Climate change and livelihood resilience capacities in the Mekong Delta: a case study on the transition to rice–shrimp farming in Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province

Poelma, Thijs; Bayrak, Mucahid Mustafa; Van Nha, Duong; Tran, Thong Anh

doi:10.1007/s10584-021-02973-w

Published: 19 January 2021

Climate change and livelihood resilience capacities in the Mekong Delta: a case study on the transition to rice–shrimp farming in Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province

Climatic Change volume 164, Article number: 9 (2021) Cite this article

1261 Accesses
6 Citations
12 Altmetric
Metrics details

Abstract

Responding to changing climatic conditions in the Mekong Delta (MKD), Vietnam’s national and provincial governments have in recent years placed greater emphasis on aquaculture-oriented farming practices, such as shrimp and rice–shrimp farming, instead of rice monoculture. This study assessed whether the transition to rice–shrimp and extensive shrimp farming has enhanced the livelihood resilience of local farmers in Kiên Giang—a coastal province in the MKD—to climate change. A theoretical framework was developed, which combined the resilience capacities framework with the subjective resilience and Resilience Index Measurement Analysis frameworks. Subsequently, the framework was applied to examine three types of agricultural-based livelihoods: (1) monocrop rice farming; (2) rice–shrimp farming; and (3) extensive shrimp farming. A mixed-methods approach was undertaken consisting of both in-depth and semistructured interviews as well as household surveys (n = 120). The findings demonstrated that rice–shrimp farmers’ livelihoods were relatively the most resilient to climate change. On the other hand, rice farmers were generally more able to recover from climate stressors, such as drought and saline intrusion, whereas shrimp farmers, lacking transformative capacity, were the least resilient. This study concluded that the governmental decision to transition Kiên Giang’s agricultural sector towards rice–shrimp farming has been relatively successful.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

