Impact of saltwater intrusion on relation to fruit growing households in Ben Tre, Vietnam
Keywords:
saltwater intrusion, natural hazards, livelihood vulnerability, income, Vietnam.
Abstract
Purpose. Saltwater intrusion affected seriously the livelihood of mangosteen growers in Ben Tre, a coastal province in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta in 2016. This study assesses how saltwater intrusion influenced the livelihood vulnerability of the mangosteen households and communities.
Methodology / approach. This study used the United Nations’ Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and a similar index from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (LVI-IPCC) using data from 196 interviewed mangosteen growers in Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province in 2016 and 2018. A total of twenty-five (25) indicators are applied to calculate the two indices, using data as exposure to saltwater intrusion and natural hazards (5), socio-demographic factors (11), and sensitivity of health, finance, and source of water for domestic use (9).
Results. The analysis results show that mangosteen-growing households had a medium vulnerability in 2016 and 2018 based on both indices. However, they were extremely vulnerable due to saltwater intrusion in 2016, and a high household percentage had a moderate value in the vulnerability index. They did not experience how to respond to saltwater intrusion and received a late warning on saltwater intrusion from the local authorities and media. However, mangosteen-growing households had a quick adaptive behavior to shift to new crops to improve their income in 2018.
Originality / scientific novelty. The study provides a set of indicators to assess the vulnerability of this low-vulnerable area based on past studies as well as the actual situation of the study area in 2016 and 2018 to determine what factors influenced the main components, LVI and LVI – IPCC. These indicators represented the characteristics of the rural households in Vietnam and other Asian countries. This research also indicated how LVI and LVI – IPCC results differently and when they should be used. The analysis identified the factors influencing the LVI and LVI – IPCC by levels of saltwater intrusion in different years of 2016 and 2018, two different severe and less severe sites, adaptive and non-adaptive households, and their interaction.
Practical value / implications. LVI and LVI-IPCC are good indicators for local and regional assessments on how saltwater intrusion and natural hazards affect households’ and communities’ livelihood and thereby how to guide them to respond promptly in such cases.
References
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3. Tran, D. D., Quang, C. N. X., Tien, P. D., Tran, P. G., Kim Long, P., Van Hoa, H., … Le Ha, T. T. (2020). Livelihood vulnerability and adaptation capacity of rice farmers under climate change and environmental pressure on the Vietnam Mekong delta floodplains. Water, 12(11), 3282. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113282.
4. Can, N. D (2019). Assessing livelihood vulnerability to salinity intrusion and climate variability-a case study in coastal provinces of the Mekong river delta of Vietnam. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, B(8), 147–155. https://doi.org/10.17265/2162-5263/2019.04.004.
5. IPCC (2001). Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the third assessment report. Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/WGII_TAR_full_report-2.pdf.
6. Hahn, M. B., Riederer, A. M., & Foster, S. O. (2009). The livelihood vulnerability index: a pragmatic approach to assessing risks from climate variability and change – a case study in Mozambique. Global environmental change, 19(1), 74–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.11.002.
7. Hoang, H. D., Momtaz, S., & Schreider, M. (2020). Assessing the vulnerability of small-scale fishery communities in the estuarine areas of Central Vietnam in the context of increasing climate risks. Ocean & Coastal Management, 196, 105302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105302.
8. Huong, N. T. L., Yao, S., & Fahad, S. (2019). Assessing household livelihood vulnerability to climate change: the case of Northwest Vietnam. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 25(5), 1157–1175. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2018.1460801.
9. Gravitiani, E., Fitriana, S. N. & Suryanto (2018). Community livelihood vulnerability level in northern and southern coastal area of Java, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 202(1), 012050. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/202/1/012050.
10. Jean-Baptiste, N., Kuhlicke, C., Kunath, A., & Kabisch, S. (2011). Review and evaluation of existing vulnerability indicators for assessing climate related vulnerability in Africa. UFZ-Bericht, 07. Available at: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=12087.
11. Gitima, G., Legesse, A., & Biru, D. (2021). Assessing the impacts of climate variability on rural households in agricultural land through the application of livelihood vulnerability index. Geosfera Indonesia, 6(1), 96–126. https://doi.org/10.19184/geosi.v6i1.20718.
12. Mwadzingeni, L., Mugandani, R., & Mafongoya, P. L. (2021). Assessing vulnerability to climate change in smallholder irrigation schemes of Zimbabwe. Sustainability, 13(18), 10023. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810023.
