Bernadette P. Resurrección, Ph.D

Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Asia Centre

Adapting to climate change in peri-urban Southeast Asia

A case study in Vietnam

Overview

Adaptability to water stresses

Peri-urban related water

stresses

Climate change effects

Socially-differentiated &

gendered vulnerabilities

Research Questions:

• What are the contingent biophysical, social, spatial, political, economic and gendered drivers of vulnerability of people in water-stressed situations in selected peri-urban areas in Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines?

• How do people adapt to climate-related water stress situations in selected peri-urban areas in Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines?

• What are the biophysical, social, gendered, economic and political factors that enable people in peri-urban areas to adapt to climate-related water stresses, and what are the barriers that weaken their capacities to reduce their vulnerabilities to these stresses?

• What are the promising pathways to inform and influence government adaptation planning that will lead to improved and equitable water management in peri-urban areas that aim to reduce these vulnerabilities for short and long-term resilience against water stresses?

Methods

Phase 1: scoping study on multiple drivers of

vulnerability, water stresses and impacts (Months 1-

11)

1. Scoping on history of water stresses,

interventions, hydrological and ecological

conditions, climate changes

2. Area mapping of peri-urban water stress study

sites

3. Socio-economic profiling of households in most

severely water-stressed sites through rapid

assessment

4. Survey on climate change perceptions

5. Infrastructure and programs in place related to

water stress

6. Preliminary gender analysis of livelihoods, water

use and management

Preliminary findings: a case study in Vietnam

The main entrance of Van Mon commune, Yen Phong district, Bac Ninh Province

Quan Do Village of Van Mon commune

Preliminary finding: a case study in Vietnam

Bio-physical characteristics:• By the river bank• Uncontrolled discharge of

wastewater • Underground waterPeri-urban characteristics:• Increased population• More houses and workshops• Less rice field and ponds• Bad water and sanitation systems• Untreated discharge of toxic

chemicalsManagement institutions:• No monitoring & management of

the wastewater • No collective action• Self-protection

Drivers of Vulnerabilities• Unusual & sudden

inundation • Unpredicted floods• Sudden & prolonged rains• Lower underground water

level

Climate factors:

Preliminary finding: a case study in Vietnam

Wastes discharged from aluminum melting furnaces

Water filtering system

• Water pollution• Bad sanitation• Water-born diseases• Loss crops and properties• Pest contamination

WORSENING

Preliminary finding: a case study in Vietnam

Drivers of vulnerabilit

y

Who are specifically worse off?

Women...• They take care of the sick• Seek outside support• Productive roles: excluded from

highly lucrative jobs • Many of them are child-bearing

(since family-size = wealth)

The senior and poorer groups (agriculture-based livelihoods)

Cinder panning by local women

Next step: phase 2

Investigating vulnerabilities and adaptation (Months 12-24)

6. Vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies

(i) Typologizing and investigating patterns of experienced impacts and

vulnerabilities to water stresses based on episode/s reconstruction

with gender analysis;

(ii) Typologizing and investigating patterns of actualized adaptation

strategies to water stresses and their enabling factors and barriers

based on episode/s reconstruction with gender analysis;

(iii) Household survey – to test pervasiveness of qualitative results on

vulnerability and adaptation with gender-disaggregated data collection

7. Assessing institutionally-organized and supported adaptation

programs and actions with gender analysis