References

Abdulai A, Eberlin R (2001) Technical efficiency during economic reform in Nicaragua: evidence from farm household survey data. Econ Syst 25:113–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0939-3625(01)00010-3
Article Google Scholar
Adger WN (2006) Vulnerability. Glob Environ Chang 16:268–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.02.006
Article Google Scholar
Adger WN, Dessai S, Goulden M et al (2009) Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? Clim Chang 93:335–354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-008-9520-z
Article Google Scholar
Agrawal A, Costella C, Kaur N et al (2019) Climate resilience through social protection. International Institute for Environment and Development, Rotterdam and Washington
Google Scholar
Basist A, Williams C (2020) Monitoring the quantity of water flowing through the upper Mekong Basin under natural (unimpeded) conditions. Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership, Bangkok
Google Scholar
Bazeley P (2013) Qualitative data analysis with NVivo, 2nd edn. Sage, London
Google Scholar
Béné C, Wood RG, Newsham A, Davies M (2012) Resilience: new utopia or new tyranny? Reflection about the potentials and limits of the concept of resilience in relation to vulnerability reduction programmes. IDS Working Papers, Brighton
Google Scholar
Boillat S, Berkes F (2013) Perception and interpretation of climate change among Quechua farmers of Bolivia: indigenous knowledge as a resource for adaptive capacity. Ecol Soc 18:21. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05894-180421
Article Google Scholar
Brooks N, Neil Adger W, Mick Kelly P (2005) The determinants of vulnerability and adaptive capacity at the national level and the implications for adaptation. Glob Environ Chang 15:151–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2004.12.006
Article Google Scholar
Bryman A (2015) Social research methods, 5th edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Google Scholar
Burnham M, Ma Z (2016) Linking smallholder farmer climate change adaptation decisions to development. Clim Dev 8:289–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2015.1067180
Article Google Scholar
Chapman AD, Darby SE, Hồng HM et al (2016) Adaptation and development trade-offs: fluvial sediment deposition and the sustainability of rice-cropping in An Giang Province, Mekong Delta. Clim Chang 137:593–608. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1684-3
Article Google Scholar
Cosslett TL, Cosslett PD (2014) Water resources and food security in the Vietnam Mekong Delta. Springer International Publishing, Cham
Book Google Scholar
Cutter SL, Barnes L, Berry M et al (2008) A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Glob Environ Chang 18:598–606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.07.013
Article Google Scholar
Dang HD (2020) Sustainability of the rice-shrimp farming system in Mekong Delta, Vietnam: a climate adaptive model. J Econ Dev 22:21–45. https://doi.org/10.1108/JED-08-2019-0027
Article Google Scholar
Devereux S, Getu M (eds) (2013) Informal and formal social protection systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Fountain Publisher, Kampala
Google Scholar
Duffy C, Pede V, Toth G et al (2020) Drivers of household and agricultural adaptation to climate change in Vietnam. Clim Dev 0:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2020.1757397
Article Google Scholar
Fedele G, Donatti CI, Harvey CA et al (2019) Transformative adaptation to climate change for sustainable social-ecological systems. Environ Sci Pol 101:116–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.07.001
Article Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO (2016) Analysing resilience for better targeting and action: resilience index measurement analysis-II. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome
Google Scholar
General Statistics Office of Vietnam - GSO (2019) Statistical yearbook of Vietnam 2019. Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi
Google Scholar
Grothmann T, Patt A (2005) Adaptive capacity and human cognition: the process of individual adaptation to climate change. Glob Environ Chang 15:199–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2005.01.002
Article Google Scholar
Ho TT, Shimada K (2019) The effects of climate smart agriculture and climate change adaptation on the technical efficiency of rice farming—an empirical study in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Agriculture 9:99. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture9050099
Article Google Scholar
Hoang LP, Biesbroek R, Tri VPD et al (2018) Managing flood risks in the Mekong Delta: how to address emerging challenges under climate change and socioeconomic developments. Ambio 47:635–649. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-017-1009-4
Article Google Scholar
Jones L, Tanner T (2015) Measuring ‘subjective resilience’ using people’s perceptions to quantify household resilience. Overseas Development Institute, London
Google Scholar
Khong TD, Loch A, Young MD (2020) Perceptions and responses to rising salinity intrusion in the Mekong River Delta: what drives a long-term community-based strategy? Sci Total Environ 711:134759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134759
Article Google Scholar
Kinsey B, Burger K, Gunning JW (1998) Coping with drought in Zimbabwe: survey evidence on responses of rural households to risk. World Dev 26:89–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(97)00124-1
Article Google Scholar
Krupinsky JM, Bailey KL, McMullen MP et al (2002) Managing plant disease risk in diversified cropping systems. Agron J 94:955-a. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2002.955a
Article Google Scholar
Lan NTP (2011) From rice to shrimp: ecological change and human adaptation in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. In: Stewart MA, Coclanis PA (eds) Environmental change and agricultural sustainability in the Mekong Delta. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp 271–285
Chapter Google Scholar
Ling FH, Tamura M, Yasuhara K et al (2015) Reducing flood risks in rural households: survey of perception and adaptation in the Mekong delta. Clim Chang 132:209–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1416-0
Article Google Scholar
Manh NV, Dung NV, Hung NN et al (2015) Future sediment dynamics in the Mekong Delta floodplains: impacts of hydropower development, climate change and sea level rise. Glob Planet Chang 127:22–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.01.001
Article Google Scholar
Meuwissen MPM, Feindt PH, Spiegel A et al (2019) A framework to assess the resilience of farming systems. Agric Syst 176:102656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102656
Article Google Scholar
Mishra AK, Pede VO, Barboza GA (2018) Perception of climate change and impact on land allocation and income: empirical evidence from Vietnam’s Delta region. J Agric Resour Econ 47:311–335. https://doi.org/10.1017/age.2018.11
Article Google Scholar
Muricho DN, Otieno DJ, Oluoch-Kosura W, Jirström M (2019) Building pastoralists’ resilience to shocks for sustainable disaster risk mitigation: lessons from West Pokot County, Kenya. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct 34:429–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.12.012
Article Google Scholar
Nguyen KV, James H (2013) Measuring household resilience to floods: a case study in the Vietnamese Mekong River Delta. Ecol Soc 18:art13. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05427-180313
Article Google Scholar
Nguyen TP, Luom TT, Parnell KE (2017) Mangrove allocation for coastal protection and livelihood improvement in Kien Giang province, Vietnam: constraints and recommendations. Land Use Policy 63:401–407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.01.048
Article Google Scholar
Nguyen MT, Renaud F, Sebesvari Z, Nguyen DC (2019) Resilience of agricultural systems facing increased salinity intrusion in deltaic coastal areas of Vietnam. Ecol Soc 24:19. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11186-240419
Article Google Scholar
Nhan DK, Phong LT, Verdegem MJC et al (2007) Integrated freshwater aquaculture, crop and livestock production in the Mekong delta, Vietnam: determinants and the role of the pond. Agric Syst 94:445–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2006.11.017
Article Google Scholar
Nhan DK, Trung NH, Van Sanh N (2011) The impact of weather variability on Rice and aquaculture production in the Mekong Delta. In: Stewart MA, Coclanis PA (eds) Environmental change and agricultural sustainability in the Mekong Delta. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp 437–451
Chapter Google Scholar
People’s Committee An Biên District (2018) Statistical information on An Biên District, An Biên, Vietnam
People’s Committee Kien Giang Province - PCKGP (2019) Kế hoạch: hành động phát triển ngành tôm đến năm 2025 tỉnh Kiên Giang [Action plan to develop Kien Giang province’s shrimp industry by 2025]
Pham VHT, Febriamansyah R, Afrizal TTA (2020) Adapting to saline intrusion: empirical insights from two coastal areas in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Pertanika J Soc Sci Hum 28:1553–1566
Google Scholar
Phong NT, Parnell KE, Cottrell A (2017) Human activities and coastal erosion on the Kien Giang coast, Vietnam. J Coast Conserv 21:967–979. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-017-0566-9
Article Google Scholar
Poelma T (2018) Transitioning to rice-shrimp farming in Kien Giang, Vietnam: Determining rural household resilience to changing climatic conditions. MSc Thesis, Utrecht University
Renaud FG, Le TTH, Lindener C et al (2015) Resilience and shifts in agro-ecosystems facing increasing sea-level rise and salinity intrusion in Ben Tre Province, Mekong Delta. Clim Chang 133:69–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1113-4
Article Google Scholar
Smajgl A, Toan TQ, Nhan DK et al (2015) Responding to rising sea levels in the Mekong Delta. Nat Clim Chang 5:167–174. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2469
Article Google Scholar
Speranza IC, Wiesmann U, Rist S (2014) An indicator framework for assessing livelihood resilience in the context of social–ecological dynamics. Glob Environ Chang 28:109–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.06.005
Article Google Scholar
Szabo S, Adger WN, Matthews Z (2018) Home is where the money goes: migration-related urban-rural integration in delta regions. Migr Dev 7:163–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2017.1374506
Article Google Scholar
Tanner T, Lewis D, Wrathall D et al (2015) Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change. Nat Clim Chang 5:23–26. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2431
Article Google Scholar
Tran TPH (2012) Resilience and livelihood dynamics of shrimp farmers and fishers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. PhD thesis, Wageningen University
Tran TA (2019) Land use change driven out-migration: evidence from three flood-prone communities in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Land Use Policy 88:104157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104157
Article Google Scholar
Tran TA, James H, Pittock J (2018) Social learning through rural communities of practice: empirical evidence from farming households in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Learn Cult Soc Interact 16:31–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2017.11.002
Article Google Scholar
Trang NT, Khải HV, Tú VH, Hải TM (2018) Economic efficiency analysis of rice-shrimp farming in An Bien district, Kien Giang province. Tạp Chí Khoa Học Trường Đại Học Cần Thơ 54:149–156. https://doi.org/10.22144/ctu.jvn.2018.191
Article Google Scholar
USAID (2016) Development of rice-shrimp farming in Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. United States Agency for International Development, Bangkok
Google Scholar
Vincent K (2007) Uncertainty in adaptive capacity and the importance of scale. Glob Environ Chang 17:12–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.11.009
Article Google Scholar
Walker B, Holling CS, Carpenter S, Kinzig A (2004) Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social–ecological systems. Ecol Soc 9:5. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-00650-090205
Article Google Scholar
World Bank (2010) Economics of adaptation to climate change: Vietnam. World Bank, Washington
Google Scholar

