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Interplay between land-use dynamics and changes in hydrological regime in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta
Abstract
Policies supporting rice production and investments in water infrastructure enabled intensification and diversification of farming systems in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) over the past 20 years. Yet, demands of food security, economic development, and climate change continue to pose diverging and often conflicting challenges for water resources management in the upper, central, and coastal zones of the delta. The major changes effected in the VMD’s hydrological regime and land-use patterns are acknowledged in the literature, but few studies have examined the interplay between these dynamics at the delta scale. Based on time-series maps and statistical data on land-use, flooding, and salinity intrusion, we investigated the interrelations between land-use dynamics and changes in hydrological regime across the VMD in three representative periods. Land-use was found to be highly variable, changing by 14.94% annually between 2001 and 2012. Rice cropping underwent the greatest change, evolving from single cropping of traditional varieties towards double and triple cropping of high-yielding varieties. Aquaculture remained stable after rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s. Meanwhile, flooding and salinity intrusion were increasingly controlled by hydrological infrastructure erected to supply freshwater for agriculture. Effects of this infrastructure became particularly evident from 2001 to 2012. During this period, spatial and temporal impacts on flooding and salinity intrusion were found, which extended beyond the rice fields to affect adjacent lands and livelihood activities. Unforeseen effects will likely be aggravated by climate change, suggesting a need to rethink the scale of planning towards a more integrated hydrologic approach.
... However, the reduced coefficient for saline suggests that salinity diminishes the advantages typically seen in larger agricultural operations. This finding is consistent with studies conducted in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, where salinity intrusion has been shown to limit productivity despite increasing land size [67]. The interaction between salinity and economies of scale underscores the need for more specialized farming practices in saline regions, as simply expanding land area does not fully offset the negative impacts of salinity. ...
... Older farmers, for example, tend to struggle more in managing the labor-intensive requirements of saline farming compared to younger farmers who may be more adaptable and open to adopting new technologies [74]. This finding is echoed in other parts of the world, such as Vietnam, where younger farmers are more likely to integrate modern farming technologies that improve productivity, particularly under adverse environmental conditions like salinity [67], which is also observed in studies from Ethiopia [75]. In summary, addressing the technical efficiency gap in saline areas requires not only technological interventions but also targeted socio-economic policies that improve farmers' access to education and modern farming tools. ...
... The study revealed that elderly farmers exhibited greater technical efficiency in managing saline soil, presumably attributable to their expertise. Nevertheless, younger farmers, particularly in nations such as Vietnam, exhibit more receptiveness to adopting innovative technology and practices that enhance efficiency [67]. Thus, increasing access to education and training for young farmers in Indonesia on salinity management could narrow this gap. ...
... Moreover, government policies and infrastructure development here have long favored freshwater rice cultivation, though these efforts have produced mixed results and, in some cases, proven to be incompatible with climate change trends [3,6]. The VMD estuarine zone is unique in offering farmers opportunities to switch from and between permanent freshwater cultivation, intermittent freshwater/brackish cultivation, and permanent saline water/brackish cultivation [20,21,28,29]. Such switches, however, have implications for the soil and water management regime. ...
... We conducted the study in Tra Vinh Province due to its agro-hydrological characteristics [31], which mirror the alternating cycles of fresh and saline water conditions observed in the salinity intrusion zone of the VMD [20,21,28,29]. Within this context, local farmers have the flexibility to transition between various farming systems. ...
... To trace the history of land uses and identify influential factors at particular points of change, we conducted 32 semi-structured interviews with farmers in six communes that exhibit the variety of hydrological characteristics and land uses found in Tra Vinh Province (see Figure 1 and Table 1). Prior to embarking on the interviews, a comprehensive review of pertinent literature concerning geographical conditions and land-use change within the salinity intrusion zone [3,6,9,20,21,28,29] and, specifically, Tra Vinh Province was scrupulously undertaken [31][32][33]. In Binh Phu Commune, located furthest north, freshwater agriculture was dominant, and farmers mainly practiced intensive rice cropping, with some vegetable and fruit production. ...
Frequent drought and worsening salinity intrusion challenge future land uses and livelihoods in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The central government is, therefore, formulating a new strategy premised on adaption to natural environmental dynamics. For an achievable strategy that bridges the gap between plans and practice, it is important to understand what drives land-use changes at the farm level. Previous research developed and applied a multi-scale drivers framework in the highly flooded zone of the delta. The current study uses that same framework to investigate the land-use history and drivers of change in the salinity intrusion zone of this delta from 1975 to 2016. We interviewed 32 farmers in Tra Vinh Province and used transcript analysis to quantify the influence of the drivers that the farmers mentioned. We then compared the drivers of land-use change with those found earlier in the highly flooded zone. Results show more diversification of land uses and land-use changes in the salinity intrusion zone. Farmers here followed three main pathways: rice intensification, integrated farming of rice and vegetables/aquaculture, or intensive shrimp farming. Land-use changes were conditional on the regional infrastructure construction to preserve freshwater conditions. However, household-scale drivers, especially natural and financial assets, were most frequently mentioned. Socio-economic context also emerged as an important driver, particularly trends and pressures from the community and markets.
... Today's Vietnam Mekong Delta agricultural landscape is built on managing and controlling the quantity and distribution of water year round (flooding, irrigation, fresh and saline waters) in alluvial and acid sulfate soils (figure 2). Water control projects consist of high dyke and flood control, salinity control to enable freshwater agriculture, and salinity control in brackish water aquaculture (Ngan et al 2018). Canals that link to the Bassac and Mekong main stem rivers and their distributaries are used to provide fresh water to agriculture and settlements. ...
... Canals that link to the Bassac and Mekong main stem rivers and their distributaries are used to provide fresh water to agriculture and settlements. During the rainy season, many of these same canals are used to drain the land and release flood waters back into rivers and the West and East China Seas (Ngan et al 2018;Hanhart et al. 1997). Extensive agricultural drainage ditches and canals lower the water table and speed up hydrologic exchanges between the coastal landscape and the ocean which can increase salt concentration (Tully et al. 2019). ...
... CONCLUSION: UNCERTAINTY ADAPTATION The 1980s "rice first" policy promoted engineered ditches, canals, and sluice gates that provided freshwater irrigation, managed flooding, eliminated saltwater intrusion and drained acid sulfate soils to reclaim thousands of hectares for the intensification of rice production (Olson and Morton 2018;Ngan et al. 2018;Luu et al. 2022). While Vietnamese Mekong Delta farmers have learned over the decades to manage flood-drought cycles in acid sulfate soils, the increasing instability in global climate and local weather conditions present new levels of uncertainty and adaptation challenges. ...
... Such variables have hardly been applied in small-scale studies because they are usually acquired at the provincial or national level. Moreover, statistical studies depend heavily on the sufficiency and transparency of input data, which cannot always be assured at the local level, particularly over a long period [2]. ...
... With the development of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques in Vietnam in the 2000s, scientists became able to spatially quantify land-use and land-cover changes in more detail over vaster geographical areas [25,26] and identify spatial correlations between land uses, and land-use changes and hydrological factors [2,5,27,28]. However, a spatial approach cannot capture all drivers of change because many drivers, like village and household socioeconomic characteristics, are difficult to observe on the land surface [29]. ...
... This greatly exceeded domestic demand and made Vietnam one of the world's top rice exporters. For our research, we referred to a list of key policies presented in a historical review of land and water dynamics in the VMD [2]. These policies include central planning and agricultural collectivization (1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986); the Doi Moi economic reforms, which brought the decollectivization of land and agricultural production (1986)(1987)(1988) [18]; market liberalization (since 1989) [50]; policies such as Resolution 9 [51] that allowed provincial governments to replace rice cultivation with other high-value farming activities such as fruit production and shrimp farming [31]; and the recent encouragement of high-value agriculture consistent with a context of climate change [17]. ...
There is an implementation gap between government plans and land-use changes at the local level in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. This stands in the way of the sustainable development of the delta, especially in the face of environmental degradation, climate change, and water-use conflicts. To narrow the gap between plans and practice, the government needs a better understanding of what drives land-use decisions at the farm level. Our research developed and applied a multi-scale framework to identify the principal drivers of land-use changes at the farm level in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta over the past 40 years. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 31 farmers in the highly flooded zone, then used transcript analysis to quantify the influence of the drivers mentioned by farmers. We found drastic shifts in land uses, predominantly towards rice intensification. Among the 43 change drivers the farmers mentioned, those operating at the regional scale were particularly influential, including the activities of local authorities, neighborhood effects, and the development of water management infrastructure. Market factors have become more prominent in the last two decades, motivating farmers to shift from double to triple rice or to gradually diversify into vegetables. However, agricultural diversification remains limited by the agro-hydrological context, which favors triple rice cropping, as well as household scale factors such as natural and physical assets of the farm, household capital, and labor capacity. The local community also played a key role in land-use change, though with a double-edged effect, both delaying implementation of central government policy and forcing farmers to follow the majority’s decision.
... The dominance of rice cultivation in the delta is the result of the 'rice first' government policy of the last decades, targeting food security and enforcing a certain level of rice production for each Mekong delta province. This manifested in large investments and upgrades of the hydraulic system, which enabled a reclamation of acid sulphate soils in the upper Mekong delta for rice cultivation (Le et al., 2018;Tran and Weger, 2018). The construction of dikes, sluices and irrigation infrastructure, in combination with, for example, technology changes such as new farming techniques, mechanisation for land preparation and the introduction of high-yielding rice varieties enabled a transformation from low-productivity (e.g. ...
... The construction of dikes, sluices and irrigation infrastructure, in combination with, for example, technology changes such as new farming techniques, mechanisation for land preparation and the introduction of high-yielding rice varieties enabled a transformation from low-productivity (e.g. floating rice) to double and triple rice cropping a year (Le et al., 2018;Nguyen et al., 2018;Tran and Weger, 2018;Tran and Kajisa, 2006). ...
... Over the past two decades, and particularly after the severe floods in 2000 and 2011, the construction of high dikes intensified in the upper Mekong delta (Le et al., 2018). As a result, the yearly seasonal flooding of the rice fields ceased. ...
Intensive agriculture is increasingly associated with environmental degradation that may jeopardise long-term environmental and economic sustainability. The high-dike system in the upper Mekong delta that has enabled intensive rice cultivation represents a prime example of these potential negative feedbacks. The lack of seasonal flooding and the associated depletion of nutrients is expected to affect farmer income as productivity declines and more fertiliser is required. Therefore, emphasis has shifted towards more sustainable, flood-based agriculture, however farmer uptake has its challenges. Based on a compilation of different household surveys we first analyse rice farmers’ ability and willingness to transition and subsequently study the economic sustainability of intensive rice-based livelihoods. A Motivation and Ability (MOTA) survey reveals that two-thirds of the surveyed rice farmers are reluctant to change to flood-based farming systems, as they consider rice cultivation to be economically viable in the near future. They also mention financial and technical ability as key constraints. Subsequently, we analyse yield and fertiliser developments for a large sample of farming households under different dike systems between 2008 and 2015. This shows that income from rice farming grew steadily under high-dike systems as productivity growth compensated for higher input requirements. This growth is partly dampened by the slightly higher negative impacts of potential flood damage in high-dike areas, compared low-dike areas. A counterintuitive effect that is related to the fact that high dikes remain prone to dike overtopping or breaching in the flooding season, resulting in potentially higher damage than low-dike areas that are able to crop flood-based alternatives. The observed growth in income is a likely explanation for the reluctance to change in the studied period. Our analysis also shows that rice income growth is unequally distributed in high-dike areas, with lower incomes being associated with new high-dike systems and slower growth of incomes of smallholder rice farmers compared to large-scale farms. This makes smallholder rice farmers in high-dike areas especially vulnerable to changing conditions, and thus a priority target group for policy makers promoting flood-based alternatives. Recent commune level yield data show that the past productivity growth has stalled, increasing the prospects for alternative flood-based agriculture. This transition can be facilitated, by enhancing the economic viability of flood-based crops and, particularly for smallholder farmers, by improving their financial and technical capabilities through supportive policies.
... Similarly, rice fields/other crops and aquaculture ponds experienced consistent trends of reduction and increase, respectively, in the MD [35] (Figure 7B). Other studies [22,32,35,82] also concluded that substantial increases occurred in aquaculture areas in the MD, especially during the period 1995/2012, which were attributed to decreases in rice fields/other crops. Finally, Tran et al. [32] and Nguyen and Brunner [69] agreed with our findings that Melaleuca wetland forests in coastal zones in the MD decreased in area during the period 1995-2011. ...
... This increase was consistent over the period 1995/2020 with an annual increase rate of 13.8% (91.26 km 2 ). The greatest increase occurred from 1995 to 2002 (Figure 4), which corresponds to the aquaculture boom periods suggested by other studies [22,32,35,82]. The substantial conversions of rice fields/other crops and mangrove forests into aquaculture ponds identified in the present study area have been matched in other regions in the MD [22,32,35,82,106,107]. ...
... The greatest increase occurred from 1995 to 2002 (Figure 4), which corresponds to the aquaculture boom periods suggested by other studies [22,32,35,82]. The substantial conversions of rice fields/other crops and mangrove forests into aquaculture ponds identified in the present study area have been matched in other regions in the MD [22,32,35,82,106,107]. The conversion to aquaculture ponds is driven by the response to saltwater intrusion, aided by policies and economics, both of which encourage the practice [32]. ...
Coastal wetlands in the Mekong Delta (MD), Vietnam, provide various vital ecosystem services for the region. These wetlands have experienced critical changes due to the increase in regional anthropogenic activities, global climate change, and the associated sea level rise (SLR). However, documented information and research on the dynamics and drivers of these important wetland areas remain limited for the region. The present study aims to determine the long-term dynamics of wetlands in the south-west coast of the MD using remote sensing approaches, and analyse the potential factors driving these dynamics. Wetland maps from the years 1995, 2002, 2013, and 2020 at a 15 m spatial resolution were derived from Landsat images with the aid of a hybrid classification approach. The accuracy of the wetland maps was relatively high, with overall accuracies ranging from 86–93%. The findings showed that the critical changes over the period 1995/2020 included the expansion of marine water into coastal lands, showing 129% shoreline erosion; a remarkable increase of 345% in aquaculture ponds; and a reduction of forested wetlands and rice fields/other crops by 32% and 73%, respectively. Although mangrove forests slightly increased for the period 2013/2020, the overall trend was also a reduction of 5%. Our findings show that the substantial increase in aquaculture ponds is at the expense of mangroves, forested wetlands, and rice fields/other crops, while shoreline erosion significantly affected coastal lands, especially mangrove forests. The interaction of a set of environmental and socioeconomic factors were responsible for the dynamics. In particular, SLR was identified as one of the main underlying drivers; however, the rapid changes were directly driven by policies on land-use for economic development in the region. The trends of wetland changes and SLR implicate their significant effects on environment, natural resources, food security, and likelihood of communities in the region sustaining for the long-term. These findings can assist in developing and planning appropriate management strategies and policies for wetland protection and conservation, and for sustainable development in the region.
