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ASIA FOREST NETWORK

The Asia Sustainable Forest Management Network supports the role of communities in protection and sustainable use of the region's natural forests. The Network comprises a small, select coalition of Asian planners, foresters, and scientists from government agencies, universities, and non-government organizations, many of whom have collaborated for years. The solidarity of the Network members is based on a common commitment to exploring alternative management strategies for Asia's disturbed natural forest lands. The emphasis of the Network's research includes the ecology of natural regeneration, the economics of non-timber forest product systems, and the community organizations and institutional arrangements which support participatory management. The lessons stemming from the research aim to inform field implementation procedures, reorient training, and guide policy reform.

For more information about the Network and its publications, please contact:

Center for Southeast Asia Studies Institute of Environmental University of California, Berkeley Science for Social Change 2223 Fulton Street, Room 617 1/F, Manila Observatory Bldg. (ESSC) Berkeley, CA 94720 Loyola Heights, P.O. Box 244 U.S.A. 1101 U.P. Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines Tel: (510) 642-3609 Tel: (63-2) 924-1751 Fax: (510) 643-7062 Fax: (63-2) 924-4414

©1998 Asia Forest Network

Front cover photograph : An elder Dzao expert in traditional medicine displays one of the forest tubers that is a key ingredient in many of her prescriptions. Eighty percent of the households in Yen Son village, a buffer community of Ba Vi National Park, gain much of their cash income from ethnomedicine. (photo: Poffenberger)

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STEWARDS OF VIETNAM'S UPLAND FORESTS

A collaborative study by the Asia Forest Network and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute

Vo Tri Chung Eric Crystal Nguyen Huy Dzung Vu Van Dzung Nguyen Huy Phon Mark Poffenberger Thomas Sikor Jennifer Sowerwine Peter Walpole

Edited by

Mark Poffenberger

Research Network Report

Number 10 -- January 1998

CONTENTS

List of Figures and Boxes Foreword PART I: THE NATIONAL FOREST SECTOR 1 Changing Forest Cover 1 A History of State-Upland Community Relationships 9 Adapting National Policies for Upland Contexts 12 Conclusion 15 PART II: FOREST POLICY REFORM: FROM STATE TO HOUSEHOLD 18 FORESTRY State Forestry 19 Major Policies 19 Policy Outcomes 21 Problems of State Forestry 22 Page 3 of 11

Household Forestry: The Emergence of a New Model 25 Major Policy Reforms 26 Experience from Policy Implementation 29 Conclusion 32 PART III: COMMUNITY CASE STUDIES FROM UPLAND VIETNAM 39 Da River Watershed: A Regional Overview 39 Ethnic Groups and Their Land Use Practices 41 The Hoa Binh Dam 43 Local Administration 45 Resource Management in a Tai Village 47 Tai Land Use Practices 48 Emerging Forest Management Issues 52 Resource Management in a H'Mong Village 55 H'mong Land Use Practices 57 Emerging Forest Management Issues 62 Changing Resource Management Roles for Community and Government 64 Conclusion 68 PART IV: BA VI NATIONAL PARK AND THE DZAO 71 Ba Vi National Park: History and Context 71 Park Administration 73 Management Zones 75 Forest Land Allocation Policies and Buffer Zone Development 77 Projects Ethnomedicine and Forest Management 80 Dzao Traditional Medicine 81 Collection 83 Processing 84 Prescriptions and Marketing 84 Managing and Development 84 Conclusion 86 PART V: THE ROLE OF COMMUNITIES IN UPLAND FOREST MANAGEMENT 90 References Contributors

LIST OF FIGURES

1 Historical Population and Forest Cover Trends in Vietnam 2 Changing Forest Cover in Vietnam-1943 to 1992 3 Map of Vietnam's Uplands & Forested Regions- 1992 4 Da River Watershed Map 5 Sketch Map of Chieng Hac Commune, Yen Chau District Page 4 of 11

6 Map of Tai Land Use Classification - Ban Tat Village, Da River, Vietnam 7 Transect of Tai Land Use Classification - Ban Tat Village, Da River, Vietnam 8 Map of H'mong Land Use Classification - Chi Dai Village, Da River, Vietnam 9 Transect of H'mong Land Use Classification - Chi Dai Village, Da River, Vietnam 10 Ba Vi National Park & Management Zones 11 Land Use Transect of Ba Vi National Park, Vietnam

LIST OF BOXES

1 The Xompa of Na Phieng 2 Mrs. Lan, Dzao Herbal Healer

FOREWORD

In precolonial times, the uplands of Vietnam were heavily forested and sparsely inhabited by a variety of ethnic groups who settled in the narrow mountain valleys growing irrigated rice or practiced long-rotation rainfed farming at higher elevations. Even remote watersheds were inhabited by diverse hill tribes who had moved into the region from other parts of Southeast Asia and Southern China. Community institutions and regional chiefs defined territorial rights, permitting the establishment of new villages established as the population expanded. Forests lands were valuable resources for hunting and gathering, providing land for new fields and settlements, and for stabilizing the water sources that fed their villages, fish ponds, and rice fields. Ethnic communities controlled forest use through their unique traditional institutions, imposing fees, fines, and other regulatory mechanisms.

Over the past century, the government has gained increasing control over the management of Vietnam's forests. As government ministries and public and private industry have taken a broadening role in resource exploitation and management, traditional forest use systems have eroded. During the 1960's and 1970's, the government intensified efforts to establish new administrative structures and implement national policies in many remote upland regions around the country, accelerating the displacement of indigenous institutions.

Upland resources have been exported to lowland, urban centers to finance economic development, often at the expense of resident people. Population growth in upland provinces is driven both by natural increase and a steady influx of lowland migrants, sometimes exceeding 6 percent annually, and placed intensifying pressure on the mountainous areas leading to progressive forest degradation and ultimately deforestation.

There are many parallels between Vietnam's experiences in forest management and that of other Asian nations, and other countries around the world. At the end of the 20th century, human societies are confronted by the challenge of balancing the roles of government, community, and the private sector in sustainably managing forest ecosystems allowing upland watersheds to perform essential environmental functions while meeting the resource needs of expanding populations.

Part I provides a brief history of forest management in Vietnam, followed by an assessment of the sociopolitical and demographic forces that are the underlying causes of deforestation. Part II examines changes in national forest policies, focusing on the transition from state control to household management. The success of emerging privatization policies and programs in stimulating increased timber productivity in some lowland and midland regions is contrasted with the difficulties encountered when such projects are implemented in upland contexts, especially where communal forest management traditions persist. Part III describes how Tai and H'Mong communities in Yen Chau District in the Da River watershed of Northwest Vietnam use their forest resources and discusses some of the forest management issues villagers face as demographic pressures build Page 5 of 11

and policies change. Part IV reviews how one Dzao village was resettled in a buffer area, bounding on Ba Vi National Park near Hanoi, and how villagers continue to depend on the forest for their livelihoods. Both case studies illustrate ways community forest use practices are supported by and are in conflict with emerging policies. Part V synthesizes the information presented in this monograph and suggests how community forest management policies and programs could be strengthened in the uplands and made more responsive to local cultures and indigenous management systems.

The Asia Forest Network (AFN) seeks to synthesize learning from academic research and development activities to illuminate both the underlying causes of and potential solutions to the problem of deforestation. Over the past five years, the AFN has published a series of country reviews that describe the state of community involvement in forest management in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and India. Each case examines the history of forest management and evolving forest policies, and presents case studies illustrating contemporary strategies and emerging issues. This fifth country case study examines the changing direction of Vietnam's national forest policies and how they are affecting forest dependent communities.

Over the past five years Asia Forest Network and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute have been supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. We are most grateful to the Foundation for this opportunity to collaborate, with special thanks to Dr. Kuswata Kartawinata. We thank the East West Center's Program on the Environment for their administrative assistance, especially Jeff Fox and Meg White. The Asia Forest Network would also like to appreciatively acknowledge the core support it received from the Wallace Global Fund and USAID's Global Bureau.

Many individuals have contributed to the development of this report. The commitment of Dr. Nguyen Huy Phon, Deputy Director of the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, to Vietnam's participation in the Asia Forest Network has encouraged this work throughout its gestation. FIPI field staff frequently left their families for extended periods to conduct field trips with AFN colleagues. We are also grateful for the guidance we received from Jeff Fox, John Ambler, Mike Benge, Alex Moad, and Jerker Thurnberg. We are indebted to Neil Jamieson for his past advice and his careful reading and thoughtful comments on this manuscript.

This AFN study substantially benefited from the pioneering research and publications of the Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES) and the East-West Center. We are grateful to Le Trong Cuc, Terry Rambo, and other members of that fruitful collaboration for their contributions to our thinking. The AFN team also gained many insights from discussions with Paul Van Der Poel and Guenter Meyer of the Social Forestry Development Project Song Da (SFDP), and we are indebted to them for sharing their experiences and knowledge with us.

We would like to thank Kevin Kolb and the cartographers of FIPI and to Peter Walpole's staff at ESE for developing the maps and transects presented in this report. We are appreciative of the work of Kathryn Smith- Hansen in developing the manuscript, Gary Mcdonald for his careful editing, and Magdalene Khoo for her artful layout. Finally, our thanks to Jack vander Brulle and Apollo Press for printing this monograph.

Mark Poffenberger

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Contributors

Vo Tri Chung is a Senior Expert in Forestry, Ecology, and Ethnography at the Forest Resources and Environment Center (FREC) at the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI) in Hanoi. Mr. Chung has conducted research relating to community forestry in Vietnam. He took his undergraduate degree at the Agro- Forestry Academy in Hanoi nad has done postgraduate work in human ecology at the Los Banos campus of the University of the Philippines. Mr. Chung has conducted long-term field work in northwestern Vietnam.

Eric Crystal received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1971. A specialist in highland development issues in Southeast Asia, he has worked extensively in Indonesia and recently in upland Vietnam. From 1984 to the present he has held the position of Coordinator, Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California at Berkeley.

Nguyen Huy Dzung received his undergraduate degree in forestry from the National Forest College in Xuan Mai, Vietnam in 1962. Since 1983 he has been Social Forestry Researcher with the Forest Resources and Environment Center. Mr. Dzung is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the National Agricultural Science Institute where he is specializing in aerial residing techniques for re -forestation projects.

Vu Van Dzung is Vice-Director of the Forest Resources and Environment Center. He received his undergraduate degree in biology in 1962 from Hanoi University. Mr. Dzung maintains a long-term interest in biodiversity conservation issues. Prior to assuming his current administrative post he served as Chief botanist with the Institute for Forest Science Research in Hanoi.

Nguyen Huy Phon is Deputy Director of the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). A specialist in land use planning, Dr. Phon recently received his Ph.D. from the National Institute of Agricultural Science (1996) based on the results of his current research on land use planning in forested areas of Vietnam.

Mark Poffenberger is Director of the Asia Forest Network based at the Center for Southeast Asia Studies at the University of California. He has a doctorate in community development from the University of Michigan. Dr. Poffenberger has spent over 30 years designing and guiding community resource management research in Asia. His books include Patterns of Change in the Nepal Himalaya. Keepers of the Forest, and Village Voices, Forest Choices.

Thomas Sikor is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Energy and Resources Group of the University of California at Berkeley. His research interests are in the area of socioeconomic causes and effects of rural resource use. He is currently conducting dissertation field research in Vietnam on the effects of agricultural reform on land use practices in three Black Thai hamlets of Northwestern Vietnam. He has participated in numerous research and consulting projects on rural development and environmental issues in Vietnam for the World Bank and the East-West Center.

Jennifer Sowerwine is a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California at Berkeley. She is researching how economic liberalization and highland development strategies in Northern Vietnam affect minority access to and benefits derived from medicinal plant collection and trade, and the implications these changes have on medicinal plant ecology.

Peter Walpole is the Director of the Institute of Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSE) based in Manila. He holds degrees in geology and environmental studies and is currently completing a doctorate at Kings College in London, England. Mr. Walpole has spent nearly 20 years in Southeast Asia, facilitating action research programs in the field and assisting planners in shaping social and environmental policies responsive to community needs.

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ASIA FOREST NETWORK PUBLICATIONS

Research Network Reports

No. 1. Sustaining Southeast Asia's Forests, June 1992. 2. Community Allies: Forest Co-Management in Thailand, August 1993. 3. Communities and Forest Management in East Kalimantan: Pathway to Environmental Stability, August 1993. 4. Upland Philippine Communities: Guardians of the Final Forest Frontier, August 1993. 5. Proceedings of the Policy Dialogue on Natural Forest Regeneration and Community Management, April 1994. 6 Transitions in Forest Management: Shifting Community Forestry from Project to Process, August 1995 7 Grassroots Forest Protection: Eastern Indian Experiences, March 1996 8 Facilitating Collaborative Planning in Hawai'i's Natural Area Reserves, December 1996 9 Linking Government with Community Resource Management, May 1997

Other Publications

Field Methods Manual, Vol. I. Diagnostic Tools for Supporting Joint Forest Management Systems, 1992.

Field Methods Manual, Vol. II. Community Forest Economy and Use Patterns: Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Methods in South Gujarat, India, 1992.

Field Methods Manual, Vol III: Manual Geographic Information Systems for Joint Forest Management Inventory, Planning and Monitoring, Forthcoming 1996

Case Study Training Modules Series, Bangkok: Asia Forest Network and RECOFTC, 1995

Village Voices, Forest Choices: Indian Experiences in joint Forest Management, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996.

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PART I

THE NATIONAL FOREST SECTOR

Mark Poffenberger Nguyen Huy Phon

Any study of Vietnam’s forest resources must include a discussion of the ways the nation’s population has expanded, especially over the past two hundred years. The densely populated Red River Delta has supported large populations for centuries. As early as 1600, an estimated 6 million people lived in Vietnam, 90 percent of whom resided in the north ’s lowland delta and flood plains. Between 1600 and 1800, evidence indicates the population was relatively stable; however, by 1921 it had expanded to 15.6 million, growing primarily along the central coastal plains and in the Mekong Delta. Since 1921 the population has increased steadily, reaching 54 million in 1982, 61 million in 1989, and approaching 75 million in 1997 ( FN 1 ), making Vietnam one of Asia’s most densely populated countries. Current projections indicate that the population will reach 100 million by the year 2020 (see Figure 1).

Since Vietnam declared its independence from France in 1945, the country’s upland population has expanded rapidly through natural growth and migration. The population of upland areas is currently 25 million people, representing one-third of the country’s inhabitants. While war, policy changes, economic development, and the introduction of new technologies have all been linked to the steady decline of Vietnam’s natural forests, population expansion is arguably the fundamental, underlying cause of deforestation. Future policy strategies to stabilize the country’s upland forests and critical watersheds must consider how to accommodate a population that will continue to expand for at least several decades to come.

Changing Forest Cover

Fifty-eight percent, or 19 million hectares, of the 33 million hectares comprising the total land area of Vietnam is legally classified as forest under the jurisdictional authority of the state Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Ecologically speaking, only part of this area actually possesses forest vegetation. The total forest cover has declined steadily throughout the 20th century and the decline has accelerated in recent decades. Forest cover fell from 14 million hectares in 1943 to 9.3 million hectares in 1995, with over 10 million hectares covered by grasses, brush, or a few scattered trees. Only 3 million hectares are considered to Page 2 of 10

possess well-stocked, healthy forests (see Figure 2).

While massive investments in lowland and midland tree planting have begun to stabilize national forest cover statistics, natural forests in upland regions are under mounting extractive pressure. Old growth natural forest is estimated to have fallen to 2 million hectares. Recent estimates indicate that deforestation is progressing at a rate of 100,000 to 200,000 hectares annually (FN 2) . Deforestation is not taking place evenly across the country, however, and consequently it is important to discuss regional patterns. Vietnam can be divided into nine forestry regions, providing a framework to examine forest management conditions and needs (see Figure 3). The regions can be grouped according to whether they are in the densely populated Red River Delta or Mekong River Delta, or in coastal provinces, or in upland areas. Page 3 of 10

Red River and Mekong Deltas. The Red River Delta has an average population density exceeding 1,200 persons per square kilometer, making it one of the most populous agricultural regions in the world. In the Red River Delta, trees are only sparsely found along roads, canals, and in home gardens. Forests are rare. As indicated in Table 1, Red River forests cover only 3 percent of the land area in the delta, having changed little over the past 50 years. The Mekong Delta is not as densely populated, with 369 persons per square kilometer reported in 1992. Since population growth has occurred steadily over the past 50 years, forest cover has receded from 23 to 9 percent during this period. As centers of government for the majority Kinh cultural groups, the urban centers of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and their four neighboring districts have been the focal points for the economic growth of the past decade, attracting approximately 80 percent of the $21 billion of foreign capital invested in Vietnam between 1988 and 1996 (FN 3) .

