Summary

27

high school, and commune market. The nearer the distance, the more convenient and accessible to the household.

Table 2.20: Infrastructure in the study regions.

Distance from house to the nearest (kilometer) Standard deviation

a. All-weather road 1,25 1,41

b. People´s Committee 2,70 1,77

c. Commune health care station 2,75 1,83

d. Hospital 8,88 5,64

e. Primary school 2,36 1,49

f. Junior high school 3,21 1,92

g. High school 4,93 3,39

h. Commune market 3,74 2,68

Source: Field survey, 2016

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with extension officials. Approximately 81% of households interviewed are willing to help others, while only 67% of respondents get aids during difficult times.

Rice, maize, and cassava are the principal crops in the research areas. The interviewees are smallholder farmers with 62,5 Sao per household on average. Two common types of land are agricultural land and hilly land. It is indicated that the distance from the house to agricultural land (1,22km) is closer than to hilly land (2,01km). 36,8% of agricultural land was found to have problems in accessing to irrigation water. Most of the lands are acquired through heritage from parents or are given by State. About 27,5% of respondents did not have a land certificate.

About 36% of the respondents stated that they are facing difficulties in accessing credit, while only 7% of total interviewees have savings. Livestock such as pig, chicken, cow, and sheep are raised with small-scale, mainly serve for family demand. Most households have access to electricity (99%), but most of them still consume firewood as a leading source of cooking and even heating in the winter. In addition, only about 3% of respondents have the internet at home. Noticeably, about 69% of interviewees are using water from creeks without any treatment process, and 62%

of them are living in precarious houses with the average housing area is 74,92 m2. The survey also revealed that people´s access to the hospital is limited because of the long distance.

29 References

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3. Vulnerability Assessment of Households to Flash Floods and Landslides in the Poor Upland Regions of Vietnam

Originally published as: NTT Pham, D Nong, AR Sathyan, M Garschagen, 2020. Vulnerability assessment of households to flash floods and landslides in the poor upland regions of Vietnam.

Climate. Risk. Manag. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2020.100215.

Abstract

Increased frequency and intensity of flash floods and landslides in the Northern Mountainous Regions of Vietnam represent the most damaging hazards to the production activities and livelihoods of rural households, which are heavily reliant on agriculture. Assessing households’

vulnerability therefore becomes critical and urgent to help policy-makers in Vietnam in facilitating the implementation of adaptation strategies for households living in this area. Thus, this paper employed the Household Vulnerability Index method along with the qualitative data analysis to evaluate the vulnerability level of smallholder farmers under the effect of these hazards. Data was collected from 405 households in three communes of Yen Bai province, one of the poorest provinces in the Northern Mountainous Regions of Vietnam with a high proportion of ethnic minorities who have extremely low incomes and education levels. Food and fresh water quality and security are also relatively low in this region. The empirical results indicate that ethnicity, diversified sources of income, organizational membership, health insurance, food security, land tenure documentation, water resources, and locational dimensions are the key factors affecting the vulnerability of farmers under the impacts of flash floods and landslides. Results also suggest that the livelihoods of farmers in the Dai Son commune are the most vulnerable to these natural hazards identified by the Social Network, Socio-Demographic Profile, and Water component factors. We subsequently identify and prioritize measures to ensure sustainable livelihoods for local farmers through practices, such as improving people´s literacy, enhancing production systems, and strengthening natural resource management strategies.

Keywords: Vulnerability; Flash Floods and Landslides; Livelihood vulnerability index; Yen Bai province; North Mountain; Vietnam.