Is it because of climate change? Social-ecological system analysis of wetland protected area in Vietnamese Mekong Delta
Journal
Wetlands Ecology and Management
Date Issued
2023-01-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Wetland protected areas (WPA) are among the most productive natural environments, providing substantial socio-economic benefits to humans as well as habitats for numerous species. However, they are also highly vulnerable in the Anthropocene era due to various factors, such as population growth, unsustainable production, and climate change. Assessing the land cover change of WPA and its driving forces is necessary work for the sustainable development and management of WPA. Here, we investigated vegetation as an indicator for land cover changes in WPA because of its strong interaction with the governance system and external related ecosystems of WPA, such as water resources and nutrient cycles. Along with the change in vegetation, we examined how climate change contributes to WPA change and human management. With the complexity of the research tasks, a social-ecological system (SES) approach was applied with three main elements: the resource system (vegetation covers), external related ecosystems (climate change), and governance system (wetland management) and their interactions through ecological performance (outcome). We contribute to the lack of temporary SES research in the coverage of External Related Ecosystems in relation to Resource systems and Governance systems. The selected site is the first Ramsar site of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta—Tram Chim National Park (TCNP), which is located at the exit of the Mekong River flowing into Vietnam's territory. The study used a mixed methodology with the Mann–Kendall rank test, Theil-Sen estimative method, and the Mann–Whitney-Pettit method to analyze trends in climate parameters from 1978 to 2019. Additionally, the wetland vegetation changes were detected through the analysis of satellite images based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 2002 to 2020. We also used Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) and carried out a desk review of local reports and previous research for the local disaster timeline and governance system. The results show that the climate in TCNP has significantly changed, with an increase in both temperature and rainfall during the dry season. However, a decrease in NDVI dynamics and an extension of the lowland vegetation community dominate the trends of spatio-temporal change in vegetation. With the SES approach, we indicated that climate change is not the main driver but is always perceived as an increased risk for biodiversity conservation of WPA. Consequently, maladaptive actions and regulations from the governance system have been implemented, which can threaten the sustainable development of WPA. Therefore, this study contributes to a more comprehensive viewpoint on the conservation and adaptive management of WPA.
Subjects
Climate change | NDVI | Social ecological system | Wetland protected areas
Type
journal article