The implementation of climate change adaptation policy in coastal Vietnam.

Climate change is a global problem, its effects are profound, threatening human and natural systems, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the Global Agenda 2030. In practice, while climate change policy development is a priority of national and local governments worldwide, the implementation of climate change adaptation (CCA) policy, known as a ‘wicked’ problem, has not been very successful, with climate change related impacts continuing to increase. Despite the existence of a substantial body of literature on policy implementation as a whole, there is only limited literature on the implementation of CCA policy, especially in the developing world. This study explores, describes and explains the process of implementation of CCA policy in Vietnam, a coastal developing country in Southeast Asia, which is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change including variability and extremes. Employing a multi-level governance (MLG) approach to implementation studies, the research investigates how CCA policy is transferred and transformed from national to local level; how CCA policy is mainstreamed into sectoral policies; explores the perceptions of Vietnamese government officials from local to national levels on CCA policy and planning; and identifies motivators for and barriers to CCA policy implementation in the context of coastal Vietnam. The thesis adopts process rather than evaluation approach as public policy implementation is viewed as a process over time involving various actions to put policy into effect. A multi-method research design involving document analysis and interviews was performed to investigate CCA policy implementation in coastal Vietnam and is a case-oriented rather than variable-oriented investigation. Two out of 28 coastal provinces in Vietnam were selected as case studies which represent two different climate regions and the main river deltas in the country. The researcher used thick description, followed by analysis and explanation of the implementation process of CCA policy. The CCA policy field and two case studies provided a good opportunity to examine policy implementation in MLG. Data collection was designed into two stages, in the first round, relevant policy documents were collected and preliminary interviews were conducted. Initial findings from the first fieldwork stage informed the second one which mostly focused on semi-structured interviews. Documents relevant to climate change and five sectoral policies: socio-economic development; disaster; forestry; coastal; and water management, were collected. Fifty-four semi-structured interviews and informal discussions were conducted at all four levels of government in Vietnam (national, provincial, district, and commune levels), of which there were eight interviews of non-state respondents who provided independent critiques on government’s CCA actions. Content analysis of policy documents and thematic analysis of interviews were performed to achieve insights to answer the research questions. Findings show that the implementation of CCA policy in coastal Vietnam is manifested through two broad mechanisms, which are vertical CCA policy implementation (central-local interaction) and horizontal CCA policy implementation (mainstreaming process, CCA policy interplays with relevant sectoral policies). The former was more progressive than the latter, both mechanisms were found in each of the two case studies. In each mechanism, there are two sub-mechanisms including policy-level actions which is termed the intermediate step between the original CCA policy and practice and project-level activities which are concrete actions on the ground. The CCA implementation process occurs within the existing institutional arrangements which influence generic public issues governance including CCA and are determined by historical, political and socio-economic factors. Various actors and stakeholders influence the adaptation policy implementation process which relates to negotiations among them. In addition to public agencies, non-government stakeholders and the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) play important roles and form CCA policy networks. In respect of coastal adaptation, infrastructure options were given priority as the consequence of government officials’ perceptions of climate change as disaster. Local government officials also perceived climate change as a source of funds from state and donors, which is an underlying driver of adaptation actions rather than the risk of impacts of climate change in their localities. There are evidences of decrease in interests in CCA at local and sectoral levels in contrast to the increase in impacts of climate change. This research adds to knowledge of MLG, public policy implementation, and CCA. It contributes to the ongoing substantive discourse about what constitutes adaptation and adaptation policy, and how to translate CCA policy intentions into actions with evidences from a coastal, developing country in Southeast Asia. It also provides insights into knowledge of public policy implementation and MLG theories, which remain under-researched in the context of developing countries. The integration of policy implementation and MLG responds to the shift from government to governance of public issues, focusing on both vertical (top-down and/or bottom-up) control and command, and horizontal interactions of policy actors and stakeholders (policy networks) in the policy processes. In respect to practical contribution, the research findings may help facilitate good governance and effective policy implementation of CCA policy in Vietnam as well as, potentially, other coastal, developing countries facing the challenges of climate change