13. Sarker, M. N. I., Wu, M., Alam, G. M., & Shouse, R. C. (2019). Livelihood vulnerability of riverine-island dwellers in the face of natural disasters in Bangladesh. Sustainability, 11(6), 1623. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061623.
14. Adu, D. T., Kuwornu, J. K., Anim-Somuah, H., & Sasaki, N. (2018). Application of livelihood vulnerability index in assessing smallholder maize farming households’ vulnerability to climate change in Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 39(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2017.06.009.
15. Can, N. D., Tu, V. H., & Hoanh, C. T. (2013). Application of livelihood vulnerability index to assess risks from flood vulnerability and climate variability-a case study in the Mekong delta of Vietnam. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, A(2), 476–486. https://doi.org/10.17265/2162-5263/2019.04.004.
16. Hoq, M. S., Raha, S. K., & Hossain, M. I. (2021). Livelihood vulnerability to flood hazard: understanding from the flood-prone haor ecosystem of Bangladesh. Environmental management, 67(3), 532–552. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01441-6.
17. Chayyani, N. R., Gravitiani, E., & Suryanto (2020). Socio-economic vulnerability and losses of flood in Lampung, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 423(1), 012054. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/423/1/012054.
18. Murniati, K., & Mutolib, A. (2020). The impact of climate change on the household food security of upland rice farmers in Sidomulyo, Lampung Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity, 21(8). https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d210809.
19. Bhashani, N. S. M., Islam, R., Ali, J., & Ghani, A. B. A. (2021). Assessing the impact of climate change on small-scale fisheries livelihood vulnerability index. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 20(4), 1–13. Available at: https://www.abacademies.org/articles/assessing-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-smallscale-fisheries-livelihood-vulnerability-index-12173.html.
20. Nguyen, T. A., Nguyen, B. T., Van Ta, H., Nguyen, N. T. P., Hoang, H. T., Nguyen, Q. P., & Hens, L. (2021). Livelihood vulnerability to climate change in the mountains of Northern Vietnam: comparing the Hmong and the Dzao ethnic minority populations. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23, 13469–13489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01221-y.
21. Singha, P., & Pal, S. (2021). Livelihood vulnerability assessment of the Island (Char) dwellers in the Ganges riparian corridor, India. GeoJournal, 210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10461-y.
22. Chafulumira, M., & Khayyam, U. (2021). Climatic hazards and societal vulnerability, resilience and adaptation in the flood zones of Nsanje district, Malawi. Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Business, Management & Social Sciences (ICBMASS) 2021. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3916802.
23. Diana, M. N., Chamburi, S., Raihan, T. M., & Ashikin, A. N. (2019). Assessing local vulnerability to climate change by using livelihood vulnerability index: case study in Pahang region, Malaysia. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 506(1), 012059. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/506/1/012059.
24. Minh, D. D., Lebailly, P., Nguyen Dang, H., Burny, P., & Ho, T. M. H. (2019). The dynamics of livelihood vulnerability index at farm household level: an empirical analysis of the coastal sandy zone in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 9(4), 77–89. https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.8250.
25. Dendir, Z., & Simane, B. (2019). Livelihood vulnerability to climate variability and change in different agroecological zones of Gurage Administrative Zone, Ethiopia. Progress in Disaster Science, 3, 100035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2019.100035.
26. Amoatey, P., & Sulaiman, H. (2020). Assessing the climate change impacts of cocoa growing districts in Ghana: the livelihood vulnerability index analysis. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 22(3), 2247–2268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0287-8.
27. Manik, T. K. (2017). The impact of urban heat islands: assessing vulnerability in Indonesia. British Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 7(2), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.9734/BJECC/2017/33529.
28. Beringer, A. L., & Kaewsuk, J. (2018). Emerging livelihood vulnerabilities in an urbanizing and climate uncertain environment for the case of a secondary city in Thailand. Sustainability, 10(5), 1452. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051452.
29. Birkmann, J., Garschagen, M., Van Tuan, V., & Binh, N. T. (2012). Vulnerability, coping and adaptation to water related hazards in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. In F. Renaud, C. Kuenzer (Eds), The Mekong Delta System. Springer Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3962-8_10.
30. Zhang, Q., Zhao, X., & Tang, H. (2019). Vulnerability of communities to climate change: application of the livelihood vulnerability index to an environmentally sensitive region of China. Climate and Development, 11(6), 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2018.1442808.
31. Rehman, S., Sahana, M., Hong, H., Sajjad, H., & Ahmed, B. B. (2019). A systematic review on approaches and methods used for flood vulnerability assessment: framework for future research. Natural Hazards, 96(2), 975–998. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-03567-z.
