Delta Project Research Articles

Getting Our Heads Above Water: Integrating Bird Conservation in Planning, Science, and Restoration for a More Resilient Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta

The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is an important region for bird conservation in California, particularly as part of a large, productive estuary on the Pacific Flyway. The Delta currently provides habitat to an abundant, diverse community of birds, but it is likely only a small fraction of what the Delta’s bird community once was. Meeting the goal of restoring a healthy Delta ecosystem is legislatively required to include providing habitat for birds among the conservation goals and strategies in the Delta Plan, yet birds and their habitat needs are often not addressed in science syntheses, conservation planning, and large-scale restoration initiatives in the Delta. In this essay, the authors provide an avian perspective on the Delta, synthesizing recent scientific work to describe factors that contribute to the Delta’s current importance for birds, and the conservation needs of the diverse array of bird species that call the Delta home.

Pearl River Delta: Scales, Times, Domains

Pearl River Delta: Scales, Times, Domains

Delta management in evolution: a comparative review of the Yangtze River Delta and Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta

This paper aims to compare the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta in Europe and the Taihu Basin part of the Yangtze River Delta in China from a long-term historical perspective. Urbanized deltas are among the most prosperous and populated regions in the world, but also the most vulnerable. To cope with growing uncertainty, their systematic comparison has become instrumental in building mutual learning on the theory and practice of spatial planning and water resource management in such vulnerable contexts. Based on a systematic comparative mapping approach of Delta Urbanism with critical review of policies, this research highlights important similarities between these two deltas in terms of physical characteristics, dense occupation, and management history evolving from a decentralized polder-based system to a centralized control model, and a recent adoption of integrated and adaptive water management strategies. On the other hand, the comparison reveals distinct management focuses in current delta plans, as well as contrasting approaches to public participation and historical hydraulic landscapes. It is found from this comparative study that, beyond the socio-cultural specificities that can explain the distinct management practice of each region, the systematic use of mapping as a visualization and communication tool would facilitate integrative and adaptive delta management.

The Discovery of the Hepatitis D Virus: Three Princes of Serendip and the Recognition of Autoantibodies to Liver-Kidney Microsomes.

The Discovery of the Hepatitis D Virus: Three Princes of Serendip and the Recognition of Autoantibodies to Liver-Kidney Microsomes.

Sustainability of rice-based livelihoods in the upper floodplains of Vietnamese Mekong Delta: Prospects and challenges

Rapidly changing hydrological conditions under climate change, upstream developments, and local water infrastructures require transformative changes in water management strategies for the agriculture sector in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). For more than three decades, the agricultural policies in Vietnam have emphasized the intensification of rice production. In recent years, however, the Vietnamese government has started to pay more attention to longer-term sustainability considerations. Recent regional plans and high-level policies, including the Mekong Delta Plan and the Resolution 120 emphasize the development of high-value, sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture and food production. This shift has its challenges. One of them relates to changes in the government-mandated flood-control strategy. The increased awareness of the agricultural and environmental benefits of seasonal floods including soil fertility maintenance and pest management has resulted in new government regulations that require farmers to adopt a so-called 3–3–2 cropping cycle which means that every three years, farmers protected by high dikes should allow their rice fields to get flooded during the third rice season. Some of the farmers, however, have been reluctant to shift their farming cycle away from the triple-rice cropping system because of livelihood security-related concerns. Our study examines rice farmers’ livelihood sustainability in the upper delta by applying a sustainable livelihood framework to systematically identify prospects and challenges for more sustainable flood-based livelihoods. We interviewed 160 rice farmers and conducted two focus group discussions in two communes in An Giang province. Our results show that appreciation of the benefits of the 3–3–2 cycle has increased while the results of the livelihood capital index calculations show relatively good status of livelihood sustainability of farming households, indicated by the overall 5–capital scores of over 0.4. The study also identifies other constraints to sustainable farm-based livelihoods including unstable rice markets and shortage of labor. A key finding, however, is that unless more supportive policies and enhanced viability of flood-based crops are developed, farmers will not be sufficiently motivated to change their farming practices.

