describe adaptive capacity at individual and community levels. Relations between water salinity and soil salinity. Percentage (%) of plant damage base on salt concentration. Salt concentration and risk for irrigation.
Development of water system in the Mekong delta of Vietnam. Period and strategy for agricultural development in the Mekong Delta25 Table 10. Characteristics of canal system in the Delta. Policy documents for salinity management.
Rice increasing in areas and production in the VMD from 1995 to 2015. Dimentions of social capital in the community. Types of social capital and explanation. Timeline of civil society development in Vietnam.
Characteristic of NGO, social enterprises and traditional enterprises 45 Table 17. Principles for running the common resources. Elements of the IADF framework. A description of social ecological model levels.
Entities involved in social-ecological systems. Interaction and outcome in social and ecological system. Factors affecting likelihoods and collective action in SES. Components at community level in case of SI in VMD.
Profiles of An Bien and Cau Ngang district. Physical information, social–economic and policy status, and the information sources. Number of meetings with local authorities and agricultural officers. Number of meetings and name of organizations of expert .