1. Transboundary Water Conflicts

A case study: Yali Hydropower Dam Construction in Vietnam

Abstract

The Yali Hydropower Dam illustrates the challenges encountered in the assessment of environmental impacts of large dams along the international rivers. The construction of the dam showed a failure to conduct transboundary EIA compliant with international standards because of lack of technical and political will from dam developers, as well as a weakness of the basin coordination unit. The severe negative consequences of this Yali Dam on people downstream in Cambodia attracted the attention of the dam developers to re-conduct an EIA even if the construction was already operation. The results of the EIA prove that the dam heavily impacts communities in Cambodia; however, the compensation and solutions offered by the dam developers in Vietnam, are limited. Download full Paper

2. LEARNING PORTFOLIO

Week 4: Preparation for Tutorial “Public Participation in Environmental Policy and Planning”

1. Case study

Lask, T & Herold S 2004, “An Observation Station 1 for Culture and Tourism in Vietnam: A Forum for World Heritage and Public Participation”, vol. 7, no. 4 & 5, pp. 399-413.

Lask and Herold (2004) used the world heritage nomination in Vietnam as an example of benefit flows to the national and local communities. The Vietnamese government believes that the approach will provide economic benefits for the country and also conserve cultural values of the nominated areas. On the economic side, tourism will play a role in generating a large amount of money for country. Then, to achieve the goals of cultural value, local people are considered the primary actors, who can make a tremendous contribution. They have historic knowledge of the landscape, artifacts, and cultural practices in the area. Local people are very important, yet their participation is relatively limited, which ranges from the “informing” and “consultation” stages of Arnstein’s ladder of participation. Download Full Paper

3.Case Workshop: Vietnam Vision 2020

Introduction

Vietnam is one of the developing countries that has maintained constant growth in the last decade. This Southeast Asian state has achieved an average 7.3 percent growth rate during 1995-2005 (World Bank, 2010), followed by more than 8 percent from 2005-2007 and it is expected to increase by 6.5 percent in 2010 (ADB, 2010). This significant achievement of growth derives from the implementation of the 1991-2000 Strategy for Socio-Economic Stabilisation and Development, followed by 2001-2010 Socio-Economic Development Strategy, which envisions Vietnam as a modernised, industrial, middle-income country by 2020 (Nguyen, 2009). Download Full Paper

4. Is social capital offering something new in Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) policy area or is it just a repacking of old ideas?

Introduction

The failure of the state in the management of natural resources has brought about the emergence of the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) approach, which has become well known and presented as an effective way for managing common pool resources around the world. This approach spread rapidly throughout the globe and reached Cambodia in the 1990s. When the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) sought for assistance in managing of the deteriorating natural resources, various international donors and non-government organizations (NGOs) responded with this new initiative, CBNRM. Having accepted the above program as a policy option, the RGC has invested significant efforts and passed amendments, which included decentralization, fisheries and forestry reform, participatory protected areas, and participatory land use planning. All of the above was done to ensure that CBNRM is fully incorporated into the government operational systems (CBNRM LI 2005). However, the integration of the new approach to the established system of resource management was not without difficulties. In fact, the practitioners are facing significant challenges, which include such problems as adaptation of the new concept to local contexts, power relations, unequal benefit sharing, and lack of trust among the community as well as in the government. Download Full Paper

5. How do local communities adapt to climate change? A case study of Cambodian coastal communities

1. Introduction

Mitigation and adaptation are set out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol as necessary measures for dealing with the climate change issue. Mitigation is considered as a necessary measure for member countries to achieve the emission target, whereas adaptation is important for coping with adverse effects of climate change. Even though both documents clearly state the necessity of the two measures, the efforts put for adaptation initiative is relatively low compared to mitigation (Fussel & Klein 2006). For instance, the first discussion on adaptation dated back in Marrakech to 2001 in the Seventh Conference of the Parties (COP-7) followed by further negotiation in the Buenos Aires Programme of Work on Adaptation and Response Measures in 2004 at COP 10, and Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change (NWP) at COP-12 (UNFCCC 2010). These discussions have brought about a contemporary growing interest, nationally and internationally, in adaptation implementation including building sea wall, developing communication technology, and institutional capacity building, among others.Download Full Paper