Harmonizing the different interests of farmers in sharing water resources in the Lower Mekong Delta of Vietnam Case study in Tra Vinh province Phan Thi Xuan Tham MSc Thesis WM-WCM.16-04 Student number 47135 April 2016 Harmonizing the different interests of farmers in sharing water resources in the Lower Mekong Delta of Vietnam Master of Science Thesis By Phan Thi Xuan Tham Supervisors Professor Will Thissen Mentors Associate Professor Frank Jaspers Examination committee Professor Will Thissen Associate Professor Frank Jaspers Hans van der Kwast This research is done for the partial fulfilment of requirements for the Master of Science degree at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands Delft April 2016 Although the author and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education have made every effort to ensure that the information in this thesis was correct at press time, the author and UNESCOIHE not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause © Tham Phan 2016 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Abstract The Mekong Delta of Vietnam is not only home for more than 18 million Vietnamese people but also the "Rice bowl" of Vietnam as it supplies about 50% food production in Vietnam Despite playing such an important role, the Mekong Delta of Vietnam is facing several challenges in sustain its prosperity Firstly, the water demand in the future keeps increasing in the whole basin so that water scarcity may happen in the very downstream at the Delta of Mekong River Further, there are burgeoning developments of hydropower dams in the Mekong basin which would significantly influence on water regime at the downstream Moreover, the improper in planning has caused the constraint in sharing water resource among users in the Mekong Delta The top-down water governance and sectoral interest planning are claimed that are lack of stakeholder participation This leads to the poor coordination in operating and allocating resources which impacts on the contradicting interests of the users The hypothesis of this study is to examine the possibility of bring a platform where stakeholders are involved in the planning process so that the conflicts of interests among users can be mitigated The case study is chosen in the Tra Vinh Province It is covered by the two main tributaries of the Mekong River where it meets the sea The rice cultivation and aquaculture farming are practiced simultaneously At some convergence area of sweet and brackish water, other farmers are dynamically changing the crops that best fit their interests In that impact sphere, the irrigating operation does not meet all needs of users Interestingly, there are vivid contradicting interests, the farmers not percept as they are And they not seem to be interested in organizing themselves to influence the planning by the Government Tracing the causes which may cause the low level of farmers’ participation, the main reasons are originated form social historical and economic aspects Meanwhile, the institutional arrangement also plays the core characteristic which manipulates involve stakeholders Keywords: Mekong Delta Vietnam, conflict of interests, water planning and allocation, water governance i Acknowledgements Through six month of my thesis, I am deeply indebted to Professor Frank Jasper who restlessly fosters me with my studying He always kindly listens and gives advice to me as a respectful father Without his guidance and patience, I would not complete pursuing my dream to reach the end of the master program of water conflict management which is challenging to my academic background The door to the office of Hans van der Kwast was always open when I ran into a trouble with GIS And, thanks to the financial support for the field work which was provided by Niche Program via the coordination of Dr Wim Douven (project coordinator) and Mr Ho Long Phi (director of WACC) I haven’t meet him, but through email Dr Dang Kieu Nhan (Can Tho University) gave me valuable insights about the Mekong region which I am much appreciated I would like to express my gracefulness to Mr Pham Kim Long (Tra Vinh University) and his family, Mr Nguyen Van Ke, Mr Nguyen Van Dung the motorbike driver and my friend Tinh who helped me to conduct the field research in Tra Vinh province Without their support, I would not have the great experience Also, I would like to express my profound appreciation to Robbert Vis who