Assessing the impacts of extreme floods on agriculture in Vietnam : Quang Nam case study : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Management at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
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Date
2014
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Massey University
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Abstract
Vietnam is situated within the tropical monsoon and typhoon zone of South-East
Asia and is susceptible to extreme flood events. Since the most productive
agricultural land is concentrated along the low-lying river systems, losses to
agriculture resulting from extreme flooding can be significant. More than 70% of
the country's population live in rural areas, many in flood prone zones, and
depend upon subsistence agriculture. However, to date, there have only been a
limited number of studies addressing the impact of extreme flood events on
agriculture in Vietnam.
Using the Quang Nam province of central Vietnam as a case study, geographic
information systems and digital elevation modeling are used to create geospatial
inundation maps of flooded agricultural land. The mapped areas are
populated with agricultural land use data and the direct costs of agricultural
flood damage are calculated. Additionally, the institutional and legislative
framework of Vietnam is assessed to determine whether there may be ways of
streamlining systems and institutions to improve responses to extreme flooding
events.
This study shows that 1:10, 1:20 and 1:100-year flood events result in
inundation levels of 27%, 31% and 33% of arable land respectively. The direct
crop damage incurred in the inundated regions, expressed as a percentage of
total value, are 12%, 56% and 62% respectively. The study also offers
recommendations to improve flood management strategies.
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Keywords
Floods, Flood damage prevention, Agriculture, Quảng Nam (Province), Vietnam, Research Subject Categories::INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREAS