* Response to Impacts of Climate Change on Planting Activities of Several Ethnic Minorities in Mountainous Region of Northwest Vietnam (Through the Research in Lao Cai and Lai Chau Provinces)

Abstract

The climate change caused and is causing the impacts unfavorable to the productive activities and life of people of the ethnic minorities in mountainous region of Northwest Vietnam such as making reduction of the productive land area, the land retrogradation, increase of epidemics, leading to the decrease of yield and quality of crops, making the income of people which has been already low, seriously decrease, affecting the food security and slowing down the poverty process in Northwestern mountainous region. In adapting to the climate change, the ethnic minorities in Northwestern mountainous region assisted by the State and domestic and international socio-economic organizations have had their responding ways which base on their own local knowledge, in order to lighten the damages caused by the climate change at the same time to increase the income and living standards of households. However, they still have faced many difficulties in their adaption to the climate change so that they need the assistance from outside for constructing the economic models and strategy of livelihood restoration, lowering the social damage and improving the management capacity of risks of natural calamity to be able to hold the initiative in adaptation to the climate change and sustainable reduction of poverty.