Going Dutch in the Mekong Delta: a framing perspective on water policy translation

ABSTRACT In response to the rising climatic impacts on worldwide urbanized deltas, the Netherlands has strategically and politically framed Dutch water management as a global water solution for improving water safety and flood protection in other countries such as Vietnam. Being renowned for its water management approach, the Netherlands is particularly active in sharing water knowledge, insights, and policies internationally. This paper connects a framing perspective to policy translation studies to understand the role of language and meaning-making in the cross-border travel of policies. Adopting a framing perspective, it presents four dimensions of water policy translation concerning how policy frames are being created and interpreted – during the cross-border travel. The paper follows the process of the Dutch water management approach being ‘packaged’ as global water solutions and ‘translated’ to inform the development of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta Plan of 2013. The results show that although similar concepts, metaphors and narratives could be witnessed in this translation process, the local use and interpretation of these concepts remain challenging. Inclusive engagement, shared and comprehensive understanding, and continuous exchange and learning processes could help to improve cross-border policy-making for sustainable delta management.

Machine Learning to Evaluate Impacts of Flood Protection in Bangladesh, 1983–2014

Impacts of climate change adaptation strategies need to be evaluated using principled methods spanning sectors and longer time frames. We propose machine-learning approaches to study the long-term impacts of flood protection in Bangladesh. Available data include socio-economic survey and events data (death, migration, etc.) from 1983–2014. These multidecadal data, rare in their extent and quality, provide a basis for using machine-learning approaches even though the data were not collected or designed to assess the impact of the flood control investments. We test whether the embankment has affected the welfare of people over time, benefiting those living inside more than those living outside. Machine-learning approaches enable learning patterns in data to help discriminate between two groups: here households living inside vs. outside. They also help identify the most informative indicators of discrimination and provide robust metrics to evaluate the quality of the model. Overall, we find no significant difference between inside/outside populations based on welfare, migration, or mortality indicators. However, we note a significant difference in inward/outward movement with respect to the embankment. While certain data gaps and spatial heterogeneity in sampled populations suggest caution in any conclusive interpretation of the flood protection infrastructure, we do not see higher benefits accruing to those living with higher levels of protection. This has implications for Bangladesh’s planning for future and more extreme climate futures, including the national Delta Plan, and global investments in climate resilient infrastructure to create positive social impacts.

Pearl River Delta: Scales, Times, Domains

Pearl River Delta: Scales, Times, Domains

The transfer of Dutch Delta Planning expertise to Bangladesh: A process of policy translation

Representatives of the Dutch government usually refer to the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 as an example of the successful transfer of the Dutch Delta Approach to Bangladesh. Their storyline aligns with theorizations of policy transfer as a process of diffusion. These ascribe the mobility of a policy – or its capacity to travel - to its intrinsic quality. The belief in the quality of the Dutch Delta Approach is anchored in the renowned Dutch ability to deal with its own floods and flood risks. By making the contents of that what travels an important cause of its mobility, diffusion theories make it difficult to see, acknowledge and understand the actions and actors needed to make policy transfer happen. This is why in this paper we theorize policy transfer as a process of translation. Based on an identification of the Dutch and Bangladeshi actors involved in the transfer of the Dutch Delta Approach to Bangladesh, and by re-tracing their actions, we show that the transfer entailed an active process of engagement, negotiation, and contestation. In their attempts to develop a Bangladeshi version of the Plan, the involved actors made active use of old relations of collaboration and friendship, while also developing new ones. In the course of the transfer process, and because of the negotiations and contestations that it entailed, the delta plan became something else altogether. The paper concludes that telling the story of the transfer of the Dutch Delta Approach as a story of translation is useful as it allows recognizing and giving credit not just to those who initiated the process, but to all involved. This, we hope, can in turn provide the basis for a more symmetrical dialogue between ‘senders’ and ‘recipients’ in international policy transfers.

