The future risk and uncertainty of livelihood development of the villagers on banks of the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB), Cambodia
Previously Published Material: In Cambodia, the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) represents 86% of its territory and 32.3% of its population is living in. This paper examines current and past risk and uncertainty (2000-2010) faced by villagers regarding resources scarcity; natural hazards and climatic change; man-made activities and catastrophes; and socio-economic impacts. The recent and likely future trends in livelihoods of the past 10 years (2011-2020) and over the next decade (2011-2020) are then explored under plausible scenarios of natural resource conditions. The upper, middle, and lower parts of the River are selected for different characteristics with a sample of 548 households. The upper part is Ramsar and the lower part is Mekong Delta, which borders Laos and Vietnam, respectively. The primary data collection methods are applied including field survey and other participatory tools. The study reveals that villagers are threaten by (1) resources scarcity, natural hazards, climatic change, and socio-economic impacts; (2) man-made activities cause severe catastrophes and make livelihoods become uncertain; (3) lack of suitable infrastructures results in low agricultural productivity and increases hazard impacts; (4) there is dependency on water-related recourses without alternative livelihoods and low adaptation capacity leads villagers to high poverty and vulnerabilities within this decade; and (5) future trends over the next decade remain risky and uncertain to the poor, when development is only influenced by growth, but not sustainable development.
Abstract ID#: 36195
The upper, middle, and lower parts of the River are selected for different characteristics with a sample of 548 households. The upper part is Ramsar and the lower part is Mekong Delta, which borders Laos and Vietnam, respectively. The primary data collection methods are applied including field survey and other participatory tools.
The study reveals that villagers are threaten by (1) resources scarcity, natural hazards, climatic change, and socio-economic impacts; (2) man-made activities cause severe catastrophes and make livelihoods become uncertain; (3) lack of suitable infrastructures results in low agricultural productivity and increases hazard impacts; (4) there is dependency on water-related recourses without alternative livelihoods and low adaptation capacity leads villagers to high poverty and vulnerabilities within this decade; and (5) future trends over the next decade remain risky and uncertain to the poor, when development is only influenced by growth, but not sustainable development.