Paysage de l’eau et politiques de (ré)aménagement dans le delta du fleuve Rouge

Abstract

Located in the heart of the vast Red River Delta, the province of Hanoi in Vietnam is characterized by a strong presence of bodies of water in many forms such as rivers, backwaters, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, canals, and ditches. Undoubtedly water has always been an essential part of traditional landscapes and remains a fundamental challenge. In recent decades, the introduction of policies aimed at developing or modernising the urban and periurban areas of the capital has impacted these waterscapes, the forms of development that can be found there and the associated social practices. Very recently, a new type of waterscape has emerged which is referred to as Ao Môi Trường or “pond of the environment”. These ponds have been developed to improve the living environment of periurban villages and to combat flooding and fire hazards; and symbolic and emotional values are also attached to some of them. Their establishment followed the implementation at a local level from 2010 of a national policy referred to as Nông Thôn Mới (New Rurality) decided by the Vietnamese State authorities. The objective was to modernise old villages in rural areas. The development of these "ponds of the environment" can be considered as a paradox given the excessive urban development that has transformed or is in the process of transforming into building land many waterscapes in the capital’s region.

Keywords

• landscape
• planning policy
• surface water
• urbanisation
• periurban
• Hanoi