9. Research Outline

There are currently many different environmental and social sustainability certification schemes currently under development in Vietnam, all attempting to encourage more environmentally and socially acceptable practices in the farming industry. These different schemes are being promoted by NGO’s, international fish buyers and even the Vietnamese government, albeit for a variety of different reasons. However, there are many who have voiced scepticism over the touted benefits of this new mode of governance, producing examples of failed and ineffective certification systems from other places and other production systems.   The primary research question proposed in response to this problem is:

1. What are the challenges of implementing environmental and social sustainability certification schemes for Vietnamese Pangasius aquaculture?

The goal of this research is to critically examine new environmental and social sustainability certification schemes (ESC) and the Vietnamese Pangasius farming industry in order to evaluate the potential interaction between them. If these new systems are to succeed where others have failed it is important to understand the matches and mismatches between the governing system and the system-to-be-governed. In order to accomplish this it is necessary to initially divide the focus of the research between two different system elements, governing system and the system-to-be-governed. The primary question when examining the governing system is:

1 (a). What values do environmental and social certification schemes represent and what structures do they propose to govern Vietnamese Pangasius production?

This question refers to two different aspects of the governing system. The first are the operating principles of the certification schemes. Assumptions, motivation and other such meta principles are hard to determine, however they are integral to how a governing system chooses to proceed, so it is important to try to understand these underlying characters. The second aspect of the question focuses on the tools and mechanisms on implementation, the choice of which is highly dependent on meta-governance principles. When discussing issues of governance, “The devil is in the details” is a very appropriate saying. How a certification chooses to implement itself can have significant impact on the effectiveness of the intervention. The answer to this question will be found in rich empirical accounts of certification policy documents and observation of existing certification practices on the ground in Vietnam.

The second thrust of investigation must focus on the other half of the governance equation, the system-to-be-governed. The question in this case is relatively similar to the first:

1 (b). What does the act of Pangasius farming look like and how is it enabled and constrained by surrounding material and social structures?

As in the first question, this second question comprises two different aspects of the system-to-be-governed. First it asks about the basic practice of farming, what do the day-to-day activities look like, which is a descriptive task. The second aspect attempts to quantify the act of farming within it’s context, looking at the fundamental reasons for choices that are made at the farm level. By seeking to understand the linkages between the practice of farming and it’s surrounding material and social environment, one can start to see how and what kind of change might be possible. As in the previous question, the answers to this question will be found in rich and detailed observation and interaction with the Vietnamese Pangasius industry.

The third sub-question then attempts to compare the results of the previous two questions draw conclusions about how the interaction of the governing system and the system-to-be-governed might proceed:

1 (c). How does certification appear to align or not align with the Pangasius industry and how might expected governance interactions influence the effectiveness of certification?

This question has more of methodological angle than the previous two. In what ways can we can examine the interactions of these two different system elements? I will attempt to investigate this question using Interactive Governance as a theoretical approach, and concepts of boundaries and embeddedness as guides to interpret the empirical data collected from the previous two questions. I use the word ‘appear’ in the question because there are many different ways to analyse the matches and mismatches, and my answers will largely be determined by my theoretical stance and the concepts I use to describe the system. As such it is important to stress the subjective nature of the analysis, no matter how rational the theoretical construct employed. The second part of the question is also equally subjective, but nonetheless is an important question to ask.

The last element I will investigate in this thesis is the methodological value of my chosen framework and concepts. This is a small component of the analysis and is clearly demarcated from the rest of the thesis research questions:

2. How effectively do the theoretical framework and instrumental concepts used in this thesis inform the discussion about the challenges of implementing environmental and social sustainability certification schemes, specifically in the case of Vietnamese Pangasius aquaculture and more generally in other aquaculture commodities?

This question tends more toward application of academic thought. Although it will comprise only a small component of thesis, it is perhaps the most important, because of its focus on real world problem solving. Answering this question will require a critical evaluation of values and goals of the research, and the governance intervention. I will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen framework and also propose some alternative perspectives that could help to illuminate the primary thesis focus. Finally I will end with a personal evaluation of the role of the researcher in the process.

Having now outlined the research perspective I will now proceed to provide a richer background to the topic at issue, and a deeper introduction to my theoretical perspective and a few important concepts. Once I have accomplished that I will fill in these research questions with more detailed sub-questions, and finally layout my case study selection, methodology and methodological tools before proceeding to answer the questions I have posed here.