268 water policies and the accompanying institutional arrangements have been influenced by the corresponding mind sets of society and governments of the times In this context, Vietnam has the longest[.]
268 water policies and the accompanying institutional arrangements have been influenced by the corresponding mind-sets of society and governments of the times In this context, Vietnam has the longest history of colonialism, dominated by the Chinese for nearly 1,000 years; the Vietnamese culture was thus affected by the Han culture However, when the country finally gained an independence from China (after more than 900 years), its citizens were unable to live in peace; a series of civil wars over energy (new fuel), water, and land resources to grow crops led to starvation Under the domination of the West (France and U.S.) during 1887-1975, the energy-foodwater linkages became more intense, in the backdrop of scarce resources to sub-serve colonial interests Vietnam was put in danger, faced severe famine in 1945 leading to the deaths of millions of its people For example, the French completely transformed the Vietnamese culture of wet rice farming by planting rubber, coffee, and exporting raw outputs to France; however, they did not establish any system to process agricultural products for consumption and adding economic value to the colony Further, the United States devastated farming and irrigation systems as well as exploited mineral resources as fuel for the U.S military and its people; whilst no policies were established to develop energy and water systems to serve agriculture needs and ensure food security for Vietnam The energy-food-water nexus, since the country’s independence and re-unification in 1975, have become even more complicated, as the socio-economic restoration of a natural-resource-centric economy after prolonged wars, face critical challenges at both strategic and operational levels In spite of the ongoing influence of the Han culture, the people and society of Vietnam were affected by the culture of the West The West’s militaristic approach and the passiveness and limited visibility of the Han culture led to a strange mix of cultures In particular, this cultural mix affected the development of Vietnam’s policies in the 1980s In fact, some policies that set far-reaching goals and timeframes were too narrow, leading to injustice in the country (the pre-Doi Moi with the central planned market during 1975-1985) During this time, the North concentrated to produce agriculture On one hand, the surplus of agricultural products in the South was not brought to the North, leading to famine for millions of people in this area On the other hand, the North did not provide the South access to its gas resources, resulting in the energy sector in this area remaining undeveloped