Can Tho, Vietnam: “Co-management” of natural resources by the public and state

An innovative program in Vietnam is exploring the potential of co-management and is seeking to demonstrate that “natural resources can be effectively managed by the public and the state collectively under conditions in which access and benefits sharing are agreed and maintained, all stakeholders are involved in establishing rules and regulations, benefits of protection/management outweigh the opportunity costs for the parties involved, and where monitoring and conflict resolutions systems are in place.”

“There are many challenges for co-management in Vietnam, where enabling laws are just beginning to emerge at the national level. While there are some strong previous experiences with “community-based” approaches, many of these have been dominated by rules handed down by the government, which can be reluctant to share authority or inflexible in its interpretations of policies and guidelines.

Likewise, the public at times is untrusting, or reluctant to take on tasks they believe should be undertaken by the state. For An Binh ward, an additional concern involves the boundary of the intervention, since new urban development within or outside of the ward can further threaten flood management systems.”

‘Community Based Urban Flood and Erosion Management for Can Tho City’
http://static.weadapt.org/knowledge-base/files/1247/51e53b12599d7iset-vietnam-casestudy-cantho-urban-flood-130418.pdf