Cumulative Pressures on Sustainable Livelihoods: Coastal Adaptation in the Mekong Delta

Timothy F Smith; Dana C Thomsen; Steven Gould; K Schmitt; B Schlegel

doi:10.3390/su5010228

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Cumulative Pressures on Sustainable Livelihoods: Coastal Adaptation in the Mekong Delta

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Cumulative Pressures on Sustainable Livelihoods: Coastal Adaptation in the Mekong Delta

Timothy F Smith, Dana C Thomsen, Steven Gould, K Schmitt and B Schlegel

Sustainability, Vol.5(1), pp.228-241

2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su5010228

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Abstract

coastal livelihoods

adaptation

adaptive capacity

Mekong

Vietnam

Many coastal areas throughout the world are at risk from sea level rise and the increased intensity of extreme events such as storm surge and flooding. Simultaneously, many areas are also experiencing significant socio-economic challenges associated with rural-urban transitions, population growth, and increased consumption resulting from improving gross regional product. Within this context we explore the viability of proposed adaptation pathways in Soc Trang province, Vietnam - an area of the Mekong Delta experiencing cumulative pressures on coastal livelihoods. A participatory workshop and interviews, using a combination of systems thinking and futures techniques, revealed a shared goal of sustainable livelihoods, which provides an integrated and systemic focus for coastal adaptation strategies. Emphasizing sustainable livelihoods is less likely to lead to maladaptation because stakeholders consciously seek to avoid optimizing particular system elements at the expense of others - and thus engage in broader decision-making frameworks supportive of social-ecological resilience. However, the broad ambit required for sustainable livelihoods is not supported by governance frameworks that have focused on protective strategies (e.g., dyke building, strengthening and raising, to continue and expand agriculture and aquaculture production) at the expense of developing a diverse suite of adaptation strategies, which may lead to path dependencies and an ultimate reduction in adaptive capacity for system transformation.

Details

Title: Cumulative Pressures on Sustainable Livelihoods: Coastal Adaptation in the Mekong Delta
Authors: Timothy F Smith (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Business
Dana C Thomsen (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Business
Steven Gould (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Business
K Schmitt (Author) - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Vietnam
B Schlegel (Author) - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Vietnam
Publication details: Sustainability, Vol.5(1), pp.228-241
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2013
DOI: 10.3390/su5010228
ISSN: 2071-1050
Copyright note: Copyright © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Organisation Unit: Centre for International Development, Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450026802621
Output Type: Journal article