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Crossing the river while feeling for stones : Challenges of river basin governance in Vietnam

Bäckman, Joel (2024) COSM40 20241
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
Water scarcity is increasing across different geographical regions of Vietnam. Central drivers of scarcity include population growth and climate change which increase demand and sectoral competition. The legal system is keeping pace to address this trend, but gaps remain in terms of implementation and enforcement. This purpose of this study was to improve the understanding of those gaps via polycentric governance analysis at river-basin level in Vietnam, using a theoretical framework designed for determining functionality of polycentric governance systems. The results, based on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, suggest that the water governance system in Vietnam is polycentric to a high degree, but with limited... (More)
Water scarcity is increasing across different geographical regions of Vietnam. Central drivers of scarcity include population growth and climate change which increase demand and sectoral competition. The legal system is keeping pace to address this trend, but gaps remain in terms of implementation and enforcement. This purpose of this study was to improve the understanding of those gaps via polycentric governance analysis at river-basin level in Vietnam, using a theoretical framework designed for determining functionality of polycentric governance systems. The results, based on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, suggest that the water governance system in Vietnam is polycentric to a high degree, but with limited functionality. They also imply that the benefits predicted by the polycentric governance model are based on assumptions that should be adjusted and evaluated against the context to which it is applied. The emphasis of relationships between decision-making centres in the polycentric system provides a new angle of insight to water tenure arrangements. The thesis argues that a deeper and more deliberate understanding of the nature of the governance system in Vietnam can improve capacities for institutional design choice according to different boundaries, priorities, and national characteristics. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Bäckman, Joel
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Vietnam, water governance, river basin organisations, adaptive governance, polycentric governance, bioregional governance, commons governance, water tenure
language
English
id
9167546
date added to LUP
2024-06-24 09:35:53
date last changed
2024-06-24 09:35:53
@misc{9167546,
  abstract     = {{Water scarcity is increasing across different geographical regions of Vietnam. Central drivers of scarcity include population growth and climate change which increase demand and sectoral competition. The legal system is keeping pace to address this trend, but gaps remain in terms of implementation and enforcement. This purpose of this study was to improve the understanding of those gaps via polycentric governance analysis at river-basin level in Vietnam, using a theoretical framework designed for determining functionality of polycentric governance systems. The results, based on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, suggest that the water governance system in Vietnam is polycentric to a high degree, but with limited functionality. They also imply that the benefits predicted by the polycentric governance model are based on assumptions that should be adjusted and evaluated against the context to which it is applied. The emphasis of relationships between decision-making centres in the polycentric system provides a new angle of insight to water tenure arrangements. The thesis argues that a deeper and more deliberate understanding of the nature of the governance system in Vietnam can improve capacities for institutional design choice according to different boundaries, priorities, and national characteristics.}},
  author       = {{Bäckman, Joel}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Crossing the river while feeling for stones : Challenges of river basin governance in Vietnam}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}