Institutional adaptation to environmental risk under the transition in Vietnam

This paper develops a theoretical perspective on institutional adaptation t o social vulnerability to environmental risks. Institutions encompass both socialized ways of interacting and underlying worldviews, as well as struct ures and organizations that influence resource allocation The adaptation of institutions that mediate vulnerability to environmental change can be obs erved by examining actual resource allocations and the processes of decisio nmaking and nondecisionmaking, as well as by examining changing perceptions of vulnerability. Institutional adaptation is evaluated in Nam Dinh Provin ce in northern Vietnam, a country presently undergoing rapid economic and p olitical transition. The case study highlights local-level institutional ad aptation to environmental risks associated with flooding and typhoon impact s in the coastal environment. It is carried out through fieldwork involving qualitative household survey is and interviewing to elicit present and rec ent coping and adaptation strategies in the context of rapid changes in pro perty rights and economic circumstances. Although Vietnam's transition from state central planning is often heralded as a macroeconomic success story, this study argues that the transition has had negative impacts on social V ulnerability. A decrease in collective action for risk management by state institutions is exacerbated by inertia in some aspects of the decentralized state planning system, while the parallel spontaneous reemergence of civil institutions forms a counterbalancing institutional adaptation.