Abstract
The Mekong Delta, one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, is the focus of international action for adaptation. Improved understanding of the exposures and perceptions at the local level will help residents to cope with natural disasters and future climate disruptions. In this study, we assess the exposure to floods that rural communities across the Mekong Delta are facing. Among the various natural disasters threatening the delta, extreme flooding is by far the most prevailing concern. By carrying out a field survey on 1350 residents, we characterize the flooding patterns and vulnerabilities of households in three geographically diverse provinces. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of current flood adaptation in these households in conditions of regular flooding, as well as to extreme flooding events, which become more intense and frequent due to climate change. While the findings suggest varying degrees of coping with seasonal flooding by raising the ground floors of their homes, their capacity to prepare for extreme floods is limited in spite of the residents’ awareness of the changing dynamics of natural disasters in their locality. We also examine their perception to the effects of climate change and identify factors that influence their awareness.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ADB, AusAid (2011) Climate change impact and adaptation study in the Mekong Delta – Part A. 1–274
ADB (2012) Socialist republic of VietNam: climate change impact and adaptation study in the Mekong Delta. 1–278
Adger WN (1999) Social vulnerability to climate change and extremes in coastal Vietnam. World Dev 27:249–269
Adger WN (2006) Vulnerability. Glob Environ Chang 16:268–281
Adger WN, Huq S, Brown K et al (2003) Adaptation to climate change in the developing world. Prog Dev Stud 3:179–195
Birkmann J, Garschagen M, Van Tuan V, Binh NT (2012) Vulnerability, coping and adaptation to water related hazards in the Vietnamese Mekong delta. In: the Mekong delta system. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 245–289
CARE Australia (2012) ICAM: Integrated community-based adaptation in the Mekong. 1–24
Christensen JH, Hewitson B, Busuioc A et al (2007) Regional climate projections. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M et al (eds) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 849–940
Dang H, Li E, Bruwer J, Nuberg I (2013) Farmers’ perceptions of climate variability and barriers to adaptation: lessons learned from an exploratory study in Vietnam. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Chang. doi:10.1007/s11027-012-9447-6
Dang HL, Li E, Nuberg I, Bruwer J (2014) Understanding farmers’ adaptation intention to climate change: a structural equation modelling study in the Mekong delta, Vietnam. Environ Sci Pol 41:11–22. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2014.04.002
Danh VT, Mushtaq S (2011) Living with floods: an evaluation of the resettlement program of the Mekong delta of Vietnam. In: advances in global change research: environmental change and agricultural sustainability in the Mekong delta. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 181–204
Dasgupta S, Laplante B, Meisner C et al (2009) The impact of sea level rise on developing countries: a comparative analysis. Clim Chang 93:379–388. doi:10.1007/s10584-008-9499-5
Dolan AH, Walker IJ (2006) Understanding vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change related risks. J Coastal Res. pp 1316–1323
DTI News (2012) Mekong to develop flood-proof housing. DTI News
DWF (2011) Survey on perception of risks in Can Tho City. http://www.dwf.org/sites/lauratest.drupalgardens.com/files/DWF%20Survey%20on%20preception%20of%20risks%20in%20Can%20Tho%20Final%20II%2030%2010%2011.pdf. Accessed 20 Apr 2013
Francisco H, Nabangchang O, Bui DT, Yusuf AA (2008) Climate change: impacts, adaptation, and policy in Southeast Asia. Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) conference, International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Ha TTP, van Dijk H (2013) Fishery livelihoods and (non-)compliance with fishery regulations—A case study in Ca Mau Province, Mekong Delta, Viet Nam. Mar Policy 38:417–427. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2012.06.021
Hansen J, Sato M, Ruedy R (2012) Perception of climate change. PNAS 109:E2415–E2423. doi:10.1073/pnas.1205276109
Klein R, Nicholls R, Mimura N (2000) Coastal adaptation to climate change: can the IPCC Technical Guidelines be applied? Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Chang 4:1–14
Kobayashi H, Thanh DT, Tanaka U (2012) Housing conditions of a Lagoon Village in a flood-prone area of central Vietnam. J Asian Archit Build Eng 11:79–85
Kuenzer C, Guo H, Huth J et al (2013) Flood mapping and flood dynamics of the Mekong delta: ENVISAT-ASAR-WSM based time series analyses. Remote Sens 5:687–715. doi:10.3390/rs5020687
Le TVH, Nguyen HN, Wolanski E et al (2007) The combined impact on the flooding in Vietnam’s Mekong river delta of local man-made structures, sea level rise, and dams upstream in the river catchment. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 71:110–116. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2006.08.021