Foreign capital investment levels in most of the outlying upland provinces are less than one percent of urban districts like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. The delta regions function as agricultural and industrial production centers dependent on the upland regions for forest and other natural resources, irrigation, and hydropower. The Hoa Binh Dam, which inundated some of the best agricultural land in the remote Northwest region, now supplies 75 percent of the nation’s hydropower. primarily to delta agricultural lands and urban centers. Imbalances in flows of capital and resources into the deltas from outlying regions raise equity concerns. Page 4 of 10

Beyond Ho Chi Minh City to the north and east are undulating hills, often terraced and planted to tree crops. These Eastern Midlands, sometimes referred to as the Eastern Nam Bot, include substantial rubber plantations, with farm forestry gaining popularity in response to growing urban and industrial markets. Further to the south is the Mekong Delta. This region has experienced rapid deforestation of its coastal mangroves, with little natural forest remaining. Natural forests, however, are being partially replaced with scattered groves of exotic species, largely pines, acacias, and eucalyptus. Between 1961 and 1985, farmers planted 1.3 billion fast growing trees, setting a national record. Foresters hope that the establishment of exotic plantations can increasingly meet industrial needs while taking pressure off the natural upland forests. Plantations are not always well received by farming communities, and as one researcher reports, the "widespread planting of eucalyptus has exacerbated soil erosion and led to land use conflicts as land designated for plantation was in many cases already in use by local people." (FN 4)

Coastal Plains. The coastal plains, located between the two major deltas, have also experienced steady population growth over the past century, with forests receding as agriculture and industry has expanded. While forest cover has declined by 50 percent since the end of World War II, the hill tracts bordering Laos, that rise up from the coastal plain, still maintain some intact, well-stocked old growth forest, covering approximately 35 percent of the total land area. The North Central Coast receives annual rainfall of 3,000 mm making it one of the wettest parts of the country, while allowing it to support rain forests rich in biodiversity. The dense forests of Nghe An in the north of the region, which border on the Red River Delta, are under heavy pressure due to their proximity to population and industrial centers. The South Central Coast possesses some of the country’s driest forests, with precipitation falling to 700 mm in Ninh Thuan Province. The North and South Central Coast regions possess 17 million people with rapidly developing industries, including wood-processing factories situated near Da Nang and other major sea ports. The regions’ forests, which possess 38 percent of the country ’s wood volume, will likely continue to be a major source of industrial timber in the future (FN 5).

The Uplands . Beyond the delta and coastal zones are Vietnam’s uplands. In this report, the uplands will be subdivided between the "midlands" located from 15 to 200 meters elevation, and the "highlands" situated above 200 meters (FN 6) . The four regions of the Northwest, North, and Northeast and Central Highlands together possess 87 percent of Vietnam’s upland. For over a century, the uplands have been the primary source of raw material for the commercial timber industry. Hundreds of publicly managed State Forest Enterprises (SFE) have operated logging and milling operations on nearly four million hectares of largely upland watershed over the past 50 years. In the Northwest, forests have been cleared through centuries of shifting cultivation and natural burning, leaving small fragments of natural forests and bamboo groves on ridgetops and steeper slopes. Logging in the Northwest intensified during the 1960’s and 1970’s to supply timber and generate money to fund the war and to accommodate lowland settlers. Many of the remaining old growth forests benefit from the protection of ethnic minority communities, although such indigenous management systems receive little recognition and are threatened by government policies and programs developed in distant administrative centers.

Table 1: Regional Forest Contexts in Vietnam

Region Population + (in Forest Cover (% of Barren land+ millions) 1990 area) 1943+ 1995* (% of area) TOTAL 71.6 42 28 34 Red River Delta 14.1 3 3 27-33 Mekong Delta 15.9 23 5 12-21

Eastern Midland 8.9 54 24 23-34 North Central Coast 9.7 66 35 40-44 South Central Coast 7.6 62 35 42-49

Central Highlands 3.0 93 57 25-32 Northeast 5.7 50 20 27-33 North 4.6 24 Page 5 of 10

Northwest 2.1 95 14 60-65

+ adapted from Thomas Sikor, "Decree 327 and the Restoration of Barren Land in the Vietnamese Highlands," in A. Terry Rambo et al., eds., The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam (Honolulu: East-West Center, 1995), p. 146.

* 1995 forest cover data provided by the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, MARD.

In the densely populated Red River Delta virtually all available land is used for agriculture. Growing market demands are stimulating tree planting on the fringes of the delta. (photo: Poffenberger)

With the ease of water transport, wood-processing industries are expanding along the riverways of the Central Coast. (Photo: Poffenberger)

Deforestation is also widespread in the North and Northeast where a growing rural population, which now exceeds 10 million, remains heavily dependent on subsistence use of forest lands and products, often competing with industrial demands. Estimates of forest cover for the mountainous north in 1943 range from 50 to 95 percent of total land area, while currently most provinces have between 10 to 25 percent of the area under forest. Demand for fuelwood, pulp, and industrial timber has accelerated tree plantation establishment in areas with viable market access; however, such activities are primarily located in the midlands within 100 kilometers of Hanoi. Market demands from the Mekong and Red River deltas push unsustainable and illicit felling.

The Central Highlands possess the nation’s best and most extensive forests: 42 percent of Vietnam’s total forest cover and its most valuable timber reserves. While population densities are still relatively low, migrant and industrial pressures have driven rapid deforestation in this region. Scores of State Forest Enterprises and resettlement programs were initiated in the 1970’s, accelerating timber extraction and land clearing as millions of lowland Kinh moved into the region, competing with indigenous Ede, Bana, and Jarai populations for access to resources. As recently as the 1960’s, up to 90 percent of the Central Highlands possessed natural forest cover. However, the forests had receded 57 percent by 1995, with much of the cleared land classified as barren (FN 7). Page 6 of 10

Given the demographic, economic, and cultural variation within the nation, government planners in Vietnam will need to create forest policies that are responsive to this regional diversity and that can fulfill varied local and national requirements. In the past, government planners sought to develop policy instruments that provided uniform strategies to foster growth, however, their success has often been limited to regions with enabling characteristics such as road networks, markets, industries, and other support services. Policies developed by lowland Kinh planners are sometimes in conflict with the cultures and resource use traditions of ethnic minorities.

A History of State-Upland Community Relationships

In the precolonial era, the lowland Kinh courts maintained agreements with some upland minority groups, as did the French colonial government, to facilitate trade in certain forest products and to recruit tribal men for military service. While trade and military contacts between upland communities and lowland governments existed over the centuries, until the end of World War II life in the remote upland watersheds of Vietnam followed the cultural traditions of the ethnic minority inhabitants.

During the colonial period, while most of Vietnam’s upland forest areas were legally claimed by the State, the French colonial government had little operational control over these forest resources, except in upland areas selected for commercial enterprises. According to Nguyen Van Thang, "the ownership of forests and forest land remained in the hands of the rural communities who controlled their use by customary law. Boundaries were elaborately defined by these communities, with some lands available for cultivation and others for preservation as forests." (FN 8)

Prior to 1954, most of the upland regions of Vietnam were sparsely inhabited by over 50 ethnic minority groups practicing traditional systems of land use. Some communities, like the Tai of the Da River, lived along mountain rivers practicing irrigated padi cultivation and aquaculture. The Tai and many other cultural communities were essentially sedentary, often inhabiting the territory for centuries. Other ethnic minorities, like the Hmong, lived on higher slopes, relying on long rotation or swidden agriculture, moving their settlements periodically. As populations grew, these groups came into closer contact. Tribal governance structures and customary laws predominated as methods for managing resources and arbitrating conflicts.

After independence in 1954, industrial timber production was placed under the authority of public corporations (State Forest Enterprises), with other public forest lands administered by provincial, district, and commune- level government offices. Traditional forest management systems received limited recognition under new laws in both the northern and southern parts of the country. Since the late 1980’s, however, State Forest Enterprises have been de-emphasized and are being replaced by policies supporting privatization, especially at the household level. In many situations, private household management of woodlots has led to improved productivity.

Between 1958 and 1962, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam began nationalizing upland forests in north and northwestern parts of the country. This process was extended to the south after the unification of the country in 1975. According to national policies of the period, upland areas were perceived by planners to be "wasteland" or "wilderness." More recently the terms "barren land" or "land not yet in use" have become more common. Ethnic minorities continue to be viewed as "backward and superstitious" people who need to be integrated with the national socialist orientation and the dominant lowland Kinh majority.

A number of resettlement policies and operational strategies were implemented, often similar in concept to the transmigration programs of neighboring Indonesia. The thrust of the strategies involved moving Kinh people from the densely populated lowlands into the uplands. This achieved the dual objectives of bringing in a labor force to exploit the natural resources of the area and to facilitate national integration by exposing upland cultures to those from the lowland delta areas. Under the New Economic Development Zone policy of the 1960’s and 1970’s, approximately 4 million people were resettled, mostly into the Da River and, after 1975, the Central Highlands. The nationalized forest land was placed under the management of SFEs.

The construction of roads into the uplands regions facilitated the flow of people from the lowlands. Traditional institutions of ethnic minorities, considered backward by cadres from lowland Kinh groups, were replaced with new social organizations like the Farmer’s Associations, Women’s Union and Youth Brigades.

In 1968, the Department of Fixed Cultivation and Sedentarization was established with the objective of resettling the upland ethnic minorities in areas where they could be brought under the formal governance Page 7 of 10

systems of the state. The policy also intended to eliminate rotational agriculture systems (swidden or "slash and burn") which were viewed as destructive to forests and low in productivity.

By the 1980’s, of Vietnam’s 33 million hectares of total land area, 19 million hectares had been legally classified as state forest land. Publically managed companies (SFEs) held over 4 million hectares, and conducted logging operations on 150,000 hectares each year, rapidly exploiting them for commercial timber production. Generating 15 million cubic meters of industrial logs and fuelwood annually, the timber sector contributed substantially to the national economy. Exports alone, which typically represent only 10 percent of the national market in timber products, generated US$140 million in 1991 (FN 9) . Yet the costs to the environment were significant. Existing national forest cover declined from 42 percent in 1943, to 36 percent in 1973, and finally to only 23 percent by 1991. Currently, old growth natural forest is present on only 6 percent of Vietnam’s land area (FN 10) . By the mid-1980’s, the failure of SFE and resettlement programs to sustain productive forests and protect watersheds created growing concern among policy makers. There was an emerging consensus among Vietnamese political leaders that the forestry sector, like other economic arenas, needed greater household involvement. Many SFEs were continually running at a loss, while cooperatives were collapsing.

The decision to allow households to play a greater role in rural development was a response to these difficulties, and was part of the fundamental change in policy that began in the early 1980’s and gained momentum under the banner of the "Doi Moi" (Renovation) program. Change manifested itself in governmental decisions to begin to scale down all state enterprises and collectives, while gradually allowing the private sector a greater control of industry, and household management of much of the agricultural economy. The government, nonetheless, continues to see a prominent role for the state in guiding the economy. At the same time, state enterprise managers with powerful patrons are also reluctant to lose control during this economic transition. While state enterprises were told to release 95 percent of their employees and facilitate their transition into the private sector, managers of public companies continue to control the growing flow of investments. It is estimated that 95 percent of the foreign investments entering Vietnam are channeled through state enterprises. In fact, state enterprises "now account for almost 45 percent of Vietnam’s GDP, up from 32 percent in 1991, and 25 percent in the late 1980’s." (FN 11)

Adapting National Policies for Upland Contexts

Emerging from a long struggle with the French in 1954 and with the United States in the mid-1970’s. Vietnamese leaders struggled to formulate policies to reunify the nation and improve the standard of living. Emerging strategies reflected the prevailing socialist values of the Vietnamese Communist Party and the cultural perspective of the dominant Kinh ethnic majority of the lowland deltas. Vietnam’s leaders saw the uplands as a "new frontier for national development...underpopulated areas containing immense pools of untapped natural resources and vast areas of unutilized lands" (FN 12) . It was believed that only labor, capital, and new technologies needed to be invested to release the immense productive potential of the uplands.

However, in structuring policies for the uplands, the largely lowland Kinh planners were confronted by the confusing diversity of some 50 ethnic minority groups, each with their own language, political institutions, and agroeconomic systems. Ethnic minority norms and values that differed from those of Kinh were often viewed as "backward" (FN 13) . The diverse array of long rotation agriculture and settlement movement patterns, often well adapted to upland forest regeneration and bionutrient recycling processes, were viewed as examples of inefficient production systems and of ignorance.

The low fertility soils of much of the uplands required long fallow cycles, a reality reflected in the use practices of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities. However, government planners, primarily familiar with the highly intensive farming systems of the rich alluvial deltas, rejected the viability of such upland agro-ecosystems viewing them as wasteful and environmentally destructive. To combat them, "sedentarization" policies were implemented to move communities of swidden farmers into permanent settlements and to encourage them to adopt fixed cultivation practices. Three million shifting cultivators were targeted for participation in the program.

The planners’ view of the uplands as a frontier area ripe for development has persisted. Indeed, mineral resources are present. But, the government increasingly recognizes the fragility of the uplands environment. Concern over the continuing loss of natural forests resulted in a 1991 ban on the export of unprocessed logs. The increase in "barren" land from 3 million hectares in 1943 to about 12 million hectares in 1995 or nearly 40 percent of the nation’s land area has led to a host of environmental restoration programs. These include new forest laws on resource protection and the formulation of a multisector government program with a cost of Page 8 of 10

VND9,000 billion (US$820 million) during the coming five year plan (FN 14) .

Planners are increasingly aware of how upland forest loss threatens the economic development of the lowland deltas and coastal plains. The ancient threat of downstream flooding in the Red River Delta and-the disturbance of irrigation waters to fertile rice-growing areas is now combined with the possibilities of electrical brown-outs to rapidly expanding urban-industrial centers. The Hoa Binh dam, located in the Northwest uplands, supplies half the nation’s electricity. Powering factories in the distant South, it is expected to have its productive life reduced from an estimated 100 to 300 years to only 50 years due to the extraordinary rate of reservoir sedimentation caused by deforestation and subsequent high level soil erosion (FN 15).

While the Kinh people comprise 87 percent of Vietnam’s population, in the mountainous interior including the Northeast, North, Northwest and Central Highlands, ethnic minority communities often represent the majority population, especially outside administrative townships and district and provincial capitals. Tenure systems, technologies, and rotational lengths vary widely among the 52 ethnic minorities living in highland areas, which comprises two-thirds of the national territory. Forty-six of the ethnic groups utilize a variety of shifting cultivation systems, requiring a careful linking of agriculture and forest resource use practices (FN 16).

Each ethnic community possesses its own institutions, leaders, rules, and rights for managing forest and agricultural lands and water resources. Many ethnic minorities specialize in the propagation, collection, processing and marketing of forest products. For example, Dzao communities in the Northwest specialize in the collection of medicinal plants, cinnamon, and lacquer. Many Hmong villagers gather and process high quality bamboo, canari, and rattan, while the Khmer, who live in the forests of the South, collect aromatic oil from the melaleucu forests, honey, and other high value products from the aquatic mangrove forests.

Ethnic minority communities are under pressure from their own expanding populations. Migratory and semi- migratory peoples, like the Hmong and Dzao, are increasingly recognizing that opportunities to move are quickly decreasing. Forced to shorten rotation and lengthen cultivation periods, soil fertility is falling and crop yields declining in many areas. A cooperative research program between the Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at Hanoi University and the East-West Center found that the average fallow period in a Tai village in Hoa Binh Province had fallen from ten years or longer to only one to two years, while farmers continued to plant for up to three years instead of for only one year.

This is also forcing a change in resource use systems. Nguyen Van Thang identifies ethnic minority farming systems in three broad categories: open cycle swidden cultivation, closed cycle swidden cultivation, and intensive paddy agriculture. Open cycle swidden traditionally relied on extensive tracts of forests, which are now increasingly unavailable. Farmers are moving towards closed cycle swiddening and intensified paddy and tree crop farming systems.

However, specific agricultural adaptations vary widely from farmer to farmer and from one valley to the neighboring watershed. Program managers attempting to "sedentarize" farmers face frustration, forcing national policy makers to confront the need to accommodate local agricultural strategies, and their individual market, capital, and technological requirements.