31. Xu, X., Wang, L., Sun, M., Fu, C., Bai, Y., Li, C., and Zhang, L. (2020). Climate change vulnerability assessment for smallholder farmers in China: an extended framework. Journal of Environmental Management, 276, 111315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111315.
32. Shukla, R., Sachdeva, K., & Joshi, P. K. (2018). Demystifying vulnerability assessment of agriculture communities in the Himalayas: a systematic review. Natural Hazards, 91(1), 409–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3120-z.
33. Oo, A. T., Van Huylenbroeck, G., & Speelman, S. (2018). Assessment of climate change vulnerability of farm households in Pyapon District, a delta region in Myanmar. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 28, 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.02.012.
2. Ho, T. D., Kuwornu, J. K., Tsusaka, T. W., Nguyen, L. T., & Datta, A. (2021). An assessment of the smallholder rice farming households’ vulnerability to climate change and variability in the Mekong delta region of Vietnam. Local Environment. The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, 26(8), 948–966. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2021.1937971.
3. Tran, D. D., Quang, C. N. X., Tien, P. D., Tran, P. G., Kim Long, P., Van Hoa, H., … Le Ha, T. T. (2020). Livelihood vulnerability and adaptation capacity of rice farmers under climate change and environmental pressure on the Vietnam Mekong delta floodplains. Water, 12(11), 3282. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113282.
4. Can, N. D (2019). Assessing livelihood vulnerability to salinity intrusion and climate variability-a case study in coastal provinces of the Mekong river delta of Vietnam. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, B(8), 147–155. https://doi.org/10.17265/2162-5263/2019.04.004.
5. IPCC (2001). Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the third assessment report. Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/WGII_TAR_full_report-2.pdf.
6. Hahn, M. B., Riederer, A. M., & Foster, S. O. (2009). The livelihood vulnerability index: a pragmatic approach to assessing risks from climate variability and change – a case study in Mozambique. Global environmental change, 19(1), 74–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.11.002.
7. Hoang, H. D., Momtaz, S., & Schreider, M. (2020). Assessing the vulnerability of small-scale fishery communities in the estuarine areas of Central Vietnam in the context of increasing climate risks. Ocean & Coastal Management, 196, 105302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105302.
8. Huong, N. T. L., Yao, S., & Fahad, S. (2019). Assessing household livelihood vulnerability to climate change: the case of Northwest Vietnam. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 25(5), 1157–1175. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2018.1460801.
9. Gravitiani, E., Fitriana, S. N. & Suryanto (2018). Community livelihood vulnerability level in northern and southern coastal area of Java, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 202(1), 012050. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/202/1/012050.
10. Jean-Baptiste, N., Kuhlicke, C., Kunath, A., & Kabisch, S. (2011). Review and evaluation of existing vulnerability indicators for assessing climate related vulnerability in Africa. UFZ-Bericht, 07. Available at: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=12087.
11. Gitima, G., Legesse, A., & Biru, D. (2021). Assessing the impacts of climate variability on rural households in agricultural land through the application of livelihood vulnerability index. Geosfera Indonesia, 6(1), 96–126. https://doi.org/10.19184/geosi.v6i1.20718.
12. Mwadzingeni, L., Mugandani, R., & Mafongoya, P. L. (2021). Assessing vulnerability to climate change in smallholder irrigation schemes of Zimbabwe. Sustainability, 13(18), 10023. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810023.
13. Sarker, M. N. I., Wu, M., Alam, G. M., & Shouse, R. C. (2019). Livelihood vulnerability of riverine-island dwellers in the face of natural disasters in Bangladesh. Sustainability, 11(6), 1623. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061623.
14. Adu, D. T., Kuwornu, J. K., Anim-Somuah, H., & Sasaki, N. (2018). Application of livelihood vulnerability index in assessing smallholder maize farming households’ vulnerability to climate change in Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 39(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2017.06.009.
15. Can, N. D., Tu, V. H., & Hoanh, C. T. (2013). Application of livelihood vulnerability index to assess risks from flood vulnerability and climate variability-a case study in the Mekong delta of Vietnam. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, A(2), 476–486. https://doi.org/10.17265/2162-5263/2019.04.004.
16. Hoq, M. S., Raha, S. K., & Hossain, M. I. (2021). Livelihood vulnerability to flood hazard: understanding from the flood-prone haor ecosystem of Bangladesh. Environmental management, 67(3), 532–552. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01441-6.