... The development of irrigation works together with the application of high-yielding rice varieties allowed farmers to produce two rice crops a year (double-rice farming) that is, both a winter-spring crop during December and March and a summer-autumn crop during April and July every year outside of the wet season (Le et al., 2018;Son et al., 2013). Low dykes (so-termed August dikes) of approximately 2 m in height were initially constructed (Tri, 2012). ...
... Subsequently, from the mid-1990s, parts of the delta were intensely engineered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) into intensive rice agro-ecosystems to facilitate production of three rice crops a year (triple-rice farming), including during the wet season, particularly in the upstream floodplains in An Giang and Dong Thap. Due to regular flooding during the wet season in these areas, triple-rice farming was only possible behind high dikes (Le et al., 2018). High dikes were typically designed at a height of 4.5 m, or 0.5 m higher than the 2000 flood Birkmann et al., 2012;Thanh et al., 2020). ...
Sinking and shrinking, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta is a materialization of dynamic river flows, sediment flows, and coastline processes. Past policy aspirations and extensive water infrastructures have shaped the delta into one the most significant food producing landscapes in Southeast Asia. Yet, these changes have also created new environmental risks by transforming the hydrological system. Research has produced a growing and increasingly diverse empirical literature on the delta's environmental context, without necessarily providing water resource managers, policymakers and practitioners with the information needed to galvanize more resilient development. This focus review presents a detailed overview of the recent scientific findings, exploring how the management of water resources is changing, as well as their inter‐relationship with land use, policy, socio‐economic transitions, and global environmental crises. Compound and systemic risks to the delta include climate change, hydrometeorological hazards, upstream developments and an unsustainable development trajectory. We outline scientific knowledge gaps, as well as the pressing need for sharable analysis‐ready data and innovations. Finally, we provide recommended future research avenues for multiscale actions toward a sustainable and resilient delta future.
This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance
Science of Water > Water Extremes
Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change
... Land-use is the term referring to the functional use of land by humans while land-cover is the term referring to the physical material of the Earth's surface. Land-use/land-cover (LULC) maps are important to explain complex relationships between humans and the environment [1]. They provide fundamental information to support the implementation of policies related to the management of natural resources and environmental problems such as deforestation, climate change, natural hazards and agricultural practices [2]. ...
... The Mekong River Delta (MRD), known as the world's third-largest delta, is globally recognized as an important agricultural production region and biodiversity hotspot. Over recent decades, LULC in the Mekong Delta has experienced tremendous changes due to both increasing natural and anthropogenic activities [1], [2]. Hence, it is necessary to create accurate LULC mapping products for the entire delta region that support better LULC monitoring and planning activities across the region. ...
Bản đồ sử dụng đất/lớp phủ bề mặt cung cấp các thông tin quan trọng hỗ trợ công tác quản lý tài nguyên thiên nhiên và môi trường. Vệ tinh Landsat-8 cung cấp dữ liệu ảnh đa phổ có giá trị để thành lập bản đồ sử dụng đất/lớp phủ bề mặt với độ chính xác cao. Nghiên cứu này xây dựng một phương pháp thành lập bản đồ dụng đất/lớp phủ bề mặt bằng cách kết hợp dữ liệu ảnh Landsat-8 với dữ liệu tham khảo chất lượng cao trong một mô hình phân loại sử dụng thuật toán Máy Vectơ Hỗ trợ. Bản đồ sử dụng đất/lớp phủ bề mặt năm 2021 được thành lập cho toàn bộ vùng Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long (tổng diện tích khoảng 4 triệu ha) với độ phân giải không gian 30 m. Bản đồ kết quả có độ chính xác tổng thể khoảng 80,7%. Mặc dù lúa nước là loại hình sử dụng đất chính (chiếm 1,9 triệu ha), đất sử dụng để nuôi trồng thủy sản (bao gồm cả các mô hình kết hợp lúa hoặc rừng ngập mặn với thủy sản) cũng chiếm một phần lớn diện tích toàn vùng (khoảng 784,4 nghìn ha). Kết quả từ nghiên cứu này cung cấp cho các nhà hoạch định một bức tranh toàn cảnh về hiện trạng sử dụng đất/che phủ bề mặt, hỗ trợ điều chỉnh và lập quy hoạch phát triển ở Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long trong tương lai. Các phương pháp sử dụng trong nghiên cứu này có tính khả thi để áp dụng ở các vùng khác.
... The number and typology of LULC categories were defined based on field work, available land use statistics, expertise, and consideration of the previous studies about LULC of the delta (Funkenberg et al., 2014;Le Thuy Ngan et al., 2018;Nguyen Thanh Son et al., 2013), and exploratory analysis of satellite data with unsupervised classification. Accordingly, an eight-category LULC classification scheme was designed, namely agriculture, aquaculture, perennial crops, wetlands, upland forest, mangrove forest, builtup area, and open water (Table 2). ...
... Nevertheless, agriculture remained the most popular LULC type in the flood plain regions, for instance, Plain of Reeds (Đồng Tháp Mười) and Long Xuyen Quadrangle (Tứ giác Long Xuyên) (Fig. 2). These findings are in agreement with previous studies reporting a noticeable interrelation between landuse dynamics and changing in hydrological regimes across the entire VMD (Le Thuy Ngan et al., 2018). ...
Although land use/land cover (LULC) information plays a critical role in the maintenance of living standards with a balance among the environment, development, and sustainability, it remains little comprehensive understanding in the entire Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). In this study, we used the random forest algorithm, Landsat images, ancillary and empirical reference data to carefully analyse the 15 years’ spatiotemporal changes (2005 - 2020) of LULC in the VMD region. Results show that agriculture has been the most dominant land, accounting for approximately half of the whole region during the fifteen years.Remarkably, most of the LULC categories have undergone dramatic transformation with the proportion of the wetland area decreasing from about 16% in 2005 to 5% in 2020, whereas that of the aquaculture area sharply increased from about 12% to 19% over the same period. Meanwhile, there was a marked increase in the area of perennial crops and built-up lands. These results of LULC maps and change detection helps understand the impact of past policies and the role of several factors such as socio-economic trends and environmental changes in this region.
... In the lower part (coastal areas), water supply canals, dikes, and sluice gates were built to prevent salinity intrusion to keep them suitable for cultivation (Hoanh et al., 2012;Toan, 2014). In the upper part of the VMD, before the building of the permanent dykes, farmers cultivated double rice cropping during dry seasons to reduce the flood risks in the rainy season (Le et al., 2018b). Numerous studies have quantified the relationship between land use and other variables. ...
... Numerous studies have quantified the relationship between land use and other variables. For examples, a study analyzed the land use changes and hydrological changes in the VMD using MODIS between 2001 and 2012 (Le et al., 2018b) and Vu et al. (2019) examined the relationship between land attributes (climate, population density, and land cover types) and vegetation transformation in Lower Mekong Basin from 1982 to 2015. In the Soc Trang and Bac Lieu Provinces in the VMD, the spatiotemporal changes in aquaculture systems were investigated using remote sensing, and the results indicated that aquaculture was developed during 2000-2006(Sakamoto et al., 2009). ...
Study region
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) is located in Vietnam
Study focus
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) region has one of the leading productions of rice in the world and it stands at the intersection of extreme anthropogenic activity and climate change. To this end, the major focus of this study is to explore the changes in land use, climate, water resources, and their inter-relationship, which are intended to showcase the ability of publicly available earth observations and models in improving understanding of the past changes and future scenarios and contribute to improved decision making. We analyzed the change of agricultural crops (single, double, and triple) and climatic parameters (precipitation, and land surface temperature, and evapotranspiration). Consequently, we used Soil and Water Assessment Tool Model (SWAT) and selected six GCMs for extreme climate to investigate the change of streamflow.
New hydrological insights
Our results indicated that double rice crop and aquaculture are the top two land use categories in the VMD, the areas of triple rice crop have increased significantly, especially for the An Giang and Dong Thap provinces. However, by examining the climate, water, and land data analytics, we see challenges in the expansion of triple rice crop over VMD. The spatio-temporal changes in climate variables and future streamflow projections provide strong evidence to water resources managers and decision-makers in the VMD.
... Several studies have shown that the dynamics of PRA are related to human activities and climate change in Southeast and South Asia. For example, the government of Vietnam has reduced the impact of flood hazards on agricultural production in the Mekong Delta through dike construction (Le et al., 2018;Tran et al., 2018a). After a series of floodrelated disasters in 2000, these dike systems have been strengthened and expanded, which may explain the expansion of PRA in coastal provinces which are vulnerable to salinity intrusion and storm surges (Kontgis et al., 2015;Tran et al., 2018a). ...
... After a series of floodrelated disasters in 2000, these dike systems have been strengthened and expanded, which may explain the expansion of PRA in coastal provinces which are vulnerable to salinity intrusion and storm surges (Kontgis et al., 2015;Tran et al., 2018a). Also, the hydrological infrastructure increased the cropping intensity (Le et al., 2018;Tran et al., 2018a), which is consistent with our results of the increased area of triplecropping in the Mekong Delta in Section 3.2. Previous studies have shown that climate change may also contribute to changes in the area under rice cultivation in Bangladesh (Amin et al., 2015). ...
CONTEXT
Timely information on the spatiotemporal trends in annual paddy rice planting areas (PRA) and cropping intensity (CI) in Asia is important for food security warnings and water use planning. However, long-time series datasets for these are generally unavailable. The spatiotemporal dynamics of annual paddy rice and cropping intensity over the last 20 years have rarely been investigated at the continental scale.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives were to generate a publicly available database on annual PRA and CI and investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of annual PRA and CI across the Asian monsoon region (AMR) over the last 20 years.
METHODS
The annual PRA and cropping CI maps at 500-m resolution across the AMR from 2000 to 2020 were generated by the improved methods based on remote sensing data from multiple sources. Also, the spatiotemporal trends of paddy rice fields and cropping intensity were further analyzed based on Sen's slope and the Mann–Kendall test.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The results showed that the resultant annual PRA and CI were correlated with that based on field samples and census data. They were also consistent with the spatial distribution of existing high-resolution products in a specific year and region. The paddy rice planting area increased significantly (p < 0.05) in northeastern China and northwestern India and decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in southern China during 2000–2020. Single- and double-cropping were dominant in the AMR. Both double-cropping and triple-cropping increased significantly (p < 0.05) during 2001–2020. Single-cropping was converted to double-cropping in approximately 198.1 × 10⁵ ha of areas, mainly in the North China Plain and northern India. And double-cropping was converted to triple-cropping in approximately 9.5 × 10⁵ ha of areas, mainly in the Mekong Delta in Southeast Asia. However, the cropping intensity in some regions such as southern China declined from 2001 to 2020.
SIGNIFICANCE
The results and datasets of this study will be useful for providing fundamental information for designing scientific policies, food security, and climate change, providing key data for yield forecasting, crop model building, and greenhouse gas estimating.
... Due to the notion that FCI can eliminate most of the flood risk, the dynamics of rivers are therefore neglected, and flood risk perception is lowered [8]. That is why FCI has the potential to reduce flood risk in the short term but increases flood risk and worsens flood risk in the long term [19,44]. ...
... The diversion of the Mekong River flow severely shrinks the irrigated area of the VMD. The floodwater level is low not only in the rainy season but also in the dry season [44,56]. The total reservoir capacity, accounting for about 8-18% of the total flood flow of the Mekong River basin, is considered a factor affecting the flood situation of the VMD and is partly related to a series of continuous small floods and historically low floods in recent years (2003-2010 and 2012 to present) [53]. ...
Flooding is one of the leading challenges faced by delta cities in the world. Flood risk management using flood control infrastructure (FCI) is a popular solution to prevent flood damage; however, this is receiving enormous criticism due to its negative impacts on urban ecosystems. Recently, there have been new approaches to flood risk management that gradually shifted the focus away from FCI, such as ecological infrastructure (EI) based approaches. However, the conventional thinking that cities cannot be safe without FCI seems an immutable one, especially in developing countries. This study firstly assessed human–river interaction in direct relation to FCI and outlined the limitations of FCI. Then, an urban ecology research model was used to conduct a case study in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD), in which the interaction between factors, including riverine urbanization, FCI formation dynamics, the changing hydrological regime, flood risk, and riverine ecosystem degradation were evaluated. Due to the dynamism and complexity of the interactions between humans and rivers at the VMD, this study attempts to demonstrate that building the ability to adapt to flood risks based on EI will have a crucial role in enhancing the sustainability of delta cities. Through a case study in My Tho City (MTC) a flood resilience management scenario for a riverine urban area along the Mekong River was developed to discuss the role of EI in flood risk reduction and the restoration of riverine native ecosystems. The findings from this study suggests that EI should be considered as an effective and indispensable design tool for the conservation of riparian ecological corridors and public open spaces—which is a major challenge for urban areas in the context of increasing climate change impacts in the VMD.
... This information is essential to understand soil and land characteristics in the VMD. Inundation maps obtained from the study on "Interplay between land-use dynamics and changes in hydrological regime in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta" by Le et al. [91] and agriculture/aquaculture production statistics of the VMD were used to validate the results of flood mitigation and agriculture/aquaculture productivity maps. ...
... For the three selected ES, the required information for each of the LULC classes is as follows: flood mitigation ability, agricultural/aquacultural productivity, and carbon pools' stock. Flood mitigation ability and agricultural/aquacultural productivity were defined based on the local knowledge of the study area and land evaluation research conducted in the VMD [82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94]. Given the high productivity and flood mitigation capacity of the VMD's wetlands, the waterlogged dependency of LUCI's flood mitigation and agricultural productivity tools was altered to raise the flood mitigation and productivity values associated with waterlogged crops of the VMD, e.g., rice and aquaculture (rice-shrimp, shrimp, mangrove-shrimp classes). ...
Deltas are among the most productive and diverse global ecosystems. However, these regions are highly vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. Nature-based solutions (Nbs) have been increasingly adopted in many deltas to improve their resilience. Among decision support tools, assessment of ecosystem services (ES) through spatially explicit modelling plays an important role in advocating for Nbs. This study explores the use of the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator (LUCI) model, a high-resolution model originally developed in temperate hill country regions, to map changes in multiple ecosystem services (ES), along with their synergies and trade-offs, between 2010 and 2018 in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). In so doing, this study contributes to the current knowledge in at least two aspects: high-resolution ES modelling in the VMD, and the combination of ES biophysical and economic values within the VMD to support Nbs implementation. To date, this is the highest resolution (5 by 5 m) ES modelling study ever conducted in the VMD, with ~1500 million elements generated per ES. In the process of trialling implementations of LUCI within the VMD’s unique environmental conditions and data contexts, we identify and suggest potential model enhancements to make the LUCI model more applicable to the VMD as well as other tropical deltaic regions. LUCI generated informative results in much of the VMD for the selected ES (flood mitigation, agriculture/aquaculture productivity, and climate regulation), but challenges arose around its application to a new agro-hydrological regime. To address these challenges, parameterising LUCI and reconceptualising some of the model’s mechanisms to specifically account for the productivity and flood mitigation capability of water-tolerant crops as well as flooding processes of deltaic regions will improve future ES modelling in tropical deltaic areas. The ES maps showed the spatial heterogeneity of ES across the VMD. Next, to at least somewhat account for the economic drivers which need to be considered alongside biophysical valuations for practical implementations of ES maps for nature-based solutions (Nbs) in the upstream VMD, economic values were assigned to different parcels using a benefit transfer approach. The spatially explicit ES economic value maps can inform the design of financing incentives for Nbs. The results and related work can be used to support the establishment of Nbs that ultimately contribute to the security of local farmers’ livelihoods and the sustainability of the VMD.
