‘The weather is like the game we play’: Coping and adaptation strategies for extreme weather events among ethnic minority groups in upland northern Vietnam

Abstract

The Vietnamese government, along with country‐based non‐government organisations, are well aware of the vulnerability of Vietnam's coastal and low‐lying areas to extreme weather events. Yet scant attention has been paid to extreme weather hazards affecting Vietnam's northern mountainous regions and the livelihoods of ethnic minority farmers residing there. Building on conceptual tools from vulnerability, food security and sustainable livelihoods literatures, we examine the impacts of extreme weather, namely drought and severe cold spells, in Vietnam's northern uplands. We explore the degree to which these events impact the livelihood portfolios and food security of ethnic minority farmers, and examine the coping strategies households initiate, based on their ecological knowledge as well as recent market integration initiatives. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with ethnic minority Hmong and Yao semi‐subsistence households undertaken yearly from 2012 to 2014, we demonstrate that financial capital – now more central to households' livelihoods than ever before due to state‐sponsored agricultural intensification – is an important means for farmers to cope with extreme weather events. Yet concurrently, longstanding culturally rooted social capital, networks and ties remain critical. Nonetheless, short‐ and long‐term adaptation is not widespread, leading us to investigate possible explanations.

Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature

“…The majority of primary research was conducted in Canada (n=19/48 articles; 39.6%), Australia (n=12/48 articles; 25%), or the United States of America (n=5/48 articles; 10.4%; figure 3), and occurred at a local/community level (n=25/48 articles; 52.1%; figure 4) that were predominantly set in remote or rural contexts [e.g. [40][41][42]. The number of articles discussing Indigenous mental health in relation to weather and climate generally increased over time (figure 5).…”

“…45, 54, 74], but mental health was also framed as a risk factor for food insecurity [e.g. 42,60,70]. For instance, those struggling with substance abuse may have less disposable income to prevent food shortages following a poor harvest [60] and/or may be excluded from social safety nets of food sharing networks [42].…”

“…42,60,70]. For instance, those struggling with substance abuse may have less disposable income to prevent food shortages following a poor harvest [60] and/or may be excluded from social safety nets of food sharing networks [42]. Several papers reported how the practice of harvesting and sharing traditional food was tied with fulfilling psychological needs at both individual and community levels.…”

“…43,69,75]. Grief and mourning for climate-related loss of livestock and wildlife was also documented: Sami reindeer herders in Sweden reported loss of animals due to increased climate-driven predation [76,77]; Indigenous Peoples in northern Vietnam experienced the loss of water-buffalo due to changing temperatures [42]; and Inupiat in Alaska experienced an insufficient whale harvest as 'a starvation at emotional and spiritual levels' [69, p 296].…”

Using REDD+ Policy to Facilitate Climate Adaptation at the Local Level: Synergies and Challenges in Vietnam

“…Many of these actions have been combined with disaster-risk reduction strategies and aimed at increasing resilience of households to a multitude of climate related effects [61][62][63][64]. However, there have been relatively fewer adaptation actions directed at forest-dwelling and using communities, which tend to be located in mountainous areas of the country, while more adaptation attention and financing focuses on coastal and delta areas [57,65].…”