Viet Nam/Cambodia: Ecology and Community-based Natural Resource Management

This program is titled Viet Nam: Delta Ecology and Resource Management for the fall 2010 semester.

Explore the ecological and cultural resources of the Mekong Delta, an intensely cultivated landscape flanking the longest river in Southeast Asia.

Reaching 3,000 miles from the Plateau of Tibet to the South China Sea, the Mekong River flows through six countries populated by 60 million people.

Protecting the basin will require unprecedented cooperation. Much proposed development -- such as dams, irrigation, and dredging—will dramatically alter the river’s flow and impact the delta in unpredictable ways.

Students examine wetlands, soil, mangroves, shrimp farms, aquaculture, migratory bird habitats, freshwater swamps, and grasslands, and explore issues of sustainable development, pressures on natural resource exploitation, and ecotourism in Viet Nam and Cambodia. This program features lecturers and program support from Can Tho University, which is internationally recognized for its research on marine aquaculture and water management.

Additional resource and program partners generally include:

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research

 

Mekong River Boat Excursion
The program features a unique river expedition providing program participants exceptional access to the controversial landscape of Mekong dams. These dams are central to current debates over the future of the Mekong River and are an important aspect of regional development. As they travel from Northern Cambodia along the river by boat, students visit the actual sites of proposed dams and observe habitats of the critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin and migratory fish. The excursion provides students multiple opportunities to engage with many of the leading individuals shaping the debate over contemporary Mekong River issues. See a map of the excursion route. 
Joanna Tsai and fellow students work on a biogas project during their semester with SIT Study Abroad SIT Viet Nam Ecology Alumna Wins Fulbright Grant to Examine Biogas Systems.  Joanna Tsai, Spring 2007 student, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to study biogas systems in Sweden. "I think it is wonderful that I have been able to take what I learned in Viet Nam and apply it in other locations!  I hope that current and future SIT students will continue to think big and contemplate what they’ve learned abroad even after their return home."

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Printable Program Summary
Credits: 16

Duration: Fall/Spring, 15 weeks

Program Base: Can Tho

Language Study: Vietnamese

Prerequisites: None

Map of Viet Nam

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