Adaptation to climate change in the Mekong River Basin: introduction to the special issue

Evers, Jaap; Pathirana, Assela

doi:10.1007/s10584-018-2242-y

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The development of hydropower dams would increase the vulnerability of communities relying on fisheries for income and nutrition in Cambodia and Vietnam [93,94]. The planned new hydropower dams will have harmful impacts on fisheries by blocking migration routes and trapping nutrient and sediment flows [16,[94][95][96]. The information on how hydropower-induced alternations from constructions of the proposed dams on the mainstream the Mekong River affect the LMB's hydrology, habitats, agricultural, and fishery production is crucial for anticipating and mitigating their negative influence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin

et al. 2020

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The riverine ecosystems of the Mekong River Basin possess the world’s most productive inland fishery and provide highly productive food crops for millions of people annually. The development of hydropower potential in the Mekong River has long been of interest to governments in the region. Among the existing 64 dams, 46 dams have been built in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) to produce up to 8650 MW of electricity. Additionally, of the 123 proposed built hydropower dams, eleven hydropower plants have been nominated for the river mainstream and are expected to install a total of 13,000 MW in the LMB countries. However, serious concerns have intensified over the potential negative economic consequences, especially on fisheries and agriculture in Cambodia and Vietnam. To date, most of the concerns have concentrated on the impacts on hydrology, environment, livelihood, and diversity in the LMB attributed to hydropower development. This paper, however, discusses the fishery and agricultural sectors of the LMB and focuses on the downstream floodplains of Cambodia and Vietnam. The dam construction has caused greater losses of biodiversity and fisheries than climate change in the LMB. The reduction of 276,847 and 178,169 t of fish, 3.7% and 2.3% of rice, 21.0% and 10.0% of maize will contribute to a decrease of 3.7% and 0.3% of the GDP of Cambodia and Vietnam, respectively. Lao PDR may benefit the most revenue from electricity generation than the other country in the LMB, as most of the proposed dams are projected in the country. Cambodia burdens 3/4 of the reduction of total capture fishery destruction, whilst Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam endure the remaining 1/3 losses. The tradeoff analyses reveal that losses of capture fisheries, sediment or nutrients, and social mitigation costs are greater than the benefits from electricity generation, improved irrigation, and flood control of the LMB region. The socioeconomic and environmental damage caused by hydropower dams in developing countries, including the Mekong, is greater than the early costs in North America and Europe. It is proposed that dam construction for hydropower in the Mekong River, as well as other rivers in developing countries, should be gradually removed and shifted toward solar, wind, and other renewable resources.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin

et al. 2020

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“…Residents’ adaptability depends on their everyday flexibility, their ability to apply that flexibility in the near future, and their level of vulnerability (Evers & Pathirana, 2018). While government infrastructural adaptation strategies are part of current government plans, households are more likely to implement non‐infrastructural adaptation strategies because of residents’ ‘strong social capital’ (Evers & Pathirana 2018). An example of non‐infrastructural adaptation is when a family uses bottled water in the dry season when their rainwater supply depletes.…”

Section: The Current Delta Waterscapementioning

confidence: 99%

The historical legacy of waterscape changes in Can Tho, Vietnam and the social implications on water access today

Allen

2020

Singap J Trop Geogr

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This paper examines historical legacies left on the Mekong Delta's waterscape during French colonization in Vietnam and the implications this has had on the complex ways peri-urban residents access water today for diverse purposes. French colonialism began constructing various transportation networks and extensive canal systems, all resulting in changes to farming village dynamics. Today, the Delta is home to active citizens who have the historical legacy of colonial infrastructure providing the means to combat the vulnerabilities that are often prevalent in periurban areas. Periurban landscapes are in a state of constant change where farming activities are juxtaposed with commercial and/or residential activities. This paper discusses the relationship between the changing waterscape and the social strategies that developed over time in response to the changing landscape. I explore some pertinent resiliency literature alongside extensive fieldwork to understand how the infrastructural interventions of the French relate to resilience today. This paper contributes to the wider literature about the importance of Delta systems in South and Southeast Asia, as all have experienced important transformations.

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“…The groups include public, institutional, and labor constraints; land, neighborhood norms, and religious beliefs constraints; high cost of inputs, technological and poor information on early warning systems constraints; and far farm distance, poor access to climate change adaptation information, off-farm job, and credit constraints. Evers and Pathirana (2018) submit that greater communication, cooperation, and coordination of both policy and scientific work that cut across both disciplinary and geographical boundaries are needed to help reduce uncertainties in future climate projections and inform adaptation decisions.…”

Section: Introduction Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraints to Farmers’ Choice of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Ondo State of Nigeria

Ige

Akinnagbe

Odefadehan

et al. 2021

African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation

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Nigeria being dependent on rain-fed agriculture and with low level of socioeconomic development is highly affected and vulnerable to climate change. It is crucial for farmers to adapt to the never ending climate change. However, there are constraints to adaptation strategies used by the farmers. This study therefore identified some of the constraints to the farmers’ choice of climate change adaptation strategies in Ondo State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting one hundred and sixty respondents for the study. Data collected with a well-structured interview schedule were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and mean statistic, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test hypothesis. Crops competing for nutrient, inadequate access to climate information, inadequate finance, scarcity of labor, and inadequate farm input supplies were among the major constraints to choice of climate change adaptation strategies used by the respondents. The study recommended that weather forecast information should be published and made available to the farmers through agricultural extension agents. Training on how to improve mixed cropping technique and avoid vulnerability should be pursued.

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Adaptation to climate change in the Mekong River Basin: introduction to the special issue

Cited by 25 publications

References 24 publications

Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin

Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin

The historical legacy of waterscape changes in Can Tho, Vietnam and the social implications on water access today

Constraints to Farmers’ Choice of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Ondo State of Nigeria

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