The Supported Policies in the Afforestation and Perennial Crops Project and its Effects on the Local Peoples’ Livelihoods in Dien Bien Province of Vietnam

Abstract

The Afforestation and Perennial Tree Plantation Project were implemented in several mountainous areas in Dien Bien province, Vietnam, for many purposes such as providing agricultural products, increasing incomes for the people in the projected areas, and reducing shifting cultivation. Based on these reasons, the central and local governments implemented several policies and subsidies for the growers, including rice subsidies for ethnic minorities who planted forests to replace shifting cultivation; investment support for planting protective forests and special-use forests; and providing seedlings. This article aimed to provide a clear view of the supporting policies in the Afforestation and Perennial Crops Project and its effects on the local people’s livelihoods in Dien Bien province of Vietnam. By analyzing the types of the capital of the livelihood assets (human capital, natural capital, financial capital, physical capital, and social capital), indicators of each capital type were chosen and scored in the context of achieving sustainable livelihoods. The results identified that the government has issued several policies to help the investors and farmers involved in this project. However, there were some concerns about the policies in practice, for example, the low percentage of dividend sharing for farmers, unclear land use rights, and inadequate applications of the policies in reality. In evaluating the livelihood assets, significant differences were found in the sustainable livelihood index gained between the rubber-based and non-rubber-based groups.