A conceptual model-based approach to explore community livelihood adaptation under uncertainty for adaptive delta management

ABSTRACT Delta communities worldwide are facing a multitude of challenges in their life and livelihood. In many developing countries, improving the quality of life and livelihood is a key challenge. While development is a central goal of delta planning in such countries, the effectiveness of planning is challenged by uncertain changes in climate and socio-economy. Bangladesh (one of the countries) is moving towards the adaptive delta management approach to deal with such uncertainties. Historical examples illustrate that Community Livelihood Adaptation (CLA) can critically influence the effectiveness of a policy strategy. Therefore, there is a clear need to explore CLA under uncertainty. For that purpose, this paper develops and applies a conceptual model-based approach combining the mental model and scenarios techniques. Our approach starts by using a participatory process to elicit mental models a farmers’ community uses when considering adaptation decisions; we capture these in the form of a cognitive map, and this map can serve as a conceptual model for analyzing livelihood adaptation decision-making in a future-oriented scenario analysis. To illustrate the approach, a case study of cropping decision-making of farmers community at a polder location under the saline condition in the southwest of Bangladesh has been elaborated. Results show that the approach is useful in structuring the cognitive and qualitative nature of complex decision-making process, and helps in understanding the dynamic interactions of farmers’ adaptation decisions with other actors, their environmental attributes, and market traits. It can help policymakers anticipate the adaptation direction of policy strategies.

The Vietnamization of delta management: The Mekong Delta Plan and politics of translation in Vietnam

With the identification of river deltas as especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, efforts are underway to mainstream climate change adaptation into development planning in many delta countries. Yet understanding how these processes unfold demands attention to how knowledge is translated from one context to another and across levels of governance to influence action. This paper examines the “Mekong Delta Plan” (MDP), produced in partnership between the Vietnamese and Dutch governments in 2013, as a vehicle for the translation of knowledge to shape climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Drawing on ethnographic research at sites in Vietnam and the Netherlands, the findings illustrate how the MDP has come to play a key role in the governance of climate change adaptation in the Delta, driven first by Dutch advisors and then by the Vietnamese government. This study suggests that attention to the politics of translation in climate change adaptation governance can shed light on important factors shaping the socio-material evolution of both the Mekong Delta in particular and deltas more broadly.

Navigating the bureaucracy: an analysis of implementation feasibility for the Mekong Delta Plan, Vietnam

Strategic delta planning focuses on strategic, long-term choices to stimulate sustainable development in deltas. Strategic delta plans outline a long-term vision to be embedded into the plans and activities of government agencies and semi-public actors at multiple levels. This implies a form of coordinated, yet decentralized, implementation. Although, its importance is widely acknowledged, there are few analytical approaches to assess the feasibility and possible bottlenecks of such implementation processes. This article applies a motivation and ability (MOTA) framework to assess the implementation feasibility of the Mekong Delta Plan in Ben Tre province, Vietnam. The results reveal diverging motivations and a perceived lack of ability among government actors at local and regional level. When not well-managed, this could hamper the translation of the strategic goals and visions into local and regional actions. This suggests the usefulness of the MOTA framework as a tool to help manage implementation processes for strategic delta planning.

Resilience of coastal agricultural systems in Bangladesh: Assessment for agroecosystem stewardship strategies

