Fourteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

With the identification of river deltas as highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, efforts have been underway to mainstream climate change adaptation into development planning in many delta countries. Dutch experts and advisors have played a prominent role in this endeavor, mobilizing the experiences and specialized expertise of the Netherlands to craft influential long-term development plans for delta areas in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and elsewhere. This paper considers the circulations of Dutch expertise and agendas in one of these areas – the Mekong Delta of Vietnam – examining their translation into local practice and socio-material change. Based on ethnographic research at sites spanning multiple levels of governance in Vietnam and the Netherlands, and with a conceptual framework drawn from the transdisciplinary fields of political ecology and science and technology studies, findings illustrate the key role that Dutch expertise plays in the governance of climate change adaptation in the delta. The study suggests that attention to the translation of knowledge across multiple levels of governance can shed important light on the forces shaping adaptation to climate change in particular places, and the processes linking global science to local transformations.