SUMMARY - Mekong · 2017-07-08 · The Mekong Delta of Vietnam, which receives rich sediments and...
Transcript of SUMMARY - Mekong · 2017-07-08 · The Mekong Delta of Vietnam, which receives rich sediments and...
1
SUMMARY
REPORT
on
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE RESEARCH
in
THE MEKONG DELTA
Case study:
Phu Tho A Village, Phu Tho Commune, Tam Nong District, Dong Thap Province
Vam Nao Village, Tan Trung Commune, Phu Tan District, An Giang Province
Vietnam
2013
2
The Mekong Delta of Vietnam, which receives rich sediments and water from the
Mekong River, takes advantage of its natural resources in the development of its agriculture
and fishery sectors. Recently, changes caused by nature and by humans have put the Delta
in a challenging situation where water resources have been affected in terms of quantity,
quality and the timing of flood surges. This research aims to document the methods used by
local people in two villages of the Mekong Delta to take advantage of the rich riverine
resources to earn a living. It also documents the challenges and threats to the water
resources of the villages. This local knowledge research was conducted under the lens of 27
local people from Vam Nao and Phu Tho A villages during a ten month period from January
to October in 2013. After documenting local knowledge and understand the problems of
their own villages the local researchers, along with the researchers from WARECOD, gave
recommendations for sustainable usage of the water resources in their locales. An
innovative aspect of this local knowledge research is to empower local people with the
capacity to use video and still photography to enable them to take pictures of the things
they deem important to the research and to make short videos about their locale. After
completion of the research this local knowledge will be preserved not only in papers, but
also in photos and videos. The results of this research will be shared and used for advocacy
activities in promoting sustainable water management and food security in the Mekong
Delta by WARECOD and Vietnam Rivers Network (VRN).
3
Results of the Local Knowledge Research
1. The establishment and natural – economic and social conditions of the two villages
Vam Nao village is located at the confluence of the Vam Nao and Hau Rivers; the village is a
center for commercial activities in the region. Vam Nao is famous for a delicious kind of fish:
catfish (or in Vietnamese: cá Bông lau). Currently, the village is home to 603 households,
mostly supported by agriculture and fishery.
Phu Tho A village is only 10 kilometers from Tram Chim National Park. Since the
village is far from the main river, the water is channeled to the households and fields
through many channels. 615 households live in this village.
4
In terms of the economy, agriculture and fishery are the two main sectors for both
areas. Phu Tho A village still has an economy based on cultivatating rice; the village has even
built dykes to enable the cultivation of more rice fields. Local people in Vam Nao village,
however, have turned to the cultivation of other kinds of plants whose economic values are
higher, plants such as corn, taro, chili pepper and watermelon. Some handicrafts have
persisted until today, such as making matches, bricks and incense. Services such as tailoring,
internet centres, ecotourism and agricultural services such as pumping and pesticide
spraying have emerged.
Developing in the Mekong delta, Vam Nao and Phu Tho A villages share some
characteristics in culture, architecture and charitable activities. For instance, villagers use
local herbs to improve their health and to cure some diseases. Houses in both villages are
built high enough to deal with rising water in flood season, and the area below the houses is
used to store things in the dry season.
5
2. Current situations of ecosystems
Vam Nao village is part of a riverine ecosystem. The whole village can be divided into
five sub-ecosystems:
Field. Before 1970 the villagers for the most part grew rice. Beginning in 1975 they
began to grow sticky rice and make use of the former rice fields to grow watermelon, green
beans, soybeans and tobacco. Currently all the field area is used to grow taro, chili pepper,
corn and other kinds of vegetables since these crops have a higher economic value than rice.
Islet. Thanks to the annual sediment depositing process, the islet gradually became
larger. However, this process ceased after the dyke was built; new soil is no longer being
deposited. The existing rich soil is an outstanding characteristic of the islet. Consequently,
the islet is not only quite varied in flora but also in fauna, especially different kinds of fish.
Wetland. In the past, the wetland was inundated all year round and few villagers
cultivated in the dry season. At present, more people cultivate in this area with different
kinds of vegetables. The cultivation area, as a result, is expanded. Some people started to
raise fish in the wetland.
6
River. The river is about 12-25 meters in depth and 700-750 meters in width. The
water runs swiftly, especially in the flooding season. The water in the main river brings many
sediments, turning the color of the river water to red. Large fish normally gather in the main
river and are caught by the local people during the year. For the famous catfish of Vam Nao
village (cá bông lau), the fishing season is from November to March of the Lunar Calendar.
Pond and Channel.
