Impact of Flood Risk on Agriculture in the North Central Coast of Vietnam
摘要
Flooding is one of the most threatening disasters in Vietnam, especially in the central part. Flood occurs every year and has been becoming more severe under climate change and more urbanization. In the North Central Coast of Vietnam, flooding causes by heavy rainfall in the two major river basins so-called Ma and Ca. Flooding risk in the two river basins threats on social-economical aspects, infrastructures and local livelihoods. The flood season in this region is from June to November which coincides with cropping and harvesting seasons. Therefore, assessing the possible impacts of flooding on agriculture, especially on farming is crucial. The study is conducted to propose an assessment of flooding risk on agriculture in North Central Vietnam during typical flood events in 2018 and 2019. The impact assessment not only considers exposure, i.e., area of crops, but also vulnerability to flooding. The proposed indicator set represents the sensitivity and adaptation capacity of the agricultural components in the study area. The indicators of vulnerability in agriculture to flooding are categorized in gender, living standard, economic structure and productivity. The results show that the hazardous area of agriculture is about 220 km2 in the Ma River basin and about 116 km2 in the Ca River basin accounting for 11.8% and 9.8% of the total agricultural area of the two river basins, respectively. The highest level of flooding hazard is estimated in Hung Nguyen district belongs to the Ca river basin and Vinh Loc district in the Ma river basin. Among districts in Ma and Ca River basin, agriculture in Ky Son district is the most vulnerable to flooding. After integrating with vulnerability, the flooding risk of agriculture components presents a moderate level in three districts where the value of flooding hazard is high and very high while the vulnerability is from very low to moderate. More specifically, the area with higher income and lower dependency on agriculture would be lower at risk than others. The finding shows the importance of social and economic conditions in reducing the impact of flooding on agriculture and supporting food and water security in North Central Vietnam.