Local government response capacity to natural disasters in the Central Highlands Provinces, Vietnam

The paper examines the governance capacity of provincial-level local governments in Vietnam’s Central Highlands to respond to increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters. Against the backdrop of deeper globalization and integration, improving governance capacity—especially at local levels—has become critical in Vietnam. Prior research and policy attention have focused more on national governance and community adaptation, with a notable gap on local government capacity to manage disasters. The Central Highlands (Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong) is a strategically important, ethnically diverse region with significant socio-economic constraints and growing environmental pressures (droughts, floods, forest degradation). The study aims to identify natural disasters occurring in 2015–2021, assess local authorities’ capacities in normal versus emergency states, highlight actions taken, diagnose limitations, and propose measures to strengthen proactive disaster response and mitigate losses.

The paper synthesizes Vietnamese and international perspectives on local governance. It reviews definitions and principles (respect for rights, rule of law, transparent resource management, participation, and decentralization) and notes that in Vietnam local governance is framed within national governance, limiting local autonomy and citizen roles (Anh, 2014; Ly, 2019; Truyen, 2021). Decentralization can be beneficial if local capacity is sufficient (Halfani, 1996; Wilson, 2000). Brinkerhoff’s (2008) three levels of local capacity are discussed; the Central Highlands is assessed to align around level 2, with limited citizen engagement in normal times and stronger but ad hoc social organization involvement during disasters, and weak accountability. Components of capacity identified include institutional, organizational, implementation, technical, and political (Long & Trang, 2020; Merilee, 2009; Truyen, 2021). Shortcomings are reported across components: lagging legal frameworks, slow and poorly coordinated apparatus, limited implementation and technical capacity (especially technology use), and difficulties transitioning from normal to emergency states. The “four on the spot” disaster response approach (on-site command, forces, resources/equipment, logistics) is highlighted as a guiding operational principle but unevenly implemented.

The study is a desk-based analysis focusing on provincial-level local government governance capacity for disaster risk management in the Central Highlands. Data sources comprise available documents, reports, statistics, and secondary datasets from the five provinces. The research addresses six questions on: (1) capacity to develop and issue guiding documents; (2) organizational/administrative capacity to respond; (3) capacity of civil servants; (4) capacity to provide public services during disasters; (5) capacity to raise people’s knowledge and support self-governance during disasters; and (6) capacity to mobilize social organizations’ participation. A conceptual framework (Fig. 4 in the paper) underpins analysis. The following hypotheses were tested: H01: Guiding documents do not meet practical requirements; H02: Organizational apparatus capacity does not meet actual requirements; H03: Civil servants’ capacity does not meet actual requirements; H04: Public service provision during disasters does not meet actual requirements; H05: Capacity to develop people’s knowledge and self-governance during disasters does not meet actual requirements; H06: Capacity to mobilize social organizations’ participation is insufficient. The scope explicitly excludes reporting and accountability capacity from the analysis.

