Evaluating Social and Environmental Impacts of Intensive Rice Production and Pesticide Use on Water Quality in the Lower Mekong Region: Case Studies of An Giang, Vietnam and Chiang Rai, Thailand

Abstract

Agriculture forms the backbone of economies, and it is also the cornerstone of human survival. This is especially true in the Lower Mekong region, where most of the riparian population relies on rice and fish production for food security and livelihoods. Global population boom and the agricultural transition toward exporting prompt farmers to maximize their yields through agricultural intensification and mechanization. On the one hand, intensive agriculture increases agricultural production, but on the other hand, this process leads to increased application of agrochemicals (herbicide, pesticides, and fertilizers), eventually causing severe ecological and human insecurity such as soil, sediments, water pollution, and human health. Vietnam and Thailand are the two leading producers of rice worldwide, where Northern Thailand and the Vietnamese Mekong Delta are the most significant agricultural production areas, making it the two “rice bowls” in the Lower Mekong region. It is perceived that the compounding impacts of the upstream development dynamics, climate change and the intensive rice production have exposed these agricultural areas to severe environmental degradation and declining surface and groundwater which are expected to become worse in the future under the complex contexts of land-use change, deforestation, and population growth.

Therefore, a better understanding of impacts of intensified use of agrochemicals on water resources, farming activities, and households’ livelihoods, as well as ecosystems, is particularly important for future policy engagement for the long-term goal of regional sustainable development. The overall objective of the project is to create a policy impact by investigating the transportation of agrochemicals from paddy fields into the soil, sediments and the water environment with full participation and engagement of our boundary partners. We also plan to evaluate the social impacts of agricultural pollution, better understand the local perceptions and behaviours, and develop a policy pathway toward better agrochemical management. This research will form a basis to identify policy options and contribute to the on-going policy debate regarding the possible banning of toxic herbicide that would help address water insecurity and improve community health and resilience in the region. It is intended to be a pilot demonstration project with policy implications that can be potentially up-scale and out-scale to other places.

A transdisciplinary and participatory approach that engage geosciences (hydrology, geography, hydrogeology), ecological sciences, policy science and environmental sociology as well as boundary partners (i.e. policymakers and local communities) will be employed in this study in order to assess the spatial-temporal distribution of agrochemical pollution and its impacts on the environment (soil, sediments, water resources and ecosystem) and local livelihoods in hope to provide policy responses to ensure local and regional water security and environment protection.  The research will consider to some degree levels of conflict, gender, social equity and human rights issues related to the accessibility of local people to water resources in the study areas. Partners at regional, national, and local levels will be engaged and consulted.