Taking a climate chance: a procedural critique of Vietnam's climate change strategy

This article asks through what processes and for which interests the emerging Vietnamese climate change strategy is being designed, and if, ultimately, it is likely or not to be effective in the face of the looming threat. Through a review of an emerging body of literature and field observations, the paper finds the strategy partial and problematic in several ways. Its technocratic process prevents a pluralist representation of interests, obfuscating and perpetuating sectorial ones, at the expense of a more transparent and democratic resource allocation. The strategy therefore reflects and reinforces existing power relations in both politics and production. It feeds into a business-as-usual complacency, protecting national and international interests vested in unchallenged continuity, even when considering post-carbon technological fixes, which largely serve to expand capital accumulation opportunities. The article concludes that the national climate change strategy provides an illusion of intervention and security, but largely fails to identify and mitigate the underlying causes of climate change, or to lay the ground for a robust mid- and long-term adaptation strategy that can cope with yet unknown levels of climatic and other structural changes.     

Roasted pigs and bao dumplings: Festive food and imagined transnational identity in Chinese–Vietnamese festivals

Abstract: This article explores the ways by which special dishes prepared for the Chinese community festivals in the Vietnamese town of Hoi An negotiate and expand the notions of ethnic identity and place of origin of migrant groups. Although the festivals stress specific regional identities in (Imperial) China, the food consumed in the communal feasts defines much wider scopes of ethnicity and territory. By discussing these alternative scopes and comparing the feasts in two festivals, the article suggests that a new transnational ‘greater‐Chinese’ identity is celebrated in contemporary Chinese‐Vietnamese community festivals. The scope and importance of this new identity is analysed in relation to an imagined ‘greater‐China’ as a dominant player in the forthcoming ‘Pacific Century’. The position of the culinary sphere as a privileged arena for sociocultural negotiation, especially in post‐socialist authoritarian regimes, is also discussed.     

Integrated freshwater aquaculture,crop and livestock production in the Mekong delta,Vietnam: Determinants and the role of the pond

Promotion of integrated aquaculture with agriculture, including crops and livestock (IAA-farming), requires consideration of both bio-physical and socio-economic contexts. The major factors influencing the adoption of IAA-farming by households at three sites in the Mekong delta were identified. Special attention was given to the multiple roles ponds play in IAA-farming systems. Information was collected through semi-structured interviews and discussions with focus groups and key individuals. Data were analyzed using multivariate factor analysis, analysis of variance or participatory ranking methods. Three major IAA-systems were identified: (1) low-input fish farming integrated with intensive fruit production (system 1), (2) medium-input fish farming integrated with less intensive fruit production (system 2), and (3) high-input fish farming integrated with less intensive fruit production (system 3). System 1 was commonly practised in a rural fruit-dominated area with fertile soils, while systems 2 and 3 were more evident in peri-urban rice-dominated areas with less fertile soils. In the study area, only 6% of poor farmers adopted IAA-farming, while this was 42% for intermediate and 60% for rich households. Richer farmers tended to intensify fish farming and seek a more commercial orientation. The major factors why farmers did not start aquaculture were the inappropriateness of technology, insufficient land holding or poor access to extension services, limited farm management, and through a fear of conflicts associated with pesticide use on crops. The main motivations for practising IAA-farming included increased income and food for home consumption from the available farm resources while reducing environmental impacts. Further improvements to IAA-systems can be realized by strengthening nutrient recycling between different IAA-system components while enhancing farming output and safeguarding the environment.     

越南农食产品技术贸易措施体系研究

在倡导"一带一路"的大背景下,越南与中国贸易关系日益发展,2017年中国已成为越南第一大贸易伙伴,同时越南也成为中国在东盟的最大贸易伙伴,是中国在全球的第八大贸易伙伴。为进一步促进中越农食产品贸易健康持续发展,本文综述了越南农食产品技术性贸易措施体系,主要包括监管机构、法律法规、技术法规、合格评定及监管特点等内容,供中国出口农食产品至越南时参考。     

Aquaculture and poverty alleviation in Ben Tre Province,Vietnam

Research results on the effects of aquaculture on poverty alleviation have been mixed. We use Tobit, simulation models and cross sectional survey data of 285 households, in Ben Tre Province, Vietnam, to evaluate the effects of aquaculture involvement on poverty, measured using per capita consumption of less than $1.25 USD, $1.50, and $2.00 per day. The results show for per capita consumption of less than $1.25 per day that households’ aquaculture participation or productivity had no or little effect on the living standard. For income levels above $1.25 per capita per day aquaculture participation or productivity influenced the standard of living.     