- Disaster trends and impacts (2015–2021): Floods and droughts intensified in frequency and severity. In the historic August 2019 flood, all five provinces recorded 10 deaths and 4 injuries; 3,717 houses flooded (e.g., Lam Dong 2,430), 548 houses relocated in Lam Dong; 8,382 ha of rice and crops flooded; damage to perennial and annual crops (e.g., 703 ha perennial, 2,558 ha annual) and 1,083 ha fruit trees; 299 cattle and 120,741 poultry lost; aquaculture losses (125 ha ponds and 4,300 m³ cages); total damages around 992.5 billion VND. - Drought exposure and water scarcity: Drought risk indices show widespread high risk. Provincial district-level drought risk proportions reported include: Dak Lak: 87% high risk; Lam Dong: 42% high risk (50% high-low); Gia Lai: 41% high (35% low; 24% moderate); Kon Tum: 20% high (70% low; 10% moderate); Dak Nong: 12% high (38% low; 50% moderate). Dak Lak faces severe surface and groundwater shortage (~362 million m³/year). Lam Dong has two districts with serious surface water shortages (demand ~128 million m³/year). Regional groundwater exploitation potential (~5,400 million m³/day-night) is stressed by industrial crop expansion and over-extraction. - Agricultural losses: In 2016/2017, 110,766 ha of industrial crops and fruit trees were affected by drought; 7,586 ha lost (including ~496 ha pepper). Province-level losses included Dak Lak (~56,138 ha coffee affected; ~4,399 ha lost), Dak Nong (~22,658 ha affected; 1,767 ha coffee lost), Lam Dong (~30,439 ha affected; 161 ha lost), Gia Lai (coffee ~399 ha affected; pepper ~218 ha). - Institutional and organizational capacity: Document issuance is voluminous but often reactive and with shortcomings (legal validity, format, clarity). In emergencies, local documents largely mirror superior directives; local creativity and timeliness are limited. Organizational reforms lag; functions and decentralization remain unclear, coordination mechanisms weak, and apparatuses appear passive/confused in disasters. - Human resources: Skills gaps, low professionalism in some areas, and limited forecasting/coordination capacity are reported. Grassroots political system quality is variable: 6,518 leaders/managers untrained; 604 villages/residential groups lack party cells (~7.93%); around 10% of People’s Councils/Committees operate poorly; 2.8% of grassroots party organizations rated weak. Discipline cases (e.g., 361 party members disciplined in 2019 across the region) reflect governance challenges. - Public service provision and e-government: Online public services are limited and uneven. Document processing electronically is partial (e.g., Kon Tum: ~95% provincial, 85% district, 70% commune; Dak Lak: 100% provincial, 60% district, 30% commune). Synchronization and procedure coding issues exist (e.g., Dak Nong, Gia Lai), and some provinces have not fully connected to the National Public Service Portal. Kon Tum provided 32 level-3 services by end-2019 and had ~6.5% online application rate by Dec 2020 (4,003/66,929). - Citizen capacity and participation: Educational levels of ethnic minorities are limited; law and environmental awareness are low in some areas, constraining self-help and effective participation. Mobilizing human power is possible, but resource mobilization is difficult. - Social organizations: Participation is modest in normal times and largely relief-focused during emergencies; coordination mechanisms and information exchange with authorities are unclear or weak; budget for flood prevention is reported at <1% of total investment in the Central Highlands. - Technical and planning gaps: Inadequate forecasting and early warning; degraded irrigation reservoirs; unsynchronized upstream hydro-meteorological monitoring; lack of GIS databases and a General Electronic Atlas; absence of detailed landslide zoning maps beyond district-level warnings; infrastructure vulnerabilities (frequent urban flooding; road erosion). - Environmental pressures exacerbate risk: Ongoing deforestation (e.g., thousands of cases detected; 417 deforestation cases in first five months of 2020 damaging 126.8 ha), forest cover quality issues (poor/medium forests dominate), uncontrolled migration to protection/special-use forests, hydropower/solar expansion and industrial projects encroaching on forest land, and overuse of groundwater intensify drought/flood risks. - Actions taken: Provinces established disaster prevention and search-and-rescue steering committees (~122 members at provincial level; ~1,400 at district level), implemented four-on-the-spot measures, directed evacuations, traffic control, and essential supplies. However, limitations persist in forecasting, planning, resourcing, and sustained coordination.

The findings confirm that provincial local governments’ disaster response capacity in the Central Highlands is inadequate across the six assessed components. Document systems are reactive and insufficiently tailored to local realities; organizational apparatuses struggle to transition quickly from normal to emergency states due to unclear decentralization and weak coordination; civil servant capacity shows gaps in forecasting, flexibility, and professionalism; public service provision (especially digital) is underdeveloped, hindering communication and service continuity during disasters; people’s knowledge and self-governance capacities are limited, particularly among ethnic minorities; and social organization participation is significant only during relief and remains poorly coordinated. These capacity weaknesses, combined with environmental degradation (deforestation, poorly managed hydro/solar expansion, groundwater overuse) and infrastructure deficits, exacerbate drought and flood impacts, leading to rising human and economic losses. Central government strategies and directives (e.g., national disaster strategies to 2030/2050; community awareness projects; high-level conferences) underscore the need for stronger local capacity. The study’s assessment highlights that sustainable disaster risk management requires integrating early warning, risk zoning, infrastructure resilience, transparent governance, community participation, and attention to livelihoods and education for vulnerable groups. Strengthening four-on-the-spot implementation with real preparedness, data systems (GIS/atlases), and inter-agency coordination is essential to move from reactive to proactive governance.

Natural disasters in Vietnam’s Central Highlands have intensified, while local government capacity remains insufficient from forecasting through response and recovery. The paper contributes an assessment of provincial governance capacity in normal versus emergency states (2015–2021), documenting institutional, organizational, human resource, service delivery, citizen engagement, and social organization mobilization gaps, alongside concrete evidence of disaster impacts. To mitigate future losses and advance sustainable development, the authors recommend: issuing timely, locally grounded guidance documents and improving inter-agency coordination; training and professionalizing civil servants and strengthening specialized disaster committees; enhancing transparency and accountability (planning, budgets, projects) via provincial portals; curbing rapid expansion of hydropower and mis-sited solar projects and aligning development with environmental protection; defining a long-term strategic master plan that prioritizes resilient infrastructure, forest protection, and sustainable livelihoods; and prioritizing the livelihoods and educational attainment of ethnic minorities to build community-based resilience and forest stewardship. Implementing these measures can shift local governance from reactive to proactive, reducing disaster risks and damages.

The study is based on secondary data (available documents, reports, and statistics) from the five Central Highlands provinces and focuses on provincial-level governance capacity for disaster risk management during 2015–2021. By design, it excludes analysis of reporting and accountability capacity. Findings reflect the scope and quality of available sources and the specified period and geography.