Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T15:42:41.631Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

24 - Social vulnerability to climate change in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam

from Part II - Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2021

By
Nguyen Huu Ninh ,
Luong Quang Huy ,
Philip Michael Kelly  and
Phan Toan
Edited by
Pak Sum Low
Pak Sum Low
Affiliation:
Xiamen University Malaysia
Get access

Summary

Reducing vulnerability to environmental change must be a key component of any strategy for sustainable development. We consider the situation of the nations of the Lower Mekong, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, focusing on the threat of climate change. We distinguish between physical vulnerability, characterized in terms of spatial exposure to hazardous events, and social vulnerability, which is a function of the social conditions and historical circumstances that put people at risk. As vulnerability is a dynamic condition, we frame the assessment in terms of the processes and trends that are shaping current patterns of vulnerability and resilience. The nations of the Lower Mekong face a range of potential trends in climate, with changes in the incidence of flooding, variability in water availability, the occurrence of drought and heat stress, the frequency and/or intensity of tropical cyclones, and, in coastal areas, sea-level rise posing the major risks. A baseline assessment of the social, economic, and political trends that are influencing present-day levels of social vulnerability highlights the fact that poverty is the largest barrier to developing the capacity to cope and adapt effectively with change. The situation of the poorest members of society is being adversely affected by trends in inequality, disparities in property rights, dismantling of agricultural cooperatives, unions, and various forms of financial support and changes in social structure and institutions. We identify an important tension that can exist between efforts aimed at improving the general economic situation and what is needed to improve resilience to climate stress, particularly among the rural poor. As far as adaptation is concerned, there are lessons for other regions in the traditional approaches developed within the Lower Mekong, as these nations have a rich history of managing their dynamic natural environment.