Conclusion

Expanding population pressures on upland forests are generating tension and conflict among lowland migrants and ethnic minority people. Resettlement programs have exacerbated tensions in some areas by intensifying competition for limited fertile lands. Kinh migrants, and prominent ethnic miniorities living in district towns and commune centers, are better positioned to benefit from land allocation programs in contrast to the poorer ethnic communities living in more remote watersheds. Yet scattered, forest dependent villagers are best positioned to protect the fragile uplands and rely most upon it for their survival. Clarifying resource use rights may help reduce tensions and allow for capital and labor investments leading to more intensive management. The process of clarifying forest management responsibilities must consider the historical usufruct rights of local communities. In Van Thang’s study of the Hmong and Dzao, the author found that:

Each community had its own sphere of territory, including land used as the place of residence and cultivation...Apart from the fixed rocky fields privately owned by individual households, the forest, mountains, streams and rivers were the common property of the community... The community prohibited or limited the exploitation of land or forests within its territory by persons from the outside-especially the utilization of virgin land covered by primary forests (FN 17) . Page 9 of 10

Forest lands were subdivided into those used for cultivation, forests under exploitation for timber, and forest land forbidden for exploitation including upper slopes and ridge crests. Within the forest, households often held specific rights to certain precious woods, trees with bee nests, and herbs growing naturally. Such community management systems and traditional modes of use rights allocation to clans, extended families and households continue to receive little recognition under law and little reflection in emerging privatization schemes.

While sedentarization and resettlement programs are still given considerable attention by planners, forest management policies have increasingly emphasized privatization in the uplands as an alternative to state control. In 1991, a policy was passed to allow the Forest Protection Service, which functions under the People’s Committee at the Provincial and District offices, to contract households to manage forest lands providing them a fee of VND55,000 (US$5) per hectare (FN 18) . With nearly 20 million hectares of forest land, a protection budget of $100 million annually would be required to fund management of the entire public forest estate. In the following chapter, Sikor examines this policy transition, exploring the effects of new forest allocation programs on resource productivity, particularly within the upland’s unique and diverse social contexts.

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NOTES

1. Griffith Feeney and Peter Xenos, "The Demographic Situation in Vietnam: Past, Present and Future," Population Series No. 289 (Honolulu, HI: East-West Center, 1992).

2. Nguyen Van Thang, "The Hmong and Dzao Peoples in Vietnam: Impact of Traditional Socioeconomic and Cultural Factors on the Protection and Development of Forest Resources," in Terry Rambo et al., eds., The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam (Honolulu, HI: East-West Center, 1995), p. 101.

3. Financial Statistics, "Investment by Region," The Vietnam Business Journal, December 1996, p. 16.

4. Chris R. Lang, "Problems in the Making: A Critique of Vietnam’s Tropical Forestry Action Plan," in eds. Michael J.G. Parnwell and Raymond Bryant, Environmental Change in Southeast Asia (London and New York: Routledge, 1996), p. 230.

5. Hans Warfvinge, "Forestry in Vietnam: An Introductory Guide," June 1992, p. 9.

6. This elevation-based distinction appears helpful in differentiating sociocultural and economic contexts. Jamieson notes that "the Vietnamese tend to use more than altitude to distinguish ‘mountainous’ areas from ‘midlands’ or ‘uplands.’ They consider isolation or remoteness, poverty, and level of development." (Personal communication from Neil Jamieson, December 2. 1997)

7. Statistics on forest cover in Vietnam vary depending on the characteristics or definition of forest cover. Data presented here were generated by the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, MARD.

8. Nguyen Van Thang, "The Hmong and Dzao Peoples in Vietnam: Impact of Traditional Socioeconomic and Cultural Factors on the Protection and Development of Forest Resources," in Terry Rambo et al., eds., The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam (Honolulu, HI: East-West Center, 1995).

9. Hans Warfvinge, "Forestry in Vietnam: An Introductory Guide," June, 1992 p. 13.

10. Nguyen Huy Dung, "Country Report on Vietnam," 5th Asia Forest Network Meeting, Surajkund, India, December 1996.

11. Personal communication from Neil Jamieson, December 1996.

12. Terry Rambo, "Perspectives on Defining Highland Development Challenges in Vietnam: New Frontier or Cul-De-Sac?," in Terry Rambo et al., eds., The Challenges of Development in Highland Vietnam (Honolulu, HI: East-West Center, 1995) p. 21. Page 10 of 10

13. Terry Rambo, "Defining Highland Development Challenges in Vietnam," in Terry Rambo et al., eds., The Challenges of Development in Highland Vietnam (Honolulu, HI: East-West Center, 1995), pp. 25-27.

14. Vietnamese News Agency release, Hanoi, 26 October, 1997, reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

15. Mark Poffenberger et al., eds., Linking Government with Community Resource Management, Research Network Report 9 (Berkeley, CA: Asia Forest Network. 1996), p. 18.

16. Nguyen Van Thang, "The Hmong and Dzao Peoples in Vietnam: Impact of Traditional Socioeconomic and Cultural Factors on the Protection and Development of Forest Resources," in Terry Rambo et al., eds., The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam (Honolulu, HI: East-West Center, 1995).

17. Nguyen Van Thang ( 1995) p. 112-113.

18. At the time this study was undertaken (1993-1996), the exchange rate was VND 11,000 to US$1. Page 1 of 10

PART II

FOREST POLICY REFORM: FROM STATE TO HOUSEHOLD FORESTRY

Thomas Sikor

By the late 1980’s, Vietnam’s forestry sector was in crisis. The Ministry of Forestry classified 10 million out of 19 million hectares of designated forest land as "barren" because of its degraded status or use for the cultivation of food crops and grazing of livestock. The Tropical Forestry Action Plan rang the alarm bells stating, "the natural forest resources of Vietnam are not able to produce the logs needed by the wood- processing industry in a sustainable fashion even if managed properly" (FN 1) . Fuelwood demands exceeded sustainable supplies in the Red River and Mekong deltas, as well as in the lower elevation midlands. The barren hills of the midlands, located in-between lush green rice fields, had become a symbol of land degradation and unproductive land use in and beyond Vietnam. Rapidly declining revenues paralyzed the forestry sector and threatened a financial crisis. In short, forestry had become unsustainable. The policy of direct state management, which was intended to ensure the rational utilization of national forests by excluding local people from the use of forest resources and land, had failed.

The crisis in the forestry sector, together with broader policy changes toward marketization and privatization, precipitated a radical shift in forest policy. The old policy of State Forestry became dependent on a combination of forest management by State Forest Enterprises (SFEs), technical supervision and support by the Ministry of Forestry (which was incorporated into the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development- MARD in 1996), and the sedentarization of upland cultivators. However, since the early 1990’s, this policy has also undergone revision with Vietnamese forest policy shifting away from direct state involvement to forest management by rural households. This current policy of Household Forestry endows rural households with use rights and provides them with access to credit and technical extension services. The SFE’s are being reorganized to support these household forest farms.

This chapter provides a brief historical overview of Vietnam’s forest policy as it shifted from State Forestry to Household Forestry. This shift in policy was intended to reduce conflicts between local people and state enterprises over the control of land and forest resources, while encouraging local investment in forest management. The change in policy appears to have stimulated reforestation on household farms in regions with relatively high levels of economic development and access to national wood markets. However, the new policy has failed to generate similar success in most of the upland regions of the North and Central Highlands. These regions include important upper watershed areas and are the home of most of Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups. Ethnic communities, such as the Tai and Dzao discussed in the following chapters of this monograph, have used and often protected forests near hill tops, ridges and streams. Therefore, the inadequacies of both State and Household Forestry in these regions suggest a need to explore additional policy solutions which build on sustainable local forest management systems. These will be discussed in the concluding sections of this chapter.

State Forestry

Until the early 1990’s, State Forestry implied the direct involvement of the State in the management, exploitation, processing, and distribution of Vietnam’s forest resources. A system of State Forest Enterprises managed forest resources. The Ministry of Forestry (MOF) supervised forest operations and provided technical expertise. The formation of large forest enterprise unions and their supervision by the central government vertically integrated forest exploitation, processing, and distribution. State-sponsored sedentarization programs encouraged upland cultivators to develop fixed cultivation systems and settle in permanent locations, ensuring state control over forest management. This section describes the major elements of State Forestry policy, its effects on the forest, and the major reasons underlying discrepancies between intended policy outcomes and its actual impact.

Major Policies

The government nationalized large areas of land in midland and upland regions of Northern Vietnam in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Land with a slope above 25 degrees was designated for forestry purposes and was to be managed by a system of State Forest Enterprises. By the early 1990 ’s, there were 412 SFEs. Close to 350 smaller SFEs, which usually managed a few hundred hectares, were placed under the authority of Page 2 of 10

provincial and district governments. Responsibility for day-to-day silvicultural management in these enterprises rested with provincial and district administrations and the SFEs themselves. Larger ones, which usually managed several thousand hectares and in a few cases more than 10,000 hectares, remained under central control and were grouped into 15 Forest Production Unions. The Forest Production Unions vertically integrated SFEs with wood-processing industries. But even for these SFEs the Ministry did not have general executive authority and only exercised more indirect control by issuing legally binding procedures that included detailed silvicultural management techniques.

In addition to forest management, SFEs played an important role in regional development. Particularly in remote upland areas, SFEs generated employment, developed infrastructure, and provided social services. Labor was often imported from other regions of the country. The SFEs provided their employees with housing, health care and hospitals, and operated schools and kindergartens.

The Ministry exercised rights of technical supervision over forestry operations in all SFEs and provided technical assistance, such as forest inventory and inspection. Technical supervision of forest management took the form of detailed silvicultural regulations that prescribed uniform procedures for forest management in the whole country. Annual operational plans prepared by the forest enterprises, which specified annual cuts, required approval by the Ministry. The enterprises also delivered harvested products to the state for central distribution. The Ministry carried out five main national programs to support forestry operations: the Forest Protection Program, Fixed Cultivation and Sedentarization Program, National Afforestation Program, Forest Management and Forest Industries Program, and the Human Resources Development Program, including research and extension.

The Fixed Cultivation and Sedentarization Program formed the cornerstone of the forest development strategy. The Department for Fixed Cultivation and Sedentarization (DFCS) was established in 1968 to stop swidden cultivation and facilitate socioeconomic development among the ethnic minorities. In the early 1990’s, the Department had representatives in about 200 upland districts in 34 provinces all over Vietnam. The objective of DFCS was to settle pioneering swiddeners by providing permanent settlements either in the same area or in more fertile, more accessible, noncatchment areas at lower altitudes. Government funding provided housing, some infrastructure and, if necessary, short-term food supply. Sedentarized cultivators also received tax exemptions and a variety of subsidies, for example low-cost transportation and cheap agricultural inputs.

Policy Outcomes

Under State Forestry, Vietnam’s forestry sector was able to meet domestic demands for fuelwood and timber, generating a surplus for export. The sector provided about 15 million cubic meters annually to meet demands for fuelwood, industrial logs and sawnwood. Between 1986 and 1989, the forestry sector accounted for around 2 percent of national income and contributed up to 10 percent of Vietnam’s export earnings. More importantly, the forestry sector provided employment for about 1.2 million people during the same period, which corresponded to about 4 percent of Vietnam ’s labor force, most of whom were employed on a part-time basis. In a report documenting permanent workers employed in the SFEs Bai Bang paper mill, ample social benefits including above average salaries, food rations, paid vacation, pensions, free medical care, maternal leave, children’s allowance, housing, and nurseries, facilitated a relatively high level of well-being.

Ministry of Forestry and State Forest Enterprise nurseries like this one have supplied billions of fast growing tree seedlings to household forest leaseholders and have been relatively successful in boosting market-oriented timber and fuelwood production in Midland and Delta regions. (photo: Poffenberger) Page 3 of 10

The state undertook significant investments into afforestation between 1961 and 1985, financing the planting of 1.4 million hectares of concentrated forest and 3.6 billion scattered trees. Between 1981 and 1985, the state established concentrated plantations mainly in the Northeast, North and South Central Coast, and the Mekong Delta. Scattered tree planting was concentrated along the Central Coast and in the delta regions. Mekong Delta farmers planted close to two-fifths of all scattered trees planted in Vietnam before 1985 (FN 2) .

Afforestation activities, however, fell drastically short of halting the decline in Vietnam’s forest resources. For the whole country, forest cover declined at an annual rate of 300,000 ha, or 3.0 percent, between 1973 and 1985. The areas of annual forest lost were particularly high in the Northeast and North Central Coastal regions of Northern Vietnam, along the South Central Coast, and the South-East region. In the Red River Delta, almost all the forest that remained in 1973 disappeared by 1985. Only the forest in the Central Highlands remained more or less stable.

Experiences with the sedentarization program were mixed. By 1990, sedentarization programs involved 1.9 million people. Yet the government admitted that only 30 percent of the people who had received assistance had established stable production systems that could support their livelihood or found employment in state agricultural and forest enterprises; 40 percent employed agricultural practices that barely met their subsistence needs and often complemented fixed farming systems with shifting cultivation; and, the remaining 30 percent were not able to cover basic needs, widely practiced shifting cultivation systems, and often migrated to other regions. (FN 3)

Problems of State Forestry

State Forestry was not able to maintain forest capacity for supplying wood and providing services such as watershed protection because it could not contain pressures on the forest resulting from five general problem areas:

(1) Conflicts between local people and SFEs over control of forest resources and land.

(2) External demands for forest resources and land.

(3) Lack of investment funds.

(4) Limited capacity of the forestry sector to innovate.

(5) Coordination problems between different levels of the forest administration (FN 4) .

These pressures took different expressions in each forest region and affected the forest in differential ways. For the country as a whole, they prevented State Forestry from a secure future provision of forest resources and services.

First, State Forestry inhibited flexible solutions to conflicts between local people and SFEs over control of forest resources and land. Because State Forestry excluded local subsistence needs and income generation from the forest, it prevented cooperation between local interests and the forest administration. Often, the State could not enforce legal forest boundaries. Actual boundaries of exercised authority over forests and forest land thus rarely overlapped with administrative boundaries. According to estimates by the Ministry of Forestry, there were about 22 million people who lived on or close to forest land in 1986. The forestry sector only employed slightly more than one million, most of them on a temporary basis, forcing the rest of them to find alternative sources of subsistence and income (FN 5).

Second, state management of forest land directly exposed the forest to pressures resulting from national demands for wood, electricity, the regulation of water flows, and new land for colonization. The requirements of the construction, energy, and industrial sectors during wartime and later national reconstruction led to growing requirements for wood products. The response of the SFEs was to optimize the current timber productivity rather than the management of forest resources for future production. As SFEs had considerable autonomy in their day-to-day operations, they often applied cutting rates in excess of approved levels. Demands for electricity, regulated water flows, and new land led to the diversion of forest land for hydropower dams, irrigation reservoirs, and colonization schemes. The establishment of so-called New Economic Zones under the resettlement program accelerated deforestation in previously less populated areas. The program moved approximately 5 million people between the late 1960’s and early 1990’s, primarily into upland areas. In the years after reunification, resettlement programs focused on the Southeast Region, a region that was among the forest regions that experienced the highest rates of annual forest loss between 1973 and 1985. Page 4 of 10

Third, capital for investment in the forestry sector was limited. The central government preferentially allocated capital to industry and infrastructure projects. Funds allocated by the State Planning Committee to the Ministry, provincial forestry departments, and State Forest Enterprises were limited and did not exceed 3 percent of investment outlays of the central government. The capacity of the forest sector to generate funds was also limited. In the period 1986 -1990, the charges collected amounted to only 20 percent of the estimated total investment during the same period. In the late 1980’s, rapidly declining profits of centrally managed SFEs and their contributions to the state budget threatened a financial crisis. In 1989, profits and contributions to the state budget were below 40 percent of their respective 1986 levels. By 1990, the development budget for the forestry sector was US$9 million, one-third less than in 1986 and, hardly covering salaries (FN 6) .

The shortage of capital was exacerbated by a tendency to channel investment funds into lowland plantations and industries, rather than upland natural forests or watershed management. A large share of the funds available went into the construction of a massive number of small-scale wood-processing plants (FN 7) . Investment outlays were closely related with the establishment of concentrated plantations in lowland population centers. Management planning was also hampered by lack of staff and maps at central and local administrative levels. In addition, although the forestry sector built over 10,000 km of roads and upgraded another 3,500 km over the past 30 years, inadequate investment in road construction resulted in the over- exploitation of forest resources in more accessible areas.

Fourth, the capacity of the forestry sector to generate and accommodate innovation has been limited. State Forestry encouraged innovation at the central level through international exchanges and the establishment of a system of specialized schools and research institutes, but failed to facilitate or create fora for new ideas to emerge at the community and field level. The Forestry College in Xuan Mai, forestry departments at two universities, and several technical and vocational schools trained more than 7,000 university graduates, 17,000 professionals with a technical secondary degree, and 21,000 technical workers between 1961 and 1990 (FN 8) . The Forest Science Institute with 70 research centers in different ecological zones of the country, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, and other research units employed more than 700 researchers with university degrees.

Forest scientists achieved significant success in developing techniques for silvicultural management of a variety of tree species under different ecological conditions. But the studies conducted in research stations could never produce the variety of knowledge required by the heterogeneity of ecological conditions prevalent in Vietnam. The scarcity of professional expertise in the field and inadequate knowledge of wood resources prevented adequate silvicultural operations. Local people, who had accumulated site-specific knowledge about their environments and resource-use practices, were excluded from the process of developing and practicing appropriate forest management systems.