... Considering the rapid expansion of the triple-season rice areas in the delta [Le et al., 2018], it can be expected that the used land-use product of 2014 overestimates the spatial coverage of triple season rice paddies, possibly resulting in an overestimation of the flood damage. Also, land-use data have a resolution of 250×250 m; therefore the majority of inland canals (width 10-30 m) were likely classified as rice pixels (see Fig.3 ...
... Since this model requires only the water level as input, it can provide a quick assessment of flood damage to rice crops.Applying these damage functions to the current situation is, however, not recommended due to the massive changes in land use and cropping system over the last two decades. For example,[Le et al., 2018] calculated an annual rate of change in land use in the VMD of 14.9% during 2001-2012. Hence, to our best knowledge, large-scale economic assessments of flood damage to agriculture crops for the whole delta and appropriate damage models are missing. ...
Today, the Mekong Delta in the southern of Vietnam is home for 18 million people. The delta also accounts for more than half of the country’s food production and 80% of the exported rice. Due to the low elevation, it is highly susceptible to the risk of fluvial and coastal flooding. Although extreme floods often result in excessive damages and economic losses, the annual flood pulse from the Mekong is vital to sustain agricultural cultivation and livelihoods of million delta inhabitants. Delta-wise risk management and adaptation strategies are required to mitigate the adverse impacts from extreme events while capitalising benefits from floods. However, a proper flood risk management has not been implemented in the VMD, because the quantification of flood damage is often overlooked and the risks are thus not quantified. So far, flood management has been exclusively focused on engineering measures, i.e. high- and low- dyke systems, aiming at flood-free or partial inundation control without any consideration of the actual risks or a cost-benefit analysis. Therefore, an analysis of future delta flood dynamics driven these stressors is valuable to facilitate the transition from sole hazard control towards a risk management approach, which is more cost-effective and also robust against future changes in risk. Built on these research gaps, this thesis investigates the current state and future projections of flood hazard, damage and risk to rice cultivation, the most important economic activity in the VMD. The study quantifies the changes in risk and hazard brought by the development of delta-based flood control measures in the last decades, and analyses the expected changes in risk driven by the changing climate, rising sea-level and deltaic land subsidence, and finally the development of hydropower projects in the Mekong Basin. For this purpose, flood trend analyses and comprehensive hydraulic modelling were performed, together with the development of a concept to quantify flood damage and risk to rice plantation. The analysis of observed flood levels revealed strong and robust increasing trends of peak and duration downstream of the high-dyke areas with a step change in 2000/2001, i.e. after the disastrous flood which initiated the high-dyke development. These changes were in contrast to the negative trends detected upstream, suggested that high-dyke development has shifted flood hazard downstream. Findings of the trend’s analysis were later confirmed by hydraulic simulations of the two recent extreme floods in 2000 and 2011, where the hydrological boundaries and dyke system settings were interchanged. However, the high-dyke system was not the only and often not the main cause for a shift of flood hazard, as a comparative analysis of these two extreme floods proved. The high-dyke development was responsible for 20–90% of the observed changes in flood level between 2000 and 2011, with large spatial variances. The particular flood hydrograph of the two events had the highest contribution in the northern part of the delta, while the tidal level had 2–3 times higher influence than the high-dyke in the lower-central and coastal areas downstream of high-dyke areas. The impact of the high-dyke development was highest in the areas closely downstream of the high-dyke area just south of the Cambodia-Vietnam border. The hydraulic simulations also validated that the concurrence of the flood peak with spring tides, i.e. high sea level along the coast, amplified the flood level and inundation in the central and coastal regions substantially. The risk assessment quantified the economic losses of rice cultivation to USD 25.0 and 115 million (0.02–0.1% of the total GDP of Vietnam in 2011) corresponding to the 10-year and the 100-year floods, with an expected annual damage of about USD 4.5 million. A particular finding is that the flood damage was highly sensitive to flood timing. Here, a 10-year event with an early peak, i.e. late August-September, could cause as much damage as a 100-year event that peaked in October. This finding underlines the importance of a reliable early flood warning, which could substantially reduce the damage to rice crops and thus the risk. The developed risk assessment concept was furthermore applied to investigate two high-dyke development alternatives, which are currently under discussion among the administrative bodies in Vietnam, but also in the public. The first option favouring the utilization of the current high-dyke compartments as flood retention areas instead for rice cropping during the flood season could reduce flood hazard and expected losses by 5–40%, depending on the region of the delta. On the contrary, the second option promoting the further extension of the areas protected by high-dyke to facilitate third rice crop planting on a larger area, tripled the current expected annual flood damage. This finding challenges the expected economic benefit of triple rice cultivation, in addition to the already known reducing of nutrient supply by floodplain sedimentation and thus higher costs for fertilizers. The economic benefits of the high-dyke and triple rice cropping system is further challenged by the changes in the flood dynamics to be expected in future. For the middle of the 21st century (2036-2065) the effective sea-level rise an increase of the inundation extent by 20–27% was projected. This corresponds to an increase of flood damage to rice crops in dry, normal and wet year by USD 26.0, 40.0 and 82.0 million in dry, normal and wet year compared to the baseline period 1971-2000. Hydraulic simulations indicated that the planned massive development of hydropower dams in the Mekong Basin could potentially compensate the increase in flood hazard and agriculture losses stemming from climate change. However, the benefits of dams as mitigation of flood losses are highly uncertain, because a) the actual development of the dams is highly disputed, b) the operation of the dams is primarily targeted at power generation, not flood control, and c) this would require international agreements and cooperation, which is difficult to achieve in South-East Asia. The theoretical flood mitigation benefit is additionally challenged by a number of negative impacts of the dam development, e.g. disruption of floodplain inundation in normal, non-extreme flood years. Adding to the certain reduction of sediment and nutrient load to the floodplains, hydropower dams will drastically impair rice and agriculture production, the basis livelihoods of million delta inhabitants. In conclusion, the VMD is expected to face increasing threats of tidal induced floods in the coming decades. Protection of the entire delta coastline solely with “hard” engineering flood protection structures is neither technically nor economically feasible, adaptation and mitigation actions are urgently required. Better control and reduction of groundwater abstraction is thus strongly recommended as an immediate and high priority action to reduce the land subsidence and thus tidal flooding and salinity intrusion in the delta. Hydropower development in the Mekong basin might offer some theoretical flood protection for the Mekong delta, but due to uncertainties in the operation of the dams and a number of negative effects, the dam development cannot be recommended as a strategy for flood management. For the Vietnamese authorities, it is advisable to properly maintain the existing flood protection structures and to develop flexible risk-based flood management plans. In this context the study showed that the high-dyke compartments can be utilized for emergency flood management in extreme events. For this purpose, a reliable flood forecast is essential, and the action plan should be materialised in official documents and legislation to assure commitment and consistency in the implementation and operation.
... Rice production in the Mekong Delta is influenced by three main factors: the agricultural ecosystem, government policies, and market dynamics [8]. Soil characteristics and hydrological conditions significantly affect the production system and the efficiency of resource use in rice farming. ...
Rice is a key national commodity, particularly for the Mekong Delta. The rice industry is evolving to prioritize high value, ecological advantages, market demand, and competitiveness. The coastal sub-region aims to develop “specialty rice” through sustainable cultivation systems. Soc Trang province, in particular, prioritizes specialty rice to take advantage of its seasonal brackish water conditions. This study evaluates the role of rice production in sustainable agricultural development in Soc Trang province by surveying 81 agricultural extension staffs from 81 communes across 8 rice-growing districts in Soc Trang province in 2023. Interviews focused on changes in population, agricultural households, rice households, rice production area, rice varieties, and yield from 2020 to 2023. The findings reveal that farmers in Soc Trang primarily focus on rice production for household economic development, with over 70% of the natural land area dedicated to rice cultivation. Specialty rice production accounts for more than 50% of the total annual rice cultivation area, with most farmers growing specialty rice varieties during the Winter-Spring season. Approximately 55% of households in the Soc Trang province grow rice, and 70% of households involved in agriculture engage in rice cultivation. These findings underscore the critical role of rice production in sustainable agricultural development in Soc Trang province.
... As a result, freshwater scarcity is increasingly becoming an issue for MKD in the dry season, compounded by the effect of drought and salinity intrusion (Vo et al., 2017). Other threats including intensive land use, use of chemicals and pesticides in rice farming and aquaculture, and upstream pollution are also causing water pollution and are affecting the MKD environment and ecosystem (Doan et al., 2020;Le et al., 2018). ...
Climate change poses significant threats to the livelihoods of farmers, particularly in coastal regions where drought, salinity intrusion and weather variability reduce crop yields and increase poverty. While climate adaptation strategies aim to mitigate these impacts, they do not necessarily translate into positive outcomes. Through a scoping literature review and in-depth interviews, the paper investigates different domains of human (in)security and their interactions in the context of significant climate change impacts and relatively rapid adaptive responses within the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The analysis shows that not only several critical manifestations of insecurity arise due to climate change impacts, but also unexpected human insecurity and potential conflict risks can happen as the result of climate adaptation activities. We conclude that a holistic understanding and mainstreaming of human security into adaptation planning and implementation for the region is important and requires more attention from both research and policy perspectives.
... Since the mid-1970s, state-led irrigation and land reclamation for rice production has dramatically altered the delta's hydrological regime. One of the most populated regions of Vietnam due to the success of alluvial rice agriculture, the Mekong's transformation into a rice bowl has shortened the flooding period of the Mekong from 12 months to 4 to 6 months and caused increasing salinity levels (Le et al. 2018;Nguyen et al. 2016). By the early 2000s, only 1.5 percent of the Mekong's wetlands existed in their natural or semi-natural state prior to rice intensification (Nguyen et al. 2016). ...
Amphibious landscapes, wetlands such as coasts, mangroves, peatlands, and deltas, have seen a recent surge in large-scale restoration efforts. This article examines this trend in Southeast Asia, reviewing the history and contemporary dynamics of wetland restoration in the region. Drawing from literatures on the political ecology of restoration, infrastructure studies, and the financialization of nature, we understand wetland restoration as a form of repair to highlight it as a socio-political process. We conceptualize restoration as infrastructural land repair , the process of restoring dynamic ecosystems for specific anthropocentric and economic aims, mediated through an amalgam of expertise, technology, and finance. We reveal how restoration can function as a socio-ecological fix, maintaining the same political-economic systems that initially caused wetland degradation. Finally, we identify a need for three areas of scholarship to be expanded on how restoration unfolds in practice within the SEA context, which will be crucial to informing more reparative forms of restoration.
... The appearing changes in the habitat's physical and chemical conditions translate into the river ecosystem's biotic structure and are often overlooked in the current models of river functioning [2]. Due to technical difficulties and strong, centuriesold anthropogenic transformations of agricultural lands that are attractive for agriculture, the areas of river deltas are currently the least known in hydrobiology [3]. Delta regions are an ideal object for ecohydrological analysis because the natural hydrological instability repeated in the 24-hour cycle creates specific and unique biological systems. ...
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License AOMB.MS.ID.000571. Abstract Evaluation of short-time freshwater habitat fluctuations was provided in the period October 2019-February 2020 in the Mekong River delta in Vietnam. Three phases of water flow direction were documented in the diurnal tide cycle. In the middle-"stagnation" state, a daily maximal oxygen concentration in the river occurs, regardless of the sun's position above the horizon. Each tide cycle also creates a periodic water mass friction zone in the nearshore part of the riverbed and increases the sedimentation rate within the opposite direction of water mass flow. The biotic effects of freshwater habitat modification in the river branches are discussed.
... When entering the VMD, the Mekong River divides itself into two main branches and discharge to the East Sea of Vietnam through eight subbranches. About 15,000 km of main major canals, 27,000 km of secondary canals, and 50,000 km of farm canals have been excavated in the VMD over the last 200 years for irrigation and transportation purposes (Nguyen et al., 2016;Le et al., 2018). The hydrological conditions in the area are regulated by the discharge from the upstream, precipitation, land use, and the sea tides from the Gulf of Thailand and the East Sea (Smajgl et al., 2015). ...
Groundwater is a crucial source for water supply in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). However, its availability and accessibility face many challenges such as population growth and the associated increase in water demand, deterioration of river water quality, climate change (droughts), and sea-level rise. Overexploitation of groundwater is the main cause for groundwater salinization and land subsidence, which is a big environmental issue in the VMD. In this chapter, the present and future status of the VMD groundwater system will be described, and a critical review on groundwater problems and its relation to land subsidence will be discussed based on the literature and collected data. The analysis shows that groundwater abstraction rates have increased and are expected to increase in the future due to higher agricultural and domestic demands, an inadequate water supply system, and salinization of surface water. Most fresh groundwater resources are old and from fossil origin, and once these fresh groundwater resources are depleted, they cannot be replenished easily. Poor management of groundwater resources and the lack of alternative water sources place even more pressure on the groundwater situation. This results in sharply declined groundwater pressure heads, groundwater contaminated by trace metals, arsenic, and saltwater intrusion, and aquifer-system compaction leading to extraction-induced land subsidence. Recent studies suggested that the recovery of the groundwater pressure head by reduced fresh groundwater abstractions and/or aquifer storage and recovery can be the promising approach to partially restore the fresh groundwater resources and reduce extraction-induced land subsidence problems. This chapter also points out that the groundwater management strategy could seriously be improved through sustainable groundwater abstractions in combination with the application of various alternative methods such as conjunctive water use, rainwater harvesting techniques, managed aquifer recharge, and (agricultural) water saving practices.
... These political and economic decisions resulted in the unsustainable dominance of rice agriculture in the VMD (Le et al. 2018). This approach has increased farmers' passive reliance on government regulation and investment (Biggs et al. 2009;Miller 2007). ...
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) has experienced a series of unprecedented disasters in the last decade, resulting from a combination of drought and saline intrusion in the 2015-2016 and 2019-2020 dry seasons. These events have severely impacted the region's agricultural sustainability and people's livelihoods, prompting an urgent need to explore their root causes and derive lessons for future prevention. Despite a growing body of literature on disaster vulnerability, little has been done to address these questions in the Vietnamese context. This article seeks to bridge this gap by critically examining Vietnam's food politics and agricultural modernisation policies in relation to changes in water resource management, disaster risk management and farming practices. Through a case study of Tan Hung commune in Soc Trang province, the article argues that the current vulnerability to disasters, exemplified by the unsustainable system of triple rice cultivation, is an unintended consequence of Vietnam's agricultural reform and biased water management approach, which relies heavily on large-scale irrigation infrastructure.