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted at the Faculty of Geosciences of Utrecht University and Kiên Giang University. We extend special thanks to all research participants, local staff, Yi-Ya Hsu, and the anonymous reviewers. This manuscript was edited by Wallace Academic Editing.

Funding

This study was partly supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan under Grant No. MOST- 109-2636-H-003 -007.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Utrecht, The Netherlands
Thijs Poelma
Department of Geography, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan
Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak
Faculty of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kien Giang University, Minh Luong Town, Chau Thanh District, Kiên Giang, Vietnam
Duong Van Nha
Research Centre for Rural Development, An Giang University, VNU-HCM, 18 Ung Van Khiem, Long Xuyen City, An Giang, Vietnam
Thong Anh Tran
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Thong Anh Tran
Fenner School of Environment and Society, College of Science, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Thong Anh Tran

Authors

Thijs Poelma
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Duong Van Nha
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Thong Anh Tran
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by TP, MMB, and DVN. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MMB, TP, and TAT and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

ESM 1

(DOCX 54 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Poelma, T., Bayrak, M.M., Van Nha, D. et al. Climate change and livelihood resilience capacities in the Mekong Delta: a case study on the transition to rice–shrimp farming in Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province. Climatic Change 164, 9 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-02973-w

Download citation

Received: 25 June 2020
Accepted: 06 January 2021
Published: 19 January 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-02973-w

Keywords

Mekong Delta
Vietnam
Climate change
Resilience capacities
Livelihood resilience
Aquaculture