Finally, the sharing of responsibility and power among different levels of the forest administration strengthened tendencies to over cut and engage in unsustainable management. Authority over production planning, forest protection, and silvicultural management was divided among different levels of administration in a way that obstructed the enforcement of planning targets and protection regulations by the central level. Control over daily logging and management operations firmly remained under control of SFEs and local authorities. The sale of wood products was attractive to local authorities and SFE managers as it generated employment, income, and local government revenues that were urgently needed for local and regional development. Over cutting, in excess of quotas approved by the Ministry, was therefore frequent. In response to these problems, new plans and policies emerged.

In 1991, the Tropical Forestry Action Plan, the Forest Resources Protection and Development Act, and the first National Forest Policy further shift away from State Forestry. Households were to increasingly take the place of State Forest Enterprises as basic management units for forest and forest land. Under Household Forestry, households receive long-term use rights for forest land, technical extension support by reformed state enterprises, and credit by a newly established rural banking system. Forest policy thus took a radical turn from a focus on securing national interests through the exclusion of local interests on forest land to enlisting rural households for national goals. This next section discusses the emergence, major components, and initial outcomes of the new forest policy.

Household Forestry: The Emergence of a New Model

Rural households, agricultural cooperatives, and communes were already assuming an increasingly important role in forest establishment, management and exploitation during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Vietnam began allocating forest land to cooperatives in 1968 and to households since 1983. By the beginning of 1990,2,638 Page 5 of 10

communes, 7,442 cooperatives and work groups, and 473,500 households had received 4.4 million ha of forest land (FN 9) . In addition, communes and cooperatives that received use rights for forest land often sub- contracted the land to farmers through contracts that were negotiated between the legal land user and the "secondary" land users. The contracts were usually of long-term character and provided for a division of the value of the tree output at the time of harvest. By the end of the 1980’s. Household Forestry was becoming a viable alternative to State Forestry.

By the late 1980’s, the policy emphasis on direct state involvement in forest development and operation had increasingly become juxtaposed with the growing importance of the nonstate sector. Government statistics reported-an importance of the nonstate sector for forest production, employment, afforestation, and wood- cutting that far outweighed the role of the state sector. The nonstate sector accounted for close to nine-tenths of total revenues and labor force in the forestry sector. Scattered tree planting by farmers far exceeded tree planting in concentrated plantations. Particularly in the two large deltas and in the smaller deltas along the Central Coast, where most of the population is concentrated, scattered tree planting was much more important than concentrated plantations. Concentrated plantations established by nonstate units on a relatively small share of forest land had exceeded plantations undertaken by the state sector since 1987. Wood-cutting by the nonstate sector far exceeded forest exploitation by the state sector (FN 10) .

Major Policy Reforms

The allocation of forest land to households for management and protection has been the centerpiece of reforms to date. Land allocation takes two forms depending on the state of the forest land. For barren land and land with planted forest, the government is transferring long-term land use rights to rural households. Since 1993, the transfer of long-term land use rights has happened under the framework of the new Land Law and accompanying decrees. The law restricts the power of the state to the specification of the land use category and the right to recover land under narrowly defined circumstances. Household or individuals receiving land are given the rights to exchange, transfer, lease, mortgage, and pass on the land for inheritance. According to Decree 02/CP (January 15, 1994), land with standing forest is allocated to households for a period of 50 years, while barren land can be allocated for a longer period. Decree 202 (May 1994) further mandated that priority in forest land allocation should be given to local people, particularly pioneering swiddeners. By August 1992, about 800,000 households had obtained land use rights for parcels of forest land.

Remaining natural forests are expected to stay under the authority of SFEs or other state entities, which contract former employees and farmers living in surrounding villages for their management and protection. According to Decree 01/CP (January 1995), households receive regular payments by the state unit for the management of the forest. The forest is allotted to households for a duration of 50 years or the duration of the production cycle of the concerned species. If the forest is managed for production purposes only, households have to compensate the land-allotting unit for the value of the existing forest and sell forest products to the unit. By shifting control over production decisions to households, reforms are redefining state control over forest land. Forest land has been divided into land for production, protection, and special purposes, such as nature or wildlife preservation. The MOF has issued specific regulations for the management and use of each type of forest land. Authority over protection and special-use forest land is being transferred to newly created management boards. To enforce forest regulations, the government is strengthening the Forest Protection Department at the central, provincial, and district levels. At the provincial level, forest protection departments have become independent from agricultural and forestry departments and have moved directly under the People’s Committees. They also draw upon an independent organizational structure through forest protection units at the district and village levels.

The changing role of the state has also motivated attempts at SFE reform. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) envisions four different kinds of SFEs to complement household-based forest operations in the future:

(1) Forest service enterprises would support afforestation, management, and protection activities undertaken by households, but also extend into other rural support services (agricultural extension etc.).

(2) Forest exploitation and processing enterprises would purchase, process and market the processed product.

(3) Forest industry groups would explore and open up new marketing possibilities.

(4) Environmental protection enterprises would be responsible for the management of national parks and watershed reserves. Page 6 of 10

While the first three types of enterprises are intended to become financially independent, the last will mainly be financed through the state budget. SFEs will be required to reduce their labor force to 5 percent of the original working force. As a further step to increase the autonomy of SFEs, the government announced that it would transfer authority over most of the centrally managed enterprises from the central to provincial and district levels in 1996 (FN 11) .

The government has created various organizations that provide specialized functions in forestry and rural development to households to complement reformed SFEs. The General Department of Land Administration oversees all matters related to land administration and land use. The most urgent task of the Department is the implementation of the national program of land allocation to households. For this task the Department has received the authority and necessary funds to establish land management offices at provincial and district levels under the control of local authorities.

The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture (VBA) has provided households with credit for agricultural and forestry production since 1991. The Bank reaches out into rural areas through offices at the provincial, district, and subdistrict level, and is represented in more than 80 percent of Vietnam’s districts. In 1994, the VBA extended loans to between 2 and 3 million households, 20-30 percent of the about 10 million rural households in Vietnam. Lending to the nonstate sector, mainly households, has increased from VND245 billion (US$22 million), or 10 percent of total loans outstanding, at the end of 1991 to over VND5,377 billion (US$489 million) or 73 percent of the total loan portfolio in September 1994 (FN 12) . Correspondingly, the share of loans going to state enterprises, who were the primary recipients of loans until 1991, drastically fell. The Bank has granted preferential interest rates for investments in upland areas and into afforestation programs.

The central government is shifting the financing of forestry operations from periodic budgetary allocations to project-based funding. In 1992, Decrees 264/CT and 327/CT initiated two central government programs that support efforts at afforestation and barren land development. Projects funded under the two programs received a large share of central government transfer payments to provinces and districts during 1993-94, approximately US$70 million per year (FN 13) . Projects are mostly proposed and implemented by district authorities and SFEs and are structured around a two-prong strategy. Investments that do not generate immediate financial returns to rural people, as in the case of infrastructure construction, planting of protection or special use forest, and social services, receive government funding through grants. Investments that generate financial benefits to rural people, such as the cultivation of agricultural crops and animal husbandry, however, only receive support through credit at reduced interest rates.

Similarly, the sedentarization program is shifting toward a project-based approach, often financed out of Decree 327 funds. The administration of the program has been shifted to the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas (CEMMA), which was created in 1992. The program today follows a more integrated approach to rural development, striving to improve the agricultural production of swidden cultivators before settling them permanently.

The integration of Vietnam’s economy into world markets has also entailed an increasing inflow of significant foreign loans and some direct foreign investment into the forestry sector. Multilateral international agencies, such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, and bilateral donors have committed US$232 million until the year 2000. The share of foreign funds in the national forestry budget and their importance for forest operations have thus drastically increased since the second half of the 1980’s. For example, approximately 800,000 ha have been allocated to households under internationally financed programs. Direct foreign investment into the forestry sector has been much more limited. There have only been a few foreign plantations of fast-growing trees for export pulp and wood chips.

Experience from Policy Implementation

The drastic change in policy from State Forestry to Household Forestry has yet to be fully implemented by the Vietnamese government. Land allocation, state enterprise reform, and the development of new support organizations will continue during the coming years. Yet experience from the implementation of the new policy indicates discrepancies between intended policy outcomes and its actual impact. Issues of land allocation, rural banking, the Decree 327 program, and illegal wood exploitation and trade have received the most attention.

Land Allocation. The effects of land allocation on the productivity of forest land differed according to regional economic conditions and the degree of support received from the government and foreign donors. In general, forest land allocation failed to produce the rapid improvements in the productivity of land use achieved in agriculture. When labor and capital were invested in wealthier agricultural communities with strong market ties and better government support, the land allocation program was more successful. For example, Swedish Page 7 of 10

support for afforestation in the midlands of Vinh Phu province helped households to successfully reforest vast areas of the previously barren hills. By contrast, in highland regions that lacked access to national markets, forest land allocation programs had limited impact on intensifying forest production. Some households in more remote regions that received forest allotments unsustainably felled them for short-term profits, often due to tenure anxieties linked to frequent policy changes.

The land allocation process itself has progressed at different paces. In general, the implementation of land allocation has been slow, much slower than for agricultural land. At the current rate, forest land allocation will occupy government agencies for several more decades. By the end of 1992, less than one percent of the forest land allocations were recorded in formal land use rights certificates (FN 14) . The financial requirements of land inventory and mapping far exceed the financial capacity of the central government. Particularly in remote areas, for which local authorities lack infrastructure and detailed maps, land titling is prohibitively expensive. Some local authorities therefore issued preliminary certificates. But, as Smith reports from Son La Province, the conduct of allocation has tended to be rushed and inaccurate (FN 15) .

Provincial and local governments have wielded considerable influence on the implementation of land allocation (FN 16) . Provincial and district authorities have placed priority on areas for land allocation and instituted ceilings on land holdings. For example, local authorities in Son La have decreed provincial ceilings on land holdings and concentrated land allocation on areas bordering National Highway 6, which are targeted by a provincial program for the development of cash crops. Village authorities have shown considerable flexibility in the principles governing land allocation. Contracts for forest land have generally been negotiated between households and local authorities, creating a diversity of contractual arrangements.

In villages where forest lands fulfill important productive functions for the whole village, where local authorities have previously invested into the forest, or where the forest has served as a collateral for local authorities to get loans from the bank, local communities have been reluctant to allocate forest land to households. Among households, forest land allocation has resulted in stark differences in land holdings (FN 17) .

Land allocation has entailed shifts in control over forest land from the state to households in some regions, while increasing state control over land and land use in others. For example, in some areas of the midlands of the north, land allocation has increased household control over forest land and, facilitated by additional technical and financial support, resulted in a relatively fast implementation of forest land allocation and successful afforestation. In other regions, however, where villagers have previously relied on forest land for the cultivation of food crops, local people have been reluctant to participate in land allocation. Particularly in food-deficient areas, local people do not want to formally take up the land as they would have to commit to use the land for forestry only and stop illegal cultivation outside their commune. In those areas, the sole announcement of the pending land allocation has generated insecurity that is likely to lead to the short-term exploitation of forests and forest land. In response, the Forest Science Institute and the Da River Social Forestry Project have experimented with the allocation of land for "agroforestry purposes."

Rural Banking. Credit to households for forestry through the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture has been limited. In 1994, the Bank extended only VND26 billion (US$2.4 million), less than one percent of total lending, as loans to households for forestry purposes. Credits obtained by rural households are rather small, most lending is for short-term only, and less than one-quarter of all rural households receive loans. Borrowing from private lenders with or without interest is much more wide-spread, with 70 percent of rural families carrying such loans. In more remote areas, the VBA faced severe problems in establishing financially viable operations. With the sole exception of three provinces, the VBA provincial branches in upland areas lost VND11 billion (US$1 million) in 1992. Logistical problems, lack of funds for medium- and long-term lending, and sluggish economic growth made VBA operations unprofitable in most upland areas. In response, VBA laid off part of its personnel and closed some district offices to cut operational costs (FN 18) .

Decree 327. Decree 327 has received much criticism for its limited success in meeting the goals envisioned by the original policy. The State Planning Committee estimates that implementing agencies, mainly district authorities and SFEs, have diverted more than 50 percent of total funds for other purposes (FN 19) . The Decree has also been criticized for its top-down design, implementations that exclude local people, poor planning, emphasis on infrastructure, and promotion of tree plantations on land that is crucial for local food security. Resettlement and sedentarization projects have received funding priority under Decree 327 (FN 20) . However, by late 1996, priorities began stressing forest protection over sedentarization and production goals. State enterprises have played a crucial role in implementation. Rural families had rarely been allocated land rights, mostly working with state enterprises under contracts for afforestation and forest protection. Project personnel were mainly recruited from former state enterprise employees. Projects thus contributed to a considerable degree toward refinancing state enterprises. Page 8 of 10

Illegal Wood Exploitation and Trade. Under the direction of the upgraded Forest Protection Departments, efforts to conserve forests have achieved mixed success. In some respects, the forestry sector has made substantial progress in the establishment and implementation of Vietnam’s system of protected areas, facilitated by strong support of multilateral and bilateral donors. The Biodiversity Action Plan compiled management plans for the more important parks and reserves. MARD, in conjunction with various foreign donors, prepares plans for park protection and buffer zone development for the most important sites. Cases of illicit cutting and trade of wood, however, are increasing despite the strong measures taken by MARD to curb illegal activities. In early 1992, the government banned the export of raw cut and sawn wood and reduced cutting quotas by 88 percent (FN 21) . In 1993, it further restricted logging by closing almost all forests in the north and banning the export of forest products. Yet, in 1993 and 1994, the government reported 70,000 cases of illegal cutting and trade (FN 22) . Due to these illegal activities, the Ministry investigated cases of suspected tax evasion for a total of US$6 million in 1993, almost as much as the total amount of taxes collected in the forestry sector.

Conclusion

From the 1960’s through the 1980’s, State Forestry policy bolstered Vietnam’s economy by accelerating the exploitation of natural forests at a rate that resulted in a rapid decline in forest resources. Urban-based demands for wood, and population redistribution programs, placed new external pressures on forest and forest land. The dependence of rural people on these same forests to meet income and subsistence needs sometimes generated local conflicts with SFEs over access and control of forest lands and resources. The lack of investment funds limited efficient forest exploitation and reforestation efforts. The concentration of research and innovation around a few state-sponsored, technically oriented research centers could not produce the diversity of innovations that forestry in an ecologically and socioeconomically diverse territory requires. The distribution of responsibilities for and power over forest protection, production planning, and daily management between different levels of the forest administration facilitated forest exploitation at the cost of protection.

In the late 1980’s, the government responded to the crisis in State Forestry through a shift in policy with mixed results. Household land allocation and the formation of support institutions began creating new opportunities for local people to participate in forest management, as well as helping relieve conflicts between them and the state over forest land. The pooling of financial resources from households, the banking system, government, and international donors is increasing investment funds for forestry purposes. Initial experiments with alternative processes of land allocation at the central level and local flexibility in the interpretation of central land policy is beginning to allow greater experimentation. The transfer of protection authority and central SFE management to the provincial government may also bring greater support for protective goals versus short- term commercial exploitation.

Yet, discrepancies between intended outcomes of the new policy and its actual effects have become apparent. Since 1992, the government has had to resort to increasingly drastic measures to curb forest exploitation. Conflicts between the state and rural people, external demands on the forest, lack of investment funds, operational rigidities, and coordination problems between different levels of the forest administration still remain serious problems. Nonetheless, forest policy reform is changing the intensity and geographical distribution of the impact of these forces. Decentralization policies are also facing a new problem: conflicts between different local interest groups concerning forest management goals.

While the allocation of forest land to households may be decreasing conflicts between rural people and state enterprises in some areas, in other regions these policies appear to intensify conflict. In the lowlands and parts of the midlands, allocation increases the forest use rights of local households, and often government program goals and community management objectives are similar: to produce timber for a market economy. In many highland areas, however, land allocation may erode community control over forest resources by imposing rigid government-defined guidelines that reduce management freedom held for generations on a de facto basis (FN 23). Land allocation in those areas may accelerate deforestation as it pushes people to open up new areas for the cultivation of food crops and leads to the short-term exploitation of forest land before allocation.

Similarly, the effects of forest management contracts between SFEs and rural people depend on the capacity of the state to provide stable employment and enforce forest management regulations. The contracts may result in successful reforestation and protection if the state has sufficient financial resources to implement the program, as in the case of national parks supported by international funding. In other areas, contracted households are likely to plant trees but also exploit access to forest land for short-term benefits, such as the Page 9 of 10

cultivation of cash crops until the tree canopy closes, with detrimental effects of soil fertility and forest growth.