patiently gave me comments and tirelessly encouraged me And thanks to my brother-in-law Phan Manh Hung (fellowship at the TUD) who supports me spiritually and studying reflections while I am a thousand miles away from home Finally, I am cherished to be brought to this life by my late parents I must voice gratitude to my sisters and family in Vietnam for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my studying in the Netherlands And my life in the Netherland would be meaningless if I not have amazing friends, staffs and colleagues in Unesco-IHE Thank you Tham Phan April 2016 iii Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.2 Problem statement 1.3 Science gap 1.4 Research objectives 1.5 Research questions LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Governance the common 2.2 Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) 10 2.3 Organizational Structure of Water Management in Vietnam 13 2.4 Harmonizing the competing interests 16 METHODOLOGY 19 3.1 Conceptual framework 19 3.2 Qualitative research and approach 21 3.3 Case study description and data collection 24 3.3.1 Natural conditions of the case study in Tra Vinh Province 24 3.3.2 Socio-economic conditions 25 3.3.3 Study conducting 25 RESULTS 27 4.1 Water management and planning from bottom-up views 27 4.2 The conflicts of interests among managerial agencies and users in water management 31 4.2.1 Managerial agencies 31 4.2.2 Different interests of users 31 4.3 The interest of public participation in water management of the farmers 40 4.3.1 The social facts on the groups of responders 41 4.3.2 Awareness of public participation of farmers 42 v 4.4 Conclusion of the field study 44 DISCUSSION 46 5.1 Refection on the constraints of poor coordination in the Lower Mekong Delta of Vietnam 46 5.1.1 Internal weaknesses 46 5.1.2 External challenges 49 5.2 Limitations 50 CONCLUSION AND RECOMEDATION 51 6.1 Conclusion 51 6.2 Recommendations 52 References 54 Appendices 61 Appendix A The map of sluice gates and dykes in Tra Vinh province 61 Appendix B The map of the interview locations 62 Appendix C The pyramid of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need 63 Appendix D The cultural dimension of Vietnam 63 Appendix E Photos are taken from the field 64 Appendix F State management on the Water Sector at national level 68 Appendix G State Management on the Water Sector at local level 69 Appendix H An overview of institutions evolve in Water Sector in Vietnam 70 Appendix I The questionnaire tables 71 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Compare export value and production of Rice and Aquaculture, 2012 Figure Responsibilities of authorities in Water Management of Vietnam in national level Figure 3: The three dimensions of Integrated Water Resources Management 11 Figure 4: Organisation of Vietnamese Political System (Source: Wailbel, 2010) 12 Figure 5: Organizational setup of irrigation management in Can Tho city Source Benedikter and Waibel (2012) 16 Figure 6: Process of stakeholder participation 20 Figure 7: Conceptual framework of the study 21 Figure 8: Research approach 23 Figure Hierarchy Administrative Organizational structure of the Government 30 Figure 10: Different elevation brings different interests to the rice farmers 32 Figure 11: The different interests caused by the inconsistent sowing schedule in adjacent communes which share the same irrigation scheme 33 Figure 12: Inconsistent planting of rice cultivation in the same tertiary canal 34 Figure 13: Land use changing in the unplanned region 36 Figure 14: Operating irrigation plan for shrimp and rice farmers in sphere of impact 37 Figure 15: Sharing canal in the intensive shrimp farming poses a high risk of virus and diseases between ponds 39 Figure 16: Land locked areas out of the canal system face difficulties with the livelihood 40 Figure 17: The distribution of responders in term of tribes and gender 41 Figure 18: The education ranking of the interviewees 42 Figure 19: Farmers’ perception about contrasting interests in sharing water resource 43 Figure 20: Farmers react water scarcity 43 Figure 21: Interests of farmers in setting up a platform for harmonizing water issues 44 vii List of Tables Table Characteristics to categorize the identification of goods Table 2: Methodology matrix 22 viii Abbreviations CPR DARRD DORNE FAO GDP ICOR IHIC IWRM MARD MORNE MRC PT- MoaRD SEA SIWRP SSC VFA VN-GSO Common Pool