Vulnerability and adaptive capacity of smallholders in Ho Ho subwatershed, North-Central Viet Nam

Climate change and variability create large uncertainties for agricultural production and smallholders’ livelihoods. Understanding smallholders’ vulnerability and their adaptive capacity to these factors is the key to appropriate interventions to mitigate the impact of climate-related shocks and hazards. In Ho Ho sub-watershed, north-central Viet Nam, smallholders reported a high degree of exposure and sensitivity to climate change and variability owing to the frequency of weather-related extreme events, such as flooding and drought, during the last decade (2005–2014), with a concomitant impact on households and agriculture. When comparing up- and downstream communes, biophysical factors such as topography, land-use patterns and the presence of a hydropower plant in the downstream commune played important roles in creating differences in exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity between the two communes. The results showed that while the upstream commune was not more vulnerable to weather-related extreme events compared to the downstream, its adaptive capacity was much lower, making the upstream generally more vulnerable than the downstream commune. We concluded that serious effects of climate change and variability during the last decade were experienced by smallholders in Ho Ho sub-watershed. We recommend that while enhancing the adaptive capacity of smallholders can include improvement both on- and off-farm, growing trees is a solution for improving both the landscapes and smallholders’ resilience.

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