Coupled Human-Environment Interactions in Vietnam: Urbanization and Coastal Transformation

The purpose of this project is to monitor critical ecosystem dynamics and their responses to multiple external forcings in a rapidly changing coastal region, the Red River Delta, Vietnam.  Population growth, water diversions, coastal modifications and extensive land-use changes such as agricultural intensification and expansion, wetland conversion, aquaculture development, and urbanization are only some of the major developments in the region.  As such, the Red River Delta exemplifies the myriad transitions occurring all over the world, especially in developing countries. A full understanding of the trajectories, consequences and implications of these multiple transitions—for human welfare, economic growth, environmental quality, and resource sustainability—requires the integration of information from numerous fields of study.

Given the spatial and temporal complexity of these transitions, approaches that couple remote sensing with field measurements and empirical models are essential both for tracking dynamics and providing indicators of cross-delta interactions and responses.
Synthesizing remotely-sensed images, demographic-economic data from statistical yearbooks, and in-depth field interviews, this project analyzes spatial and temporal patterns of urban land-use change and the individual and interacting socioeconomic, political, and institutional factors that contribute to these changes.

Key research questions include: What are the spatial and temporal patterns and trajectories of urban and coastal land conversion? How are these patterns and processes affected by human driving forces such as population changes (e.g., migration), economic factors (e.g., access to credit), and political-economic institutions (e.g., property rights and market socialism)? How do international environmental agreements affect coastal mangrove conversion?