Stakeholder perceptions on the Hau river ecosystem services and the potential changes to them under hypothetical pangasius farming scenarios in an Giang province, Vietnam | |
| Author | Nguyen Thi Kim Quyen |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AQ-14-02 |
| Subject(s) | Ecosystem Aquaculture Ecosystem management Pangasiusa--Feeding and feeds |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AQ-14-02 |
| Abstract | Thisstudy was conducted from July, 2013 to May, 2014 to evaluate stakeholder’sawareness on Hau river ecosystem servicesand the potential changes to the ecosystem servicesfrom two hypothetical Pangasiusfarming scenarios. The study was conductedin An Giang provinces, Vietnamby employing eight key-informant panel (KIP)interviews, three group discussions and a questionnaire survey(n=150)with five groups of stakeholders including Pangasius farmers, other species aquaculture farmers, rice/vegetable farmers, agricultural tourism, and fishermen. The study revealsthat stakeholder’s economicactivitiesare linked totheriver ecosystem services closely, especiallythrough freshwater supply. They are aware that the farming activities have negative environmental impactsto the river ecosystem.Rice cultivation and Pangasiusfarming wasidentified as the most importanteconomic activities(5.00±0.2 and 4.75±0.46 over total 5.00 score of importance). Stakeholders were able to identify the provisioning services easily (100%) but they had difficulties in identifying thecultural services (20.67%). The provisioning ecosystem services were scored significantly higher (3.77±0.65) than the cultural services (2.16±1.01). Stakeholders also identified that there was a relative decrease inwater quality and natural food availability in the river ecosystem. Moreover, they mentioned that the frequency of disease incident and sediment load from various agricultural and aquaculture activities have been increased.During the group discussions and the questionnaire survey, the participants were given two hypotheticalscenarios ofPangasiusfarming: 1. change from current stateto large-scale intensive Pangasiusfarming; 2. change to integrated aquaculture-rice-vegetable (ARV)farming. They were requested evaluate potential impacts from the two scenarios on the ecosystem services.The majority of stakeholders wasin the opinionofthat intensification would result in increasedPangasiusproduction(100% of respondents),frequency of diseaseincidents(98.81%). Intensification woulddecrease water qualityconditions(97.40%) and natural food supply(68.15%). Stakeholders were in opinion thatchanging to ARV system would increase thecrop productions(90%), water quality(96.20)and ecotourism(100%) but it may decreasePangasiusproduction(71.43%). Water pollution from intensive Pangasiusfarming was the main concern of stakeholders. The majority of participants preferredARV integrated system(55%) butPangasiusfarmers (47%) preferred thelarge-scale intensive aquaculturesystemdevelopmentusingmeasurable indicators that could help to regulate the level of intensification. |
| Year | 2014 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AQ-14-02 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management (AQ) |
| Chairperson(s) | Yakupitiyage, Amararatne |
| Examination Committee(s) | Bhujel, Ram C.;Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad;Berg, Hakan |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), Germany;AIT Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2014 |