INTO THE UNKNOWN: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FRESHWATER GOVERNANCE REGIME IN THE VIETNAM MEKONG DELTA IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND RISING SEA LEVEL

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is home to one fifth of Vietnam’s population and is a region of utmost importance to the country’s national food security. The agricultural productivity in the Delta has been sustained by the abundant availability of freshwater resources, which is now increasingly threatened by global climate change, rising sea level, and upstream and in situ development activities. Problems affecting freshwater resources in the Delta include dry season salinity intrusion, surface water pollution, and over-exploitation of groundwater. Urgent governance strategies are needed to tackle these issues; however, it is first important to understand the characteristics of the current freshwater governance system. Using adaptive management theory, this research attempts to identify the extent to which the freshwater governance regime in the Delta exhibits characteristics that are likely to promote adaptive capacity in the context of climate change and rising sea level. Using Soc Trang as a representative case of the VMD, the results indicate that the freshwater governance regime only partially exhibits characteristics that are likely to promote its adaptive capacity. Specifically, Soc Trang exhibits a low-to-medium level of vertical integration, a low-to-medium level of horizontal integration, and a low level of public participation. It is uncertain whether an informal policy network exists, however, state actors seem to play prominent roles in joint knowledge production and collaborative problem-solving initiatives. Various actors are jointly involved in the generation of knowledge with great diversity, but local civic organizations are missing from this picture. Knowledge and information sharing among state actors, and between the government and the public, is at a medium level. Public awareness programs have been implemented annually, but the reach is highly limited, especially toward communities outside of the districts’ central areas. Knowledge and information influence plans, policies, and solutions, but not in a systematic manner. Some considerations for uncertainties have been incorporated in the policy development process, but not comprehensively. Large-scale structural installations remain the dominant choice of solution for salinity intrusion and groundwater protection. A low-to-medium level of support for small-scale experimentation is detected, and a low-to-medium-level of policy enforcement is identified, at least in the population segment under study. No systematic mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation, or incorporation of feedback for improving future policies are found. Regarding financial management, several cost recovery mechanisms exist, but it is uncertain if the collection of these taxes and fees is actually enforced. The main sources of financing water-related infrastructure and solutions are the state budget and the loans from the World Bank. Finally, the mechanisms for mobilizing emergency funding seem straightforward, but there are no regulations for specific levels of emergency spending