Environmental and Resource Degradation Associated with Small‐Scale Enterprise Clusters in the Red River Delta of Northern Vietnam

Abstract

The paper reports on an empirical study of the environmental and resource degradation observed in small-scale handicraft clusters in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. Most entrepreneurs in these clusters face important challenges, including depletion of natural resources, linked to acute shortages of capital and land. Such issues are identified as the main cause of overcrowding, poor working conditions and extreme environmental degradation. The study also highlights some industrial ecology practices at the enterprise level, and assesses the role played by the government in providing incentives for enterprises to invest in new technology and pollution control. Drawing from the analysis of a questionnaire survey of 56 handicraft enterprises, the study identifies the major constraints they encounter in adopting new environmentally clean technologies and engaging in environmental management. Shortage of capital and lack of knowledge about the benefits of new technologies were viewed as the most important barriers, followed by shortage of skilled workers, poor market conditions and scarcity of land appropriate for industrial production.

Environmental Management, Climate Change, CSR, and Governance in Clusters of Small Firms in Developing Countries

“…According to Eisingerich and colleagues (2010), there is a growing recognition that a cluster approach can promote the incorporation of EM concerns in small enterprises. This "green" cluster approach drives the engagement of SMEs in EM (Domingues & Paulino, 2009;Konstadakopulos, 2008).…”

“…In the context of CSR, one of the alternative ways to improve SMEs' environmental performance is to focus on the greening of an industrial cluster (instead of working with individual firms) as many SMEs tend to concentrate in local geographical regions and interact with each other in a specific industry (Blackman & Kildegaard, 2010;Carpinetti, Galdámez, & Gerolamo, 2008;Domingues & Paulino, 2009;Konstadakopulos, 2008;Mbohwa, Rwakatiwana, & Fore, 2010). The literature on CSR in clusters of SMEs is growing but is still limited when compared with the volume of research produced on CSR in large companies (Brío & Junquera, 2003;Fresner, 2004;Heras & Arana, 2010;Lund-Thomsen & Pillay, 2012;MacGregor & Fontrodona, 2011).…”

Rural Industrialization and Environmental Governance Challenges in the Red River Delta, Vietnam

“…Due to capital constraints, many craft workshops continue to use old machinery that was purchased from staterun factories prior to -Dui M o ' i. Many enterprises were classified as "semimechanized," having a low degree of mechanization or still using manual technology that does not meet basic health, safety, and hygiene requirements (Dang et al, 2005;Konstadakopulos, 2008;O'Rourke, 2004).…”

Between ‘state’ and ‘society’: Commune authorities and the environment in Vietnam's craft villages

“…A further commonality is in the level and nature of mechanisation in craft production, with old, low‐cost and inefficient technologies predominating (O'Rourke, : 109; Dang et al ., ; Konstadakopulos, ). The majority of craft workshops still use old machinery that was purchased from state‐run factories after Doi Moi , and did not meet basic health and safety requirements.…”