International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, Vol. 10 (2020) No. 1, pages: 331-343, DOI:10.18517/ijaseit.10.1.10701

Livelihoods of Mountainous Sites in Vietnam and Philippines: Are They Threatened from Cold Spell and Typhoon?

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to develop a new Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) model, which can assess and compare the vulnerability of farming communities to different extreme climate events. The method of constructing LVIs aims at allowing the comparison of livelihood vulnerability to cold spell and typhoon. A survey of 600 farming households from three provinces in Vietnam and Philippines was conducted to determine the level of livelihood vulnerability using sixteen components that measures adaptive capacity, sensitivity and exposure.  These components include competency, education, financial condition, livelihood strategy, social networks, socio-demographic profile, housing, water, energy, health, financial status, communication, climate extreme impact, geographic location, risk index and warning system.  Results show that although facing different climate extreme events, the livelihood vulnerability of upland farming communities in Vietnam and in the Philippines share a great deal of similarities. In fact, they are moderately vulnerable on aggregate and are similar in competency, livelihood strategy, social networks, water and communication.  However, the LVIs indicate that the upland farming communities in the Philippines are slightly more vulnerable than those in Vietnam.  Interestingly, food security and financial condition are the key components that the local authorities should focus on to reduce the vulnerability of the communities, regardless of the extreme climate events that could happen.

Keywords:

livelihood vulnerability index; extreme climate events; upland farming communities.

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