Transformation of Rural Community and Current Issues in the Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam (2): Focusing on the Residents' Use of Natural Resources and Environmental Views in Ap Dang Phong of Cho Gao District, Tien Giang Province

This research clarifies the transformation of rural community and current issues in the Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam, with our fieldwork in Ap Dang Phong of Cho Gao District, Tien Giang Province. In this article, we focus on the residents’conventional use of natural resources, such as water, and examine how their usage has changed since the mid 1970s. After 1995, when they had water pipes laid in the community (Ap), the main source of water for the residents’daily life rapidly changed from private ponds and the community waterway to the new water system. Additionally, agricultural chemicals sprayed on paddy fields destroyed various kinds of creatures such as small fishes and shells, which were used for food by the local residents. According to the result of our 2010 questionnaire, a survey of community attitudes, most residents were strongly concerned that the waterway has become polluted by agricultural chemicals. However, quite a few residents had a passive attitude about improvement actions, such as cleanup activities on the waterway. We examined the elements behind this contradiction, considering the character of the local community and the abundant supply of natural resources in this region