... Building dynamic land use and integrated hydrological water control infrastructures are deemed efective ways of combating the threatening landslide issues. Tat is the reason Vietnam aimed at building a hydrological state, both integrating the land-use and hydrological regime [51]. By applying a transdisciplinary approach to understanding the situations about livelihood resilience, we could determine that applying diferent theories in the research is a convenient method to identify the prime problems and fgure out the action plan. ...
Tis article considers and adds empirical nuances to the recent conceptualization of pro-poor water management. Using the concept of pro-poor hydraulic governmentality along the Vietnam-Cambodia border of Tường Phước commune, we argue that water management is linked to local rural livelihoods in a complex and dynamic pro-poor mechanism. While certain policies organize local populations according to cost-efectiveness ignoring local customs, the practicalities of dealing with such con- straints are much more ambivalent. Tis article demonstrates the structural pro-poor complexity among sand excavation, riverbank landslides, water management, local livelihoods, and populace resettlement. Te government’s resettlement plans and the perceptions of residents of these plans are intertwined with a wider political, economic, social, and cultural signifcance in the context of strong institutional power in Vietnam. Limitations and future research agenda are also indicated in the discussion and conclusion section.
... Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long là khu vực trọng điểm của quốc gia về sản xuất nông nghiệp và thủy sản (Mekong Delta Plan, 2013), vùng chỉ chiếm khoảng 12% diện tích nhưng lại đóng góp hơn 50% tổng sản lượng lúa và 90% sản lượng gạo xuất khẩu của cả nước và hơn 70% trữ lượng thủy sản (GSO, 2013). Tuy nhiên, nhiều đánh giá cho thấy đời sống của người dân sản xuất nông nghiệp và nuôi trồng thủy sản vẫn còn gặp nhiều khó khăn, đặc biệt là vùng ven biển (Dang, 2020;Le et al., 2018). Huyện Mỹ Xuyên, tỉnh Sóc Trăng với vị trí tiếp giáp giữa vùng ven biển và nội đồng tạo nên sự đa dạng về hệ sinh thái nông nghiệp (Vũ và ctv., 2013). ...
This study is to evaluate the change of area in agricultural land uses in My Xuyen district, Soc Trang province through the satellite image data provided by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The results showed a difference in the percentage of land use types changed in two areas of the district. For the freshwater region in the North of the district, there was little change of area in the rice crops and cash crops. These land use types were mainly converted for construction areas and other plantation trees. Meanwhile, there was high transformation in the saltwater and brackishwater ecology region, the area of rice-shrimp farming was reduced due to changing to the improved extensive and semi-intensive farming models. By the farmer interview method, these results showed that saline water intrusion, rainfall, costs of input materials, labor costs, consumption of materials in the production process, agricultural product prices, markets, lack of labors, and Covid-19 epidemic were important influences on production efficiency and farmers' decision to change land use.
... Socio-economic exposure is very high due to high population density: about 21 million people live in the Mekong Delta, utilizing most of the land area and most of the water for agricultural and aquaculture production (Le et al. 2018). In summary, sea-level rise, land subsidence and flooding are likely to increase inundation frequency and depth of progressively larger areas, leaving more than 30% of the delta permanently inundated by 2100 if no effective adaptation measures can be identified and implemented (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment 2009). ...
Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is considered one of the world’s most vulnerable areas to climate change. Its 21 million inhabitants are increasingly exposed to consequences of sea level rise, salinity intrusion, and climate variability. Upstream developments exacerbate declining water security, particularly by substantially changing water flow conditions and sediment transport. Since the National Target Program to Respond to Climate Change (2008), Vietnam has enacted several adaptation focused policies and planning strategies, which have been championed by the highest levels of Government. This chapter synthesizes main findings regarding climate change vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies for Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.KeywordsMekong DeltaWater securitySea level riseLand subsidenceClimate changeVietnam
... The way, we humans use land for different purposes, for example, dwellings, food grains, building (social) infrastructure etc., it has some kind of impact on the respective (local) hydrological regime with negative consequences for surrounding communities and the natural resource base [102][103][104][105]. How we use land in the urban areas is changing. ...
Globally, the number of people living in flood-prone areas is increasing. The poorest and most vulnerable people are at the greatest risk. This article analyses the dominant social factors that motivates people to occupy flood-prone areas, from the perspective of residents across the social spectrum in the largest Himalayan urban center, Srinagar City. The field experience suggests that the residents of flood-prone areas moved to safer part of city and outside of city, but returned to their original place as soon as floodwaters were gone, when the region was hit by a historic flood disaster in the beginning of September 2014. Both male and female, socially and educationally disadvantageous people were included in the study to ensure diversity of opinion. The qualitative data from personal interviews, conducted with the residents having previous flood experience was analysed by using data-driven thematic approach-an iterative and reflective process-to develop five "key" themes reflecting lived experience. The themes include: (1) place attachment, (2) good living conditions, (3) adaptation to flooding, (4) sense of community, and (5) social harmony. The thick description produced on each theme and supported with direct quotations from participants themselves helped to uncover the underlying realities to inform decision-making. It is important for disaster managers and risk communicators to consider the social aspects of flooding and understand the psyche of exposed vulnerable populations to address planning and communication gaps, design and implement community programs, especially to help the helpless and vulnerable people better manage flood risk and achieve resilience.
... Since the early 1990s, land use in the VMD evolved towards intensive rice farming. In the upper VMD, the area devoted to double rice cropping and triple rice cropping quickly expanded, while seasonal rice diminished by 28% [14]. Besides, thanks to the high dike system and good drainage, some areas along the Mekong River (also known as Tien River) and Bassac River (also known as Hau River) converted from rice fields into orchards or other upland crops in recent years [15,16]. ...
In the mitigation strategies of climate change, improving soil carbon storage is considered as one of the main tasks to enhance agricultural sustainability and sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. Agricultural patterns have been changing significantly and causing many impacts on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in the upper Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate how typical agricultural pattern changes are affecting SOC by estimating the SOC stock and identifying the correlation with soil physic-chemical properties. Soil samples were collected in both depths of 0-20 cm and 20-50 cm and analyzed physic-chemical properties such as soil texture, bulk density, pH KCl , EC and SOC. In topsoil layers, the SOC stock of the wetland forest was the highest in the opened depression of floodplain (24.42±1.38 kg C m-2 ; p<0.05) while that of paddy rice was the richest at depth of 20-50 cm (27.69±2.97 kg C m-2 ; p<0.05). In other agro-ecological areas, SOC stock in croplands was lower than forest and grassland in topsoil layer, especially in mountainous areas. SOC stock correlated positively with SOC content, clay, bulk density, and EC (p<0.05) but had a negative correlation with sand and pH KCl (p<0.05). The decrease in SOC stock in dry cultivating patterns indicated the impact of agricultural management practices and soil fertility on SOC storage. Thus, improving SOC stock is needed to maintain sustainable soil management. That can be done by increasing C input and decreasing C loss in the atmosphere.
... There are a number of climate change adaptation portfolios that have been already adopted in the VMD to mitigate the adverse consequences of coastal hazards. These include but are not limited to: construction and upgrading of sea dykes, construction of salinity-prevention sluice gates, shifting to new saline-tolerant crop varieties, improved landuse planning related to development, diversification of livelihoods, protection of mangrove forests, conversion to aquacultural farming, strengthening the adaptive capacity of the region and improved policy implementation and governance (Adger et al., 2005;Hoa et al., 2007;Howden et al., 2007;Birkmann et al., 2012;Smajgl et al., 2015;Triet et al., 2017;Le et al., 2018;Tran et al., 2019;Poelma et al., 2021). These actions have achieved certain success to ensure the help local coastal communities adapt to climate change and to ameliorate livelihoods in the region. ...
Coastal protection measures and management play an important role in coping with coastal disasters and climate-induced sea-level rise. In this study, the success and failure of typical coastal protection works of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) are reported and documented from field observations over a study period of 10–15 years. The coastal protection structures evaluated include revetments, geotubes, t-shaped bamboo fences, Pile-rock breakwaters, Busadco's breakwaters, Semi-Circular breakwaters, and Hollow triangle breakwaters. This paper briefly reviews the current situation of coastline erosion problem and accretion in the VMD and illustrates the severity of the current erosion rate that threatens the safety of coastal communities. The paper then evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of various coastal management approaches currently in practice in the VMD to classify different types of possible measures for coastal management with the aim to find holistic measures for planning which require low construction investment. Integrated coastal management and planning are outlined at a regional scale followed by the lessons learned from the previous coastal protection works, and finally the multiple lines of defense (MLD) solution is proposed, which is a green infrastructure inspired nature-based solution. The MLD solution can improve biodiversity, facilitate mangrove forest restoration, and ensure sustainable livelihoods for local communities. Integrated coastal planning and management solutions that are based on the MLD principle are expected to withstand coastal disasters under future climate change, and sea-level rise on the VMD.
... Frohlich and Oppenheimer (1993); Konow (2003) Schlosberg (2013); Wood et al. (2018) Fig. 1), rely primarily on rice farming since their location is safe from salt intrusion (Ngan et al. 2018). There are two main types of rice farming: double-rice farming (two harvests a year outside the monsoon season) and triple rice farming (an additional planting season during the monsoon). ...
To support equitable adaptation planning, quantitative assessments should consider the fairness of the distribution of outcomes to different people. What constitutes a fair distribution, however, is a normative question. In this study, we explore the use of different moral principles drawn from theories of distributive justice to evaluate fairness. We use adaptation planning in Vietnam Mekong Delta as a case study. We evaluate the preference ranking of six alternative policies for seven moral principles across an ensemble of scenarios. Under the baseline scenario, each principle yields distinctive preference rankings, though most principles identify the same policy as the most preferred one. Across the ensemble of scenarios, the commonly used utilitarian principle yields the most stable ranking, while rankings from other principles are more sensitive to uncertainty. The sufficientarian and the envy-free principles yield the most distinctive ranking of policies, with a median ranking correlation of only 0.07 across all scenarios. Finally, we identify scenarios under which using these two principles results in reversed policy preference rankings. Our study highlights the importance of considering multiple moral principles in evaluating the fairness of adaptation policies, as this would reduce the possibility of maladaptation.
... Nowadays, the expansion is not only restricted to the coastal tide-affected areas (Le et al. 2018). Instead, in West Bengal, it is expanding more and more towards the interior freshwater agricultural blocks. ...
The present study attempted to understand the dimensions of changing agrarian livelihoods
because of haphazard adaptation of capitalistic shrimp aquaculture. Specifically,
using multi-temporal Google-based geodatabase, we quantified the artificial
conversion of agrarian landscape in an inland freshwater region of coastal Bengal.
Further, we examined the long-term viability of transformed livelihoods by adopting
a modified version of the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA). The assessment
of changing livelihoods was based on empirical information acquired through field
surveys, focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII). Results
from the geostatistical analysis depicted that the shrimp culture in the research area
was very recent. In 2010, only 0.03 percent of the total area was occupied by shrimp
ponds. However, within a decade and an expansion rate of 18 percent/annum, the
conversion spread to 1/3 of the total study area. The findings also clarified that the
adaptation of shrimp cultivation increased the overall profit by 6400 USD/ha/year
over agricultural output, and resulted in a quick rise in the standard of living for the
shrimp farmers. However, in the long run, due to decreasing productivity and salinization
of the surrounding land, the conversion resulted in massive depeasantization,
augmentation of wasteland, and biased wealth accumulation led to a wide rich-poor
gap. Therefore, the entire ecosystem will suffer in the near future, if the local government
does not strictly impose Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
... For each delta portion, we consider the entire delta area (as opposed to the coastal fringe only) in order to capture the interconnected nature of deltaic landscapes and associated risks. Both deltas are prone to riverine, tidal, and storm-surge flooding 78,79 . High tides and cyclones can lead to large and deadly marine flooding events, especially in the GBM delta. ...
Sea level rise (SLR) will increase adaptation needs along low-lying coasts worldwide. Despite centuries of experience with coastal risk, knowledge about the effectiveness and feasibility of societal adaptation on the scale required in a warmer world remains limited. This paper contrasts end-century SLR risks under two warming and two adaptation scenarios, for four coastal settlement archetypes (Urban Atoll Islands, Arctic Communities, Large Tropical Agricultural Deltas, Resource-Rich Cities). We show that adaptation will be substantially beneficial to the continued habitability of most low-lying settlements over this century, at least until the RCP8.5 median SLR level is reached. However, diverse locations worldwide will experience adaptation limits over the course of this century, indicating situations where even ambitious adaptation cannot sufficiently offset a failure to effectively mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions.
... There are a number of climate change adaptation portfolios that have been already adopted in the VMD to mitigate the adverse consequences of coastal hazards. These include but are not limited to: construction and upgrading of sea dykes, construction of salinity-prevention sluice gates, shifting to new saline-tolerant crop varieties, improved landuse planning related to development, diversification of livelihoods, protection of mangrove forests, conversion to aquacultural farming, strengthening the adaptive capacity of the region and improved policy implementation and governance (Adger et al., 2005;Hoa et al., 2007;Howden et al., 2007;Birkmann et al., 2012;Smajgl et al., 2015;Triet et al., 2017;Le et al., 2018;Tran et al., 2019;Poelma et al., 2021). These actions have achieved certain success to ensure the help local coastal communities adapt to climate change and to ameliorate livelihoods in the region. ...
... Pusat-pusat keluar masuk induk, benih udang dan udang dapat dijadikan sebagai klaster. Penciptaan klaster tersebut dapat berfungsi untuk memperkuat jaringan dan kemitraan antara pembudi daya udang dan pelaku usaha lainnya dalam rantai pasokan (Ha et al., 2013;Ramirez et al., 2018;Lee et al., 2018), yang saling terhubung secara geografis di bidang masing-masing dan saling melengkapi. ...
