- Title
- Conflicts over natural resources and environment: a case of Tam Giang Lagoon in the Thua Thien Hue province, central coast of Vietnam
- Creator
- Thi Hong Nhung, Pham
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- In the context of wild fisheries overexploitation and degradation as well as rapid aquaculture expansion, resource conflicts seem to be certain in Vietnam. The conflicts undermine local livelihoods, natural resources and environment. Therefore, the conflicts need to be resolved or managed effectively. Not exceptionally, the fisheries issues and associated resource conflicts are also prevalent in Tam Giang lagoon in Thua Thien Hue province, Central Coast of Vietnam. Nonetheless, there is little information in regard to these conflicts in Vietnam generally and Tam Giang lagoon particularly. The Vietnam government has initiated collaborative management strategies in order to have participation from the local community in the management of the lagoon. Co-management has been recognised to be an effective mechanism to manage resource conflicts. However, it raises the question, is it always the case that co-management can manage existing conflicts that occur in fishing communities? More research is required to provide a clear answer for this. It is imperative that we better understand the conflicts that exist among resource users, and the co-management arrangement for fisheries resources and conflict management in Tam Giang lagoon. Better solutions are required for conflict management and resource sustainability in Vietnam generally and in Tam Giang lagoon particularly. This research sets out to better understand the conflicts that exist among resource users, the co-management arrangement for lagoon resources, and the conflict management in Tam Giang lagoon, Central Coast of Vietnam. More specifically, the research is (i) to analyse types of conflicts over access and control of the Tam Giang lagoon resources; (ii) to better understand the factors underlying the most concerned conflicts which are related to lagoon water pollution; and (iii) to understand the performance of the co-management arrangement in dealing with the management of the lagoon and the pollution conflicts.. The research applied an interdisciplinary holistic approach to understand the conflicts and the co-management arrangement for the lagoon resources and conflict management by employing a case study. This research combined qualitative, quantitative, and participatory approaches based on participatory observation, a household survey, group discussions, and interviews to collect the data. Applying the framework of Bennet et al. (2001), the research has found four types of conflicts that exist in lagoon fishing communities. Examining the intensity level and the influence level of the conflicts on local people, this research has found that the most common and noticeable conflicts in both villages studied are related to waste discharge resulting in lagoon water pollution. The conflicts occur between fishing communities and upland communities. The research has also found that the changing and complicated property rights and the poor planning of lagoon use combined with an uncontrolled aquaculture development were considered as the main factors contributing to the conflicts of lagoon water pollution. At the household level, several factors that correlate with the conflicts in relation to lagoon water pollution include the certainty about the polluters, education, years of settlement, household classification, food security, resource conditions and distance from waste discharging locations, and the conception of fishing-farming community equity. This research has found that the conflicts and the lagoon at large are co-managed by the state and communities. However, the co-management structure has not effectively addressed the existing conflicts related to lagoon water pollution. The reasons lie with the government’s provision supportive policies and legislation for co-management. The policies and legislation for co-management do not provide a well-defined delimitation of government agencies and departments’ power or authority in performing state management functions over the fisheries sector. Additionally, in the legislative document system, there is no clear mechanism for the resource conflict management generally and the pollution conflict management particularly. At the community level, village fisheries associations are assigned the tasks of managing the lagoon use and settling conflicts. However, it appears that village fisheries associations are not able to deal with the pollution conflicts with regard to the externalities from upland communities as the conflicts involved the outsiders of the village boundaries. The findings of the research recommend that, to improve the management of the pollution conflicts, it is of high importance to address the factors affecting the conflicts. The government should be more decisive in decentralizing the functions of resource management to local levels. The legitimacy and accountability of the village fisheries associations should be consolidated and enhanced so that they are more autonomous, influential and proactive to work out appropriate, feasible and cost-efficient solutions for resource issues and conflicts. More attempts to define a mechanism for managing resource conflicts generally, and the conflicts related to lagoon water pollution in particular, especially at local levels are essential.
- Subject
- conflicts; factors; co-management; water pollution; Tam Giang lagoon
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1312173
- Identifier
- uon:22351
- Rights
- Copyright 2016 Pham Thi Hong Nhung
- Language
- eng
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