Keywords

Global environmental change;climate change;vulnerability;resilience;adaptation;poverty;inequality;social capital;Cambodia;Lao PDR;Vietnam
Type
Chapter
Information
Sustainable Development: Asia-Pacific Perspectives , pp. 315 - 326
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adger, W. N. (1999) Exploring income inequality in rural, coastal Vietnam. Journal of Development Studies, 35, 96–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adger, W. N. (2000) Institutional adaptation to environmental risk under the transition in Vietnam. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 90(4), 738–758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adger, W. N. and Kelly, P. M. (1999) Social vulnerability to climate change and the architecture of entitlements. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 4, 253–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adger, W. N. and Kelly, P. M. (2001) Social vulnerability and resilience. In Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.), Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam, pp. 19–34. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.) (2001a) Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M., Nguyen, Huu Ninh and Thanh, Ngo Cam (2001b) Property rights, institutions and resource management: coastal resources under doi moi. In Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.), Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam, pp. 79–92. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M., Winkels, A., Huy, Luong Quang and Locke, C. (2002) Migration, remittances, livelihood trajectories and social resilience. Ambio, 31(4), 358–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Appa Rao, S., Bounphanousay, C., Schiller, J. M., Alcantara, A. P. and Jackson, M. T. (2002) Naming of traditional rice varieties by farmers in the Lao PDR. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 49, 83–88.Google Scholar
Beckman, M., Le, Van An and Le, Quang Bao (2002) Living with Floods. Coping and Adaptation Strategies of Households and Local Institutions in Central Vietnam. SEI REPSI Report Series No. 5. Stockholm, Stockholm Environment Institute.Google Scholar
Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I. and Wisner, B. (1994) At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Brooks, N., Adger, W. N. and Kelly, P. M. (2005) The determinants of vulnerability and adaptive capacity at the national level and the implications for adaptation. Global Environmental Change, 15(2), 151–163.Google Scholar
Comfort, L., Wisner, B., Cutter, S., Pulwarty, R., Hewitt, K., Oliver-Smith, A., Wiener, J., Fordham, M., Peacock, W. and Krimgold, F. (1999) Reframing disaster policy: the global evolution of vulnerable communities. Environmental Hazards, 1(1), 39–44.Google Scholar
Cruz, R. V., Harasawa, H., Lal, M., Wu, S., Anokhin, Y., Punsalmaa, B., Honda, Y., Jafari, M., Li, C. and Nguyen Huu, Ninh (2007) Asia. In Parry, M. L., Canziani, O. F., Palutikof, J. P., van der Linden, P. J. and Hanson, C. E. (eds.), Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, pp. 469–506. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ar4-wg2-chapter10-2.pdfGoogle Scholar
Dasgupta, S., Laplante, B., Meisner, C., Wheeler, D. and Yan, J. (2009) The impact of sea level rise on developing countries: a comparative analysis. Climatic Change, 93(3), 379–388.Google Scholar
Dierberg, F. E. and Kiattisimkul, W. (1996) Issues, impacts and implications of shrimp aquaculture in Thailand. Environmental Management, 20, 649–666.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drakakis-Smith, D. and Kilgour, A. (2001) Sustainable urbanisation and environmental issues in Vietnam. In Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.), Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam, pp. 213–233. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Eriksen, S. and Kelly, P. M. (2007) Developing credible vulnerability indicators for policy assessment. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 12(4), 495–524.Google Scholar
Eriksen, S., Brown, K. and Kelly, P. M. (2005) The dynamics of vulnerability: locating coping strategies in Kenya and Tanzania. Geographical Journal, 171(4), 287–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hewitt, K. (1997) Regions of Risk: A Geographical Introduction to Disaster. Harlow, UK, Longman.Google Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Summary for Policymakers. Geneva, IPCC. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ar4-wg2-spm-1.pdfCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, P. M. and Adger, N. W. (2000) Theory and practice in assessing vulnerability to climate change and facilitating adaptation. Climatic Change, 47(4), 325–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, P. M., Hoang, Minh Hien and Tran, Viet Lien (2001) Responding to El Niño and La Niña: averting tropical cyclone impacts. In Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.), Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam, pp. 154–181. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Kingdom of Cambodia (2002a) National Poverty Reduction Strategy 2003–2005. Phnom Penh, Council for Social Development.Google Scholar
Kingdom of Cambodia (2002b) Initial National Communication under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Phnom Penh, Ministry of Environment.Google Scholar
Kingdom of Cambodia (2003) Cambodia Millennium Development Goals Report 2003. Phnom Penh, Ministry of Planning.Google Scholar
Kite, G. (2001) Modelling the Mekong: Hydrological simulation for environmental impact studies. Journal of Hydrology, 253(1–4), 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lal, M., Harasawa, H. and Murdiyarso, D. (2001) Asia. In McCarthy, J. J., Canziani, O. F., Leary, N. A., Dokken, D. J. and White, K. S. (eds.), Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, pp. 533–590. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (2004) National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES). Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic.Google Scholar
