Livelihood Sustainability Of Rural Households In Adapting To Environmental Changes: An Empirical Analysis Of Ecological Shrimp Aquaculture Model In The Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Using the UK Agency for International Development (DFID) sustainable livelihood framework, this paper measures the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) farmers' capacities in adopting ecological shrimp aquaculture models against the environmental pressures. The results took note of the beneficial natural and physical aspects while underlining the farmers' financial and social limitations in achieving livelihood sustainability. These limitations were found to be closely linked to the under-appreciated role of the governmental agency. The farmers, at the same time, overlook the importance of concessional loans while relying on their community network. We also discovered the key role of economic benefit in driving the farmers to shift their livelihoods from ecological models to industrial models, which would compromise the regional planning efforts of the government. In addition to contributing to enhancing the baseline information for future research, the findings presented in this paper can be of particular relevance to supporting agricultural decision-makers and policy planners of the entire VMD.