Drought Management Considerations for Climate Change Adaptation

Focus on the Mekong Region: Cambodia, Svay Rieng province

Joint report from Oxfam GB in Viet Nam and Cambodia, and the International Environment and Disaster Management (IEDM) laboratory of Kyoto University

The Mekong plays an important role in the well-being of China, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Viet Nam as it is the major river supporting agriculture and many other economic activities in the region. The Mekong is also a cause of concern for many people, due to the regular floods it brings to the region, which have a significant impact on the lives of many in the river basin. However, in recent times, the Mekong River basin has become increasingly vulnerable to drought. A notable example was the drought of 2004, which began a couple of years earlier and grew to serious proportions. Dealing with drought requires strategies different from those for dealing with floods and typhoons, which have plagued the Mekong region for years. Local communities, governments, and NGOs know how to deal with these age-old problems but drought, being a slow-onset disaster with crippling impacts, needs to be looked at from a different perspective.

This study follows a previous study completed in Viet Nam of the Ninh Thuan province. This study investigates some aspects of the recent droughts in the Mekong region and tries to establish their likely causes and how such incidents could best be mitigated. It contains valuable observations on how communities perceive drought and climate change and on how local governments and NGOs can help to manage climate-related such as drought. It points out that the impacts of drought are in a real sense a reflection of developmental problems, and provides policy options that could be implemented by local communities, governments, and NGOs.

Download the full report PDF (1.12MB)

Date of publication: October 2008