Contested Coastal Governance and Livelihood Transitions: Evidence From Vietnam’s Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon
The Geographical Journal 192(2), 2026
저자: Pham Thi Ngoc Quynh(하노이국립사범대학교), Thu L. T. Dinh(위스콘신대학교 매디슨), Edo Andriesse(아시아연구소)
베트남의 연안 어촌에서 생계 적응과 지속가능성 정책은 왜 기존의 불평등을 심화시킬 수 있는가?
This article examines the livelihood transformations and governance challenges of small-scale fishers (SSF) in Vietnam’s Tam Giang-Cau Hai (TGCH) lagoon. Drawing on 47 semi-structured interviews and extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2022, it reveals how fishers navigate overlapping pressures: declining stocks, pollution, spatial competition and fragmented institutional reforms. Although adaptation strategies like livelihood diversification and outmigration are common, they frequently exacerbate structural inequalities related to age, gender and socio-economic status. We argue that state-promoted alternatives, such as aquaculture and ecotourism, show limited success and often risk ‘pseudo-diversification’ due to weak governance, uneven enforcement and spatial exclusion. Conceptually, this study advances an integrated framework combining wicked problems, livelihood adaptation, and spatial justice. It demonstrates that sustainability transitions in coastal fisheries are not merely technical challenges but contested political processes. By highlighting how institutional complexity and power asymmetries reproduce marginalisation, the study contributes to more grounded, justice-oriented approaches to coastal governance in Southeast Asia.