Chapter 16 Negotiating Water Institutions in the Dong-Nai River Basin, Vietnam: Unstable Balance Between Conservatism and Innovation

摘要

In a context of increasing struggles over access to water and environmental challenges, this chapter analyzes institutional efforts to support integrated water resources management in the framework of the Phuoc-Hoa Water Resources project (funded by Asian Development Bank [ADB] and Agence Francaise de Development [AFD] in 2006-2018) that concurrently aimed to increase the Dau-Tieng Reservoir's capacity and water infrastructure. The chapter investigates the institutional development process for management of the Dau-Tieng water resources system in a context of multiple uses and increasing environmental challenges to water quality and quantity, especially under the current obvious and severe effect of salinity intrusion. The chapter then sheds light on local dynamics surrounding the efforts to apply participatory irrigation management (PIM) and to increase agricultural productivity in Tan-Bien irrigated areas developed under the Phuoc-Hoa project. Through the case of the Phuoc-H6a project, the chapter emphasizes the difficulty of defining the right unit for action in a context of shifting environmental and social conditions and the need to allow more flexibility and time in building water institutions. This chapter also seeks to contribute an empirical case study to the large and increasingly important literature on water governance in Southeast Asia and other developing areas. The chapter builds on the results of a multidisciplinary research project on local water governance in the Dong-Nai basin. The research project's results, while contributing to the pool of scientific knowledge, will help the AFD reflect on the factors driving and limiting the legacy of the development project.