Rantai pasok udang vanamei di daerah produksi di Indonesia tidak selalu sama dan dipengaruhi oleh ketersediaan fasilitas pembenihan sampai dengan unit pengolahan ikan (UPI). Konsekuensinya, jenis dan jumlah biaya logistik bervariasi antara daerah satu dengan yang lain. Riset ini bertujuan untuk; a) mengidentifikasi rantai pasok udang vanamei di daerah produksi, b) menganalisis permasalahan dalam rantai pasok udang vanamei, dan c) merumuskan sistem logistik udang vanamei. Riset dilakukan selama tahun 2019 di beberapa provinsi yang memproduksi udang vanamei yaitu Jawa Timur, Jawa Barat, Bali, Nusa Tenggara Barat, dan Sulawesi Selatan. Riset ini menggunakan data primer dan data sekunder. Data primer diperoleh melalui wawancara dengan menggunakan topik data kepada 12 responden pembenihan, 4 responden UPI, 40 responden pembudidaya udang vanamei, dan 10 pedagang/pengumpul. Data sekunder diperoleh dari laporan hasil riset, data statistik, dan publikasi ilmiah lainnya. Data dianalisis secara deskriptif untuk menggambarkan rantai pasok, pola logistik, dan permasalahan yang terjadi dalam rantai pasok. Hasil analisis menggambarkan bahwa rantai pasok udang vanamei di Indonesia bisa digolongkan menjadi 3 bagian, yaitu pasokan (bahan baku dan produksi), distribusi (pedagang besar, pedagang kecil, dan pengecer), dan konsumen (pasar lokal, hotel/ restoran/catering -HOREKA- dan UPI). Permasalahan rantai pasok udang vanamei dari produsen benih sampai ke konsumen akhir telah menyebabkan produksi tidak efisien dan berimplikasi pada peningkatan biaya. Secara faktual, ada disparitas stok benih antar daerah dan kebutuhan pemenuhan stok udang di beberapa cold storage. Logistik udang vanamei menggunakan hampir semua jenis moda transportasi yaitu transportasi udara (pesawat terbang), transportasi darat (sepeda motor, mobil bak terbuka, truk biasa, truk kontainer) dan transportasi laut (kapal antar pulau dan antar negara). Sistem logistik udang belum efisien mengingat pengadaan induk udang vanamei masih diimpor dari negara lain oleh beberapa perusahaan pembenihan, dan benih ini harus menyuplai seluruh wilayah Indonesia.Title: Supply Chain and Logistic of Vannamei Shrimp In Production Areas of IndonesiaThe supply chain of vannamei shrimp in production areas of Indonesia is different in each area. It depends on the availability of hatchery facilities and the fish processing unit (UPI). Consequently, the types and logistic costs vary among regions. This research aims to: a) identify the supply chain of vannamei shrimp in the production area, b) formulate a general pattern of the logistic system of vannamei shrimp, and c) analyze the problems in the supply chain of vannamei shrimp. This research was conducted in 2019 in East Java, West Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi where those provinces produce vannamei shrimp. This research employs primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through interviews with five hatchery respondents, four UPI respondents, 40 vannamei shrimp farmers, and seven collectors/traders. Secondary data were obtained from research reports, statistical data, and other scientific publications. Data were analyzed descriptively to describe the supply chain, logistic patterns, and problems that occur in the supply chain. The results illustrate that vannamei supply chain in Indonesia can be classified into three parts: raw materials and production, distribution (wholesalers, small traders, and retailers) and consumers (local markets, hotel/restaurant/catering, and processing plants). The problem of vannamei supply chain from hatcheries to the final consumers has resulted in inefficient production and has been implicated in increased costs. Eventually, there are disparities in shrimp juvenile stocks between regions and the need to fulfill shrimp stocks in several cold storages Logistic system of vannamei shrimp utilizes almost all types of transportation modes: air transport (cargo planes), land transportation (motorbikes, trucks, cargo trucks) and water transportation (inter-island and inter-country cargo ships). The logistics system of vannamei was inefficient considering the procurement of vannamei shrimp broodstocks have always been imported from other countries by several hatchery companies, and shrimp juveniles produced need to be distributed to all-around Indonesia.
... CMP has a special role in the agricultural sector of Vietnam, especially for shrimp farming (Cosslett and Cosslett, 2014;GSOV, 2019;Thong et al., 2010). Therefore, land use is dominated by brackish saltwater aquaculture and one-crop rice farming, sometimes alternating depending on the season and water availability, and rarely two-crop rice cultivation (Le et al., 2018;Nguyen et al., 2020). ...
Study region: Ca Mau Province (CMP), Mekong Delta (MD), Vietnam.
Study focus: Groundwater from deep aquifers is the most reliable source of freshwater in the MD but extensive overexploitation in the last decades led to the drop of hydraulic heads and negative environmental impacts. Therefore, a comprehensive groundwater investigation was conducted to evaluate its composition in the context of Quaternary marine transgression and regression cycles, geochemical processes as well as groundwater extraction.
New hydrological insights for the region: The abundance of groundwater of Na-HCO3 type and distinct ion ratios, such as Na⁺/Cl⁻, indicate extensive freshwater intrusion in an initially saline hydrogeological system, with decreasing intensity from upper Pleistocene to deeper Miocene aquifers, most likely during the last marine regression phase 60–12 ka BP. Deviations from the conservative mixing line between the two endmembers seawater and freshwater are attributed to ion-exchange processes on mineral surfaces, making ion ratios in combination with a customized water type analysis a useful tool to distinguish between salinization and freshening processes. Elevated salinity in some areas is attributed to HCO3⁻ generation by organic matter decomposition in marine sediments rather than to seawater intrusion. Nevertheless, a few randomly distributed locations show strong evidence of recent salinization in an early stage, which may be caused by the downwards migration of saline Holocene groundwater through natural and anthropogenic pathways into deep aquifers.
... Our results from remote sensing data analysis and official government statistics on agriculture have revealed the emergence of increasingly diversified farming systems in AGP, characterized by a shift towards non-rice cropsin particular, aquaculture. Such cropping patterns are likely to also be a response to recent flooding patterns, given the strong interrelations between land-use dynamics and changes in hydrological regimes in the VMD [23,46]. Current literature on the VMD agriculture and land cover changes [47,48] have reported similar changes in rice-based agriculture in the region over the past decades: an increased conversion of rice paddy land for non-rice field crops, orchards, freshwater and brackish water aquaculture, with more small-scale farmers practising integrated farming models and farming diversification during the flooding season. ...
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) is one of the most important food baskets in Southeast Asia, contributing to more than half of the country's food production capacity and the majority of its rice exports. Constantly threatened by a multitude of environmental pressures, including climate change-induced sea-level rise, delta-wide land subsidence, sedimentation reduction and, more recently, riverbed mining, steps towards the sustainable development of the VMD is becoming increasingly vulnerable. In this paper, we examine the effect of hydrological alterations of agricultural landscape in the VMD, more specifically, the temporal trends of triple rice crop in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle (LXQ). Landsat satellite data was used to map active rice paddy sites across the three major rice cropping seasons and identify the temporal distribution of triple rice crop areas over the last 24 years (1995–2019). Results were interpreted alongside official statistical data on agriculture from Vietnam and corroborated with ground truth data points from the study site. Our results reveal a notable fall in Landsat-detected triple rice crop area between 2016 and 2019, corroborating with both literature and agricultural data indicating an increase in aquaculture areas. Here, we take note for the first time the underlying links between riverbed mining and agricultural shifts in the VMD, which could highlight important policy and management implications for the local government in order to ensure environmental sustainability and food security. We argue that a tighter and more effective regulation of riverbed mining practices in the region is both integral and necessary for the agricultural sustainability of the VMD.
... Our results from remote sensing data analysis and official government statistics on agriculture have revealed the emergence of increasingly diversified farming systems in AGP, characterized by a shift towards non-rice crops -in particular, aquaculture. Such cropping patterns are likely to also be a response to recent flooding patterns, given the strong interrelations between land-use dynamics and changes in hydrological regimes in the VMD ( Tran et al., 2021 ;Le et al., 2018 ). Current literature on the VMD agriculture and land cover changes Tran and James, 2017 ) have reported similar changes in rice-based agriculture in the region over the past decades: an increased conversion of rice paddy land for non-rice field crops, or-chards, freshwater and brackish water aquaculture, with more smallscale farmers practising integrated farming models and farming diversification during the flooding season. ...
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) is one of the most important food baskets in Southeast Asia, contributing to more than half of the country's food production capacity and the majority of its rice exports. Constantly threatened by a multitude of environmental pressures, including climate change-induced sea-level rise, delta-wide land subsidence, sedimentation reduction and, more recently, riverbed mining, steps towards the sustainable development of the VMD is becoming increasingly vulnerable. In this paper, we examine the effect of hydrological alterations of agricultural landscape in the VMD, more specifically, the temporal trends of triple rice crop in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle (LXQ). Landsat satellite data was used to map active rice paddy sites across the three major rice cropping seasons and identify the temporal distribution of triple rice crop areas over the last 24 years (1995 – 2019). Results were interpreted alongside official statistical data on agriculture from Vietnam and corroborated with ground truth data points from the study site. Our results reveal a notable fall in Landsat-detected triple rice crop area between 2016 to 2019, corroborating with both literature and agricultural data indicating an increase in aquaculture areas. Here, we take note for the first time the underlying links between riverbed mining and agricultural shifts in the VMD, which could highlight important policy and management implications for the local government in order to ensure environmental sustainability and food security. We argue that a tighter and more effective regulation of riverbed mining practices in the region is both integral and necessary for the agricultural sustainability of the VMD.
... A lack of contextualized solutions could lead to mismatches between central policies and ground implementation . Better understanding of the complexity of various human-water system can support policymakers formulating effective management plans (Le et al., 2018). Several studies have recognized two-way feedback in the human-water system: Howie (2011) suggests that the hydrological regime seems to influence local communities' decisions and the state power regarding land-water management; dike infrastructures have influenced the flood regimes and caused loss in natural sediment (Tran, 2016); waterscapes of rural areas in the VMD have been transformed partly as a result of the adaptation process (Tran, 2020). ...
Efforts on socio-hydrology science have been promoted to solve challenges faced by contemporary water management. This study aims to better understand the co-evolution of human-water systems in floodplains. Specifically, farmers' opinions on flooding, dike effects, and living conditions in different dike systems in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta floodplain are compared to explore possible connections between human perceptions and dike development processes by employing in-depth interviews of 7 officials and oral surveys of 100 farmers supported by a literature review. Local specific contexts have resulted in various dike systems. One mixed-low-dike-dominant, two mixed-high-dike-dominant, and one only-high-dike zones are found in the research area. High dikes have been operating in an ad hoc response to short-term demands in the mixed-dike zones while strictly following a provincial schedule in the only-high-dike zone. The Fisher-Freeman-Halton test was used to compare the farmers' opinions on diverse questions between the zones. Dike development processes are suggested to influence livelihood, transportation, perceived flood peak changes and perceived causes for declining fish stocks. Although it remains challenging to directly attribute these differences to the dike development processes themselves, a new interrelated dike-flood-livelihood feedback loop is proposed for floodplains. Insights obtained are expected to support decision makers formulating tailored climate change adaptation policies to the different socio-hydrological zones. Our findings also contribute to the current understanding of international scientific communities on the human-water system and provide materials to further develop socio-hydrological models that strengthen our predictive capability on how the complex system evolves in floodplains.
... The water infrastructure simultaneously disadvantaged poor households, however, by diminishing their access to informal farm work and access to wild capture fisheries (Tran 2019). The decline in on-farm employment opportunities is significant given the centrality of agrarian livelihoods in the VMD, where two thirds of the land area is dedicated to agriculture and 69 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture, forestry, or fisheries (Le et al. 2018). ...
Climate-induced displacement is attracting increasing media, state, and scholarly attention, albeit often in a way that situates migration as either an example of climate adaptation or a failure thereof. Whether depicted as success or failure, both framings can invisibilize the preexisting socioenvironmental processes that render climate-induced migrations necessary—or, conversely, that can inhibit them entirely. Perspectives on displacement and environmental migration from within political ecology and human geography offer an alternative register, looking beyond unidirectional socioeconomic or environmental drivers to document how uneven development reproduces displacements relationally and historically. Drawing on these theorizations, as well as empirical research from agrarian Southeast Asia, this article develops the notion of cumulative socionatural displacements as one approach for conceptualizing socioecologically driven displacement in a world already on the move. We demonstrate this approach through an analysis of displacement in Southeast Asia that begins by tracing the evolving state, market, and agroecological relations that have made mobility integral to agrarian viability while setting the stage for more intense climate impacts. In doing so, we also center the long-term (nonclimatic) environmental changes that are often sidelined in both anthropocentric debates on rural displacements and climate doomsday scenarios. We argue that examining climate-induced migration as just one facet of cumulative socionatural displacements is necessary for overcoming the ontological and political impasses engendered by prevailing narratives that collapse climate migration into convenient but misleading binaries.
... Nhìn chung, các mô hình SXNN và NTTS đã chịu nhiều ảnh hưởng từ tác động của xâm nhập mặn (Phan Thanh Vũ và ctv., 2016). Theo (Le et al., 2018), xâm nhập mặn đã tác động đến hoạt động canh tác lúa dẫn đến việc phải thay đổi mô hình canh tác để thích ứng với xâm nhập mặn. Xâm nhập mặn không chỉ tác động đến các loại hình canh tác vùng sinh thái nước ngọt mà còn gây thiệt hại đến NTTS ở vùng sinh thái nước lợ, mặn. ...
Xâm nhập mặn tại các vùng ven biển Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long ngày càng gia tăng, đã ảnh hưởng đến công tác quản lý nguồn tài nguyên nước mặt phục vụ cho sản xuất nông nghiệp và nuôi trồng thủy sản. Nghiên cứu đánh giá tính hiệu quả trong công tác ứng phó xâm nhập mặn vào mùa khô 2019 – 2020 tại tỉnh Bến Tre, dựa trên nguyên tắc về vai trò và trách nhiệm rõ ràng của các bên liên quan về quản trị tài nguyên nước của OECD (Tổ chức hợp tác và phát triển kinh tế). Các số liệu được thu thập thông qua các cuộc phỏng vấn cán bộ địa phương và được xử lý bằng phương pháp thống kê mô tả và công cụ GIS được sử dụng để biên tập bản đồ. Thời gian xâm nhập mặn mùa khô năm 2019 – 2020 kéo dài và có phạm vi ảnh hưởng rộng hơn so với trung bình 40 năm trở lại đây, điều này đã dẫn đến việc thiếu nguồn nước ngọt trầm trọng gây thiệt hại đáng kể đến sản xuất nông nghiệp và nuôi trồng thuỷ sản. Việc ban hành các văn bản chỉ đạo công tác ứng phó xâm nhập mặn trong sản xuất nông nghiệp và nuôi trồng thuỷ sản đã được thực hiện kịp thời. Tuy nhiên, sự phối hợp theo chiều ngang giữa các bên tham gia tại địa phương còn gặp hạn chế.
... The agricultural sector in the VMD has experienced several transitions in the past decades. The construction of water resources infrastructure allowed farmers to harvest twice a year (double-rice cropping): the winter-spring crop between December and March and the summerautumn crop between April and July (Ngan et al., 2018;Son et al., 2013). Dikes of around 2 m high were initially constructed, but they do not protect the paddy fields against flooding during the annual peak discharges in the monsoon season. ...
To support equitable planning, model-based analyses can be used to explore inequality patterns arising from different scenarios. Scenario discovery is increasingly used to extract insights from ensembles of simulation. Here, we apply two scenario discovery approaches for unraveling inequality patterns and their drivers, with an application to spatial inequality of farms profitability in the Vietnam Mekong Delta. First, we follow an established sequential approach where we begin with clustering the inequality patterns from the simulation results and next identify model input subspaces that best explain each cluster. Second, we propose a novel concurrent approach using Multivariate Regression Trees to simultaneously classify inequality patterns and identify their corresponding input subspaces. Both approaches have comparable output space separability performance. The concurrent approach yields significantly better input space separability, but this comes at the expense of having a larger number of subspaces, requiring analysts to make extra effort to distill policy-relevant insights.
Aim. The transformation of water runoff (for the period from 1959–1980 to 2016) is considered on the example of two analogous catchments of the Nitsa and Pyshma rivers (the right tributaries of the Tura river) in terms of area characteristics and natural landscape conditions. Ob). These catchment areas differ only in the degree of anthropogenic transformation, which allows them to be considered as interesting objects for comparative analysis.
