The effect of forestland allocation to the livelihoods of local people in the North Central Coast of Vietnam: A case in Nam Dong district

Abstract

Forestland allocation (FLA) policy in Vietnam aimed at conserving forests and improving local livelihoods.In regard to the effectiveness of FLA, some authors reported improvements in forest cover and quality, whereas others stated inappropriate implementation process and minor impacts on household income. Hence, this study examined whether disturbances in initial stage still existed, how allocated forestlands were utilized, and how FLA contributed to local livelihoods under different forest management regimes. D village of Nam Dong district, where FLA was introduced in 1995, was selected as a case, and 78 households were randomly selected for household interviews. The results revealed that shifting cultivation, once widely reported in mountainous regions, had already ceased before our survey. Natural forests allocated to groups were mainly utilized for non-wood forest product (NWFP) collection, regardless of whether those users had an allocation. Individually allocated areas were converted to acacia and recently to rubber plantations. The rotation of acacia plantation was five to seven years with intercropping cassava in the initial stage. FLA contributed to adjusting an uneven distribution of farmland and income, but the effect remained nominal. The role of FLA in income generation was limited due to small allocation area per household (1.50 ha on average). Switching to rubber trend was another reason of limited income derived from FLA. Therefore NWFP played a more significant role in the household economy than plantation yields. Investment in livestock was first preference of respondents, which suggests the importance of small-scale livestock rearing in the areas facing land shortage.

Complexity of the Socio-Ecological Dynamics in Hong Ha Commune in the Vietnamese Highland—A Review through the Coupled Human and Natural Systems Framework

“…While the local scale of this study limits the ability to make exhaustive policy recommendations, our findings may still provide insightful lessons on how national policies may be improved within and beyond commune borders. Indeed, similar policy outcomes had been found in other Vietnamese highland communes, such as feedbacks between forest degradation, flood-related damages, and food insecurity [23]; an impact of landscape heterogeneity on land use decisions [20,25]; or a coupling of livelihood to wood and agricultural markets [10,20,25].…”

“…Some case studies reported overall positive effects on forest resources and livelihoods [20,21]. Other case studies, however, reported continued degradation and deforestation of natural forests following the implementation of FLA policies, while only commercial tree plantations increased in area [10,[22][23][24]. Furthermore, improvements in the local livelihood were reported to be either small [23] or disproportionally larger for some population groups compared to others, such as for Kinh people, the ethnic majority in Vietnam, compared to ethnic minority members [10,25].…”

“…Such varying policy success among highland communes was often the result of complex socio-ecological dynamics. For instance, feedbacks between flood damage, food insecurity, and illegal forest use promoted forest degradation [23]; the heterogeneity in slopes and elevations across the hilly landscape of the Vietnamese highland affected land use decisions [20,25]; or the improvement in livelihood of population groups was coupled to their access to markets for wood or agricultural products [10,20,25]. While great efforts have been made to identify these complex socio-ecological dynamics, case studies varied widely in their assessment methods and could only address certain aspects of socio-ecological dynamics in a local context.…”

Assessing the Social Benefits of Tree Planting by Smallholders in Vietnam: Lessons for Large-Scale Reforestation Programs

“…There are also indications of gender impacts, as women's interests in tree planting often focus on multifunctional agroforestry, food security, and fuelwood production (which have tended to be de-emphasized in reforestation projects), while men have sought out income increasing opportunities (Nguyen et al 2016b, Villamor et al 2017). Women have often provided labor for tree planting within households, but rarely have controlled decision-making about the forest plot (Richards 2019).…”

Acacia Plantation Development and the Configuration of Tree Farmers’ Agricultural Assets and Land Management—A Survey in Central Vietnam

“…During the 1990s many communities were re-settled by government programs from remote areas to the main A Lưới Valley, with the emptied areas subsequently being developed for hydro-electric dams, for nature conservation, and for timber production forestlands of state-owned forest companies (SFCs) [27,[31][32][33][34]. Swidden agriculture and many forest uses were prohibited by law, impelling the communities to adopt new, more intensive forms of agricultural land management and monocrops (rice, cassava, acacia plantations, aquaculture), at the sacrifice of diverse traditional methods of resource production and subsistence [1,26,27,[35][36][37][38][39]. Conversely, in some communes (e.g., Ðông Sơn) where soils were contaminated with dioxins from the spraying and spilling of the defoliant Agent Orange during the war [40], the planting of acacias may also have provided new lower-risk agricultural opportunities.…”