While forest allocation to households is decreasing conflicts between local people and state enterprises, different local interests in the use of forest and forest land are creating new conflicts detrimental to the forest. Community interests in forest preservation to protect local watersheds conflict with individual interests in forest exploitation. Interests in the establishment of tree plantations for sale conflict with other interests in multipurpose use of forest land. Forest land is becoming a base of capital accumulation for households who command more resources and have access to political power and social networks, as those tend to get larger forest land holdings and have easier access to credit and other support services. Less well-off households still rely on the forest as a source of subsistence, but increasingly lose access to the forest as it is being allocated, mostly to the better-off. These conflicts over competing uses of the forest by local people may intensify with government land reallocation programs.

External demands on the forest and forest land are increasing on the national level, but are generating geographically differentiated effects on the forest. Migration and the demand for wood by booming construction and industrial sectors are increasing pressure on the forest in areas which possess fertile soils or are more easily accessible from urban and industrial centers. Liberalization is inducing a significant increase in spontaneous migration. Since the late 1980’s, the Central Highlands have received a significant influx of new settlers from the lowlands and the Northern Mountains. Logging restrictions and bans could not protect the forest against these pressures. External demands on forest and forest land, however, remain lower in areas that are remote from urban and industrial centers and do not offer favorable opportunities for agricultural colonization.

As forestry has begun to compete with more profitable urban/industrial and agricultural investments, capital scarcity has limited forest investments, differentiating it by tree species and regions. The government mainly generates funds for forest investment through taxation in other sectors and international transfers. Rural households investing into reforestation do not generate the profits that will produce sizeable tax revenues. Fast-yielding tree species and agricultural cash crops are replacing more valuable tree species with longer rotation cycles. Investments into tree plantations only payoff in regions where they can be grown as part of a highly commercialized agricultural cash crop system. More wealthy provinces, such as An Giang province, use provincial funds for reforestation projects (FN 24) . Capital scarcity forces the government to make tough choices between the goals to strengthen accumulation and to tailor credit conditions to regional circumstances.

The improvement of relations with Southeast Asian and Western countries and increasing contacts with international agencies are exposing Vietnamese policy-makers to new concepts and policy approaches. Forestry research and training is increasingly considering socioeconomic aspects of forestry. Yet, experience from Decree 327 projects indicates that opportunities for local innovation and channels to bring community ideas to the attention of MARD planners and administrators are still limited. For example, experiments with alternative processes of land allocation are still limited to a few pilot projects like the Social Forestry Development Project (SFDP) in the Da River watershed. Still, forest policy reforms are creating opportunities for government intervention that does not attempt to exclude, but incorporates the socioeconomic forces that shape forest use. The trend toward growing access to, and control over, forest resources and land by households and governments at local and provincial levels is expanding the possibility for flexible forest policy that responds to locally specific forest use problems. Hopefully, strengthening innovative capacities at local and central levels will facilitate an adaptive process of trial and error that can sustain Vietnam’s forests.

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NOTES

1. Ministry of Forestry, Vietnam Forestry Sector and Tropical Forestry Action Programme. (Hanoi: Ministry of Forestry, 1991a)

2. Ministry of Forestry, 30 years Construction and Development of the Forestry 1961-1990 (Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House, 1991b).

3. Sophie Witter, "Working with Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam: An Introduction to the Issues". (Hanoi: Save the Children Fund, 1993), program document.

4. These generic problem areas have been suggested by Jeff Romm and applied by the author to the case of Vietnam. Jeff Romm, "Sustainable Forestry, an Adaptive Social Process" in Defining Sustainable Forestry, G. Page 10 of 10

Aplet, N. Johnson, J. Olson, and V.A. Sample, eds. (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1993).

5. Ministry of Forestry, Vietnam Forestry Sector and Tropical Forestry Action Programme (Hanoi: Ministry of Forestry, 1991a). Ministry of Forestry, 30 Years Construction and Development of the Forestry. 1961-1990 (Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House, 1991b).

6. Ministry of Forestry, 1991.

7. Ministry of Forestry, 1991a.

8. Ministry of Forestry, 1991a, b.

9. Ministry of Forestry, 1991b.

10. Ministry of Forestry. 1991b.

11. Lao Dong, 6 Jan. 1995, p. 1, and 6 Jun. 1995, p. 2.

12. International Fund for Agricultural Development, "Preparation Report: Grassroots rural Finance Project" (Rome, Italy: IFAD, 1995).

13. Vietnam Investment Review. 24, 30 Jul. 1995, p.23.

14. Vu Van Me, Nguyen Tuong Van, and Hans Warfinge, "Land Classification and Land Allocation in Vietnam and in Tu Ne Commune of Tan Lac District, Hoa Binh Province," in Renovation of Strategies for Forestry Development (Hanoi: Ministry of Forestry. 1993).

15. William Smith, Implementing the 1993 Land Law: The Impact of the 1993 Land Law on Rural Households in the Mai Son District of Son La Province (Hanoi: Action Aid Vietnam, 1995).

16. The results of a nation-wide survey of cadre at provincial, district, and local level is indicative. The survey found that local authorities did not necessarily recognize all five rights of the holder of LURC’s (Institute for Agricultural Economics, 1994).

17. Yujiro Hayami, "Strategies for the Reform of Land Policy Relations," in (ed.) Randolph Barker, Agricultural Policy Analysis for Transition to a Market-Oriented Economy in Vietnam (Rome, Italy: FAO, 1994), pp.1-26.

18. State Planning Committee (SPC), Vietnam Living Standards Survey: 1992 - 1993 (Hanoi: General Statistics Office, 1994).

19. Nhan Dan, 19 Apr. 1995, pp. 1-3.

20. G. W. Hyles, "Environmental Policy and Program Priorities for an Economy in Transition," unpublished consultant’s report (The World Bank, 1993). G. A. Smith, "Livestock and Barren Land Development, Working Paper No. 1, Vietnam Environment Program and Policy Priorities," Consultant’s Report, (The World Bank, 1993).

21. Sarah B. England and Daniel M. Kammen, "Energy Resources and Development in Vietnam." Annual Review of Energy and Environment, 18:137.

22. "Methods and solutions proposed for solving critical problems in forestry raised by the fifth session of the party central committee" (Hanoi: Ministry of Forestry, 1993). Vietnam News, 7 Mar. 1995, p. 1.

23. Pascal Bergeret, "Management of Natural Forests, in Vietnamese Studies, 45(1):31-45.

24. Vietnam News, 14 Apr. 1995, p. 2. Page 1 of 16

PART III

COMMUNITY CASE STUDIES FROM UPLAND VIETNAM

Vo Tri Chung Nguyen Huy Dzung Eric Crystal Vu Van Dzung Mark Poffenberger Nguyen Huy Phon Peter Walpole

Over the past 30 years the communities of the Da River watershed have come into contact with the outside world. By the mid -1960’s, after centuries of relative isolation from lowland governments, the ethnic minority communities of the Northwest uplands were connected to the outside world by an improving network of roads. During this period, the Northwest was also targeted for government programs and national policies were actively implemented and new socialist governance structures established.

In the past, land, water, and forest resources were managed through indigenous institutions, but increasingly their resource management systems are shaped by government policies. Expanding government resources have allowed the initiation of large-scale development projects and social programs to implement national policies in once remote upland regions. This report provides a brief description of the experiences of the communities in Chieng Hac commune as they attempt to balance their traditional cultures with a commercializing economy and the growing presence of government policies and programs.

Da River Watershed: A Regional Overview

The Da River watershed is one of Vietnam’s poorest and least developed regions (see Figure 4). Many highland people are now confronting growing population and environmental problems, national and world market forces, and increasing government presence in their lives. Government attempts to meet basic food needs, economic development targets, and educational goals confront vast cultural and agroconomic diversity present in the mountainous Da River drainage. The Da River (Song Da) watershed is located in the northwestern corner of Vietnam bordering Laos and China. The topography is mountainous and strongly dissected, with an average elevation of over 500 meters and a maximum of nearly 3,200 meters. One million people presently inhabit the watershed, up from 320,000 in 1945, with a corresponding increase in population density from 12 to 37 persons per square kilometer over the past 40 years. Present growth rates are projected to enlarge the watershed’s population to 1.24 million in 1999 and to 2 million in 2019, reflecting a population density of 75 per square kilometer (FN 1) . Page 2 of 16

Due to the mountainous topography of the Da River watershed, only 6 percent is designated for agricultural production, with less than 2 percent high productivity irrigated rice fields. Although the region’s total land area is 2.6 million hectares, 86 percent of the Da River watershed is legally classified as forest, but only 10 percent possesses good forest cover. Much of this shrub-and grass-covered, "barren" land is used by shifting cultivators. The region was probably well-forested several hundred years ago, but has experienced extensive forest loss that has accelerated in recent decades. Denudation appears to have resulted from successive waves of ethnic communities migrating from southern China, relying on fire to clear lands for agriculture and grazing, combined with more recent pressures from commercial logging and lowland migrants (FN 2) .

The fundamental issue in Son La province and other parts of upland Vietnam is how indigenous cultural systems are adapting to broader sociopolitical and economic trends emanating from lowland Vietnam, and how new government policies and programs are supporting ongoing transitions. The region’s cultural communities remain distinctive, with continuing reliance on traditional leaders and institutions, and on human-ecological practices adapted to the Da River watershed. At the same time, local government officials and structures have increasing influence on the lives of ethnic minorities, while growing market access and privatization has stimulated trends towards commercialization of the local economy. Government policies and programs have also had a marked impact in the area. Policies enforced over the past 5 years banning the opening of new swidden fields and the cultivation of opium have affected the land use practices of many Tai and Hmong households living in the Song Da. New land allocation programs have also brought government further into resource use practices. The new forest land allocation policy encourages the commoditization of land resources, a supportive action for those households ready to invest in commercial crop production, but inappropriate for upper watersheds traditionally held under communal forms of management. Sedentarization, land tenure, intensification, and the management of remaining forests are all important issues in the Vietnamese uplands.

The allocation of forest land to households is now being attempted on both sides of Highway 6 in the Da River watershed. Replicating this effort in more remote parts of the watershed presents major problems. The reallocation process, while participatory in its design, reflects a local government, committee-driven process that gives little emphasis to the integration of the traditional resource management systems of the diverse ethnic minority groups present.

Ethnic Groups and Their Land Use Practices

The Tai. The Da River watershed possesses 23 ethnic groups. The Tai are the most populous ethnic group, with over 410,000 people, followed by Kinh and Hmong, each representing 18 percent of the region’s population. The Tai are believed to have migrated into northwest Vietnam from southwest China 700 to 800 years ago. Tai farmers sought out reliable water sources and valley bottoms to establish wet rice fields and fish ponds, growing other crops and establishing orchards on the lower slopes. In Son La Province, over 70 percent of the population is Tai. Tai communities are organized around chau, river valleys which historically comprised Page 3 of 16

politico-territorial units. So great was the concentration of Tai in Northwestern Vietnam/Northeastern Laos that in recent centuries they formed a political confederation termed the Sip Song Chau Tai (Twelve Tai State Confederation). The Tai presence in the Yen Chau administrative center (Huyen or district headquarters) is immediately striking. Many district officials are of Tai descent including the woman who heads the district people’s committee and the woman who manages the local guest house.

Fundamentally oriented towards irrigated rice cultivation, the Tai have been concerned with water resource management, irrigation channel maintenance, rotation of hillside crops, and have planted grasses and trees for centuries. Tai houses are typically large, raised on stilts with wide porches upon which much food preparation and textile design is undertaken. This has been a traditionally stratified society. Wealth is manifest not only in the size of the house, but also with the number of boxes or trunks holding textiles, jewelry, and other valuables, which are arrayed about the living area, and also by the number of fa or fold -out mattresses stored in the attic above the ground floor.

The Kinh. As members of Vietnam’s dominant lowland majority, most Kinh have moved into the area during the past twenty years. Kinh population in the Da River watershed is concentrated near the provincial capitals of Son La and Lai Chau and around provincial agricultural and forestry enterprises. The New Economic Zone policy of the 1960’s, and other programs, have encouraged Kinh migration from the densely populated Red River Delta. The population of Kinh people in the upland regions of Northern Vietnam grew from 640,000 in 1960 to 2,560,00 in 1989, a four-fold increase placing immense pressure on natural resources (FN 3) . Many Kinh came to work on State Forest Enterprises, clearing large tracts of timber. Frequently, public companies experienced management problems driving Kinh migrant workers to run their own logging operations and clear additional forest land to establish farms. It is estimated that up to 75 percent of the deforestation occurring over the past three decades has resulted from SFE, collective logging operations, and migrant land clearing.

The Hmong. The Hmong are believed to have begun immigrating into the Da area approximately 200 years ago. Movement of Hmong from isolated regions of southern China into the uplands of northwestern Vietnam and across the border with Laos continues today. The 170,000 Hmong of the Da River watershed population are concentrated in upper mountains and plateaus. They practice shifting cultivation on hill slopes for varying durations, planting such staples as dry rice and corn, while growing opium poppies in the winter for sale or barter. The productive potential of the soil and water resources of upland Hmong communities is generally much less than that of the valley dwelling Tais . To maintain the productivity of their farms, Hmong will shift their fields and their settlements periodically. One study of 170 Hmong villages in Bac Ha district in the Da River watershed found 62 percent of the villages moved between 1974 and 1989.

Nguyen Van Thang, a Vietnamese anthropologist, explains, "Within the uplands of northern Vietnam, the Hmong people tended to move northeastward...from highland to lowlands, around the base of mountains that were not occupied by other ethnic groups, practicing swidden agriculture." Thang continues, "Recently, due to the Vietnamese government’s policy banning opium poppy cultivation and reduction in the forest area available for making swidden, Hmong people have begun moving into the remotest forests " (FN 4) . He concludes that Hmong existence is precarious at present, with some communities fleeing into the forests of Laos and others being forced into resettlement villages.

The Hmong, the Tai and some of the other semimigratory ethnic minority groups that practice subsistence swidden agriculture have been the de facto managers of much of the Da River’s upper watershed for well over 500 years. They have played an important role in transforming the vegetative cover of the landscape and even altering the microclimate. While the government has established policies and programs to halt shifting cultivation, it is not clear how far they can be implemented, or what viable alternatives will be available to swidden farmers.

Due to their isolation the Hmong have experienced difficulties in relating their village economies with the expanding lowland market that is penetrating the region, not to mention accessing health care and educational services offered predominantly along major roads. The 1993 government policy to destroy all poppy fields, while not entirely successful, has greatly reduced income from the group ’s only major cash crop. Project-based efforts to provide substitute crops such as fruit trees, sugar cane, and peanuts have had limited impact, due to their lower profitability and limitations of government capacity to deliver the necessary extension and market support (FN 5) .

The Hoa Binh Dam

The Da River watershed has been profoundly changed by the construction of the Hoa Binh Dam between 1979 and 1994 at a cost of US$2 billion. The region was only connected to the lowlands in the 1960’s when the road was built to the Northwest in conjunction with preparations for the construction of the dam. The dam now supplies nearly 50 percent of Vietnam’s electricity, powering much of the urban, industrial development taking Page 4 of 16

place in the lowland deltas. Damming the Da River resulted in the inundation of 200 square kilometers of surface area, extending 230 kilometers upstream. As a consequence, 58.000 people were relocated, largely Tai, Hmong, and other ethnic minorities who had resided there for generations.

The Hoa Binh Reservois extends 230 kilometers behind the massive Hoa Binh Dam, inundating 11,000 hectares of farmland including 4,000 hectares of high productivity irrigated rice that once was the fertile Da River Valley. The reservoir displaced 58,000 people, many oof whom resettled on the upper slopes of the watershed, farming marginal and eroding soil. (photo: Poffenberger)

Hmong man of Chieng Hac Commune uses his cow to haul a log from the forest. Upland families displaced by the Hoa Binh project are even more heavily dependent on upper watershed forest resources since their lower elevation fields were flooded. (photo: Poffenberger)

After losing their wet rice padis and dry fields, displaced families are forced to clear an additional 2,000 hectares of forest annually, placing additional pressure on the watershed. Erosion levels have increased to such a degree that engineers have been forced to reduce the projected life of the dam from 300 years to 50 years due to heavy sediment loads filling the reservoir. A second dam is being planned upriver from Hoa Binh at Ta Bu near the provincial capital Son La. If constructed, an additional 130,000 people could be displaced and much of the remaining irrigated padi land in Son La and Lai Chau provinces would be inundated, creating even greater pressures on the upper watershed. While the second dam is attractive to some foreign investment firms and could provide much of the power needed for further economic growth in the delta over the next 35 to 50 years, it would create immense displacement for the people and economy of the Da River.