Resource Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Natural Resources and Envionment Food and Agriculture Organization Gross Domestic Product The Incremental Capital-Output Ratio Irrigation and Hydraulic Infrastructure Company Integrated Water Resources Management Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry of Natural Resources and Envionment Mekong River Commision Promote Trading of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Strategic Environmental Assessment Southern Institute of Water Resource Planning Southwest Steering Committee Vietnam Food Association Vietnam General Statistics Office ix Wescott, C G (2003) Hierarchies, networks and local government in Viet Nam International Public Management Review, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp 20-40 Yearly report of Tra Vinh Province Department of Planning and Investment (2010) Báo cáo tổng hợp Sở Quy hoạch đầu tư tỉnh Trà Vinh nam 2010 References 60 Appendices Appendix A The map of sluice gates and dykes in Tra Vinh province Appendices 61 Appendix B The map of the interview locations Appendices 62 Appendix C The pyramid of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need Source: Google image engine Appendix D The cultural dimension of Vietnam Source: from website http://geert-hofstede.com/vietnam.html Appendices 63 Appendix E Photos are taken from the field Water is pumped up to the rice field The valve used to intake water and to stop water when flooding Appendices 64 The tertiary canal which divide the rice Photo shows the inconsistent in the sowing planning in the area Appendices Farmer Ho Van Dinh is showing his rice paddy where is in the lower elevation 65 One of the flap gate in Tra Vinh province The bulletin board is used manually to watch for the salinity at the gates in order to take water when it is less than 2g/l in IHIC of Tra Vinh province Appendices 66 Mr Pham Van Rong ( on the right side of the photos) is measuring the salinity of the water outside the gates and he send reported message to IHIC Chau Thanh distrist office He has to measure twice a day the salinity and the water level inside and outside of the gate Appendices 67 Appendix F State management on the Water Sector at national level Appendices 68 Appendix G State Management on the Water Sector at local level Appendices 69 Appendix H An overview of institutions evolve in Water Sector in Vietnam Appendices 70 Appendix I The questionnaire tables The questionnaire with the farmers QUESTIONNAIRES WITH FARMERS ABOUT LIVELIHOOD AND PARTICIPATORY AWARENESS 7- District: 2- Commune: 3- Hamlet: 4- Race: Part A: SOCIO-ECONOMICS AND LIVELIHOOD CHARACTERISTICS of HOUSEHOLD Respondent: 6- Age: Gender: ① Male ① Female 8- Literacy: 9- Household size (people): STT: 5- 1- 11- Phone number: 10- Working member (people): 12- House type: ① Concrete ① Semi-concrete ① Cottage 13- Further indicators of wealth ① Motorbike ① Car ① Refrigerator ① TV ① Air conditioner ① Washing machine ① Electricity generator ① Computer ① Septic tank toilet 14- How long have you lived here? ① 10 years 15- Using land area: 1- Residential land: _m2 2- Arable land: hectare (ha), in details: Place Place Crops farming + aquaculture: Crops farming + aquaculture: _ _ Crops farming only Crops farming only : : _ Aquaculture only: Aquaculture only: _ _ Others: Others: _ha 16- Ownership of the land: 1- Household: % 2- Others: _% 17- Source of water: 1- Domestic: _ 2- Crops: _ 3- Aquaculture: _ ① River/Canal/Tertiary ① Ground water pumping ① Rain harvesting 18- Is there any secondary income? ①Crops ②Aquaculture ③Husbandry ⑥Trading ⑦Others (specify): _ ④Skilled worker ⑤Unskilled worker Part B: AWARENESS OF FARMING CONDITIONS Appendices 71 Which type of land zone is your land according to Government planning? ① Brackish/Fresh zone, when? _ ① Fresh zone, when? _ ① Seasonal fresh/brackish zone, when? _ 19- Condition of your water source: (multi-choices): ① Fresh ② Brackish 20- , _, ③ Seasonal Do you farm entire year? ① Yes, why? ② No, why not? _ 21- 22- In recently years, how are the factors changing? 