Leef, A. (2001) Sustainable agriculture in the northern uplands: attitudes, constraints and priorities of ethnic minorities. In Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.), Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam, pp. 109–121. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Leichenko, R. and O’Brien, K. (2002) The dynamics of rural vulnerability to global change: the case of Southern Africa. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 7(1), 1–18.Google Scholar
Lindskog, E., Dow, K., Nilsson Axberg, G., Miller, F. and Hancock, A. (2005) When Rapid Changes in Environmental, Social and Economic Conditions Converge: Challenges to Sustainable Livelihoods in Dak Lak, Vietnam. Stockholm, Stockholm Environment Institute.Google Scholar
Liverman, D. M. (1994) Vulnerability to global environmental change. In Cutter, S. L. (ed.), Environmental Risks and Hazards, pp. 326–342. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Luttrell, C. (2001) Historical perspectives on environment and development. In Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.), Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam, pp. 59–75. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Luttrell, C. (2005) Invisible institutions: informal means of gaining access to natural resources in coastal Vietnam. In Mutz, G. and Klump, R. (eds.), Modernisation and Social Transformation in Vietnam: Social Capital Formation and Institution Building. Hamburg, Institute for Asian Studies.Google Scholar
McLean, R. F., Sinha, S. K., Mirza, M. Q. and Lal, M. (1998) Tropical Asia. In Watson, R. T., Zinyowera, M. C. and Moss, R. H. (eds.), The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability, pp. 381–407. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
National Institute of Statistics (1999) Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey. Phnom Penh, Ministry of Planning.Google Scholar
Nguyen, Hoang Tri, Phan, Nguyen Hong, Adger, W. N. and Kelly, P. M. (2001) Mangrove conservation and restoration for enhanced resilience. In Adger, W. N., Kelly, P. M. and Ninh, Nguyen Huu (eds.), Living with Environmental Change: Social Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience in Vietnam, pp. 136–153. London, Routledge.Google Scholar
Oxfam GB (2002) Landless and Near-Landless Farmers in the Provinces of Tra Vinh and Dong Thap: Problems and Solutions. Oxford, Oxfam.Google Scholar
Pelling, M. (1998) Participation, social capital and vulnerability to urban flooding in Guyana. Journal of International Development, 10(4), 469–486.Google Scholar
Rambo, A. T., Reed, R. R., Cuc, L. T. and DiGregorio, M. R. (eds.) (1995) The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam. Honolulu, Hawaii, East-West Centre.Google Scholar
Schenk, R., Neef, A. and Heidhues, F. (1999) Factors influencing access to credit of smallholders in Northern Vietnam. Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development: A Social Science Review, 18, 56–65.Google Scholar
Sen, A. K. (1981) Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation. Oxford, Clarendon.Google Scholar
Sen, A. K. (1990) Food, economics and entitlements. In Drèze, J. and Sen, A. K. (eds.), The Political Economy of Hunger. Volume 1, pp. 34–50. Oxford, Clarendon.Google Scholar
Shrubsole, D. (2000) Flood management in Canada at a crossroads. Environmental Hazards, 2(2), 63–75.Google Scholar
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2003a) The Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS). Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.Google Scholar
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2003b) Initial National Communication under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hanoi, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.Google Scholar
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2010) Second National Communication under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hanoi, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.Google Scholar
Tran, Thi Que (1998) Microfinance market in mountainous areas: a case study. Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development: A Social Science Review, 14, 45–61.Google Scholar
Winkels, A. (2004) Migratory Livelihoods in Vietnam: Vulnerability and the Role of Migrant Networks. PhD thesis. Norwich, University of East Anglia, UK.Google Scholar
Winkels, A. (2005) Frontier migration and social capital in Vietnam. In Mutz, G. and Klump, R. (eds.), Modernisation and Social Transformation in Vietnam, pp. 94–115. Hamburg, Institut für Asienkunde.Google Scholar
World Bank (2004a) Cambodia at the Crossroads. Strengthening Accountability to Reduce Poverty, Report No. 30636-KH. Washington, DC, World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2004b) Vietnam Development Report 2005, Report No. 30462-VN. Washington, DC, World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2009) Poverty Profile and Trend in Cambodia: Findings from the 2007 Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (CSES), Report No. 48618-KH. Washington, DC, World Bank. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/504061468237543422/pdf/486180WP0P11191ofile120071withCover.pdfGoogle Scholar
World Bank (2010) Vietnam Development Report 2011: Natural Resources Management. Washington, DC, World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/509191468320109685/Vietnam-development-report-2011-natural-resources-managementGoogle Scholar
World Bank (2019) GDP growth (annual %) – Cambodia. Washington, DC, World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=KH (accessed 15 October 2019)Google Scholar
World Bank (2021) Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) – Cambodia. Washington, DC, World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS?locations=KH (accessed 24 May 2021)Google Scholar
Wu, S. Y., Yarnal, B. and Fisher, A. (2002) Vulnerability of coastal communities to sea-level rise: A case study of Cape May County, New Jersey, USA. Climate Research, 22(3), 255–270.Google Scholar
Zhang, H. X., Kelly, P. M., Locke, C., Winkels, A. and Adger, W. N. (2006) Migration in a transitional economy: beyond the planned and spontaneous dichotomy in Vietnam. Geoforum, 37(6), 1,066–1,081.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×