Abstract
Climate change is a real challenge to humankind in this century and beyond. The scientific assessments have confirmed that the earth’s climate has already changed and continues to dramatically change on a global scale. Those climatic changes have affected nature and humans adversely. Vietnam, due to its geographical and socio-economic conditions is vulnerable to these climatic changes particularly the extremes of the weather in terms of floods and heatwaves. The country has planned and implemented strategies and actions to adapt to the harmful impacts of climate change and these extremes. But it is unequivocal that the adaptation in Vietnam is impeded or even stopped by a number of political, economic and social barriers. Research on these barriers to adaptation in Vietnam focused on institutional factors and on the agricultural sector. The current research contributes to an empirical understanding and insight on the barriers to adaptation to climate change and extremes at the local level. Specifically, it examines how local people and local authorities in Vietnam face and experience the barriers while implementing adaptation. Using qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with representatives of different groups of people and government staff as well as field observations and document analysis at Hai Son Commune of Hai Lang District, Quang Tri Province, this thesis (1) maps out local climate hazards, impacts and risks, (2) identifies adaptation approaches and measures undertaken by both local people and local authorities, (3) develops a typology of the local adaptation barriers for Vietnam, and (4) recommends strategies and solutions in order to address current and future barriers to adaptation to climatic changes and extremes in Vietnam.
This thesis finds that climate change and extremes affect harmfully and pose high risks to local people, livelihoods, and infrastructure systems. This is the impact of climate change on real people, and it highlights the impact on their families. Both local people and local authorities have been implementing a range of adaptive strategies and actions, but their adaptation is reactive and short-term in nature. This thesis also finds that there are lots of barriers to adaptation to climate change and extremes at the local level in Vietnam. Among the most major adaptation barriers, are knowledge and awareness, financial, social and cultural, institutional and infrastructure barriers. These barriers are not mutually exclusive of each other. There are interrelationships between them which together have an adverse effect on people and authorities at the local level. This thesis argues that understanding and addressing the barriers are crucial for effective and efficient local adaptation to climate change and extremes in Vietnam both now and in the future.
The thesis therefore recommends that the Government of Vietnam should take the barriers into account in all adaptation processes, and this should be a priority. This thesis particularly recommends that the Vietnamese government should (1) improve climate knowledge and adaptive capacities for local people and local government staff, (2) encourage or even institutionalise participation processes of all stakeholders especially vulnerable groups in local adaptation decision-making. These will include the planning, implementation and monitoring strategies and actions to adapt to Vietnam’s climate change and extremes, (3) provide equipment and facilities to local people and local authorities to prepare for and cope with climate change and climate related extremes. The Vietnamese government also should (4) establish and allocate appropriate funding for local adaptation, and (5) develop practical and clear plans and guidelines to support local people and local authorities for the effective adaptation to current and future climate risks and impacts.