Drought and conflicts at the local level: Establishing a water sharing mechanism for the summer-autumn rice production in Central Vietnam

Abstract

In recent years, water for agricultural production gradually became a significant challenge in the context of climate change in Vietnam. Sustainable solutions are required, which consider the use of resources for both human needs and ecology, and that account for the equitable distribution and the livelihood of the farmers now and in the future. In particular, the farmers in the province of Quang Nam facing water shortage in the cultivation of paddy in the summer-autumn season. Conflicts arise regarding the sharing of the water between the farmers, the drinking water company and the hydropower company. In the context of climate change, the water shortage is expected to increase in the future. The article presents the results of participatory action research (PAR) approach to develop a local level mechanism for water sharing, in which stakeholders actively participated. Water sharing mechanism was developed, envisioning a sustainable solution for inclusive water sharing. The mechanism was successfully implemented in two cases, one at commune level (Tho stream) and one at the district level (Mo stream). The participatory approach proved to be successful in setting up a broadly acceptable mechanism that will need to be further incorporated in the institutional set-up. Keywords: Adaptation, Agriculture, Climate change, Governance, Rice production, Water sharing