Management of the Integrated Mangrove- Aquaculture Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

The Integrated Tropical Coastal Zone Management at AIT is an area of specialization under the Schools of Environment, Resources and Development and Civil Engineering. This interdisciplinary field aims to develop human resources for coastal zone management in the Asia and the Pacific regions where the coastal areas encompass a diverse array of resources and ecosystems with intense human activities. ITCZM MONOGRAPH SERIES The series contains an extract based on the M.Sc. theses to reach the public. Policies Towards Integrated Mangrove– Aquaculture tax Social aspects of the two main integrated mangrove-hatchery shrimp farm and mangrove-hatchery shrimp cum crab Economic aspects of the mangrove-hatchery shrimp farm and mangrove-hatchery shrimp cum crab Problem Especially, Minh Hai peninsula (Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces) host the largest area of mangrove in Vietnam, and also contains a vast area of mangroves destroyed for shrimp farming. Within 8 years (1983-1995), the Minh Hai has lost 66,253 ha of mangrove forest to shrimp ponds [2]. The conversion of mangrove area to shrimp farms increased from 3,000 ha in 1983 to 76,036 ha in 1995 [3]. The increase in shrimp pond area was caused partly by local people, but was mainly by people migrating from other locations [2]. In order to solve the issue of mangrove clearance, local and national management is seen as a key factor.