Abstract Assessments of “resilience” are becoming a priority across multiple sectors. Specifically, the coastal agricultural system in Bangladesh faces a multitude of problems such as sea level rise. Building resilience for this system is thus important in accelerating the country’s socio-economic development. Therefore, the objectives of this study are (a) to assess resilience of coastal agricultural systems and (b) to develop coastal agroecosystem stewardship strategies in Bangladesh. Resilience was assessed quantitatively, based on an established framework that includes three capacities (i.e., absorptive, adaptive and transformative) and five dimensions, namely, social, economic, ecological, physical and institutional. Fifteen indicators were developed by applying an assemblage of top-down and bottom-up approaches. A structured questionnaire was used to survey 330 households from 15 villages in five coastal sub-districts. The percentile value of composite resilience indices revealed that one-fifths of the coastal farmers (or households) had a mixed ability (e.g., fish farming skills) and capacity (e.g., better decision-making) to recover, reorganise and evolve following shocks (e.g., flash flood) and stresses (e.g., water logging). Following resilience assessment, five coastal agroecosystem stewardship strategies (facilitating adaptive agricultural governance; promoting economic and ecological diversity; fostering social learning; investing in coastal infrastructure; and increasing agricultural productivity) are developed based on principal component analysis. The methods of objectively developing stewardship strategies can be replicable to other coastal areas. The findings of this study are intended to be used for contributing to coastal adaptation planning in Bangladesh, especially for the Delta Plan 2100.

An Analysis of Water Policies and Strategies of Bangladesh in the Context of Climate Change

Water sector is crucial to sustainable development. It sustains the natural resources, livelihood of the people and facilitates to operate economic activities of the country. Currently, the water sector of Bangladesh is under severe threats particularly due to impacts of climate change. The Fourth Assessment Report of International Panel on climate change confirms that the water sector will be one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. Climate change impacts are being manifested in the form of extreme climatic events and sea-level rise followed by salinity intrusion into the groundwater and wetlands. The Government of Bangladesh has formulated policies to address the climate-induced water vulnerabilities. However, the existing policies are heavily leaned towards strategising adaptation options to address short-run climate-induced water vulnerabilities. Implementation of long-term approaches to combating climate change require laying groundwork which include extensive research on determining the future impacts of climate change on water resources. The article aims to assess some of the major policies, including National Water Policy, Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, National Strategy for Water Sanitation and Hygiene, The National Sustainable Development Strategy, National Adaptation Programme of Action and Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, through the lens of climate change to determine that up to what extent these policies have addressed the climate-induced water vulnerabilities. The article has recommended to emphasise on conducting a comprehensive research with proper institutional setup on the long-run impacts of climate change on water resources and undertake subsequent water adaptation strategies to address the water-related problems.

A framework to assess the performance of participatory planning tools for strategic delta planning

Participatory planning tools are increasingly applied in strategic delta planning processes. Additional to its design criteria, such tools commonly promote a variety of aspects including (1) facilitation of communication, (2) knowledge sharing, (3) social learning, (4) decreasing differences in power, (5) integration between sectors, and (6) supporting agreements. Yet tools are rarely assessed systematically on these participatory process dimensions. This paper presents a participatory planning tool assessment framework. The paper shows how the framework is tested on its usefulness in a training workshop on participatory planning tools for strategic delta planning. It is concluded that the framework offers potential to assess participatory planning tools beyond a tool’s technological design criteria and that it can contribute to advancing our knowledge on the performance of tools in participatory planning activities.

Making waves in the Mekong Delta: recognizing the work and the actors behind the transfer of Dutch delta planning expertise

The government of the Netherlands actively promotes Dutch delta planning to other deltaic countries. This paper describes and analyzes the Dutch–Vietnamese interactions and relationships around the development of the Mekong Delta Plan as a case of policy transfer. The paper uses an approach that regards policy transfers as processes of translation. It draws attention to the work that goes into making Dutch delta expertise and knowledge useful elsewhere. The paper shows that the financial and political support for Dutch Delta Planning expertise in Vietnam needed to be actively and continuously wielded to keep the process going. We conclude that there is merit in understanding policy transfer as a process of translation between many actors, all of whom change, learn, and influence not just each other but also what is transferred. Such an understanding allows better acknowledgement of the deeply dialogic and relational character of policy transfer processes.

Political agenda-setting for strategic delta planning in the Mekong Delta: converging or diverging agendas of policy actors and the Mekong Delta Plan?

