GCRF_NF292: Social and environmental impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnamese provinces bordering China and Laos following border closure

GCRF_NF292：边境关闭后，Covid-19 大流行对与中国和老挝接壤的越南省份的社会和环境影响

• 批准号: EP/V043218/1
• 负责人: Fabrice Renaud
• 金额: $ 36.64万
• 依托单位: University of Glasgow
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FV043218%2F1
• 关键词: GCRF_NF292; Social; environmental; impacts; Covid

Northern provinces in Vietnam that border China and Laos have been severely affected economically by the current Covid-19 pandemic. These provinces have high populations of ethnic minority groups such as the Tay, Nung, Hmong and Thai who rely in part on cross border migration to sustain their families' livelihoods. However, the Covid-19 crisis has led to the closure of international borders and migrant workers have been forced to return home. With this, major sources of income were foregone and because loss of employment in a foreign country is not recognized by Vietnamese social protection mechanisms in the context of this crisis, entire communities have had to develop their own coping mechanisms. For example, some communities have increasingly started to rely on their surrounding natural environment, including freshwater resources and forest products (both timber and non-timber products). It is not clear how effective these and other coping measures are, nor what the long term consequences on natural resources will be. As there are many uncertainties regarding the evolution of the pandemic and the potential reopening of borders, we aim to investigate how the current crisis has shaped the relationship between vulnerable communities and their natural environment by combining different scientific approaches. Our research will achieve impact locally, by providing scientific evidence to local and national policy-makers as to the situation of vulnerable communities and of their environment, as well as developing future scenarios of this situation under various assumptions of the evolution of the pandemic and potential cross border movement. We are partnering with local authorities and aim to provide scientifically-grounded advice on amending existing policies so that ethnic minority-dominated regions can receive the appropriate support to ensure we are "leaving no-one behind", the stated aim of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

越南与中国和老挝接壤的北方省份在经济上受到当前新冠肺炎大流行的严重影响。这些省份有大量少数民族群体人口，如Tay、Nung、Hmong和Thai，他们部分依靠跨界移徙维持家庭生计。然而，新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠状病毒病）危机导致国际边境关闭，移民工人被迫返回家园。这样一来，主要的收入来源就被放弃了，而且由于在这场危机中越南的社会保障机制不承认在外国失去就业机会，整个社区不得不发展自己的应对机制。例如，一些社区开始越来越依赖周围的自然环境，包括淡水资源和森林产品（木材和非木材产品）。目前尚不清楚这些和其他应对措施的有效性，也不清楚对自然资源的长期影响。由于疫情的演变和可能重新开放边境存在许多不确定性，我们的目标是通过结合不同的科学方法，调查当前危机如何影响脆弱社区与其自然环境之间的关系。我们的研究将通过向地方和国家决策者提供有关脆弱社区及其环境状况的科学证据，以及在流行病演变和潜在跨境流动的各种假设下制定这种情况的未来情景，在当地产生影响。我们正与地方当局合作，旨在就修订现有政策提供有科学依据的建议，使少数民族占主导地位的地区能够获得适当的支持，以确保我们“不让任何人掉队”，这是联合国可持续发展目标的既定目标。