Dr Thong Tran
Areas of expertise
- Social Change 160805
- Environmental Sociology 160802
- Natural Resource Management 050209
- Human Geography 1604
- Rural Sociology 160804
Research interests
- (Transboundary) environmental governance
- Human-environment relationships
- Environment and development nexus
- State-society interactions in environment and development
- Social learning
- Climate change adaptation
- Institutional change
- Rural livelihoods
- Mainland Southeast Asia
Biography
Dr Thong Tran is a visiting fellow at Fenner School of Environment and Society, College of Science, The Australian National University, where he obtained his PhD in Human Ecology in 2017. His research agenda focuses on the contested environment-development dynamics and their implications for sustainable development in the mainland Southeast Asia. He is interested in the interdisciplinary areas of environmental governance with a particular focus on transboundary environmental challenges, rural innovations in climate change adaptation, social learning, rural livelihoods, environmental justice, and institutional change. Currently, he is a research fellow at Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He is also a researcher of the Research Centre for Rural Development, An Giang University, Vietnam.
Dr Thong Tran is a member of the editorial boards for (1) Journal of Flood Risk Management published by Wiley providing an international platform for knowledge sharing in all areas related to flood risk, and (2) International Journal of Water Resources Development by Taylor and Francis publishing developments in water management and policy-making for water resources.
Researcher's projects
Research fellow in the Singapore Ministry of Education’s Social Science Research Council (SSRC) grant entitled "Sustainable governance of transboundary environmental commons in Southeast Asia" co-led by Professor David Taylor (Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore) and Professor Jonathan Rigg (School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, the UK), hosted at Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 2018-2021.
Co-investigator in the project "Evaluating social and environmental impacts of intensive rice production and pesticide use on water quality in the Lower Mekong Region: Case studies of An Giang, Vietnam and Chiang Rai, Thailand" funded by SUMERNET (Sustainable Mekong Research Network), 2020-2022.
Principal investigator in the project “Freshening salinity areas: Implications of Ba Lai irrigation scheme for agro-ecosystems and household adaptation in Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province" funded by SEARCA's (Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture) Seed Fund for Research and Training Program, 2018-2019.
Co-investigator in the project “Implications of hydropower projects in the Mekong mainstream and the role of sediments and wild fish to rural households in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: A case study in An Giang province" funded by VRN (Vietnam Rivers Network), Vietnam, 2011.
Principal investigator in the project “Impacts of pesticides on hired applicators’ health in Chau Thanh district, An Giang Province, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta” funded by the Research Center for Rural Development, An Giang University, Vietnam, 2011.
Principal investigator in the project “Impacts of saline intrusion on poor households’ livelihoods in the coastal areas of Ben Tre province, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta” funded by the SIDA/SAREC-funded project on sustainable rural development (RDViet) under the Department of Urban and Rural Development (SOL), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry (HUAF), Vietnam, 2010.
Principal investigator in the project “Women’s role in their livelihood activities in flood seasons – A case study in Tan Chau, An Giang, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta” funded by the Research Center for Rural Development, An Giang University, Vietnam, 2010.
Publications
- Tran, T A, Pittock, J & Tran, D D 2020, 'Adaptive flood governance in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: A policy innovation of the North Vam Nao scheme, An Giang Province', Environmental Science and Policy, 108, 45–55.
- Tran, T A & Suhardiman, D 2020, 'Laos' hydropower development and cross-border power trade in the Lower Mekong Basin: A discourse analysis', Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 61(2), 219–235.
- Tran, T A, James, H & Nhan, D K 2020, 'Effects of social learning on rural farmers' adaptive capacity: Empirical insights from the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', Society and Natural Resources, 33(9), 1053–1072.
- Tran, T A 2020, 'From free to forced adaptation: A political ecology of the 'state-society-flood' nexus in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 61(1), 162–182.
- Dang, T D & Tran, T A 2020, 'Rural industrialization and environmental governance challenges in the Red River Delta, Vietnam', Journal of Environment and Development, 29(4), 420–448.
- Nguyen, H Q, Tran, D D, Dang, K K, Korbee, D, Pham, L D M H, Vu, L T, Luu, T T, Ho, L H, Nguyen, P T, T. Ngo, T T, Nguyen, D T K, Wyatt, A, van Aalst, M, Tran, T A & Sea, W B 2020, 'Land-use dynamics in the Mekong delta: From national policy to livelihood sustainability', Sustainable Development, 28(3), 448–467.
- Tran, T A & Le, A T 2020, 'Policy transfer into flood management in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: A North Vam Nao study', International Journal of Water Resources Development, 36(1), 106–126.
- Tran, T A 2020, 'Learning as an everyday adaptation practice in the rural Vietnamese Mekong Delta', Climate and Development, 12(7), 610–613.
- Pham, H T V, Febriamansyah, R, Afrizal, A & Tran, T A 2020, 'Adapting to saline intrusion: Empirical insights from two coastal areas in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 28 (2), 1553–1566.
- Tran, T A & Rodela, R 2019, 'Integrating farmers' adaptive knowledge into flood management and adaptation policies in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: A social learning perspective', Global Environmental Change, 55, 84–96.
- Tran, T A 2019, 'Land use change driven out-migration: Evidence from three flood-prone communities in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', Land Use Policy, 88, 104157.
- Tran, T A, Nguyen, H T & Vo, T T 2019, 'Adaptation to flood and salinity environments in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: Empirical analysis of farmer-led innovations', Agricultural Water Management, 216, 89–97.
- Tran, T A, Pittock, J & Le, A T 2019, 'Adaptive co-management in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: Examining the interface between flood management and adaptation', International Journal of Water Resources Development, 35(2), 325–341.
- Tran, T A & James, H 2019, 'Changing livelihood options as adaptation: A comparative analysis of three flood control schemes in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', in Helen James (ed.), Population, Development, and The Environment: Challenges to Achieving the Sustainable development goals in the Asia Pacific, Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore, 137–154.
- Tran, T A, James, H & Pittock, J 2018, 'Social learning through rural communities of practice: Empirical evidence from farming households in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 16, 31–44.
- Pham, H T V, Febriamansyah, R, Afrizal, A & Tran, T A 2018, 'Government intervention and farmers' adaptation to saline intrusion: A Case study in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 8(5), 2142–2148.
- Tran, T A & James, H 2017, 'Transformation of household livelihoods in adapting to the impacts of flood control schemes in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta', Water Resources and Rural Development, 9, 67–80.
- Vo, T T, Tran, T A & Luong, D 2017, 'Water governance for sustainable development: International practices and implications for the Mekong Delta region', Journal of Economic Development, 24(4), 99–120.