Procedure and methods . The average values of monthly water consumption, maximum and minimum water consumption were selected as primary hydrological data. In conjunction with the dynamics of hydrological parameters, climate change trends are also considered, and their contribution to the formation of the runoff of the Nitsa and Pyshma rivers is shown. It was found that climate dynamics at this stage does not significantly contribute to changes in the structure of the liquid flow of the rivers under consideration. The trends of landscape abioticization in the two studied catchments are estimated based on the analysis of land use dynamics, calculation of the rate of change in the area of anthropogenic objects and the degree of fragmentation of the basin land area by artificial boundaries. It is revealed that the most transformed catchment is the river catchment area.
Results. Nitsa (78% of anthropogenic-modified and technogenic-transformed landscapes and 14% of non-fragmented territory, compared to 58% and 20% within the Pyshma river catchment area, respectively). The influence of anthropogenic transformation of landscapes (in the form of increased abioticization of the catchment area and its fragmentation) on the change in the structure of the liquid flow of two rivers is estimated. Increasing the degree of abiotical and fragmentation of the catchment contributes to greater response of Nitsa river on the climate change that is observed in the form of increasing the role of spring floods and increased flood risk.
Research implications. It seems that this approach is of interest for predicting fluctuations in river flow in conditions of increasing climate instability. In conclusion, a set of indicators for assessing the ecological state of watersheds is proposed. In conclusion, it is proposed to assess the ecological state of catchments by the sum of parameters: phytomass reserves in dynamics, the degree of fragmentation of the territory by area and linear objects of anthropogenic (including technogenic) origin and its change trends. and its change trends, dynamics of surface and underground runoff components, change in the share of spring floods and summer-autumn floods in the river runoff structure, dynamics of river runoff during hydrological phases, presence and recurrence of catastrophic hydrological events (abnormally high floods, floods, river shallowing, etc.).
Purpose
Recognition that not every climate adaptation policy is a good one has shifted attention to new tools and methods to measure the adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation policies. This study aims to propose and apply and applies an innovative adaptation policy assessment framework to identify the extent to which climate adaptation policies in Vietnam exhibit conditions that are likely to ensure a sufficient, credible and effective adaptation.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 21 conditions, categorized under five normative principles and covering critical issue areas in adaptation domain, form the climate adaptation policy assessment framework. The principles were double-checked and tested in case studies through observations and analyses of policy documents to ensure that each condition should be distinct and not overlapping across principles. To see if the principles and attendant conditions were able to capture all relevant aspects of adaptation, the authors used structured expert judgment. In total, 39 policy documents pertaining to climate change adaptation were selected for qualitative document analysis. In-depth interviews with local officials and experts were conducted to address data gaps.
Findings
The study reveals major weaknesses constituting a reasonably worrisome picture of the adaptation policies in Vietnam since several critical conditions were underrepresented. These results shed new light on why some adaptation policies falter or are posing adverse impacts. The findings suggest that a sound policy assessment framework can provide evidence on what effective adaptation policy looks like and how it can be enabled. The framework for climate adaptation policy assessment in this study can be easily adjusted and used for different socio-environmental contexts in which new conditions for policy assessment might emerge.
Social implications
The findings show underlying weaknesses constituting a reasonably worrisome picture of the adaptation regime in Vietnam. In the absence of mechanisms and measures for accountability and transparency in policy processes, adaptation in Vietnam appears more likely to be prone to maladaptation and corruption. While solving these problems will not be easy for Vietnam, the government needs to evaluate whether the short-term gains in sustaining the existing adaptation policies really make progress and serve its long-term climate-adaptive development goals.
Originality/value
Although interpretations of adaptation effectiveness may be very divergent in different normative views on adaptation outcomes, the authors argue that a common, agreed-upon effectiveness can be reached if it is clearly defined and measurable in adaptation policies. Thus, the climate adaptation policy assessment framework proposed in this study is critical for policymakers, practitioners, donors and stakeholders dealing with adaptation to better understand the weaknesses in policymaking processes, pinpoint priority areas of action and timely prevent or prepare for possible adverse impacts of policies.
Full dyke system has greatly benefited farmers in cultivating triple rice cropping during flooding seasons in the Mekong Delta. Although tripple rice cropping brings benefits, its full dyke system has changed flooding situation in the Mekong Delta and stopped sediments to enrich the rice fields. Long-term intensive rice cultivation leads to soil degradation, which is one of the causes of reduced rice yields and productivity. The study aims to evaluate the changes in triple rice yield and productivity under the effect of a flood control dyke system in An Giang province. Spatial data on flooding and land use derived from MODIS satellite imagery was analyzed and compared with data of flood extension from Radar satellite product, while land use data from MODIS was verified with cultivation rice data from Statistical Yearbooks issued by An Giang province from 2000 - 2020. The result of this study shows that the flooded area decreased by 65.92%, creating conditions for farmers to expand the triple rice cropping area by 46,61%. However, the area of triple rice cropping in the phase of 2011 - 2020 has reduced 13,90%. As a result, the production decreased by 9,82% in the proportion of rice in the whole year and a 0,83 ton/ha decreased in comparison with the period when the dyke system was still under construction (2000-2011). In addition, triple rice cropping was practised in the protected flood control dyke systems in the upstream districts has higher average
yields than those in the downstream districts (5.60 tons/ha compared to 5.40 tons/ha). The research shows a positive correlation between the increase in the area of flood control dyke system and the yield and production of triple rice cropping. The research results provide insights for researchers and policymakers in the region to adapt appropriate plans to minimize flood risks and ensure livelihood stability for farmers in the flood control dyke system in the upstream area, e.g. An Giang province, of the Mekong delta.
In Vietnam, an entire multilevel governance apparatus is now engaged in furthering the climate adaptation agenda, much of it focused on the Mekong Delta. A politics of translation is at the heart of these operations, as differently situated actors reproduce, negotiate, and mobilize knowledge for adaptation in pursuit of varied objectives. In this article, I examine the role of intermediary actors that work as knowledge brokers and translators, transmitting knowledge upwards, downwards, and horizontally within this governance system, influencing adaptation practice in the process. Drawing on cross-scalar ethnographic research with Vietnamese scientists and researchers, development practitioners, agricultural extension agents, and provincial-level bureaucrats, it considers the agency these actors have in shaping the trajectory of socio-ecological change in the delta. Exploring strategies of translation and the interests they reflect, it finds that knowledge for adaptation is largely constrained by the dominant economic development agenda, where neoliberal discourses and state goals of "building socialism" intersect in defining the success of adaptation and its ideal subjects. Finally, the article identifies contestations and switch-points that occur and seeks to identify potential openings for transformative pathways to emerge.
Remote sensing technology has become an important tool for environmental management in Vietnam. The country has a diverse range of environments, from dense forests to vast agricultural lands and coastlines, making remote sensing an ideal method for monitoring and managing natural resources. In this study, some examples of remote sensing applications for environmental management in Vietnam were studied in detail.
Over the past 50 years rice cultivation in Asian deltas has undergone impressive intensification. In the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand, traditional deepwater and floating rice varieties have gradually been replaced by high-yield varieties (HYVs). However, until recently a floodplain of 300,000 ha was still cultivated with traditional varieties. We analyze how these varieties came to be replaced by single/double cropping of HYVs and describe the new water regime that has been established, taking the Bang Kum drainage basin as an illustration. While the shift brought a welcome increase in rural incomes, we show how the change in water management has had serious negative cross-scale consequences that have not been considered. We end by discussing the government’s plan to alter the water regime in the area again, as part of its “monkey cheek” (flood retarding) policy. We show that rather than enhancing management flexibility and the floodplain’s buffering capacity, as it claims, this policy in fact undermines both.
Knowledge on the spatial distribution of land use/land cover (LULC) change is critical for developing sustainable socioeconomic and ecological pathways. Here we aimed to explore the rural landscape transformation through the analysis of LULC spatio-temporal dynamics in the entire Vietnamese Mekong Delta over the recent three decades, using Landsat imageries and a supervised random forest classifier. Results indicated that in the 1990s, dominant LULC types were arable cropland, wetland, and permanent crops, which covered approximately half of the delta (20,900 km2), 28% and 8%, respectively. From 1990 to 2019, the wetland area decreased from 28% to 5% due to the expansion of aquaculture and the arable cropland. The aquaculture, however, expanded more rapidly than other land use conversions, namely, from 2% to 19%, and covered almost the entire coastal zone of the delta over the recent three decades. Although mangrove forests slightly recovered by 58 km2 from 2005 to 2019, the overall trend from 1990 to 2019 showed an intense loss of 740 km2 due to widespread conversions into aquaculture. The paper unravels the complex dynamics between land-cover change, socio-economic development and associated land-use policies, which have significant implications for the change in rural landscapes.
This paper presents the first attempt to capture a comprehensive spatial view of land use change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) for a long period, i.e., from 2000 to 2020. It is aimed at monitoring holistically the land use change and flooding situation in the region, addressing the reasons for land use change, and assessing the impacts of land use change on hydraulic aspects and farmer livelihoods during the last 21 years. MODIS products, in particular, are used to study the dynamics of land use and floods after demonstrating high validation with statistical data and radar satellites, with R2 = 0.96 and R2 ≥ 0.97 for land use and flood maps, respectively. The results show that rice cultivation is the most dominant land use type, accounting for 40% to 46% of the delta area, while aquaculture accounts for 10% to 22%, respectively. The total rice cultivation area increased from 3764 thousand hectares (thous. ha) in 2001 to 4343 thous. ha in 2015 based on the intensive development of triple rice cropping in the upper zone, then decreased to 3963 thous. ha in 2020. In contrast, aquaculture areas are farmed mainly in the coastal area and remained relatively steady, increasing slightly from 619 thous. ha in 2001 to 856 thous. ha in 2020. The massive construction of dikes for triple rice cropping in the upper zone appears to cause a significant impact on the annual flooding regime. Land use policies have influenced the changes in land use patterns, flooding situations, and the livelihoods of local farmers.
In the Vietnamese part of the Mekong Delta (VMD) the areas with three rice crops per year have been expanded rapidly during the last 15 years. Paddy-rice cultivation during the flood season has been made possible by implementing high-dyke flood defenses and flood control structures. However, there are widespread claims that the high-dyke system has increased water levels in downstream areas. Our study aims at resolving this issue by attributing observed changes in flood characteristics to high-dyke construction and other possible causes. Maximum water levels and duration above the flood alarm level are analysed for gradual trends and step changes at different discharge gauges. Strong and robust increasing trends of peak water levels and duration downstream of the high-dyke areas are found with a step change in 2000/2001, i.e. immediately after the disastrous flood which initiated the high-dyke development. These changes are in contrast to the negative trends detected at stations upstream of the high-dyke areas. This spatially different behaviour of changes in flood characteristics seems to support the public claims. To separate the impact of the high-dyke development from the impact of the other drivers – i.e. changes in the flood hydrograph entering the Mekong Delta, and changes in the tidal dynamics – hydraulic model simulations of the two recent large flood events in 2000 and 2011 are performed. The hydraulic model is run for a set of scenarios whereas the different drivers are interchanged. The simulations reveal that for the central VMD an increase of 9–13 cm in flood peak and 15 days in duration can be attributed to high-dyke development. However, for this area the tidal dynamics have an even larger effect in the range of 19–32 cm. However, the relative contributions of the three drivers of change vary in space across the delta. In summary, our study confirms the claims that the high-dyke development has raised the flood hazard downstream. However, it is not the only and not the most important driver of the observed changes. It has to be noted that changes in tidal levels caused by sea level rise in combination with the widely observed land subsidence and the temporal coincidence of high water levels and spring tides have even larger impacts. It is recommended to develop flood risk management strategies using the high-dyke areas as retention zones to mitigate the flood hazard downstream.
The coastal zone of the Mekong river delta has experienced rapid economic and environmental changes during the last decade. Given the nature of the environment and the level of dependence on the natural resources base, policies for land and water were very influential in this process. The emphasis on rice created an imperative to control saline intrusion, which was realized through the construction of major engineering works over an extended period (1994-2000). The inertia built up by this process led to a divergence between policy and practice, and adversely affected the livelihoods of fishers and of those farmers who live on aquaculture. This prompted the government to rethink the rice-focus policy, in favor of a land and water policy for balanced rice and aquaculture production. This paper describes an analytical process, which was adopted to explore the feasibility of adopting the new policy for the balanced development of both rice and shrimp production and discusses the impact of the new policy on farmers' livelihoods.
Abstract
Coastal areas of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam are increasingly experiencing salinity intrusion in freshwater systems, in part due to climate change induced sea-level rise, compromising agricultural production and domestic water supply. In order to determine which development trajectories could result in resilient agro-ecosystems, a study area in Thanh Phu district, Ben Tre province was selected where the influence of salinity intrusion on agro-ecosystem can be studied along spatial and temporal salinity gradients. The district is divided in three sub-regions: sub-region 3, closest to the coastline, is principally dedicated to brackish-water shrimp farming; more inland, sub-region 2 has a mix of rice-shrimp farming; and further inland, sub-region 1, which is protected from salinity intrusion by a system of dykes, is dedicated principally to rice farming. Household and expert interviews, focus group discussions and a review of policy documents were used to capture historical salinity problems as well as shifts in farming systems. Agricultural activities have changed in the last decades, mainly driven by national-level policies. At present, the development of engineered infrastructures is favoured whereas complementary or alternative solutions to increase the resilience of social-ecological systems with respect to salinity intrusion exist. These include regeneration of coastal ecosystems, agronomic measures, upstream flow control and shifts in agro-ecosystems. The latter would increasingly enable farmers to work under the influence of both saline and freshwater systems allowing income diversification. National authorities have an opportunity to change the business as usual mode of tackling water-related problems including extreme events in the Mekong Delta through infrastructure development by looking at these alternative solutions.
Shrimp farming is a major livelihood activity in the Mekong Delta in the southernmost part of Vietnam. The Vietnamese government has promoted shrimp farming as a way to reduce poverty, provide employment opportunities and increase exports to support economic development. The shrimp farming system, however, is economically and ecologically risky and may negatively influence the environment and the sustainability of local people's livelihoods. Because very little is known about the diversity of strategies people employ to deal with these risks, a study was performed in the Mekong Delta across four shrimp farming systems: (1) improved extensive non-forest, (2) mixed mangrove-shrimp, (3) intensive and (4) clustered intensive. The risks and livelihood strategies that were encountered differed systematically across the four farming systems. It was found that the uncertainties that the shrimp farmers faced include limited access rights to the mangrove forest, crop failure due to regular occurrence of shrimp disease, high investment costs and volatile markets for shrimp. Shrimp farmers have created several strategies for coping with these uncertainties, including redesigning farms, producing salt, changing the species farmed from Penaeus monodon to Penaeus vannamei, becoming involved in a cooperative cluster, integrating aquaculture and agriculture, and farming shrimp by organic standards.