LOCAL ADMINISTRATION

Son La Province

Son La is one of three provinces which comprise northwest Vietnam, and together with Lai Chau province, controls most of the land in the Da River watershed. Three quarters of the provincial population are Tai, with Kinh residing in the provincial and district centers, and the Hmong scattered through the higher mountains. The provincial government is responsible for assigning district heads and formulating development plans for the district and communes based on central government policies, programs, and budget allocations. Since the national economic liberalization was initiated in 1986, district and commune level officials are allowed to review and evaluate the plans before they are finalized. Page 5 of 16

Yen Chau District

The Yen Chau district has thirteen communes and one town, with most communes consisting of 10 to 20 scattered settlements, each possessing 10 to 100 families. Yen Chau’s total population is 49,000. The centers of economic prosperity are located in the town and eight larger villages along the Sap and Vat rivers, where much of the district’s 8,000 hectares of rice land and fish ponds are located. Tai people tend to dominate the river valley communities, with Hmong, Xing Mul, and other ethnic minority groups living in villages along the tributaries and in small highland valleys and hillsides. The Tai are more dependent on irrigated agriculture, fish farming, and animal husbandry, but also practice long rotation cassava farming on unterraced hillsides neighboring their communities. The higher elevation ethnic minorities often possess little or no wet rice land, concentrating their agricultural activities on three distinctive forest-based swidden systems; maize, dry rice, and opium. The chief of the district (huyen) is a local Tai who holds a two-year term and works with a council of 20 to 40 members. District government responsibilities include tax collection, property assessment, monitoring development activities, and carrying out basic administrative functions.

Chieng Hac Commune

Chieng Hac commune is located approximately 6 kilometers to the south of Yen Chau town, on the road to Hanoi (see Figure 5). The commune has 3,400 people living in 11 culturally distinct villages. Eighty-one percent are Tai, 16 percent Hmong, and 3 percent Xing Mul. Divided by the Sap River, which is paralleled by Highway 6, the commune stretches 5 kilometers to the north and 7 kilometers to the south, sharing its border with neighboring Laos. Of the commune ’s total area of 8,700 hectares, almost half is upland fields. Another 40 percent is old growth and secondary forest or bamboo groves, and only 12 hectares are irrigated rice land.

The commune is governed by a council representing the resident population. Each member on the council is appointed for a 2-year term. There are quarterly meetings to discuss the implementation of the commune 5- year plan. Commune members undergo short training programs on national laws and policies at the district level. Page 6 of 16

Resource Management in a Tai Village

Ban Tat village was established approximately 100 years ago, although the ancestors of most residents have lived in Yen Chau district for at least 300 years. Before 1954, the entire area was largely covered by old growth evergreen forest, with only seven families inhabiting the village. The original settlers depended primarily on irrigated rice cultivation, home gardening, and fish raising. By 1975, the village population grew to 76 families, and today there are 101 households in the community. Expanding the irrigated rice area was not possible due to water shortages. The growth of the village required much of the surrounding forest land to be cleared for cassava and corn fields. In recent years, village households have gone farther into the uplands to open forests for additional dryland fields, traveling up to 7 kilometers from the community, which is located at 250 meters on the banks of the Sap River, up to elevations of 700 to 900 meters.

Tai Land Use Practices

In the local Tai dialect, Ban Tat means "the village with narrow padi fields," reflecting the difficulties farmers have experienced in creating fields for irrigated rice. Of Ban Tat’s 1,342 hectares, only 7 hectares are irrigated fields. 700 hectares are natural forest, with most of the remainder dryland fields under a long rotating fallow and cultivation cycle. In the map of Ban Tat, shown in Figure 6, the extensive tracts of old growth (Pa Dong) and secondary forest ( Pa Kai) are visible, with the extensive casava fields (Hay Co) in the lower slopes above the village. As a result, most households in the community are heavily dependent on the cultivation of cassava and corn on the sloping land above the village, supplemented by cattle raising, small orchards, and fish ponds.

Figure 6 Map of Tai Land Use Classification-Ban Tat Village, Da River, Vietnam

The community lives in long, raised wooden houses where two to four nuclear families reside. Most houses are clustered just above the road. The buildings are situated in large compounds with fruit trees and vegetable gardens in small bamboo fenced enclosures. Most house yards possess a fish pond with the animal pen situated on the side. Home gardens, aquaculture, and animal husbandry systems exchange nutrients efficiently and are highly productive sources of protein and vitamins, as well as important for generating cash.

The local Tai resource-use system recognizes many categories of land use (see Figure 7).

Figure 7: Transect of Tai Land Use Classification - Ban Tat Village, Da River, Vietnam Page 7 of 16

These include:

1) A: Lowland Irrigated Rice (Phieng Na Tat): Phieng means "flat or open place," and Na refers to "padi field." Most phieng are level terraces formed in valley bottoms at 250 to 300 meters. Phieng often have fish ponds attached above or below the padi fields. Due to their productivity, phieng are highly valued. Community organizations mobilize labor for maintaining irrigation systems. The water requirements of phieng and fish ponds are a major incentive for protecting upland forests and watersheds.

B: Rainfed Rice (Phieng Thuong and Phieng Na Noi): These small rainfed fields are located in upland valleys at elevations ranging from 900 to 1,100 meters. They tend to cover smaller areas, rarely more than 1 to 2 hectares in size. Due to their higher elevation and lack of irrigation, they tend to be less productive than Phieng Na Tat.

2) Grazing Land (Phieng Quai). Fallowed dry rice and cassava lands, which when fallowed are used for grazing water buffalo. During the rainy season they revert to use as rainfed padi fields (Phieng Thuong) or dlyland fields (Hay Co).

3) A: Dry Upland Fields (Hay Co). Hay Co is largely used for the cultivation of cassava for domestic and limited market production. Fields normally range in size from 0.5 to 2 hectares and are situated on steep slopes of’ 20 to 40 degrees and at elevations up to 600 meters. The cassava crop is normally left for two years to reduce soil disturbance. Maize is also grown as a secondary crop, along with some legumes. Bananas are planted on the edge of fields.

B: Dry Upland (Orchards (Hay Mac). Hay Mac is usually used for fruit trees, primarily mangoes. It is likely that these lands were once Hay Co which were planted with fruit trees after the annual cropping period was finished.

4) Bamboo Forest (Pa). Extensive bamboo forests are located from approximately 600 to 800 meters. In 1976, 15 hectares were planted (Dendrocalamus sericeus) by a group of 10 households. Bamboo poles are harvested and shoots are collected both for domestic needs and the market.

5) Fallow dryland fields (Pa Lou). Usually found on sloping land and covered with 1- to 10-year-old shrubs and saplings, this land is usually on a 2- to 5-year agricultural rotation. In some cases, if its nutrients were overly depleted because it was cropped too long or excessively burned, the land may become dominated by imperata grass. In better sites, young secondary forest may emerge.

6) Middle-aged forest of 10 to 20 years (Pa Kai). These forest types are usually located on abandoned upland fields that were not reopened due to fertility problems or lack of accessibility. They may be considered agricultural lands under a long fallow cycle.

7) Primary or old growth forest (Pa Dong). These forests are often situated on ridges or hill tops. Tai Page 8 of 16

communities protect Pa Dong from timber felling and field clearing in recognition of their hydrological importance. The Tai of Ban Tat understands need to conserve the upper watershed to ensure reliable water flows from springs to downstream rice fields and fish ponds. In many cases, these forests are also located on steep limestone bluffs where farming is impractical. Some Pa Dong are believed to be the home of spirits and ancestors.

Emerging Forest Management Issues

Ban Tat village has a traditional system of forest protection under the leadership of older men known as Xompa, meaning "forest protector." The Xompa was responsible for overseeing forest use including 1) ensuring the strict protection of upper watershed forests; 2) designating production forests and allocating selective cutting rights for housing and tools; and 3) mobilizing the community to control forest fires. The Xompa system appears to have fallen out of use in recent decades as the authority of the commune has been extended over forest resources.

In an interview with the research team, Mr. Lo Van Beo, the headman of Ban Tat said, "We need more Xompa. The last Xompa was Mr. Quang Van Hien, born in 1904, and since he died we have had no new Xompa." "We feel Xompa is a very useful part of our Tai tradition. Many Tai villages in our area had Xompa, not just Ban Tat. Now outsiders have come and the populations have grown." Mr. Beo noted that before 1992, each village made their own forest use rules. He suggested that a new Xompa be chosen and that each household should assign one member for forest protection and management activities. Mr. Lo Van Lai, one of the oldest men in Ban Tat, echoed the headman’s sentiments when he said, "Most importantly, we must value highly forest protection and our village needs to promote this. We need to focus on the benefits of forest protection to local people. We need to reorganize the Xompa system with the support of the commune. As a second measure, we need to identify on a simple map, forests in need of protection and those we could use."

The Xompa of Na Phieng

Lo Van Haum was born to a Tai family in 1914. In 1945, Lo’s family and two other Tai households left homes in a nearby village along the Sap River and cleared the dense forests to establish Na Phieng village. At that time most of the surrounding land was forested, with tigers, wild pig, deer, and elephants inhabiting or passing through the area. The site for the new settlement was chosen by the old Xompa in the young families’ origin village. Lo was appointed Xompa for the new community due to his knowledge of traditional agriculture. As Xompa, which literately translates "protector" of "forest," Lo was responsible for ensuring land, water, and forest resources of the community were sustainably managed. Lo worked with household heads identifying upper watershed forest (Pa Dong) that would be closed to agriculture in order to prevent erosion or a disruption water flows serving irrigate rice lands and fishponds by the village. The Xompa also guided decisions concerning the location and length of rotation of upland fields, planting and felling of bamboo and timber, and the placement of forest fruit gardens. In addition, Lo, advised farmers in swidden clearing, burning, and planting decisions. During the 1970’s, when the government required Na Phieng to communalize land management, the Xompa system was displaced by committee structures.

Today, Na Phieng has grown to 32 households, and as the village expanded forests were cleared for agriculture and aquaculture. To protect upper watershed household cash income, the community set aside 22 percent of the village land area as protected forest. Villagers report that since the mid-1980's, economic liberalization policies (Doi Moi) have allowed households to intensify fish production and mango orcharding. Much of the long rotation swidden land that and ensure water delivery to the fish ponds that generate a large part of regenerates as secondary forest and occupies 59 percent of the village territory is now being allocated for household forestry.

Many Na Phieng families are uneasy with the terms of new government forest east programs, including recommended technologies. Some households feel the new government land allocation contracts actually undermine their tenure rights, since these same Pa Loa and Pa Kai lands had been allocated under the traditional Xompa system to village households in the past. Mr. Lo and other village leaders feel there is a need to reestablish the Xompa and related Tai resource management in institutions in order to reconnect local traditional and emerging land use practices with government programs. Local Tai acknowledge that there are also problems with forest fires started during agricultural burning or by careless hunters, and that indigenous forest protection groups could help protect their important watershed forests, and that the Xompa could strengthen community controls over resource use that are badly needed as use pressures increase. Page 9 of 16

Village elders noted that the major threats to the forest came from the opening of new cassava fields in poor sites and from forest fires that escape when agricultural fields are burned to clean fields, or are set by hunters, or fires that are set by angry people who have not been allowed to open new fields. In the past, commercial grazing in the highland watershed also suppressed forest regeneration, though since that has stopped, grazing pressures are reduced to local use and this problem has been reduced. Because forest clearing for farming and burning occurs between October and April, this is the likely period when most attention needs to be given to forest protection, particularly in March and April. Community members have become better at controlling fire. Before 1982 there were usually 20 fires a year in the Chieng Hac commune. However, during the 1990’s the community has only averaged 10 fires which typically burned a total of 10 to 20 hectares.

Bamboo suspension bridges like this connect the Tai Villages of Chieng Hac Commune that are located along the Sap River. Forest and upper watershed protection are gaining importance as commercial aquaculture, dependent on upland springs and rivers, has grown rapidly as a primary source of income for many households. (photo: Poffenberger)

Tai elders in Ban Tat Village meet to celebrate the building of a new house constructed of timber from community forests. Traditional gatherings of this type provide opportunities to discuss resource management issues. The opinions of the elders remain influential, although new local government structures have formally supplanted them. (photo: Poffenberger)

According to Ban Tat elders, some community members are upset because they are not allowed to open new swidden fields. Ban Tat villagers reported that they want to gain greater tenure authority over their upland agricultural and forest lands. They are interested in protecting existing forest lands to ensure spring flow and water availability. Ban Tat elders feel the need to better determine which lands must be reserved for watershed conservation and which could be opened for agriculture. They are especially interested in ensuring the continuing availability of useful timber species.

In neighboring Sap Vat Commune, the 10 Tai villages protect over 1,000 hectares of forest that is a critical source of water for rice lands and fish ponds. Increasing concern for the forest decline has resulted in each village forming a 12-member committee. The immediate activities are: protection against burning, identification of areas for potential use and exploitation, division of forest area among the villages for protection, and issuing permits for forest exploitation. Forest management conflicts are settled by the commune representatives and the offending party(s) involved. Illegal burning or cutting may entail a fine of US$3 per square meter, for bamboo US$0.05 per shoot, and for timber US$2-5 per tree. In 1995, the commune was able to plant 29 hectares of teak in the uplands with seedlings provided by the Nai Yon Forest Enterprise, and 14 hectares of fruit trees (longan) with saplings from the Forestry Extension Unit. Page 10 of 16

Resource Management in a Hmong Village

The three Hmong communities of Chieng Hac Commune are located at the base of limestone bluffs at elevations of 850 to 1,000 meters (see Figure 8). The small upland valleys and plateaus the Hmong inhabit are perched behind a ridge, separating them from Ban Tat and the other Tai communities below, near the banks of the Sap river. The Hmong villages are located approximately 6-10 kilometers from Highway 6. The limestone bluffs are covered with dense, old growth evergreen forests. Below these dense forests are maize fields, dryland paddy, and communities towards the bottom of the highland valleys.

Figure 8 Map of Hmong Land Use Classification -Chi Dai Village, Da River, Vietnam

The original Hmong settlers of Chi Dai came from Lao Ki Tao in southern China 300 years ago. Chi Dai village currently has a population of 280 people residing in 34 households. Land shortages, both for houses and farming, have forced some Hmong families to move to nearby areas. In 1975, some families began moving to the neighboring Hmong community of Bo Kieng, and recently six families resettled in a new site near Chi Dai that now has 16 families.

Farther to the southwest, across a small limestone ridge, is Khao Khoang. The 28 families (147 inhabitants and 40 laborers) are situated in a scattered pattern above a small stream that runs the length of the valley. Several small springs are found midway up the valley walls. According to Mr. Vang Lau Zenh, the village headmen of Khao Khoang, up to the 1940’s elephants were still present in the area, while the last tigers were seen during the first part of the 1960’s. Bears searching for honey and other food occasionally move through the area, while red-faced monkeys are relatively abundant. A few families settled in Khao Khoang, which literally means "limestone spring." prior to 1954. By 1960, about six families moved from Chi Dai and a cooperative was established.

Hmong Land Use Practices

The Hmong farmers of Chi Dai are in the process of transition from traditional open cycle swidden cultivation, involving continuous clearing of new forest for fields, to more sedentary systems of agriculture. This change is driven by the expanding community population, the growing shortage of forest land that can be converted to agriculture, and government sedentarization policies. In an attempt to identify how the Hmong defined their current agricultural practices, the village headman, Mr. Van Lau Zenh, was asked to identify major land use systems of the Hmong community (see Figure 9). These included: Page 11 of 16

Figure 9: Transect of Hmong Land Use Classification - Chi Dai Village, Da River, Vietnam

1) Upland Maize Fields (Chia Cho Po-Chu). Maize fields are usually sited on moderately steep, stony slopes. Crops are grown for 2 to 5 years depending on fertility and yields and are then fallowed for a minimum of two years. Field clearing is done during the months of February and March, after which the slash is left to dry for a month before burning. The fire is set at the lowest part of the field, downwind.

2) Upland Dry Rice (Chia Cho Plei). Dry rice is grown on more gradual slopes for two years followed by one year of maize. If yields continue to be good, an additional crop of rice may be grown before fallowing.

3) Ridge Top Opium Fields (Chia Cho Zing). Opium fields are situated in old growth secondary cloud forests in small patches. They require humid, high elevation sites above 900 meters, with black soils. Opium can generally be grown for one to three years before fallowing the fields.

4) Regenerating Fallowed Fields (Chi Can Zu ) are typically covered by wild grass, shrubs, and some saplings. If fields have been overly depleted they may be invaded by grass (Imperata cylindrica). The land is usually opened again for agriculture after two to three years. When imperata has invaded the field, the grass is cut, burned, and then plowed with horses.

5) Young Regenerating Forests (Chi Phu). These forests are usually found in abandoned upland field sites and are reopened after five to seven years of regeneration.

6) Bamboo Forests (Hasong) may occur naturally or may be established plantation. Both are managed through thinning and harvesting with poles valued for construction purposes and shoots collected for food.

7) Old Growth Evergreen Forests (Chan De). Old growth forests which are protected for watershed conservation.

