Proactively Living with Floods

The Proactively Living with Floods project was led by Dr Oliver Hensengerth from Northumbria University, with Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Thi Lan Huong from Thuyloi University, Vietnam. It was funded by the British Academy and the Newton Fund.

The Mekong Delta is Vietnam’s key rice production area and has a complex and historically evolved system of dykes, sluices and canals designed to reap the benefits of floods while mitigating the damage to life, property and food production. However, upstream hydropower dams, a rise in sea level and changing rainfall patterns have led to uncertainty in how to manage the Mekong’s rapidly changing flow and how to design effective flood management policies.

There is an increasing need for policy makers to formulate flood management policies and strategies that work for a diverse range of stakeholders with different livelihood strategies and to bridge local/lay and professional/scientific knowledges.

The project brought together anthropologists, social scientists, and engineers and engaged with policy-makers, communities and development practitioners to provide decision support in flood mitigation. The aim of the project was to provide fresh and interdisciplinary solutions through co-learning and co-creation of knowledge by engaging policy-makers, communities, researchers and development organisations.

You can find out more about the research on the project's dedicated website.