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is located at the end of the Mekong River, one of the ten largest rivers in the world. It plays an important role, especially in terms of food security for not only Vietnam but also the world. However, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta is projected to be heavily affected by: (i) the annual (fluvial) flood, which would be changed in terms of time and spatial distribution after impacts of climate change scenarios (i.e. sharper hydrograph with shorter flood period); and, (ii) sea level rise. Such combination would result in significant changes of surface water resources, leading to consequent impacts on the existing farming systems in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Therefore, this paper presents a new approach of integrating a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model (ISIS-1D) with GIS analyses to: (i) identify priority areas for flood adaptation and mitigation; and, (ii) provide an insight to local decision-makers in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta in changes of future floods.
The combined impact of sea level rise and reduction of the Mekong River flow in the dry season on salinity intrusion and rice cropping in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta was assessed in this study. The MIKE11 model was used to simulate flow and salinity intrusion from December to June for the medium-term (mid-2030s) and long-term (mid-2090s) scenarios using data derived from the SRES B2 climate change projection. The sea level rise values for two scenarios were 20 cm and 45 cm, while the rates of change for the Mekong River flow were 15 and 29, respectively. The results obtained for the mid-2030s and mid-2090s scenarios show that the 2.5 g/L saline front is likely to shift upstream by 10 km and 20 km in the main river channels, and up to 20 km and 35 km in the paddy field, respectively. The simulated salinity intrusion results were then used to compute durations of available water for irrigating rice cropping. The results indicate that area where triple rice crops are possible, will be reduced by approximately 71,000 and 72,000 ha, while single crop areas will be increased by approximately 38,000 and 179,000 ha for the mid-2030s and mid-2090s scenarios, respectively. Using GIS techniques the delta was divided into three areas reflecting different rice crop vulnerability levels; areas of high and medium vulnerability measured approximately 200,000 ha and 400,000 ha, respectively.
By comparing the successful story of a hydrodynamic model (based on its contribution to policy changes, management options and livelihood improvement) with other modelling cases in the Mekong River Delta, five success factors are identified. These are (1) simulated phenomena relevant to and understandable by policy makers; (2) response to the needs of policy setting; (3) developed and handled by national modellers with direct links to the policy process; (4) availability of input data; and (5) long application history. These success factors provide higher opportunities for engaging modelling activities with policy setting.
Satellite remote sensing is a valuable tool for monitoring flooding. Microwave sensors are especially appropriate instruments, as they allow the differentiation of inundated from non-inundated areas, regardless of levels of solar illumination or frequency of cloud cover in regions experiencing substantial rainy seasons. In the current study we present the longest synthetic aperture radar-based time series of flood and inundation information derived for the Mekong Delta that has been analyzed for this region so far. We employed overall 60 Envisat ASAR Wide Swath Mode data sets at a spatial resolution of 150 meters acquired during the years 2007–2011 to facilitate a thorough understanding of the flood regime in the Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam comprises 13 provinces and is home to 18 million inhabitants. Extreme dry seasons from late December to May and wet seasons from June to December characterize people’s rural life. In this study, we show which areas of the delta are frequently affected by floods and which regions remain dry all year round. Furthermore, we present which areas are flooded at which frequency and elucidate the patterns of flood progression over the course of the rainy season. In this context, we also examine the impact of dykes on floodwater emergence and assess the relationship between retrieved flood occurrence patterns and land use. In addition, the advantages and shortcomings of ENVISAT ASAR-WSM based flood mapping are discussed. The results contribute to a comprehensive understanding of Mekong Delta flood dynamics in an environment where the flow regime is influenced by the Mekong River, overland water-flow, anthropogenic floodwater control, as well as the tides.
This report analyses the effect on yield and economic return of salinity-tolerant rice varieties and good farming practices, and suggests strategies for food production to adapt to salinity intrusion in the coastal Mekong delta. Official statistical data and primary data from recent projects in the Mekong delta were analyzed. Results showed that for areas with salinity level of up to 4‰, the growing of rice varieties tolerant to salinity and the application of appropriate agro-chemicals could help farmers maintaining their rice production and income. For salinity levels exceed 4‰, the conversion of rice culture to rice-shrimp rotational farming is an adaptation strategy to improve farmer's income and livelihoods. For national food security goals, rice production could be given to upper and mid-delta areas. Development of good farming technologies, improvement of agricultural extension and development of small-scale irrigation structures are investment priorities to further improve current farming systems and livelihoods of farmers in the coastal Mekong Delta.
This paper briefly introduces an integrated remote-sensing methodology based on MODIS time-series imagery for detecting spatiotemporal changes in Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) farming systems. The integrated methodology consists of six parts, and uses a wavelet-based filter to smooth MODIS-derived time-series indexes (EVI, LSWI, and DVEL) from 2000 to 2008. Through a proposed decision tree using the smoothed indexes, we classified several farming systems, viz., triple rice cropping, two types of double rice cropping, shrimp-rice farming (rotational cropping), and inland aquaculture (monoculture). The MODIS-derived estimate of the total rice-planted area, shrimp- rice farming area, and inland aquaculture area agreed well with statistical data at the province level (R2 ≥ 0.96). However, in some provinces, the estimate has a large margin of error, probably because of the mixed-pixel effect due to the moderate spatial resolution of MODIS (250 m). According to the estimated spatial pattern of the farming systems in the whole VMD, inland aquaculture and shrimp- rice farming areas are distributed mostly in the coastal provinces. The areas of the farming systems steadily expanded until 2007, and double rice cropping systems in both upper and coastal regions were replaced by triple rice cropping because of infrastructure improvements. The proportion of the triple rice cropping area peaked in 2005 and then declined steadily over the next 2 years. We discuss the advantage of the proposed methodology for detecting the spatiotemporal changes of land use patterns, especially of farming systems in a regional area.
Abstract
Safeguarding limited resources of water is a major challenge for sustainable food production. This study analyses water use and competition, identifies possible options to contribute to more efficient and equitable arrangements and gives recommendations to support policy-making for sustainable water resource management in agro-ecological zones within the Mekong delta. Rice farming and aquaculture development are recognised as major driving factors of water competition among water users in and between three major agro-ecological zones: (1) upper delta irrigated zone; (2) acid sulphate soil (ASS) zone; (3) downstream coastal zone. In the upper delta, intensive rice development abstracts a large quantity of freshwater and then results in salinity intrusion in the downstream delta during low flow periods of the Mekong River. Aquaculture expansion contributes to further water pollution in the downstream areas through flushing pond/cage effluents during water exchange. The reclamation of ASS for food production pollutes water in canals and shallow ground water by acidic substances, aluminium, iron and other heavy metals. In coastal zones, water has multiple values. Rice and shrimp development causes conflicts over water among crop and shrimp production, fishing and mangrove forests. Water access and sharing are determined by a wide range of local bio-physical and socio-economic settings and institutional aspects at household and community scale. Efficient and equitable arrangements of water use need both structural (technical) and non-structural (planning and institutional) solutions implemented at different spatial scales - from crop and field to community and regional levels. Water provides a range of goods and services, which greatly differ between users and locations. Possible options therefore need to consider the needs of all resource users at multiple scales rather than focusing on only one particular sector or scale. Strong evidence of water competition, however, is still inadequate in the Mekong delta. Further investigations are suggested to provide a clear picture of water conflicts, cause-effect relationships and guidelines to policy-makers and managers.
Testing against historical data is an important step for validating integrated models of global environmental change. Owing to long time lags in the climate system, these models should aim the simulation of the land use dynamics for long periods, i.e., spanning decades up to a century. Developing such models requires understanding of past and current trends and is therefore strongly data dependent. For this purpose, a history database of the global environment has been developed: HYDE. This paper describes and analyzes parts of HYDE version 2.0, presenting historical population and land use patterns for the past 300 years. Results suggest, among other things, a global increase of cropland area from 265 million ha in 1700 to 1471 million ha in 1990, while the area of pasture has increased more than six fold from 524 to 3451 million ha. In general, the increase of man-made agricultural land took place at the expense of natural grasslands and to a lesser extent of forests. There are differences between the several regions in the temporal pace of these land use conversions. The temperate/developed regions of Canada, United States, USSR, and Oceania appear to have had their strongest increase during the 19th century, while most of the tropical/developing regions witnessed the largest land use conversions at the end of the last century. Results of this analysis can be used to test integrated models of global change and are available at http://www.rivm.nl/env/int/hyde/.
Historians and many other writers have widely acknowledged the political importance of flood control and land reclamation
in river deltas. Whether one is considering ancient dikes on the Red River near Hanoi – works first planned 1,000 years ago
by Emperor Ly Thai To following the hoof prints of a magical white horse – or modern levees on the Mississippi River in New
Orleans – works built by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following a mantra of rationalization and efficiency – the importance
of these works to the states that maintain them is clear. The fortunes of Vietnamese emperors and American presidents have
risen and fallen with the successes and failures of flood control. With the global spread of environmentalist movements and
increasing concerns, especially in river deltas, about rising sea levels, political debates about building or maintaining
infrastructure have become more complicated with concerns about environmental impacts.
We applied a remote-sensing method using MODIS time-series imagery to detect the expansion of intensive farming systems (shrimp farming and triple rice cropping) in the Soc Trang and Bac Lieu provinces of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). Field surveys for interpreting the estimates derived from the remote-sensing analyses were conducted in June and September 2007. From 2000 to 2006, there has been rapid expansion of inland aquaculture, especially shrimp farming, in the western part of the Bac Lieu province and the coastal regions of both the Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces. The triple rice-cropped area expanded concentrically from specific small locations in the Bac Lieu province from 2001 to 2006. The triple rice-cropped areas in Soc Trang province also expanded concentrically from 2001 to 2003, but some of these new triple rice-cropped areas returned to double rice cropping after 2004. Interviews with farmers and ancillary hydrological monitoring data suggested that changes in the water environment and transmission of information about new farming systems are closely connected with the annual expansion of triple rice-cropped areas in both provinces. The availability of salt-free irrigation water in the dry season may have led some pioneering farmers to attempt full-scale dry-season cropping. Furthermore, successful dry-season harvests and recent increases in the price of rice might have encouraged neighboring farmers to follow suit. Based on MODIS time-series imagery with field interviews at land-use change hotspots, the spatial structure of coastal farming systems and their recent changes were revealed from a macroscopic view point.
This study aims to update the typology of shrimp farms in a province of the Mekong Delta's coastal area. We analyzed technical and economic characteristics of 170 farms using factor and cluster analysis on the different variables collected during the survey. This allowed us to characterize four different shrimp production systems: intensive commercial and intensive family farms, and the more extensive brackish water polyculture and rice–shrimp farms. The systems differed in their level of intensification, diversification and origin of labor. Labor efficiency was higher in intensive than in extensive farms. The difference in technical practice affected the farm economy and specifically its operational monetary cost which was 25–45 times higher in intensive commercial farms than in brackish water polyculture and rice–shrimp farms, respectively. The intensive commercial farms were significantly less affected by virus outbreak than the extensive brackish water polyculture farms. This last shrimp production system presented a very low shrimp yield but a higher capital use efficiency than intensive commercial farms. Rice–shrimp farms, which are located in a specific agro-ecological environment, presented average sustainability characteristics and an average disease occurrence. Results show that technological investments can reduce the vulnerability to disease outbreak and thus reduce the risk usually associated with shrimp farming.
The Mekong delta in Vietnam is among the largest river deltas in Asia and one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, in particular paddy cultivation. People in this area have traditionally been exposed to an environment shaped by the ebb and flows of water and have lived and adapted for generations to their natural surrounding without much human interference into the complex natural hydraulic system of the delta. However, the last three decades have seen dramatic changes as increased hydraulic management has become the key to the development of the lower Mekong delta especially for its agriculture.
Nowadays, a dense and complex network of hydraulic works comprising human-made canals, dykes and sluices provides flood protection, prevents salinity intrusion, and controls irrigation for agriculture and aquaculture in the delta. This transformation from a society adapted to its natural surrounding into what Wittfogel describes as a "hydraulic society" started to take place just after the end of the Second Indochinese War in 1975, after South Vietnam came under centralised socialist rule. The new regime’s economic policy for the development of the Mekong delta has centred on rapid agricultural extension based on technological progress in agricultural production and intensive hydraulic management. This whole process has not only had significant impact on the delta’s environment and ecology, but also has triggered social transformation in a way that new social groups have appeared, negotiating and struggling for increased access to resources and power.
Among these strategic groups, the hydraulic bureaucracy and hydraulic construction business are the most crucial in terms of the specific role they play in the hydraulic landscape of the Mekong delta. Both groups exert considerable influence on water resources management and strive for the same resources, namely public funds (including Overseas Development Aid) that is directed to hydraulic infrastructure development. This paper illustrates how both groups have emerged due to the growing need for water resources management in the delta and how they have set up alliances for mutually sharing resources in the long run. Furthermore, it is shown how both groups have adapted their resource-oriented strategies and actions to respond to the changes in the economic and political environment in Vietnam’s recent history.
Provides a historical overview of the process of collectivization in northern Vietnam from 1955 to 1981 and in southern Vietnam from 1975 to 1981; an assessment of the policy changes that have taken place since 1981; and an econometric estimate of the productivity impact of the change to the contract system from collective farming. Despite the productivity gains brought about by the introduction of the contract system of production in 1981, rice output growth has not kept pace with population growth. Rice yields in Vietnam are below yields in other southeast Asian countries with similar agro-climatic conditions and land endowments. Low rice productivity can be explained partly by insufficient policy reform and partly by inadequate infrastructural investments, especially for irrigation, soil conservation, transport and research. Policy bottlenecks that contributed to the leveling off of the productivity gains due to the contract system are described. The most recent policy reforms implemented in 1989 were designed to overcome many of the shortcomings described above. Reforms are still needed. -from Authors
Development in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam has been very dynamic in the recent past, and currently it stands at an interesting crossroads. On one hand, agricultural production has developed successfully, and economic growth has been very rapid, but on the other hand, intensifying agriculture and large-scale water-control structures have challenged the environmental sustainability and social equity. The development plans have included a strong belief in the human mastery over the nature and waters of the Mekong Delta. In many cases, water resources planners have underestimated the complexity and integrated nature of the ecology and livelihoods of the Mekong Delta. This article examines cases where development efforts, while successful in some dimensions, have also contributed to create new risks for, especially, the poorest groups. The current situation calls for a more sustainable future route that would require examination of more adaptive measures in relation to the changing water flows of the Mekong River.
Rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta has undergone major changes during the last two decades since the end of the Vietnam War. Keeping pace with changes in rice-growing techniques, rice-based cropping patterns have also experienced rapid changes. Under the joint research project entitled "A Study on Conventional Farming Systems and Their Development - In the Case of Southeast Asia,' the author had a chance to observe the existing rice-based cropping patterns and to get information on the transformation of cropping patterns in the Mekong Delta. Based on this research, this report presents the results of observations of the present land use and cropping patterns, and summarizes the process of transformation of rice-based cropping patterns in the light of cropping systems development which occurred in the delta during the last two decades. -from Author
Vietnamese communities in the Mekong Delta are faced with the substantial impacts of rising sea levels and salinity intrusion. The construction of embankments and dykes has historically been the principal strategy of the Vietnamese government to mitigate the effects of salinity intrusion on agricultural production. A predicted sea-level rise of 30 cm by the year 2050 is expected to accelerate salinity intrusion. This study combines hydrologic, agronomic and behavioural assessments to identify effective adaptation strategies reliant on land-use change (soft options) and investments in water infrastructure (hard options). As these strategies are managed within different policy portfolios, the political discussion has polarized between choices of either soft or hard options. This paper argues that an ensemble of hard and soft policies is likely to provide the most effective results for people/'s livelihoods in the Mekong Delta. The consequences of policy deliberations are likely to be felt beyond the Mekong Delta as levels of rice cultivation there also affect national and global food security.
