Protecting the Water Commons in Vietnam's Craft Villages

Abstract

"Vietnam’s craft villages contain many family-based workshops that specialize in ‘traditional’ handicrafts as well as newer commodities such as recycled products. The economic benefits brought by recent and rapid growth in the number and size of craft villages are, however, diminished by water pollution and risks to health, agriculture, and other livelihood activities. The government treats water pollution as an externality to be managed through direct regulations, market-based instruments, public education or self- regulation. However such mechanisms have proved ineffective given the economic significance of crafts in for rural livelihoods. This paper presents research in the Red River Delta of Vietnam on the drivers of reduced water quality in this craft village region. By considering water quality as a 'complex commons', we identify key actors at different levels of social organisation that need to be involved in finding solutions to this water quality crisis. The research highlights the political, economic and social drivers of pollution, and the importance of relationships between actors at multiple sites, sectors (e.g. state, resource users and civil society) and at different scales (e.g. local, regional, and national) in pollution and its management."