Phu Tho A village is located far from the river. The village is near Tram Chim National
Park, a biodiversity spot of the region. Local researchers have classified the village as
belonging to two different sub-ecosystems:
Wetland. The wetland in Phu Tho village has not been completely changed into an
agricultural area. However almost all traits of the natural ecosystem have disappeared.
Channel.
7
3. Natural exploitation process
In Vam Nao village.
In the past, villagers grew floating rice, mostly for self-consumption. Rice and other
plants such as watermelon, corn, and taro were planted by the bank of the main river. Since
then, many changes have appeared gradually in terms of the kinds of plants grown, the
production methods, and the use of fertilizer and pesticides. As the rice yield increased
people started to sell rice to other provinces and to other countries. However, starting at
the end of 2012 villagers ceased growing rice and turned to other higher-value crops, mainly
taro, watermelon, chili peppers and corn. Agricultural practices have long received support
from the government., Villagers are able to borrow money from the government; training in
farming and the use of pesticides and fertilizers was organized in order to build agricultural
capability for villagers.
The abundant amount of fish in the river has provided many households with
livelihoods. Approximately 30% of the households once made their living by fishery and
around 90% of households caught fish in the flood season. Before 1990, a village fisherman
could catch 50-100 kilos of fish in one night. A fisherman might catch 10-20 kilos with one
throw of a net. However, the amount of aquatic resources has now been drastically
reduced, lowering the yield for one throw of a net down to 1-2 kilos. Some destructive
fishing gear is now being used, and as a result the amount of aquatic resources has gone
down dramatically. Villagers acknowledge that for some species the catch has been reduced
by 95%.
This change has made some aquatic resources, such as shrimp, become quite scarce,
although in the past they were very common. A resulting change in livelihoods is that,
because natural aquatic resources have become much less available, villagers have turned to
growing fish in man-made ponds.
8
In Phu Tho village.
In the 1960s the main livelihoods of the 200 households were cultivation and fishing
under self-production and self-consumption practices. With traditional, simple production
methods, there were insignificant impacts to the ecosystem from humans in the village. In
the early 1970s the increase in population (to 300 households) exploited the natural
resources more extensively. In agriculture, machines and fertilizer began to be used. In
fishery, the number of tools and the scope increased. Some kinds of aquatic products were
sold to other locals and not simply consumed in the households collecting them. However,
there were not yet signs of reduction in the aquatic resources at this period. But since 1975
major changes have occurred in the village, from the increase in the number of households
to the production-exploitation methods of villagers in their livelihoods. People have built
dykes to enable them to grow two crops of rice per year. More fertilizer and pesticides have
been used. By 2012, the whole village had been surrounded with dykes and villagers grew 3
crops per year.
9
4. Influential factors on the ecosystems and the lives of the community
10
Natural factors. Local researchers recognize that the uncertainties of weather and
climate have become more pronounced in the last 30 years. In the past, local people could
tell the level, the speed and timing of water rising and declining, but now this has become
much more unpredictable.
Human factors. Population increase, resulting in an increase in demand for food and
services, is one of the reasons for the current production and exploitation methods of this
area. Local people look for immediate benefits from natural resources rather than seeking to
exploit them in a sustainable way. A second reason for the use of exploitive methods is the
lack of knowledge and skills. In some locales there has been some training on improving
livelihoods, but the issue of conservation was not emphasized in that training and did not
make a strong impression with local people. Consequently, earning a livelihood is still at the
top of people’s priorities, and conservation communication has been ineffective. Some
current activities are not sustainable, such as continuous farming which leads to
degradation of the soil, and the overuse of pesticides and fertilizer.
Challenge from upstream. Although there is not yet adequate information to prove
that the impacts of development activities upstream have been harmful to downstream
areas, the local researchers mention that these activities might well be a reason that the
amount of aquatic resources has been drastically reduced. The mainstream dams on the
Mekong River have also raised the concern of local people downstream about a future
decline in the amount of valuable sediments and aquatic resources, although they have little
information on the issue.
5. Recommendations
At the community level. It is recommended that conservation activities should be
stressed in both villages. Vam Nao village has begun a Fish Release festival, a good example
for conservation activities. Ecotourism in Vam Nao might also be a new and promising
business for villagers, enabling them to both earn a living and raise awareness of the need to
protect natural resources in their locale.
At the level of higher authorities. Because the usage of destructive fishing tools still
persists, authorities at all levels should collaborate with households to create new
livelihoods or turn them to more sustainable livelihoods. Also, it is necessary to
communicate more effectively to local people on conservation issues.