1- Temperature…………………… Ground water scarcity…………… 2- Water scarcity (for farming) Water pollution……………… Sediment…………………… ………………… 3- Salinity …………………… 4- Period of Saline intrusion………………………… ① Slightly ② Significant Do you have any problems with water issues for farming? ① Scarcity fresh water ① Scarcity brackish water ① Others Part C: AWARENESS OF PROCEDURE OF WATER ALLOCATION 24- Who operates the sluice gates and does the maintenance of the canals from which you get water? ① Don’t know who ②An irrigation company (name:…………………………………………………………) ① Others: ……………………… 25- What you think about the operation and maintenance plan of the canal? ① Very reasonable ① Neutral ③ unreasonable, should consult farmers (explain:…………………………………………) 26- How you pay for the water consumption? Pay to: ① No fare for water ① The local authorities (yearly/ crops/ other: ……….) ① Others: ……………………… 23- Have you ever experienced water shortages? ① In the dry season ① In the wet-season 27- ① Others: ……………………… What have you reacted to your water shortage problems? ① Nothing ②Contact the local authorities ③ Consult farmers association (FA) ④ Pumping ground water ⑤ others: ………… 29- Have you ever experienced conflicts about the sharing of water resources? ① No ② The salinity of water ③ Fresh water quantity ④ Water quality ⑤ Others: ……………… 28- Appendices 72 How you want to participate in the operating plan of water allocation? ① No interest ② Be consulted by the authorities ③Be consulted by FA or any other groups ④ Play a role as a supervisor ⑤Others:…… 31- If there is the organization that protects your water right, would you join that organization? ① No interest/ The local authorities should this ① Yes, as a member ① Yes, want to be in the managing board Part D: THE INTEREST OF SETTING UP WATER USER GROUPS 32- What you think about a role of the WUAs? ① Represent farmers’ right in relation with local authorities ② Others: …………………………………………………………… 33- Who should be the members of the WUAs? ① Rice farmers ① Shrimp farmers ① Local representative ① Others: …………………………… 30- Who will represent you in the water user organization? ① By election ① Others: ………………………………………………… 34- What you think about the WUAs’ roles? ① Maintenance canals ① Operation of the water allocation ③ Planning process ④ Co-manage the irrigation services 36- If you join the WUAs, would you pay a fee to sustain the organization? ① No, why? …………………………………………………………… ① Yes, how much is reasonable? ……………………………………………… 37- If you have a problem with water, should the WUAs you join in solve the issues? ① No, why? ………………………………………………… ① Yes, how? 35- The questionnaire with the local agencies Agencies Office Questions DARD Planning department How the planting seasons are made? How to implement the schedule? How is the solution if there is a late or inconsistence in implement? How to allocate water to meet the demand of crops by operating the canal and gates system? What is the plan for coping with the drought in the next few years of El Nino phenomena? DONRE Water and Marine What extent of water resource is the mandates of Resources Office your office? Do water price? In details? Appendices 73 What is the procedure of making the plan for water management from DONRE perspectives? IHIC at Irrigation Office district level How is the implementation of hydraulic infrastructure done? How to regulate the salty level inside the dikes? Is there any challenges in operating the system that meet the demand of farmers (rice, shrimp, coconuts, sugar cane, orchid,…) in different districts? From whom your office receive the instruction? And to whom your office give the instruction? People Agriculture office committee at the district level and commune level Academia Appendices How you implement the given planting schedule? What challenges you get from the farmers’ feedback? Do you have any difficulties in implementing the agriculture plan? Do you consult in planning and operating of the gates system to distribute water? University of Tra Vinh How you think about tendency of aquaculture Province – The faculty of situation in Tra Vinh province? Agriculture and Fisheries Do the farmers have difficulties with their livelihood regard to water, access to loan, out-put of products? 74 .. .Harmonizing the different interests of farmers in sharing water resources in the Lower Mekong Delta of Vietnam Master of Science Thesis By Phan Thi Xuan Tham Supervisors Professor Will... the local farmers The survey will be taken along the salinity map of surface water in Tra Vinh province The aim of the field research is to examine the different interests of the farmers in sharing. .. participation of the farmers in allocating, maintaining and operating the sharing of water resources among themselves? 1.4 Research objectives The focal point of this study is to examine the how water