Impediments to Climate-Induced Disaster Management: Evidence from Quang Nam Province, Central Vietnam

This chapter aims to identify deeper rooted socio-political impediments for effective natural disaster responses in Vietnam by drawing on first-hand evidence from the province of Quang Nam. Vietnam suffers from relatively high incidents of natural disasters due to the country’s high susceptibility to natural hazards, and Quang Nam is found to be particularly vulnerable. There are, however, several socio-political obstacles to effective disaster management in the province. While decentralization processes have accelerated in Vietnam during the last decades, the limited devolution of power to the local political entities make them first and foremost instruments for policy implementation. The relationship between communes and local government institutions, therefore, is not symbiotic but rather driven by the central government. Concretely, disaster management meetings in Quang Nam were used to disseminate instructions and information from above. Vulnerable households, with an underdeveloped social asset-base, did not perceive disaster protection as a right, and they did not consider disaster protection as a legitimate demand on the state. The chapter argues that effective disaster management needs to extend beyond the policy-level to consider more fundamental shifts in the political structures and institutions.