While in the past, most Hmong have practiced a pioneering form of shifting cultivation that tends to sharply deplete forest soil fertility, indigenous agricultural systems also reflect soil and water conservation values and techniques. Hmong normally attempt to site swidden fields on the lower portion of hills, protecting vegetative cover on the upper half of the slope. The planting of hedgerows and building up of field edges to prevent erosion, as well as contour plowing, were common practices, as was inter-planting with legumes to promote nitrogen fixation (FN 6) . Hmong communities like Chi Dai are attempting to respond to growing land scarcities by using traditional knowledge and new technologies to feed their families on their marginal upland soils.

The Hmong families of Chieng Hac are poorer than the Tai households at lower elevations, and are primarily dependent on corn cultivation, supplemented by dry rice. Bananas and taro are planted on the upper sides of dryland fields. Squirrels and small birds are hunted in the forests, while chickens and pigs are raised in the settlement’s house yards. The villagers also collect medicinal plants and fuelwood from the forest. Some Page 12 of 16

families also keep water buffalo, and many own one or two horses for transportation and plowing.

Cash income is generated from the collection of cinnamon bark from wild trees in the old growth forests. Cinnamon sells for VND2,500 (US$0.23) per kilogram in local markets, and men and children are still able to collect 30 to 40 kilograms in a single trip. A few Hmong farmers, including Mr. Zenh, are having some success with the cultivation of apricots in their house yards. In the last year, a fish pond has given satisfactory returns and others are now experimenting with fry bought in the town. Poor water supply and distance from markets are critical limitations that have yet to be addressed. Twenty years ago, a government-supported school offering classes through the third grade was established in Chi Dai, using Vietnamese as the medium of instruction. While two students from the village are now in the commune central school at Chieng Hac, most village children do not study beyond the third grade.

Since 1991, no opium has been grown in Khao Khoang and no new fields have been opened in the high cloud forest above the village. The opium ban has had a drastic effect on the incomes of local villagers. According to local informants, one hectare of opium when harvested in January could yield as much as 5 kg of opium. Itinerant traders in former days paid as much as VND800,000 -1 million (US$73-$91) per kilogram of opium.

In the wake of the government ban, efforts were undertaken to transform Hmong agriculture. Apricot tree seedlings were planted on the ground of a model farm, one which also included a fishpond and some very small irrigated rice fields. The fishpond concept, not traditional for Hmong villagers in this area, has been imitated by a number of villagers. Apricot trees, which seem particularly well adapted to lands formerly planted to poppy, have thrived and two harvests have already been taken in.

Population growth and government prohibitions on forest clearing to open new fields has disrupted traditional Hmong long rotation swidden farming practises. Whether these erodible, low fertility slopes can sustain sedentary farming remains to be seem with farmers now reporting declining yields (photo: Poffenberger)

Hmong children return from a Cinnamon bark ( Cinamomun cass ia) collecting trip in an old growth forest. An adult can collect 30 to 40 kilograms in tree to four days for VND 2,500 (US$0.23) per kg, making it an important source of cash income for local households. (photo: Poffenberger)

During the dry season in Khao Khoang (November-March), large Zil trucks sometimes make their way on a very rough dirt track which leads past Khao Khoang and then descends to Black Tai settlements along the Page 13 of 16

banks of the Da River. These trucks collect Hmong corn for sale in the Yen Chau market in October and apricots in March. Informants report that cash yields per hectare on nascent apricot harvests are about 10 percent of what they would have been on poppy harvests. Clearly the household income loss has not been replaced, even for those few households who have successfully obtained and nurtured fruit tree seedlings.

Agricultural production and household incomes have been greatly altered in Khao Khoang as a result of the opium planting ban. The total swidden area is only 20 hectares, and with bans on the opening of new fields, nutrient levels on existing farmland are said to be declining with a corresponding fall in crop yields. Corn comprises about 80 percent of all food produced, supplemented by bamboo shoots and fruit.

The community possesses 130 cattle, 20 buffaloes and 40 goats that graze freely around the village, along with about 10 pigs per household. Cattle are important because they can be sold during the famine months from April to June. About 30 percent of the families experience food supply shortages and malnutrition is evident in the village. At present, without income from the opium crop, many Hmong households have insufficient funds to purchase food to feed themselves during the famine season. Policies and programs that do not address this core problem will not receive support from the Hmong communities in Chieng Hac.

Emerging Forest Management Issues

The village headman of Khao Khoang, Mr. Zenh, reported that given growing population pressures, while there had not been a traditional system of forest management among the Hmong, the Hmong are gradually intensifying forest protection activities among themselves and in coordination with neighboring villages. In the 1970’s, Hmong communities began placing tighter controls on field burning by requiring farmers to cut a fireline above the fields and positioning a person in the break to prevent the fire from escaping up-slope. Delineation of the political boundary of Hmong land was done in 1994, apparently as part of the forest land allocation program.

The village agrees with the boundary demarcation, but they are still uncertain what the government wants in terms of managing barren land. While they support land rehabilitation, they are especially interested in commercial plantation activities. They want to plant apricot while the land has some fertility, but lack the money for investment in seedlings. Chi Dai villagers reported that district officials have never visited their distant settlement to discuss ways to intensify farming practices and generate cash.

In 1995, Mr. Zenh, who knew the Xompa in a neighboring Tai community, began establishing a forest protection committee for the Hmong community and sought formal recognition from the commune. Khao Khoang is situated directly adjacent to a large protection forest, and hunting and gathering continues to constitute a major village enterprise. Medicinal plants are gathered in the forest, but the availability of other resources is declining. The village leader has informed the community that the forest is protected, violations will be punished, and three groups have been established to monitor the area.

Forest protection efforts have helped to reduce exploitation of the forest. In protection forest, only dead wood can be collected. A few years ago, a farmer was fined VND15,000 (US$1.36) for cutting bamboo. The community has also attempted to control hunting. In one case, the villagers tried to restrain outside hunters from killing a bear which lived on the mountain above the village. According to Mr. Zenh, the hunters succeeded in killing the bear because the community lacked the authority to stop the outsiders. He said that the commune needed to give the Hmong hamlets greater responsibility for protection. He felt once they had reached an agreement regarding forest use regulations with their neighboring villages the commune should recognize the new protection system.

Mr. Zenh believes protection can be done on a volunteer basis and that effective access controls can lead to natural regeneration. Mr. Zenh is concerned, however, that without support and incentives from the commune, it will be difficult to sustain the group. He has proposed that some commune tax revenues from dryland farming, padi, and fish ponds be used to help finance the Hmong communities’ forest protection activities. Mr. Zenh is also negotiating with one downstream Tai community to explore possible compensation for Hmong forest protection efforts and the assurance that needed water will be delivered.

Mutually supportive resource management agreements between ethnic groups practicing different land use systems within the same watershed will be necessary to minimize future conflicts. Government policies and programs should be designed to facilitate local dialogue and generate agreements between user communities. By examining the process through which agreements are made between communities in areas like Chieng Hac, planners can identify critical needs and issues, as well as frameworks for cooperation in actual contexts.

Page 14 of 16

Changing Resource Management Roles for Community and Government

Prior to the construction of National Highway 6, rural resource management in the Da River watershed was carried out by village-based social institutions characterized by the cultural traditions and agroecological practices of each respective ethnic group. While precolonial states and the French colonial rulers periodically exacted taxes or tribute, operational management was largely maintained under customary law. Day-to-day decisions on land, water, and forest resource allocation were handled by leaders and councils within each settlement, with major decisions or disputes referred to multihamlet federations or local chieftains. While the northwest was often viewed as a wild, uninhabited region by Kinh lowland officials and foreigners, much of the region and its boundaries were "elaborately defined by these communities, with some lands available for cultivation and others for preservation of forests...despite the appearance of wide-open frontiers, even the migratory Hmong were not able to settle anywhere they chose but had to find unclaimed lands, or, if there were claims on lands, negotiate use rights (FN 7) .

During the 1950’s and the 1960’s, the national government encouraged villages to formulate cooperatives, though the membership of the cooperatives and decision-making processes may have continued to reflect traditional modes of operation. By the 1960’s and 1970’s, the government tried to establish multivillage cooperative units or communes. However, the 1980’s brought policies that shifted away from collectivization, returning authority to the village, and, most recently, to households. Some specialists speculate that indigenous villages may regain greater autonomy, creating opportunities for traditional institutions to reestablish their role in resource-use decision making (FN 8) . Yet government policies and programs, while de-emphasizing collectives, give little recognition to the role of the traditional villages. Instead, these new policies and programs stress empowering the household or individual.

Many central government programs have had mixed or limited impact in the Da River watershed. The Fixed Cultivation and Sedentarization program, initiated in 1968, attempted to stop the practice of shifting agriculture. After nearly 30 years, it is estimated that fewer than half of the country’s two million swidden farmers were resettled and many continue practicing shifting cultivation, in part due to the absence of viable alternatives. Decree 327, which was issued in 1992, built on the earlier Fixed Cultivation program targeting the restoration of barren hills with industrial crops where possible. Under these programs, forest lands have been broadly divided into three categories:

1) Land suitable for dryland agriculture on a rotation allowing for a three-to five-year fallow, which tend to remain under shrub vegetation in an early phase of regeneration.

2) Less fertile forests on steeper slopes which are in a much longer rotation and have been regenerating into dense bamboo stands or young secondary forests.

3) Old growth evergreen forests located on ridge and hill tops which are often protected by the village for hydrological reasons, yet exploited for produce like firewood.

The issuing of a new policy requiring the allocation of forest lands to commune households provides new opportunities for decentralizing management. The new policy was formulated to tighten forest-use controls by vesting rights and responsibilities locally, and as part of the broader national attempt to privatize production systems. The policy does appear to address the broader needs for upper watershed protection. The reallocation program appears to be best fitted to secure tenure rights for households on Type 1, and possibly Type 2, forest described above. The Type 3 upland forests, not under long rotational agriculture because of their physical features and hydrological importance, may best be managed by community institutions. However, this possibility is not yet supported by specific community forestry management policies.

The sustainability of natural resource-based production systems in the Da River is threatened by multiple factors. Growing local populations place additional pressures on marginally productive lands. Many farmers are experimenting with modified cropping systems while traditional communities develop stricter resource-use controls. While the villages of the watershed retain their strong traditional cultures, each dependent on their own land-use practices and informal authority structures, the communities of the Da are increasingly engaging in contemporary market economies.

Government programs assume that upland communities are ready to shift their production systems to individual or household-based business ventures and provide little support to earlier resource management strategies. Policies that stress privatization and commercial development, without reference to traditional social institutions that have overseen resource use in the past, may undermine community capacity to regulate human interaction with the watershed in the future. Even more threatening to communities in the Da River area is the likelihood that local resource requirements will be sacrificed to meet the power and raw material needs of Page 15 of 16

the lowland population. In order to understand community resource management behavior and emerging concerns over government policies and programs, diagnostic studies were carried out by the research team among the Tai and Hmong villages of Chieng Hac Commune.

Upper watershed forest protection has long been recognized as a necessary part of community resource management systems in Yen Chau. While expanding populations have put increased pressure on forest resources for conversion to agriculture. local institutions have continued to set aside upper slopes and hill tops, excluding them from timber felling and farming. National government programs and regulations that ban shifting cultivation and encourage forest protection rarely build on local resource management strategy. Rather they rely on entirely different set of incentives and formal legal codes to leverage community cooperation.

Provincial, district, and commune governments have implemented new policies in ways that minimize conflicts and respond to local conditions. However, outside policies that are unsupportive of indigenous systems of resource management and governance inevitably fail to work with the positive components of ethnic minority cultural values and social systems, and may not respond to their most urgent problems and concerns. By ignoring their presence, top-down programs erode the legitimacy and authority of indigenous mechanisms of conflict resolution, consensus building, resource mobilization, revenue generation, and regulation of resource use. Often, government programs will attempt to establish alternative village or resource governance structures, but may misjudge where to vest management authority and establish agreements.

The Son La District government, while implementing the national 1993 Land Law, worked with the Chieng Hac Commune to allocate upper watershed forest plots to households for protection. This process essentially ignored the fact that the upper watershed forests were already divided among the eleven villages that comprised the commune, and were essentially under the supervision of village members from their respective territories, even though legally they were administered by the commune.

The Tai settlement of Na Phieng was one of the first villages in Chieng Hac Commune to be chosen for allocation of forest land. This has proceeded with 32 of the 33 households receiving land. The village has a total area of 312 hectares of which 56 percent is old growth forest, 29 hectares natural evergreen, 59 hectares bamboo, leaving over 90 hectares of prospective land for allocation. Many community leaders feel it is better not to allocate all the land to households at this time, but to maintain it under community management and allocate it as necessary.

Previously there was one village elder who coordinated forest protection, the Xompa, but under the new program, three families have received formal contracts to protect the forest. It is unclear how shifting forest management from the traditional system to the government-sponsored household forest protection scheme will work. In the past the Xompa was responsible for representing community interests generally, while household management may reflect self-interest and land allocations may be seen to be inequitable.

In neighboring Chieng Mai Commune, experiences with land allocation have been mixed. Mr. Quang, Commune Chairman, worked with village managers to explain the new law and gain the cooperation of member villages. He feels land allocation has had two main benefits: redistributing agricultural land more equally. and initiating a more systematic resource planning process. Reallocation has also helped to clarify village boundaries and define protected forest areas. Mr. Quang opposed the allocation of forest land to households, however, believing that they should be managed by the residential clusters of households as they had in the past.

The village managers have also issued a ban on the sale or transfer of land without the commune’s permission. Community leaders are concerned over the growing commercialization and privatization of village land and resources. They hope to prevent villagers from selling their land for consumer goods and then require additional land be given to them for farming. They also fear that village land will become a commodity and that outside speculators will begin taking control of the area. bringing different values that will lead to future conflicts (FN 9) .

Conclusion

National planners are keenly aware of the need for strict watershed management through forest protection to meet lowland goals and have invested heavily in programs to promote sedentarization. These policies inevitably upset the swidden systems of the Da River watershed, especially those of the Hmong, Dzao, and other upper watershed communities, leaving them with inadequate food sources and reduced alternatives. The ban on opium is a further, but secondary, issue affecting the Hmong, in particular, and the upland economy, in Page 16 of 16

general. Successful policies that can stabilize the Da River watershed must inevitably respond to the needs of Tai, Hmong, and other ethnic minority groups. Since each group’s resource-use systems are distinctive, government programs will need to offer a variety of supportive programs designed to meet the needs of unique resource use and production strategies. Policies and programs need to provide both greater local authority over forest lands, as well as information and capital to intensify crop production and allow sustainable resource extraction.

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NOTES

1. Nguyen Duy Khiem and Paul Van Der Poel, "Land Use in the Song Da Watershed," Social Forestry Development Project (SFDP) Song Da (Hanoi, 1993), p. 18.

2. Khiem and Poel, p. 14.

3. Institute of Ethnology, "The Ethnic Minorities of Vietnam" (Hanoi: Social Sciences Publishing House, 1978) as cited in Nguyen Van Thang, p. 110.

4. Nguyen Van Thang. "The Hmong and Dzao Peoples in Vietnam" in The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam. Terry Rambo, et al., eds. (Honolulu, HI: East - West Center, 1995), p. 104

5. Le Trong Cuc, "Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Land Use in the Da River Watershed", in The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam, Terry Rambo et al., eds. (Honolulu, HI: East - West Center, 1995, pp. 89 - 100.

6.Thang, p. 108.

7. Thang, p. 106.

8. Khiem and Poel, p. 16.

9. William Smith, "Implementing the 1993 Land Law: The Impact of Land Allocation on Rural Households in Son La and Ha Tinh Provinces " (Action Aid Vietnam, June 1998), p. 58. Page 1 of 11

PART IV

BA VI NATIONAL PARK AND THE DZAO

Jennifer Sowerwine, Nguyen Huy Dzung & Mark Poffenberger

Vietnam has made rapid progress in establishing a network of conservation areas since the country ’s first national park was founded at Cuc Phuong in 1962. By 1990, Vietnam possessed 89 protected areas covering 1.1 million hectares or 3 percent of the country. These included nine national parks, 49 nature reserves. and 31 historical and scenic sites, representing varied ecosystems (FN 1) . But, population pressures and corresponding resource dependencies on many of the protected areas are considerable. Finding ways to balance local forest product needs with nature conservation objectives presents immense challenges. While resettlement schemes have been attempted in Cuc Phuong, Ba Vi, and other protected areas, there is a growing recognition among Vietnamese planners that simply moving resident people outside park boundaries may not lessen their dependence on those reserves.

