Livelihood Vulnerability Index to Climate Change in the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam: A Case Study in Three Provinces

Abstract

The Livelihood Vulnerability Index - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (LVI-IPCC) is applied to assess livelihood vulnerability in the Mekong River Delta (MRD). There are seven major components in measuring the livelihood vulnerability, including the livelihood strategy, demographic profile, social network, food, water status, health, natural disasters and climate change. Results indicated that climate change have had a huge impact on agricultural production in the MRD. Moreover, the floodplains along the Mekong River are more vulnerable than others (LVI-IPCCAn Phu: -0.03; LVI-IPCCTri Ton: -0.038), due to higher vulnerability in terms of exposure and sensitivity factors. An Phu district was more vulnerable in terms of health and water status. Moreover, households in Duyen Hai and Tra Cu districts with long coastline and coastal production areas, were most affected by saline intrusion. People were more vulnerable in terms of livelihood strategies and social networks, leading to less adaptive capacity.