17. Chayyani, N. R., Gravitiani, E., & Suryanto (2020). Socio-economic vulnerability and losses of flood in Lampung, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 423(1), 012054. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/423/1/012054.
18. Murniati, K., & Mutolib, A. (2020). The impact of climate change on the household food security of upland rice farmers in Sidomulyo, Lampung Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity, 21(8). https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d210809.
19. Bhashani, N. S. M., Islam, R., Ali, J., & Ghani, A. B. A. (2021). Assessing the impact of climate change on small-scale fisheries livelihood vulnerability index. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 20(4), 1–13. Available at: https://www.abacademies.org/articles/assessing-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-smallscale-fisheries-livelihood-vulnerability-index-12173.html.
20. Nguyen, T. A., Nguyen, B. T., Van Ta, H., Nguyen, N. T. P., Hoang, H. T., Nguyen, Q. P., & Hens, L. (2021). Livelihood vulnerability to climate change in the mountains of Northern Vietnam: comparing the Hmong and the Dzao ethnic minority populations. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23, 13469–13489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01221-y.
21. Singha, P., & Pal, S. (2021). Livelihood vulnerability assessment of the Island (Char) dwellers in the Ganges riparian corridor, India. GeoJournal, 210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10461-y.
22. Chafulumira, M., & Khayyam, U. (2021). Climatic hazards and societal vulnerability, resilience and adaptation in the flood zones of Nsanje district, Malawi. Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Business, Management & Social Sciences (ICBMASS) 2021. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3916802.
23. Diana, M. N., Chamburi, S., Raihan, T. M., & Ashikin, A. N. (2019). Assessing local vulnerability to climate change by using livelihood vulnerability index: case study in Pahang region, Malaysia. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 506(1), 012059. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/506/1/012059.
24. Minh, D. D., Lebailly, P., Nguyen Dang, H., Burny, P., & Ho, T. M. H. (2019). The dynamics of livelihood vulnerability index at farm household level: an empirical analysis of the coastal sandy zone in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 9(4), 77–89. https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.8250.
25. Dendir, Z., & Simane, B. (2019). Livelihood vulnerability to climate variability and change in different agroecological zones of Gurage Administrative Zone, Ethiopia. Progress in Disaster Science, 3, 100035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2019.100035.
26. Amoatey, P., & Sulaiman, H. (2020). Assessing the climate change impacts of cocoa growing districts in Ghana: the livelihood vulnerability index analysis. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 22(3), 2247–2268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0287-8.
27. Manik, T. K. (2017). The impact of urban heat islands: assessing vulnerability in Indonesia. British Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 7(2), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.9734/BJECC/2017/33529.
28. Beringer, A. L., & Kaewsuk, J. (2018). Emerging livelihood vulnerabilities in an urbanizing and climate uncertain environment for the case of a secondary city in Thailand. Sustainability, 10(5), 1452. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051452.
29. Birkmann, J., Garschagen, M., Van Tuan, V., & Binh, N. T. (2012). Vulnerability, coping and adaptation to water related hazards in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. In F. Renaud, C. Kuenzer (Eds), The Mekong Delta System. Springer Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3962-8_10.
30. Zhang, Q., Zhao, X., & Tang, H. (2019). Vulnerability of communities to climate change: application of the livelihood vulnerability index to an environmentally sensitive region of China. Climate and Development, 11(6), 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2018.1442808.
31. Rehman, S., Sahana, M., Hong, H., Sajjad, H., & Ahmed, B. B. (2019). A systematic review on approaches and methods used for flood vulnerability assessment: framework for future research. Natural Hazards, 96(2), 975–998. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-03567-z.
31. Xu, X., Wang, L., Sun, M., Fu, C., Bai, Y., Li, C., and Zhang, L. (2020). Climate change vulnerability assessment for smallholder farmers in China: an extended framework. Journal of Environmental Management, 276, 111315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111315.
32. Shukla, R., Sachdeva, K., & Joshi, P. K. (2018). Demystifying vulnerability assessment of agriculture communities in the Himalayas: a systematic review. Natural Hazards, 91(1), 409–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3120-z.
33. Oo, A. T., Van Huylenbroeck, G., & Speelman, S. (2018). Assessment of climate change vulnerability of farm households in Pyapon District, a delta region in Myanmar. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 28, 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.02.012.
Published
2022-03-20
How to Cite
Truc, N. T. T., & Thuc, L. V. (2022). Impact of saltwater intrusion on relation to fruit growing households in Ben Tre, Vietnam. Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, 8(1), 133-151. https://doi.org/10.51599/are.2022.08.01.07
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