Nhuong Tran presents 'Resilience, adaptability and transformability of coastal aquaculture systems to climate change: the Mekong Delta's case' at the Climate-Smart Agriculture, Global Science Conference, held at the University of California, Davis, from the 20th - 22nd March, 2013.

1. Resilience, adaptability and transformability of
coastal aquaculture systems to climate change:
the Mekong Delta’s case
Nhuong Tran, Conner Bailey, Neil Andrew, Suan Pheng
Kam, Quyen Le Cao, Giang Hoai Tran, Chau Van Lam
20 March 2013, UC Davis, California, USA

2. OVERVIEW
• Changing climate in the MD
• Aquaculture in the MD
• Study background & approaches
• Resilience to climate change
• Adaption to climate change
• Transformation under climate change
• Policy implications

3. Changing climate in the MD
• MD: one of global hotspots
for climate change
• Sea level rise: 30cm by 2050;
up to 1m by 2100
• Consistent assessment
revealed by science based
scenarios and community
consultation (sea level rise,
erratic change in rainfall and
temperature, increasing
storms and wind threats, etc).

4. Aquaculture systems in the MD
(Farmed species is not completed!)
Type/species Culture system Monoculture, polyculture
Freshwater
Stripped catfish (Pangasius) Pond, cage, pen Monoculture
Giant prawn Pond, fence, rice fields Monoculture or Rice-prawn
Chinese carps Pond Polyculture
Indian carps Pond Polyculture
Climbing perch Pond Monoculture
Snakehead Pond Monoculture
Tilapia Pond Monoculture
Brackish and marine water
Tiger shrimp Pond Monoculture/integrated, alternate
White leg shrimp Pond Monoculture
Mud crab Pond Polyculture
Cobia Cage, pond Monoculture
Barramundi (sea bass) Monoculture
Bivalves Open waters Ranching with stock enhancement

5. Diversity of species for marine, brackish-water and freshwater environments
Source: http://www.sialme.com/Site/Speaker-Presentations/Ministry-of-Environment-and

6. Spatial distribution of aquaculture in the MD
Legends:
Green =
extensive/improved
extensive shrimp
Yellow = rice- shrimp
Dark yellow= Semi-
intensive/intensive
shrimp
Circles= stripped
catfish/Pangasius

7. Study background and approaches
• CCAFS funded activity
“Integrating climate
change adaptation into
aquaculture development
planning in Vietnam”.
• Fieldwork conducted in 3
provinces: focus group
discussion at province,
district, & commune level.
• Previous studies funded by
World Bank (2010), Borlaug
LEAP grant.

8. Coastal Aquaculture Systems in the MD
• High functional diversity
• Low species diversity-
dominated by shrimp
• Spatial dimension-large
farmed area
concentrated in Ca Mau
peninsula (Ca Mau, Bac
Lieu provinces).
• Located near sensitive
coastal ecosystems (e.g.,
mangrove forests).

9. Delta-wide perspective on
coastal aquaculture resilience
• Resilience - Capacity of coastal aquaculture to operate, respond
and react to climate change disturbance to continue to deliver
benefits/value to involved stakeholders/local communities.
• No “one size fits all”: extensive to intensive system has pros and
cons.
• Small scale and low intensification systems are socially and
ecologically resilient. But resilient capacity is decreasing due to
increasing accumulative pollution, resource degradation caused
by increasing intensive production and other factors.
• Large scale (intensive) system may be able to protect themselves
from climate change impacts with infrastructure

10. Adaptation of aquaculture to climate change
• Autonomous adaptation: various actions are taken by
farmers: changing farm management practices, upgrading
pond dykes, adopting alternative species, improved strains,
etc
• Planned adaptation: improved broodstock, feeds (lower
food conversion ratio), production systems with more
efficient nutrient and energy flows; research and market
development for new species to diversify away from shrimp
and pangasius
• => Diversification is the key for enhancing resilience of the
aquaculture industry & making use of opportunities created
by sea level rise

11. Transforming under climate change
• Limited market for species other than shrimp and pangasius
• Potential markets for other species should be explored to
allow farming system transformation
• Transforming from shrimp monoculture to shrimp-rice
culture integration
• Aquaculture/coastal ecosystems will experience area
relocation, contraction and expansion; some new areas are
available for brackish water. This is a slow process but is
happening

12. Policy implications
• Smart strategy is to maintain farming system diversification
• Support small scale and low intensive systems to enhance
social-ecological resilience
• No-regret adaptation: protect and conserve sensitive coastal
ecosystems, provide incentives for farmers to restore
mangroves, adopt ecosystem based approaches to
aquaculture

13. LAND USE IN THE MD