The Push for Plantations: Drivers, Rationales and Social Vulnerability in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam

The Acacia Plantation Boom in Thừa Thiên Huế Province, Central Vietnam: A Survey of Tree Farmers’ Shifting Livelihoods, Environmental Perceptions, and Occupational Perspectives

“…Cochard et al 2021), even if A Lưới was still the poorest of the three districts in 2018 (average asset value index of ~1302 USD, compared to ~3243 USD in Hương Trà and ~5972 USD in Phú Lộc; Table 3). This confirms the patterns shown in other studies (Thulstrup 2015;Thulstrup et al, 2013;Epprecht et al, 2011).…”

“…In TTHP the acacia boom in the physical landscape (which followed certain spatial gradients) has been in close interaction with a significant restructuring of the social-political landscape since the 1990s. As fastgrowing trees which can grow on heavily degraded sites (Evert 2014), exotic acacias emerged as economically valuable during 'reforestation' programs in the 1990s, and plantations have since spread to the valleys in the uplands, where acacias have been taken up as a 'politically accepted' andwithin constrained contextsrelatively lucrative option for 'forest cultivation' (Cochard et al 2021;Nguyen and Kull 2022;Thulstrup et al, 2013;Arvola et al, 2020). The 'plantation boom' has thereby been linked to a re-distribution of forestlands, i.e.…”

Livelihood Resilience and Adaptive Capacity: Tracing Changes in Household Access to Capital in Central Vietnam

“…However, local forest management regimes differ widely in various parts of the country. A recent study, which recorded the change in forest cover in two communes in central Vietnam between 2000 -at the start of the implementation of a reforestation programand 2010, showed that significant areas of dense forest had been converted into other land uses, including forest plantations (Thulstrup, Casse, & Nielsen, 2013). Other studies have shown how the implementation of government programs can increase social inequality at the local level (McElwee, 2009;Thulstrup, 2014;Thulstrup et al, 2013).…”

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

“…Negative natural capital outcomes have been noted in some studies as well. Acacia plantations are at risk from natural hazards, particularly in central Vietnam where typhoon activity is high (Thulstrup et al 2013, Zhunusova et al 2019) and in the northern mountains where cold snaps can kill young trees (Le et al 2016). In Kien Giang, use of Rhizophora apiculata encouraged by reforestation projects replaced a more diverse mangrove ecology, leading to less resilience and increased coastal erosion as Rhizophora roots were less deep-rooted and could not withstand strong wave action (Phong et al 2017).…”