Effects of modified pond management on limnological parameters in small‐scale aquaculture ponds in mountainous Northern Vietnam

In mountainous Northern Vietnam, traditional pond aquaculture is part of the integrated farming activity contributing to food safety and to income generation for small‐scale farmers of ethnic minorities. Traditional pond management consists of a polyculture of macro‐herbivorous grass carp with 3–5 other fish species that are cultured in small ponds with constant water flow through. The main limitations to production are species‐specific mass mortalities of grass carp, a poor feed base especially for all species but grass carp, and poor water quality. In this study, we compared the traditional pond management to a semi‐intensive pond management that was based on the traditional management system but included changes designed by researchers to increase fish production. The modifications consisted of water inflow control, supplemental fertilization and feeding, and a polyculture dominated by common carp. The changes in management significantly reduced the turbidity and increased oxygen supply, as well as the natural food base within the pond. These changes in pond management provide farmers with the possibility to improve their pond aquaculture scheme and overcome previous limitations.     

Impact of Climate Change on Rice Water Demand and Food Security： Case of Thailand and Vietnam

Water plays an important role in food production especially rice. Rice productivity depends greatly on sufficient water to meet evaporative demand and soil moisture. It is certain thalL rice, the most important crop of Thailand and Vietnam, is vulnerable to climate change. This paper proposes an analysis on the impact of climate on rice water requirement and food security in Thailand and Vietnam. Water demand, yield and production of rice were computed under the changed surface air temperature for three time slices, namely 2020s, 2050s and 2080s. Food security was analyzed from rice supply （calculated milled-rice product, rice stock, and imports） and demand （domestic uses from population growth, exports to world market, domestic seed and other uses）. The result showed that, under the higher surface air temperature scenario, water requirement office in Thailand and Vietnam could increase by 1.8 times in the end of the 21 st century. Production of rice dropped by declined yield. Thailand and Vietnam which is the world largest rice exporter in last decades will face the rice shortage in 2080s and 2030s respectively.     

Interrogating the production of urban space in China and Vietnam under market socialism

This paper explores two issues. First, it focuses on the question of what is the most appropriate theoretical framework for the study of the urbanisation process in China and Vietnam over the last 30 years? It is argued that Le Fefebvre's theory of the ‘production of urban space’ offers the most useful approach because the political economy it adopts helps identify the major driving forces in the urbanisation process in these formerly socialist societies. The second issue involves the investigation of the differences and similarities in the urbanisation process in the two countries that are engaged in similar processes of structural economic transformation. The conclusion suggests that despite historical and cultural differences between Vietnam and China, the urbanisation process in both countries is exhibiting converging features as both countries are adopting a form of ‘hybrid urbanisation’ that involves a combination of socialist and market economies that does not involve an inevitable move to ‘capitalism’.     

越南食品冷藏链现状

对越南易腐农产品现状和食品冷藏链现状进行了深入分析,并对越南与发达国家冷藏链发展状况进行比较分析,以探寻越南食品冷藏链的发展方向。     

Turf wars: The livelihood and mobility frictions of motorbike taxi drivers on Hanoi's streets

In Vietnam's capital city Hanoi, the growing popularity of application based (app-based) motorbike taxis has offered many inhabitants new opportunities to pursue a mobile livelihood with ride-hailing platforms. Nonetheless, as this influx of app-based drivers has hit the city's streets, specific livelihood and mobility frictions have emerged, notably with informal, ‘traditional’ motorbike taxi drivers, or xe ôm. In this paper we analyse these evolving sites and moments of friction and their impacts on driver livelihoods and mobilities for both driver groups. We draw conceptually on debates regarding mobility, platform economies, and urban livelihoods, while specifically interrogating the concept of friction to highlight three possible analytical applications. Methodologically, we interpret static and ride-along interviews completed with over 130 drivers. We highlight a range of tactics ‘traditional’ and app-based motorbike taxi drivers have employed to respond to rising frictions, defend their ‘turf’, and maintain their street-based livelihoods. Driver responses reveal differing access to distinctive forms of social capital and social networks, and contrasting levels of agency regarding their mobilities. By conceptually teasing apart the notion of friction, we wish to expand and deepen understandings of the experiences of vulnerability, precarity, and other impacts of platformisation for different motorbike taxi driver cohorts.