Vulnerability and adaptive capacity of smallholders in Ho Ho subwatershed, north-central Viet Nam

Climate change and variability create large uncertainties for agricultural production and smallholders’
livelihoods. Understanding smallholders’ vulnerability and their adaptive capacity to these factors is
the key to appropriate interventions to mitigate the impact of climate-related shocks and hazards. In
Ho Ho sub-watershed, north-central Viet Nam, smallholders reported a high degree of exposure and
sensitivity to climate change and variability owing to the frequency of weather-related extreme
events, such as flooding and drought, during the last decade (2005–2014), with a concomitant impact
on households and agriculture. When comparing up- and downstream communes, biophysical factors
such as topography, land-use patterns and the presence of a hydropower plant in the downstream
commune played important roles in creating differences in exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity
between the two communes. The results showed that while the upstream commune was not more
vulnerable to weather-related extreme events compared to the downstream, its adaptive capacity was
much lower, making the upstream generally more vulnerable than the downstream commune. We
concluded that serious effects of climate change and variability during the last decade were
experienced by smallholders in Ho Ho sub-watershed. We recommend that while enhancing the
adaptive capacity of smallholders can include improvement both on- and off-farm, growing trees is a
solution for improving both the landscapes and smallholders’ resilience.