Livelihood Change around Marine Protected Areasin Vietnam: a Case Study of Cu Lao Cham

Abstract

This paper focuses on how marine protected areas (MPAs) impact on livelihoods in Vietnam. The paper turns the MPA focus away from the traditional focus upon biodiversity conservation and toward the livelihood implications of MPA regulation. Empirical evidence is used to explore livelihood impacts of MPA intervention through regulation of fishing as well as livelihood replacement. The agrarian transition lens is broadened beyond its traditional land‐based focus to consider “aquarian transitions” occurring in the coastal zone. Aquarian transition is used as an analogue of agrarian transition to examine the specific influences of the aquatic context upon livelihoods regulation and change. MPA‐associated livelihood interventions occur against a backdrop of dynamic change taking place in the coastal zones of developing countries that form a dominant influence on local economies. Past experience shows that alternative livelihoods interventions may fail to take into account of how such broader forces might shape people’s livelihood choices in the coastal zone. This study examines how these livelihood dynamics play out at the local level via empirical results from one case study site, and is complemented by ethnographic research on national policy development. The implications of the study are considered in relation to recent MPA and small scale fisheries policy developments in Vietnam, as well as to broader MPA livelihood practice in developing country contexts.