TY - JOUR
T1 - Bringing social and cultural considerations into environmental management for vulnerable coastal communities
T2 - Responses to environmental change in Xuan Thuy National Park, Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam
AU - Mabon, Leslie
AU - Nguyen, Song Tung
AU - Nguyen, Thi Kim Dung
AU - Pham, Thi Tram
AU - Cao, Thi Thanh Nga
AU - Le, Thu Quynh
AU - Dang, Thanh Trung
AU - Nguyen, Thi Huyen Thu
AU - Nguyen, Thi Bich Nguyet
AU - Le, Hong Ngoc
AU - Bui, Thi Cam Tu
AU - Tran, Ngoc Anh
AU - Natascha, Mueller Hirth
AU - Chris, Yuill
N1 - © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/5/15
Y1 - 2018/5/15
N2 - This paper elaborates the importance of considering social and cultural factors within management responses to environmental change in coastal areas. The case study taken is Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. This is a marginalised coastal area where rising sea levels, increasing storm surges and saltwater intrusion place pressure on coastal ecosystems, yet where communities continue to rely on these same ecosystems for agriculture- and aquaculture-related livelihoods. We interview stakeholders in Xuan Thuy National Park, connecting these with a narrative review of existing research into social and environmental change in the park to understand research gaps and challenges for vulnerable coastal areas like the Nam Dinh coast. Based on our findings, we suggest that whilst the effects of a changing environment on physical health and economic activity are increasingly well understood, effects on wellbeing and social relations can be even more immediate and profound in daily living. In turn, we argue environmental management has a crucial role to play not only for ecosystem-based adaptation, but also in sustaining wellbeing and allowing culturally meaningful practices to continue – especially in coastal regions where changes can be even more intense and immediate. However, we caution that whilst techno-scientific solutions grounded in environmental management do have significant potential in reducing impacts of extreme events and slower-onset environmental changes, they must not divert attention away from structural issues that can make some people or areas more vulnerable in the first instance.
AB - This paper elaborates the importance of considering social and cultural factors within management responses to environmental change in coastal areas. The case study taken is Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. This is a marginalised coastal area where rising sea levels, increasing storm surges and saltwater intrusion place pressure on coastal ecosystems, yet where communities continue to rely on these same ecosystems for agriculture- and aquaculture-related livelihoods. We interview stakeholders in Xuan Thuy National Park, connecting these with a narrative review of existing research into social and environmental change in the park to understand research gaps and challenges for vulnerable coastal areas like the Nam Dinh coast. Based on our findings, we suggest that whilst the effects of a changing environment on physical health and economic activity are increasingly well understood, effects on wellbeing and social relations can be even more immediate and profound in daily living. In turn, we argue environmental management has a crucial role to play not only for ecosystem-based adaptation, but also in sustaining wellbeing and allowing culturally meaningful practices to continue – especially in coastal regions where changes can be even more intense and immediate. However, we caution that whilst techno-scientific solutions grounded in environmental management do have significant potential in reducing impacts of extreme events and slower-onset environmental changes, they must not divert attention away from structural issues that can make some people or areas more vulnerable in the first instance.
KW - Climate change adaptation
KW - Ecosystem-based adaptation
KW - Vulnerability assessment
KW - Wellbeing
KW - Xuan Thuy National Park
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044057897&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85044057897&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.03.022
DO - 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.03.022
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044057897
SN - 0964-5691
VL - 158
SP - 32
EP - 44
JO - Ocean and Coastal Management
JF - Ocean and Coastal Management
ER -