Linh LH, Linh TH, Xuan TD et al (2012) Molecular breeding to improve salt tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the Red River Delta of Vietnam. Int J Plant Genom 2012:949038. doi:10.1155/2012/949038
MONRE (2010) Vietnam-Netherlands Mekong Delta Masterplan Project. 1–50
MRC (2011) Living on the edge of the rising sea. In: Mekong river commission. http://www.mrcmekong.org/the-mekong-basin/stories-from-the-mekong/living-on-the-edge-of-the-rising-sea/. Accessed 17 Aug 2013
Nguyen HH (2007) Flooding in Mekong river delta, VietNam. UNDP 1–24
Nguyen KV, James H (2013) Measuring household resilience to floods: a case study in the Vietnamese Mekong River Delta. Ecol Soc 18(3). doi:10.5751/ES-05427-180313
Nhan DK, Trung NH, Sanh N (2011) Impacts of weather variability on rice and aquaculture production in the Mekong delta. In: advances in global change research: environmental change and agricultural sustainability in the Mekong delta. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 437–451
Pielke RA, Wilby R, Niyogi D, et al. (2012) Dealing with complexity and extreme events using a bottom-up, resource-based vulnerability perspective. In: Sharma AS, Bunde A, Dimri VP, Baker DN (eds) Extreme Events and Natural Hazards The Complexity Perspective. AGU, pp 345–359
SIWRP (2009) Study on Climate scenarios assessment for Ca Mau Province. Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning 1–202
Smit B, Wandel J (2006) Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Glob Environ Chang 16:282–292. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.03.008
Smithers J, Smit B (1997) Human adaptation to climatic variability and change. Glob Environ Chang 7:129–146. doi:10.1016/S0959-3780(97)00003-4
Tamura M, Yasuhara K, Shirai N, Tanaka M (2014) Wise adaptation to climate change: Japan’s case. In: Prutsch A, McCallum S, Grothmann T, Swart R, Chauser I (eds), Climate change adaptation manual: Lessons learned from European and other industrialized countries, Routledge, pp 314–319.
Tamura M, Nobuoka H, Kinoshita T, Tabayashi Y, Ling FH, Ajima K (under review) Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in the Mekong Delta. Climate and Development
Tang PG (2013) Soc Trang community prepares to adapt to climate change. In: IUCN. http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/news_by_date/?12860/Soc-Trang-community-prepares-to-adapt-to-climate-change. Accessed 18 Aug 2013
Tinh BD, Tuan TH, Phong T, et al. (2010) Local vulnerability and adaptation to extreme climate events along the central coast of Vietnam. In: Shaw R, Pulhin JM, Pereira JJ (eds), climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction: an asian perspective, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.393–416. doi:10.1108/S2040-7262(2010)0000005025
Truong TNC, Digna M, Sushil P et al (2011) Characterizing flood events and its impacts on rice production in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Omonrice 18:149–156
Tuan LA, Chinvanno S (2011) Climate change in the Mekong river delta and key concerns on future climate threats. In: environmental change and agricultural sustainability in the Mekong delta. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 207–217
Tuan LA, Hoanh CT, Miller F, Sinh BT (2008) Chapter 1: Flood and salinity management in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. 1–54
UNDP (2008) Flood proofing of poor coastal and inland households in the Mekong River Delta of Viet Nam. http://www.undp.org.vn/digitalAssets/19/19386_071221_flood_proofing_prodoce.pdf. Accessed 19 Aug 2008
UNICEF (2011) Mekong flooding causes widespread damage in Viet Nam. In: unicef.org. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/vietnam_60261.html. Accessed 26 Oct 2011
Van TC (2011) Identification of sea level rise impacts on the Mekong Delta and orientation of adaptation activities. http://www.vncold.vn/Modules/CMS/Upload/13/Science/TCVanEwv09_160509/identification%20sea%20level%20rise%20impacts%20on%20MK%20delta_5april.pdf. Accessed 14 Aug 2011
Vu D, Van TC, Nestmann F, Oberle P (2014) Land use base flood hazards analysis for the Mekong Delta. 19th IAHR-APD Congress 2014. doi: 10.13140/2.1.5153.9842
Wassmann R, Hien NX, Hoanh CT, Tuong TP (2004) Sea level rise affecting the Vietnamese Mekong delta: water elevation in the flood season and implications for rice production. Clim Chang 66:89–107. doi:10.1023/B:CLIM.0000043144.69736.b7
World Bank (2010) Economics of adaptation to climate change. 1–108
World Bank (2010) The social dimensions of adaptation to climate change in Vietnam. 1–153
Yusuf A, Francisco H (2009) Climate change vulnerability mapping for Southeast Asia. 1–32
Acknowledgments
This study was partly supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund S-8 “Comprehensive Research on Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation Policies” of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (ID: 23254004, 24510047). The authors would also like to thank Duong Vu, Vo Cong Hoang, and the students of the WRU, Vietnam for their support in conducting the survey.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ling, F.H., Tamura, M., Yasuhara, K. et al. Reducing flood risks in rural households: survey of perception and adaptation in the Mekong delta. Climatic Change 132, 209–222 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1416-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1416-0