Collaborative research to improve the water management in two polders in the Red River Delta in Vietnam

A collaborative research study on the effectiveness of the water management systems was conducted in two polder areas in the Red River Delta in Vietnam. The project adopted the participatory learning and action approach. The main objective of the study was to match the tacit knowledge of the various local stakeholders (groups) with the explicit scientific knowledge of the researchers in order to: (1) overcome the shortcomings of traditionally validated simulation models; (2) improve the mutual understanding of the complexity of the existing irrigation and drainage system; and (3) reach agreement on the outlines for an integrated action plan. The study started with a series of workshops in which (representatives of ) farmers, communes, local government, unions, NGOs and scientists assessed the problems they face and identified and prioritised their preferences. The workshops were followed up by a participatory pre-investigation to identify and quantify the constraints in the functioning of the water management systems. Next, the drainage system was modelled and computer simulations were used to develop conceptual designs to improve the functioning of these systems. In concluding workshops with the stakeholders recommendations to improve the institutional capacity of the drainage system management were formulated and prioritised. In addition to technical innovations, recommendations to reform the complex institutional setting were formulated. The collaborative modelling approach proved to be a useful tool for tackling the hydrological and social complexity, overcoming the lack of long-term data records and getting a consensus among the stakeholders on the outline of an integrated approach.