Abstract

  Hydropower development along the main stem of the Mekong River and its tributaries cause transboundary effects within the Mekong Basin Region, which comprises parts of six countries such as: Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam. However, the negative impact of dam construction, mainly altered water flow and aquatic natural resources has severe impacts on the environments and the livelihoods of the rural Mekong population.This research was carried out to assess the impact of dams on exploitation of natural resources on the livelihoods of people living downstream. Results of the research will provide scientific foundation for proposing solutions to conserve and enhance the effectiveness of valuable livelihood in reducing vulnerability of people living in flooded areas.The results showed that people who live along the river are dependent on natural resources. They are mainly the poor, low education, and landless. Their income resources are mainly based on exploitation of natural fisheries and hired work. Therefore, the reduction of fisheries resources affected their livelihoods specifically reducing employment opportunities and their income, making their life unstable. Although the aquatic resources impacted on their livelihoods, only 30, 35% interviewed households in Khanh An commune, and 20, 25% in Phu Loc wanted to change their job. 69, 65% of interviewed households in Khanh An and 79, 75% in Phu Loc commune would continue with their exploitation of natural fishes resources. They have no capital, land and other production facilities to change other jobs.

Keywords: Natural Aquatic Resources; Livelihood; Khanh An; Phu Loc; An Gianga

References

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Citation

Citation: Pham Xuan Phu and Ngo Thuy Bao Tran. “Study on the Impacts of Hydropower Dams on Aquatic Resources and Livelihood of the People in Mekong Delta, Vietnam". Acta Scientific Agriculture 4.4 (2020): 38-41.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Pham Xuan Phu and Ngo Thuy Bao Tran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.