It is feared that climate change could have dramatic effects on the socioeconomic and environmental settings in which human societies reside. It is projected that the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) will be among the most heavily impacted areas, as its coastal plains are considered to be highly vulnerable to both sea level rise and upstream discharge changes. This fluctuation in discharge could come about as a consequence of different changes further upstream, including shifting hydrological and land cover patterns, and socioeconomic development (especially hydropower development).
In this chapter, the change in water resource patterns is presented to provide the general context of the situation in the VMD. Then the problems currently being experienced in the coastal plains are discussed, in order to illustrate changes in patterns of saline intrusion and its consequent impacts. Finally, water management strategies to sustain the development of the coastal plain in the context of climate change and upstream development are discussed.
During French colonial times, the Mekong Delta was provided with an extensive network of canals and its urban pattern is strongly related to this network. The network has contributed to the development of the delta, which is currently one of the largest rice production areas in the world. Flooding is still an annual event over large parts of the delta. It brings new sediments and nutrients to the fields, benefiting both the rice production and the long-term sustainability of the delta by counterbalancing sea-level rise. However, increasing salt-intrusion from the sea, on-going industrialization and intensification of rice cropping are reasons to construct or heighten dikes along the rivers and to consider dams or barriers in the river mouths. The long-term sustainability of this approach can be questioned, since natural sedimentation processes will be disturbed and water levels in the main rivers will increase. Other approaches should be investigated. A central question addressed in this paper concerns the future role of the urban planning in contemporary flood risk management.
The Vietnamese Mekong River Delta (MRD) has a total area of 4 million hectares, occupied by more than 18 million inhabitants in 2009, and with abundant water resources (Can 2000). Because of high seasonal variation in rainfall (more than 90%) and the accumulation of surface water during the flood season from May to November, the great potential for agriculture and aquaculture production in the MRD can be exploited only if flooding is controlled and irrigation in the dry season is improved. Therefore, an extensive network of canals comprising 7,000 km of main canals, 4,000 km of secondary canals supplying on-farm systems, and more than 20,000 km of protection dikes has been constructed over the last 300 years. In 1985, Vietnam was still a net rice-importing country, but, in 1989 and 1999, it exported 1.4 and 4.6 million tons, respectively, of which the MRD contributed more than 90%. This remarkable increase in rice production in the MRD is due to the rapid growth of the planted area, increased cropping intensity from one up to three crops per year, and increased yield as a result of improved varieties and management over the past 35 years. These developments were aided by the expansion and increased density of the irrigation and drainage system. Irrigation development in the MRD before 1975 Acknowledgment of the MRD's high agricultural development potential started as early as the 18th century. From 1890 to 1930, more than 165 million cubic meters of earth were dredged and the total area put under cultivation rose fourfold to over 2 million hectares. The war period (1945-75) was important for incubating new strategies of water use that often involved reverting to relying on local resource management, especially in resistance zones controlled by Vietnamese revolutionaries. 1975: rice everywhere and irrigation development without a plan
Continual, historical, and precise information about the land use and land cover (LULC) changes of the Earth’s surface is extremely important for any kind of sustainable development program, in which LULC serves as one of the major input criteria. In this study, a supervised classification was applied to four Landsat images collected over time (1984, 1999, 2005, and 2009) that provided recent and historical LULC conditions for the western Nile delta. The supervised classification results were further improved by employing image enhancement and visual interpretation. Visual interpretation was not only useful in increasing the classification accuracy of the Landsat images, but it was also helpful in identifying areas with the effective use of water for irrigation and areas of private land reclamation. Five LULC categories were identified and mapped. Post-classification comparisons of the classified images indicated that the major change consisted of barren land changing into agricultural land. Approximately 28%, 14%, and 9% of barren land was changed to agricultural land in the periods 1984–1999, 1999–2005, and 2005–2009, respectively. In addition to these LULC changes, evidence of land degradation processes was observed, which were mainly due to human activities, such as the formation of quarries, free water bodies and Sabkhas (a specific type of land cover found on drylands and salt-affected soils). Based on the identified causes of these changes, we made policy recommendations for better management of LULC.
Tidal effects and salinity intrusion are two defining characteristics of coastal zones. The first causes complex variations of water level and unsteady flows in the river and canal network. The second is a constraint to agriculture and freshwater fishery, but provides suitable conditions for brackish water aquaculture. These phenomena bring about conflicts in the development of agriculture, fishery and aquaculture due to different requirements of water quality. Hydraulic and salinity modeling have been developed and applied to simulate tidal propagation and salinity intrusion, and to analyze the effects of water management on hydrological and salinity conditions that control land use in the coastal zones. This paper presents experiences in developing and applying a hydraulic and salinity model, the Vietnam River Systems and Plains (VRSAP), for water resources development in Ca Mau Peninsula, Mekong Delta, Vietnam. During the planning and feasibility study phase in 1989-1991 that focused on rice production, this model was used to analyze the impacts of protection from salinity intrusion for different water management units. During the implementation and operation phase from 1992 to the present, it has been used to find out suitable sluice operation schedules for improving agricultural production in the region. Recently, because conflicts in the requirement of fresh water for agriculture and brackish water for shrimp culture occurred, the model is being refined and applied to upscale the effects of intaking saline water and supplying fresh water from the field to canal system level, and also to analyze the effect of sluice operation on the hydrological conditions that would accommodate both agriculture and aquaculture in different parts of the region.
This paper presents the methodology used to detect temporal changes in the extent of annual flooding within the Cambodia and the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) based on MODIS time-series imagery (Wavelet-based Filter for detecting spatio-temporal changes in Flood Inundation; WFFI). This methodology involves the use of a wavelet-based filter to interpolate missing information and reduce the noise component in the time-series data, as proposed in a previous study. The smoothed time profiles of Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Water Index (LSWI), and the Difference Value between EVI and LSWI (DVEL) are obtained from MOD09 8-day composite time-series data (resolution: 500 m; time period: 2000–2005). The proposed algorithm was applied to produce time-series inundation maps (WFFI products) for the five annual flood seasons over the period from 2000 to 2004. The WFFI products were validated via comparisons with Landsat-derived results and inundation maps based on RADARSAT images, hydrological data, and digital elevation model data. Compared with the RADARSAT-derived inundation maps at the province level, the obtained RMSE range from 364 to 443 km2 and the determination coefficients [R2] range from 0.89 to 0.92. Compared with Landsat-derived results at the 10-km grid level, the obtained RMSE range from 6.8 to 15.2 km2 and the determination coefficients [R2] range from 0.77 to 0.97. The inundated area of flooded forests/marsh to the northeast of Tonle Sap Lake were underestimated, probably because of extensive vegetation cover in this area. The spatial characteristics of the estimated start dates, end dates, and duration of inundation cycles were also determined for the period from 2000 to 2004. There are clear contrasts in the distribution of the estimated end dates and duration of inundation cycles between large-scale floods (2000–2002) and medium- and small-scale floods (2003 and 2004). At the regional scale, the estimated start dates for the southern part of An Giang Province during 2003 and 2004 was distinctly later than that for surrounding areas. The results indicate that these triple-cropping areas enclosed by dikes increased in extent from 2003 to 2004. In contrast, the estimated end dates of inundation at the Co Do and Song Hau State Farms were clearly earlier than those for surrounding areas, although the estimated start dates were similar. Temporal changes in the inundation area of Flood pixels in the Dong Thap and Long An Provinces are in excellent agreement with daily water-level data recorded at Tan Chau Station. The estimated area of Long-term water body increased in size from 2000 to 2004, especially in coastal areas of the Ca Mau and Bac Lieu Provinces. Statistical data for Vietnam indicate that this trend may reflect the expansion of shrimp-farming areas. The WFFI products enable an understanding of seasonal and annual changes in the water distribution and environment of the Cambodia and the VMD from a global viewpoint.
Multi-temporal Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data was used to estimate the spatial distribution of heading date and rice-cropping system employed in the Mekong Delta relative to seasonal changes in water resources in 2002 and 2003. We improved a Wavelet-based Filter for determining Crop Phenology (WFCP) and developed a Wavelet-based Filter for evaluating the spatial distribution of Cropping Systems (WFCS) to the interpretation of MODIS time-series data to determine the spatial distribution of rice phenology and various rice-cropping systems from the seasonal Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data. The findings correspond well the physical characteristics of the cropping system in the Mekong Delta, which have changed over time in response to localized and seasonal changes in water resources. One such example is the double-irrigated rice-cropping system commonly employed in the upper Mekong Delta in the dry season to avoid damage due to the subsequent floods. The shortage of suitable irrigation water and intrusion of saline water in the coastal regions during the dry season has constrained the practice dry-season cropping and has meant that the double- and single-rainfed rice-cropping systems are employed in the rainy season. A triple-irrigated rice-cropping system is used in the central part of the Mekong Delta which is located midway between the flood-prone and salinity intrusion areas. Analysis of annual changes in the rice cropping systems between 2002 and 2003 showed that the triple-cropped rice expanded to the flood- and salinity-intrusion areas. This expansion indicates that the implementation of measures to limit the extent of flooding and salinity intrusion by improved farming technologies and improvements in land management. The heading dates in the upper Mekong Delta in 2003 were earlier than in 2002 by approximately 20 to 30 days. The reasons for this would be due to decreased flood runoff in 2002 compared to 2001, and implementation of government policies regarding early sowing of dry-season crops. Subsequent analysis of the MODIS data confirmed that the spatial distribution of rice-cropping systems was closely related to seasonal changes in river runoff regime in the Mekong Delta.
Since 2000, the shrimp industry expands at a fast rate in the coastal areas of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Shrimp farming is
known for its negative impact on the coastal environment. However, other human interventions like agriculture and urbanization
also deteriorate the coastal environment. The land cover changes between 1968 and 2003 were determined and analyzed for the
Cai Nuoc district, Ca Mau Province, Vietnam, using photos from 1968, 1992 (aerial photographs), 1997/98 (Spot) and 2003 (Landsat).
It was clear that the district underwent serious land cover changes: deforestation between 1968 and 1992, with a simultaneous
increase in rice land; a rapid decline in rice acreage from 1997 onwards, and, simultaneously, a blitz-increase in shrimp
farming area. The forest area declined by 75% between 1968 and 2003. About 40% of this loss could be attributed to shrimp
farming, while the remaining 60% was attributed to needs for agricultural land. Still, at present, shrimp farming is the major
source of mangrove loss in the district. In 1999 shrimp farms covered 6.374ha, in 2000 they covered 61.049 ha of the Cai
Nuoc area. The swap from rice cultivation to shrimp farming was most-probably driven by households’ hopes for a higher income.
It must be feared that the shrimp industry will have a negative impact on the environment (e.g. salinization) and on the livelihood
of the district’s households. In 1968 saline water covered 219.9km2, in 1992, 1997/98 and 2003 the saline surface water area covered 92.4, 135.2 and 835.0km2, respectively.
Agricultural production in the coastal wetlands of Asia is often hindered by salinity intrusion caused by tidal fluctuation. This paper reports changes in environmental and socio-economic conditions that followed the phased construction and operation of sluices for controlling seawater intrusion from 1994 –2000 in a coastal area of the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. Canal water salinity decreased rapidly upstream of sluices, allowing rice cropping intensification and increased rice production in the eastern part of the study area. However, the livelihoods of farmers in the western part were adversely affected due to cessation of supply of brackish water that was needed for brackish-water shrimp farming, while the acid sulphate soils present there posed problems for rice cultivation. The poor farmers and landless people suffered more because the fishery resource that they depended on declined sharply due to reduced salinity and increased acidity in the canal water. The findings confirmed that the environment and resource use in the coastal lands are very sensitive to external intervention. A clear understanding of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of salinity control measures in coastal areas can help planning to enhance farmers' incomes while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Land-use policy formulation, planning and management should adopt a more holistic approach, taking into account the interests of all resource users, especially the poor, instead of focusing on any particular sector.
The Mekong River delta plays an important role in the Vietnamese economy and it has been severely impacted during this century by a series of unusually large floods. In the dry season the delta is also impacted by salinity intrusion and tides. These effects have caused severe human hardship. To mitigate these impacts, a large number of engineering structures, primarily dykes and weirs, have been built in the delta in recent years and are still being built, mainly to control floods and saltwater intrusion. These control measures are still being upgraded. A GIS-linked numerical model shows that the flood levels in the delta depend on the combined impacts of high river flows in the Mekong River, storm surges, sea level rise, and the likely, future siltation of the Mekong Estuary resulting from the construction of dams in China as well as many other dams proposed throughout the remaining river catchment. The model suggests that the engineering structures in the delta increase the flow velocities in the rivers and canals, increasing bank erosion, and cause the water to be deeper in the rivers and canals. This increases flooding in the non-protected areas of the delta and increases the risk of catastrophic failure of the dykes in the protected areas. The model also predicts that a sea level rise induced by global warming will enhance flooding in the Mekong River delta in Vietnam, and that flooding may worsen in the long term as a result of estuarine siltation resulting from the construction of dams. At the scale of the Mekong River basin, a multinational water resources management plan is needed that includes the hydrological needs of the delta. At the scale of the delta, a compromise is needed between allowing some flooding necessary for agriculture and preventing catastrophic flooding to alleviate human suffering.
この論文は国立情報学研究所の学術雑誌公開支援事業により電子化されました。 In a previous paper, I proposed five landform units and several subunits for the Mekong delta (see Fig. 1). This paper aims to describe the former and present cropping patterns in relation to the landform, particularly the interconnected features of microlandform, water conditions, soils and the traditional methods of rice culture. The first part of the paper describes the methods of rice growing which were predominant in the delta before the 1960s-1970s. These methods were severely affected by the uncontrolled water conditions, which differed markedly in different landform units of the untamed delta, and may be summarized in three groups, which are characterized most distinctively by three planting methods, i. e., broadcasting, double transplanting, and single transplanting. The second part of the paper describes the present changes in the cropping pattern and the development of various rice growing methods. The most remarkable change is observed in the tide-affected floodplain (middle reach of the delta). Conventional double transplanting has been completely replaced by new methods like direct-seeding sa chai, and single cropping has been replaced by the year-round cultivation. Floating rice in the high floodplain (the upper reach of the delta) has also been reduced by expansion of high-yielding rice varieties. The coastal complex and the broad depression, which are affected by saltwater and sulfate acidity respectively, retain the traditional rice culture. The remarkable change in rice culture and land use has achieved as the result of close observation of soil, microlandform and water conditions by the farmers, and through their selective adaptation to natural environments and proper technologies.
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