East Asia: Facts and Analytics, 2026/3
DOI: 10.24412/2686-7702-2026-3-34-47
URL: PDF
Author
| Shcherbenko Maria N. |
| Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
| ORCID: 0009-0007-4643-1518 |
| E-mail: Maria-Shcherbenko@yandex.ru |
Abstract
In 2017, Vietnam adopted Government Resolution No. 120, marking a significant shift in the development paradigm for the Mekong Delta. The document was widely hailed as a “golden resolution” capable of alleviating the acute socio-economic and environmental tensions that had accumulated in the region and of paving the way to a better life for its inhabitants. The article analyzes the interim results of these reforms. The author examines the content of the Resolution and highlights the state’s measures to put its principles into practice – such as moving away from rice monoculture and pursuing technological and “green” modernization – while paying particular attention to the condition of the Delta’s population. The article considers in detail the aggravation of negative trends, including rising poverty, deepening land inequality, premature deagrarianization of employment, and increasing out-migration. The author concludes that, despite the state’s efforts to transform the agricultural sector, the transformation is proceeding rather slowly, lagging behind the pace of ecosystem degradation.
Keywords
Vietnam, Mekong Delta, Vietnamese Government Resolution No. 120, agroecological transformation, climate change, poverty, migration, agriculture
Support
The article was prepared within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project No. FMSF-2024-0013 “Realities and prospects for the development of ASEAN countries in the context of regional and global processes”).
Acknowledgments
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For citation
Shcherbenko M.N. (2026). Strukturnyye sdvigi i sotsial’nyye izderzhki agroekologicheskoy transformatsii del’ty reki Mekong posle prinyatiya Postanovleniya № 120 [Structural shifts and social costs of the agroecological transformation of the Mekong Delta after the adoption of Resolution No. 120]. Vostochnaya Aziya: fakty i analitika [East Asia: Facts and Analytics], 8 (3): 34–47. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2686-7702-2026-3-34-47
References
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Dates
| Received Date: | Jun 29, 2026 |
| Accepted Date: | Aug 24, 2026 |
| Publication Date: | Sep 30, 2026 |
International License: CC BY 4.0