This article uses the lens of the Multiple Streams Approach to explore whether the agendas set by political actors in Vietnam converged with the agenda set in the Mekong Delta Plan (MDP). The MDP presents policy choices for the development of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The plan offers economically attractive, climate adaptive and environmentally sustainable paths forward in the face of climate change and economic uncertainties. We collected our data using qualitative techniques, including a literature review and interviews. We found convergence between the MDP’s agenda and political actors’ agendas, though divergences were also detected. Between the delivery of the MDP in 2013 and formal endorsement of its ideas in 2017, the problem stream, policy stream and politics stream were brought together by the actions of “policy entrepreneurs” (scientists and experts). Our findings suggest that agenda-setting and convergence were a crucial step towards endorsement of the strategic delta planning process for the Mekong Delta. Further research could explore issues of power mobilization in enabling or constraining decision-making.

Farmer adoptability for livelihood transformations in the Mekong Delta: a case in Ben Tre province

Sustainable livelihood development is an ongoing challenge worldwide, and has regained importance due to threats of water shortages and climate change. To cope with changing climatic, demographic and market conditions in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta (VMD) an agricultural transformation process has been suggested in the recent Mekong Delta Plan. This agricultural transformation process requires the implementation of alternative livelihood models. The majority of current agricultural livelihood models in the VMD have been introduced by the government in a top-down manner. In this study, we applied a bottom-up approach to understand the motivations and abilities of local farmers to adopt alternative livelihood models. It is based on the MOTA methodological framework, which is further tested with the use of multivariate analyses. The study was conducted in Ben Tre coastal province. Results showed that farmers’ motivations and abilities to apply alternative models vary substantially among different groups, driven by their perceptions on triggers and opportunities. Acknowledging this diversity is essential to the development of agricultural transformation plans. Furthermore, based on the analysis, a projection of the precise support that communities need to supplement their knowledge, skills and financial capacities, as well as interventions to reduce the risks of new livelihood models, is given.

Sameness and difference in delta planning

Triggered by an increased awareness of the possible effects of climate change, many deltaic regions around the world are undertaking planning initiatives to address the problems they expect to face in the future. Dutch delta planning knowledge and expertise figure prominently in some of these initiatives. We use this article to ask why this is so. What makes Dutch delta knowledge special, and how does it become generic enough to travel to other places? The pertinence of these questions stems from the realization that deltas do not pre-exist human interventions, but are as much the effect of different planning cultures, trajectories and objectives, as they are their cause. Through a discussion of some telling anecdotes of delta planning, our analysis shows that while the Dutchness of delta planning expertise is a powerful branding, this expertise can only travel through a conscious and simultaneous process of un-Dutching: by packaging and scientizing Dutch Delta planning to turn it into a more generic Adaptive Delta Management approach.

Do strategic delta plans get implemented? The case of the Mekong Delta Plan

A strategic delta plan can alter the course of delta management. Implementation of such a plan essentially involves a change of minds about delta management priorities and strategies for sustainable livelihoods. Such a change of minds, or “soft implementation”, must come before material, or “hard”, implementation can take off. To explore the influence of strategic delta plans in bringing about a change of minds among the actors involved, we examined four features of soft implementation: prospects for change, new mental models, consent and decision-making. We then applied these features to analyse implementation of the Mekong Delta Plan (MDP). The MDP envisions agro-industrialisation in the Mekong Delta, with dynamic land use, high-value commodities and enhanced interprovincial collaboration. We found that 3 years after its completion, the MDP has indeed been influential in introducing new ways of thinking about both delta problems and transformative strategies for agribusiness development. Minds have changed at all levels of the planning system, though change at the local level remains most limited. Implementation is fragile, however, as a small though influential group actively promotes and subscribes to the MDP’s precepts. The plan has influenced national policies, provincial project proposals and donor loans. We found the four features to provide a valuable entry point for assessing the influence and effectiveness of the strategic delta plan. They might prove useful to planners, investors and researchers too in designing and evaluating strategic planning processes for more sustainable land and water resources management.