Analysis of the ecosystem services of mangrove to aquaculture and fisheries in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam - Mangrove and aquaculture

In this study, which will cover six provinces in south Vietnam, we expect to find out the optimal level of mangrove coverage for shrimp farming systems, considering the benefits of mangrove on fishery. Besides, investigation of the determinants of the behavior of converting mangrove to other uses will provide useful information for policy makers towards a better management and conservation of mangrove forests. The project has the following research objectives: (1) Examine the impacts of mangrove on shrimp farming, specifically the impacts of mangrove coverage on shrimp farming productivity and profitability; (2) Examine the impacts of mangrove on the risk of shrimp farming; (3) Estimate the mangrove-fishery linkage; (4) Investigate the determinants of mangrove conversion.

The survey was conducted in communes of six coastal provinces in the south of Vietnam, including Ben Tre, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Bac Lieu. From these six provinces, eight locations were selected. Face to face survey was chosen, and each respondent was interviewed using a questionnaire of three parts, including general information of respondent, perception about mangrove of respondent, and aquaculture activities. We surveyed 659 mixed mangrove-shrimp farms. Mangrove forest indicators of analyses at both levels are measured in two ways. One is self-reported by farm managers in household data, and the other is calculated using satellite images. For calculating mangrove coverage of farms (mixed mangrove-shrimp farming system), coordinates of farms are collected during the survey. These coordinates are then used to create boundaries of farms on Google Earth.

本研究将覆盖越南南部六个省份，旨在结合红树林（mangrove）对渔业的效益，探明适配虾类养殖（shrimp farming）系统的最优红树林覆盖率。此外，对红树林转作其他用途的行为决定因素开展调查，可为政策制定者优化红树林森林管理与保护工作提供有效参考依据。本项目的研究目标如下：（1）分析红树林对虾类养殖的影响，具体聚焦红树林覆盖率对虾类养殖生产力与盈利能力的作用；（2）评估红树林对虾类养殖风险的影响；（3）估算红树林与渔业之间的关联强度；（4）探究红树林转用行为的决定因素。
本次调查在越南南部沿海六个省份的社区开展，涵盖槟椥省（Ben Tre）、朔庄省（Soc Trang）、茶荣省（Tra Vinh）、坚江省（Kien Giang）、金瓯省（Ca Mau）以及薄寮省（Bac Lieu）。从上述六个省份中共选取八个采样点位。调查采用面对面访谈形式，受访者需填写包含三部分内容的问卷：受访者基本信息、对红树林的认知情况，以及水产养殖（aquaculture）活动相关信息。本次共调研659家红树林-虾类复合养殖农场。本次分析所用的红树林指标将通过两种方式测算：其一为农场经营者在家庭调研数据中自行填报，其二则通过卫星影像（satellite images）计算得出。为测算各农场（红树林-虾类复合养殖系统）的红树林覆盖率，调研期间收集了各农场的坐标信息，随后利用这些坐标在谷歌地球（Google Earth）上划定各农场的边界范围。