Current and Future Household Livelihood Adaptation to Changing Social-Ecological Context - A Case Study in the Rural Coastal Areas of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and Red River Delta

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta and Red River Delta are among global coastal deltas pronounced for their high vulnerability to hazards and climate variability while playing a key role in socio-economic development nationally. Therefore, examining the patterns and details of adaptation in these deltas are significant in the future under climate change. The two deltas have experienced drastic social-ecological changes in the last three decades which are projected to become more extensive. This dissertation offers a conceptual framework to study their changing complex context in response to firstly, the knowledge gaps in understanding the details and process of adaptation of these vulnerable communities, and secondly, the research need of framing and operationalizing the social-ecological integrative approach. This dissertation thus contributes to the interdisciplinary literature by addressing the fragmentation caused by separating disciplines and the case-study based research on environmental change adaptation. The findings show that the households’ livelihood shifts in the case study are determined by the combination and interaction of social and climatic drivers. The livelihood-change typology approach considers multiple dimensions and the dynamics of livelihood shifts at the household level and thereby allows further identification of enablers and barriers to adaptation. The future adaptation is examined using scenarios hypothesizing social and environmental changes to project emerging trends of change. Linking to the concepts of integrative social-ecological relationship, livelihood dynamics, and processual approach to adaptation, these results emphasize the process of change with the interactions between the society and the environment, as well as among actors or scales of adaptive actions. The insights into the diverse coastal areas of the two Vietnamese deltas showcase a good example of the complex social-ecological context which proves the need for an integrative approach to study adaptation. Based on the main findings complemented by an in-depth discussion on the critical role of policy interventions in Viet Nam, implications and outlook were made to call for further efforts of researchers and practitioners to facilitate more adaptive pathways of vulnerable communities