Impacts of urbanization and drought on rice surface change: case study Gianh River estuary, Vietnam

Abstract

Landscape changes, especially the rice landscape in a context of urban growth and drought, is a current issue in Vietnam, particularly in coastal areas at the origin of the water resource pressure. A human geography approach, combined with the study of physical geography, helps to understand the landscape construction at the fourteen communes in the mouth of the Gianh River (Quang Binh Province, Central Vietnam) and analyze the relationships between the changes of rice landscape and urbanization. It highlights the impacts of drought on agricultural activities, as well as helping to understand the effects of changing landscapes on water resources. In the study area, the inhabitants work mainly in agricultural activities that depend on the rice landscape and the water resource to feed their families and produce an income. However, since the Doi Moi policy in 1986, economic liberalization and the opening of Vietnam have led to a change in the soil's occupation, particularly within the agricultural zone. This change has led to difficulties within agricultural activity and has increased the impacts of the drought phenomenon, particularly in decreased precipitation and temperature increase. Such issues should guide the orientations of development policies along the river and in the mouth in particular. This is why, in this article, drought maps are produced to follow this problem and to help develop irrigation networks to ensure food security.

Keywords

• agricultural
• drought
• landscape
• urban
• gianh river
• vietnam