Sustainable Development in Tourism and the Interaction Between Human And Nature: A Case Study in Con Ho Islet, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Aims: Focusing on local communities in Con Ho Islet, Tra Vinh Province, this paper demonstrates the transformation in the livelihoods of the local people from traditional agriculture to ecotourism in response to environmental and economic changes, within the context of Vietnam’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Method: To be more specific, qualitative methods were conducted with the combination of semi-structured interviews with five local households and participant observations throughout field trips in 2024 and 2025 regarding three visits for ten days. The main frameworks in this paper are Cultural Ecology and Rational Choice Theory. Those frameworks support the reason why the locals choose the adaptive decisions based on climate change pressure and cultural traditions. Results: In our findings, we found that the way response of local communities to ecological stressors such as coastal erosion and salinity intrusion is culturally rational and informed. Conclusions: These local reactions align with some of the SDGs, especially Goals 1, 8, 13, and 14, which could expose the contribution of the locals to the nation and global sustainability target through their adaption to the change of environment.