1. Sustainable forest management in Vietnam:
Transferring forest rights in a “socialist market”
Nhung Lu Rots
NINA & NMBU

2. Is reforestation process in Vietnam ‘a successful story’ after “Đổi mới” ?
Will transferring forest rights lead to sustainable forestry management?

3. Deforestation in Vietnam
1954: forests cover 43% total land surface
1990: 27%(FAO, 2009)
Deforestation in mangrove forests: 5%/year (Pham et al., 2012)

4. Causes of forest loss Land conversion to agriculture
Unsustainable logging
Institutions
Market forces
Infrastructure construction

6. Impact of intensive logging
Deforestation
Fragmented habitats
Changes in ecosystems
Land degradation
Challenges in water management

7. State Forest Enterprises
: the ‘Golden age’ of state enterprises in Vietnam
State forest enterprises (SFEs):
were given high logging quotas
conducted logging without replanting or replant with poor seedling (McElwee, 2012)
Networks of wood trade in Indochina

8. “Đổi mới” and reforms in forestry sector
1991- Forest Protection and Development Law
Decentralization of forest management(devolution process)
Forest land was redistributed to households and small forest managers
National reforestation programs: new forest plantations
1992: Decree 327-QD - Reforestation program
2006: Five million hectare Program
In 2000s: Privatization of state forestry enterprises

10. Replanting trees About 250 out of 400 SFEs are still in operation
Changes in forest area in Vietnam (Nguyen, 2008)
About 250 out of 400 SFEs are still in operation
: Forest land increases +2.54%
Fast growing species: eucalyptus, acacia and pine

11. Devolution process in Vietnam
Share land use, timber benefit and natural forest resources between people and forest companies
People have rights to collect timber (partial right) and non timber forest products (total right)
Households have to apply logging permit for timber
Households who do not have the legal right collect more timber than those who do

13. Mangrove forests in the Mekong Delta
Subject to loss of forest cover and forest degradation due to land conversion into aquaculture areas
National reforestation program neglects o replant trees in large mangrove areas
Shrimp farming pollutes coastal water and depletes mangrove forests

15. Mangrove’s ecosystem services
Protect coastal areas
Improve soil nutrition
Conserve biodiversity
Contain mangrove-associated flora (bacteria, fungi, alga… ) and mangrove-associated fauna (zooplankton, shrimp, birds and mammals…)
Provide livelihood for millions of people in Vietnam

17. Shrimp farming in mangrove forests
Construct shrimp ponds in mangrove forests
Use coastal tides to regulate water, seedling and feed
Stocking density: 2-5 shrimp/m2 (traditional practices) and 6-8 shrimp/m2 (improved extensive systems)
The production yield: kg/ha (traditional)and kg/ha (improved)
Mangroves’ roles: promoting high shrimp yields, balancing the natural environment and preventing shrimp diseases

19. Forest rights and the standing mangrove trees
Forestry laws in Vietnam regulate:
mangrove wood can only be harvested 11 years after planting
mangrove area: 50-70% of the total farm land.
An unfair sharing system of mangrove wood (Ha, van Dijk and Bush, 2012):
Most farmers do not have full rights over their mangrove forests
Farmers have to sell mangrove wood to forest companies at given price
shrimp revenue is 1539USD/ha year while income from mangrove wood is 596USD/ha per production cycle of 15 years

20. Sustainable forestry management
Decision 10/QD.UB (22/9/2010) by the authorities of Ca Mau province
Long-term land use rights are transferred from forest companies to farmers
REDD+ and Payment for Environment Services: secured farmers’ right over the mangrove forests and shrimp ponds
FAO: certifying farmers who own sustainably managed shrimp farms (WWF, 2015)

21. Conclusion “Đổi mới” and forest transition in Vietnam
Mangrove forests in the Mekong Delta
Forest devolution and sustainable forest management

22. Sources
FAO (2009). Vietnam forestry outlook study. Working Paper No. APFSOS II/WP/2009/09. Bangkok, Thailand: Forestry and Agriculture Organization
Ha, T. T. T., van Dijk, H., Bush, S. R. (2012). Mangrove conservation or shrimp farmer’s livelihood? The devolution of forest management and benefit sharing in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ocean & Coastal Management 69, (2012),
McElwee, P. (2009). Reforesting “bare hills” in Vietnam: Social and environmental consequences of the 5 million hectare reforestation programme. Ambio, 38(6), 325–333.
Nguyen, T. Q. (2008a). Re-inventing forestry agencies: institutional restructuring of forestry agencies in Viet Nam since In Durst et. al. (eds.). Re-inventing forestry agencies: Experiences of institutional restructuring in Asia and the Pacific, p Bangkok, Thailand: Food and Agriculture Organization.
Pham,T.T., Moeliono, M., Nguyen,T.H., Nguyen, H.T., Vu, T.H. (2012). The context of REDD+ in Vietnam: Drivers, agents and institutions. Occasional Paper 75. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia.
WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature (2015). Sustainable financing in the Mekong Delta. Final report, April, 2015.

23. Cảm ơn!