Government and NGO partnership in managing community-based water resources in Vietnam: a case study of Thai Long Dam Project.

Economic reform policy called ‘Doi Moi’ introduced by the Government of Vietnam at the end of 1980s opened new opportunities of community-based involvement in the policy and decision-making at various local levels. Innovations such as decentralization of decision-making power to lower administrative level, and recognition of the local community's role in managing their natural resources, e.g. transfer of irrigated water management right to local communities, were introduced. Significantly, this new institutional framework also facilitated greater civil society involvement in Vietnam. The Water Users Cooperative (WUC) set up through the Thai Long Dam Project mobilized local farmers to participate and manage their local resources in a sustainable manner. Through this process, the WUC was able to strengthen itself as a civil society institution that mediates between the individual and the state, as well as a forum for increasing government responsiveness and accountability. The success of the WUC of the Thai Long Project implies that the Vietnamese civil society is playing a more active role in the decision-making process. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]