In Vietnam and other countries, relocated forest dwellers often continue to reenter parks and sanctuaries because of their traditional reliance on the forest as a source of subsistence and cash income. For example, resettled Dzao communities neighboring Ba Vi National Park continue to collect fuelwood, fodder, lumber, and other building and handicraft materials, medicines, wild foods, resins, and dyes despite policies that closed off their access to park resources in 1991. It is becoming evident that forest-dependent communities need to be included in management if there is to be effective regulation of local use practices. This case study reviews the experiences of a Dzao community that was resettled from Ba Vi’s interior to Yen Son Commune, outside of the Park’s boundaries, and explores how the Dzao and other buffer zone communities could he involved in its management.

Ba Vi National Park: History and Context

The Ba Vi mountain complex, with a total of 7,400 hectares, became Vietnam’s eighth national park in 1992. The Park is located approximately 50 kilometers to the northwest of Hanoi, bordering the Da River. It stands out distinctively as one of the few mountainous areas in the vast, low-lying Red River Delta, rising sharply to an elevation of 1,300 meters and towering above the agricultural plains (see Figure 10). It is surrounded by seven villages with a population of 60,000, one-third of whom are estimated to be economically dependent on the forest resources. The Muong are the original inhabitants of the area, followed by the Kinh and the Dzao, who migrated to the area around the 1920’s. The Dzao settled on the forested slopes of Ba Vi Mountain at an elevation of 600 meters where they practiced shifting cultivation. In 1963, they were moved to the base of the mountain on the Park’s periphery. Page 2 of 11

Ba Vi was selected as a national park for a variety of reasons, including its functioning as a refugia, one of the last remaining sanctuaries for flora and fauna that has disappeared as the expanding Red River Delta population cleared surrounding forests. The park also acts as a critical watershed for the surrounding agricultural communities, supplying seven reservoirs and hundreds of small wells that deliver water for agricultural and domestic needs. Ba Vi Mountain has spiritual significance for many Vietnamese. The legend of Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh tells of the battle between the Spirits of the Waters and the Spirits of the Mountain. with the three peaks of Ba Vi complex symbolizing key figures in the story. Two small temples located at the peaks’ summits are frequently visited by domestic tourists.

In 1886, French botanist Balansa identified 5,000 species of flora around Ba Vi mountain, demonstrating the rich biodiversity of the area. Over 350 species of wild and cultivated flora have been identified as being of particular use to humankind. A number of species of rare and valuable plants can still be found including the Bach Xanh (Calocedrus macrolepis) and Lat Hoa (Chukrasia tabularis). Over 100 years later, however, the overall number of species present in the park is estimated to have fallen to 2,000.

This sharp decrease in species diversity is a reflection of declining forest cover on Ba Vi Mountain which has receded upwards from 80 meters elevation to 800 meters over the past 60 to 70 years due to a combination of industrial felling and swidden farming. While much species loss has occurred in the Park, much of the same flora and fauna is completely absent in the surrounding area outside of park boundaries, reflecting the critical importance of conserving the remaining biodiversity within the Park (FN 2) .

The management of Ba Vi Mountain has changed significantly over the last hundred years. In the early 20th century, forest land on the lowland plains surrounding Ba Vi Mountain was cleared for agriculture, settlements, and logging operations. During the French colonial period, Ba Vi was used as a hill station. At the height of its popularity as a retreat, up to 200 villas were situated at or above 400 meters elevation. The French also conducted logging operations around the mountain between 50 and 400 meters. From the 1960’s through the 1970’s, Ba Vi was under the management of forestry agencies, state enterprises, cooperatives, and vocational schools. Some of these organizations were engaged in timber exploitation, including the Productive Forest Enterprise that felled 30,000 trees for telephone and power poles, and other timber-based industries (FN 3) .

By the late 1970’s, however, Vietnam began to initiate a series of management changes which reflected a growing awareness of the importance of protecting the Park. In June 1977, the Ba Vi Forest Reserve was established to protect the natural ecology of 2,140 hectares located above 400 meters. After July 1986, management responsibility was transferred to the Ba Vi Forest Reserve Management Board under the Forest Department of Hanoi City and the boundaries were extended to the 100-meter contour level. Management goals were characterized by strict protection and reforestation. In February 1991, Ba Vi was designated as the Page 3 of 11

Ba Vi National Forbidden Forest, under the management of the People’s Committee of Hanoi City. In January 1992, under the Council of Ministers Decision number 407/CT, the name of the area was changed to Ba Vi National Park and management responsibility was transferred to the Ministry of Forestry.

Park Administration

In 1989, the Ministry of Forestry identified four management goals for Ba Vi National Park (FN 4) . These objectives reflected the recommendations of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) category 2 National Park Guidelines for areas managed mainly for ecosystem conservation and tourism. They included:

Forest protection and protection of plant and animal resources in the National Park, especially protection of 1500 ha of natural forest.
Protection of the environment and the water resources of Ba Vi Mountain and the surrounding area. The first priority towards this goal is the rehabilitation of the destroyed forests surrounding the Park.
Research on flora and fauna to assist in management of the Park and contribute to forestry throughout the country.
Organization of excursions for both domestic and international tourists and provision of environmental education and training for various groups.

It is important to note that meeting the needs of local communities was not included in the Park’s formal management goals. Recognizing the dependencies of these communities, park administrators have implemented a range of agroforestry projects in the neighboring buffer area. However, community leaders are not engaged in park planning procedures or in park administration.

Jurisdictional authority for the management of the Ba Vi National Park is the responsibility of its director. In 1992, the park employed 468 staff, 360 of which were male and 108 female. No members from the ethnic groups surrounding the park were involved in the administration. Within and around the park are four forest control stations, each responsible for managing a defined area. Each station is managed by a forest supervisor who is responsible for two forest engineers, five technically trained staff in forestry, and three other staff. The principal responsibilities of the staff working from the control stations are reforestation and maintenance of reforested areas; general guard duties; public education; and scientific study aimed at maintaining genetic diversity. Rehabilitation work is undertaken by contract labor. On average, salaries are VND80,000 per month (US$7,50) compared to the national average of VND110,000 per month (US $10).

Illegal removal of plant, animal, and mineral species from the park appears to be of primary concern to the national park authorities as well as to NGOs involved in Ba Vi’s conservation. Collecting firewood for sale, gathering plants, and hunting and trapping animals increases during seasonal periods of food shortages. Park officials are also concerned over forest fires that escape local swidden plots destroying the reforestation area seedlings. Iron, gold, and copper deposits have been found within the park, and until 1992, legal mining was undertaken in the Northeast corner of the park. There are reports that this form of exploitation continues today.

As a result of these pressures, the South and Southeastern sides of the mountain, in particular, are heavily degraded. Only 50 percent forest cover remains, with the most valuable timber species having been removed. Animal species diversity. for example, has declined sharply from a total of 44 mammal and 114 bird species in 1962, to a total of 12 mammal species and 76 bird species in 1992 (FN 5) . Plant diversity reveals similar trends. Despite heavy clearing of vegetation, however, erosion does not appear to be a major concern at present, primarily due to the rapid invasion of Imperata cylindrica and other grasses that occurs after burning or clearing of the natural forest.

Management Zones

Ba Vi is currently divided into three management zones: the Strictly Protected Zone, the Particular Use Zone and the Buffer Zone (see Figure 11). Briefly, these are defined as: Page 4 of 11

Strictly Protected Zone: covers 1,544 hectares in the core area of the park, extending from the 400 meter contour to the mountains’ summits. This zone contains all the remaining primary forest in the park, with old growth currently estimated at less than 950 hectares. An additional 600 hectares of the core is either heavily disturbed or under rehabilitation through reforestation. Below the 600 meter contour, heavy disturbance due to logging, shifting cultivation, and reforestation of both exotic and native species has altered the landscape and species diversity significantly.

Particular Use Zone: extends from 100 to 400 meters, following the contour lines. This zone is designed primarily for "rehabilitation" and development. Tourist facilities including housing, roads, and trails are also being constructed around the park station at 400 meters elevation. Severely disturbed areas within this zone have been targeted for "rehabilitation" largely with exotic species (Eucalyptus and Acacia) along with commercial shrubs and trees including Pine, Tea, Cinnamon, Longan and Chinchona. Under new forest land allocation, scheme plots ranging in size from 1 to 50 hectares are being allocated to local people for reforestation. By 1997, plot allocation was proceeding slowly, with many of the allocations being given to past employees of the defunct forest enterprises.

Buffer Zone: extends one kilometer outward from the park boundary at the 100-meter elevation line. This zone is designated for human settlements and agriculture. The main functions within this zone include reforestation, agricultural production, agroforestry, integrated home garden systems (VAC), and firewood plantations. This one-kilometer-wide buffer zone surrounding the Park, although not controlled by the Park, is monitored by Park authorities.

Management priorities focus heavily on biodiversity surveys, the rehabilitation of degraded land with exotic and native species, as well as strict law enforcement. Although indirectly involved in reforestation projects, surrounding communities have not been included in the design or implementation of the management plan.

Forest Land Allocation Policies and Buffer Zone Development Projects

Prior to 1988, all land was controlled by the State in the form of State-run cooperatives in which the State held formal responsibility for determining all land use and management. Under the new laws, forest land is being transferred to groups and individuals through a system of leases. This is occurring in Ba Vi in both the Particular Use Zone and the Buffer Zone, although less so in the former. On land designated as forest land, lessees are required to grow tree species specified by the Park management, although intercropping and harvesting of understory growth is permitted until the canopy cover closes. Lessees may harvest between 80 and 90 percent of the trees once they have reached maturity.

Also, under the new Land Law, each farming household is eligible to receive a portion of leased land based on Page 5 of 11

several criteria, including past employment in defunct state enterprises and traditional ownership. These criteria often result in the exclusion of some of the poorest households who are newer migrants to the area or resettled families. Due to land shortages, most families only receive between 0.05 to 0.1 hectares, an amount some villagers report to be inadequate in meeting even modest subsistence needs. Five former state farms in the Buffer Zone are also now under the control of park authorities. Workers from the dissolved state companies receive individual allocations of 0.33 ha of land to farm for their own profit, as well as 1-2 hectares of plantation land. Agricultural support provided by 17 cooperatives in the past has lapsed since 1993 as the cooperatives have been dissolved. Poorer families are unable to farm efficiently due to lack of capital for such agricultural inputs as fertilizer, seed, and pesticides.

The establishment of exotic tree plantations has eroded the native ecology of the Buffer Zone, while contributing little to the economic needs of resident communities. Inappropriate species selection and a reliance on monoculture plantations in the Buffer Zone are likely to reduce the environmental stability and ecological integrity of the area. Market prices for Eucalyptus and Acacia have been poor, with little opportunity for use in local industry. Residents have expressed concern that the plantation tree species by the park and forestry agencies, especially Eucalyptus when planted in agroforestry systems, appear to be reducing soil fertility, lowering the water table, and encouraging new agricultural pest species. Farmers are also dismayed by the limited nonwood forest products generated by Eucalyptus and Acacia.

In Yen Son Commune, where the Dzao were resettled, each family has been provided with small plots of forest lands 0.5 to 4 kilometers from the village where Acacia and Eucalyptus are planted. Approximately 40 hectares of Acacia trees were planted from 100 to 200 meters elevation, with an additional 300 hectares of Eucalyptus planted from 200 to 400 meters in 1986. Mr. Duong Tai, the Yen Son’s village headman since 1984, noted in an interview with the research team, "I hate Eucalyptus, it has no value for us. The paper mills are too far away for it to have any value. After 7 to 10 years it will be felled and then the land will be barren again." Indeed, the undergrowth and build-up of forest humus appears poor in the Eucalyptus areas.

Mr. Tai, and many other villagers, are interested in planting long term, indigenous tree species that have high value and can generate multiple products, especially Cannarium album and Dracontomilum duppereanum. Both trees begin fruiting after 8 years, and Mr. Tai reports that there is a good market for these products in China. He also noted that many other non-timber forest products could be planted in the forest, depending on site conditions. Mr. Tai said that seeds of indigenous species have a short period of viability for germination (1- 2 weeks). and that this makes it difficult for government agencies to handle the planting material quickly enough to ensure a high rate of survival. He notes, however, that by working with neighboring Dzao communities, seeds could be quickly brought into the area and established in Ba Vi’s Buffer and Particular Use zones.

Mr. Tai feels that the Eucalyptus and Acacias should be gradually phased out by cutting contour belts through the plantations and replanting with local species on a 10-meter spacing. The Dzao’s intimate knowledge of Ba Vi ’s environment and growing conditions favorably position them to effectively assess viable strategies for reforestation, while the economic needs provide them with powerful incentives to succeed in reestablishing forest cover. The Dzao appear to share the Park’s own management goals of reintroducing indigenous species. Unfortunately, Park administration currently does not permit communities to participate in management planning activities. Page 6 of 11

The village headman of Yen Son enjoys a pipe of tobaco during a meeting break. The headman reports government agroforestry projects have assisted Dzao resettlement families to establish tree crops, but he feels the community could play a greater role in park management. (photo: Poffenberger)

Ethnomedicine and Forest Management

The Dzao, a distinct ethnic group comprising roughly 4 million worldwide, migrated out of southern China into Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand nearly 300 years ago. Based on ethnolinguistic differences, the Dzao people are classified into at least seven different subgroups. Numbering nearly 500,000 in Vietnam in 1989, the Dzao are engaged in shifting cultivation as their main source of livelihood. Living primarily in the northern highlands, many Dzao migrated into other areas of Vietnam as a result of increased competition over diminishing resources.

The Dzao of Yen Son Village are thought to have migrated from Tam Dao Mountain in Vinh Phu Province in the early 1920’s. The Dzao Son Dau, sometimes referred to as the Dzao Quan Chet ("Dzao of the narrow pants") are the subgroup which initially settled at an elevation of approximately 600 meters on the slopes of Ba Vi Mountain. According to the village leader, some Dzao Son Dau continue to live in the mountainous areas in Vinh Phu at Tam Dao, and also in Thanh Hoa, Lang Son, and Hoa Binh provinces. In 1938, the French established a Dzao commune with a population of about 100 people. In 1959, the government gave the Dzao Community, which then numbered 600, 20 hectares of land between the 80- and 150-meter contours. However, the Dzao and the Muong continued to practice shifting cultivation and forest burning at higher altitudes.

Since 1963, government programs have systematically resettled the Dzao to areas below 100 meters by allocating them small plots of land for fixed cultivation purposes. In the late 1980’s, 175 square meters of padi land was allocated to each person in Yen Son Village, or less than 0.1 hectare per family. Several community members suggested that 0.4 hectare were necessary to meet the needs of one family (on average 6 people). Unfamiliar with fixed agriculture, and lacking the necessary capital for agricultural inputs, as well as having insufficient land acreage to accommodate growing populations, the Dzao have been compelled to continue collecting resources from the Park’s restricted areas. While controls were placed on shifting cultivation and other plant collection from the Park in 1977, the communities still make extensive use of the forest products including wood for fuel and lumber, as well as fruit, seeds, and medicinal and decorative plants.

Legal collect ion is permitted on a limited basis up to the 400-meter contour mark; however, illegal collection of medicinal plants appears to occur at all levels. Dzao people possess a significant economic interest in the maintenance of the upper watershed to protect local hydrological systems to meet their domestic and agricultural needs for water. In addition, the forest is the primary source of medicinal herbs which is the basis Page 7 of 11

for the household economy of many families in Yen Son.

Dzao Traditional Medicine

The Dzao community of Yen Son specializes in the collection, processing and prescribing of traditional medicines based almost entirely on forest-derived vegetation. Over 200 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees are estimated to be used by traditional medical practitioners. Nearly 80 percent of Yen Son’s 137 households are engaged in traditional medicinal activities which provides up to two-thirds of the cash income of participating families. Some practitioners earn up to VND3-5 million (US$270-$450) annually from their practice.

Historically, medicinal plants have been an integral part of both the Dzao health care system and their economy. Dzao women continue to actively collect, process, and administer traditional medicine not only to their own group, but also to neighbors. Sedentarization programs and the closure of much of the Park to plant collection has done little to deter their practice. In fact, with the liberalization of the economy and the increased access to the market through improved road and communication networks, the Dzao community surrounding Ba Vi have expanded their ethnomedical practice. In addition, rising health care costs may be increasing demand for traditional medicines due to the decline in subsidized health care. Concerns from national and international conservation organizations and agencies, and local communities, are rising in response to the increased scarcity of many rare plant species. Yet, it is clear that there are conflicts between conservation goals and local needs. Dzao collectors, healers. and community leaders identified alternative management systems that could bring these interest groups together.

Mrs. Thu Dzong is a collector and processor of medicinal plants. She and many of the other villagers gather over 200 species of plants in the forest. Income from medicinals is considerable, generating from VND2-3 million (US$180-$280) each year per household. This contrasts with an estimated VND1 million (US$90) in cash income the average Yen Son family generates annually from other sources. While medicinal plant collection is very important to the local economy and in treating illness, some species are becoming difficult to find. With collection above 400 meters illegal, villagers are coming into conflict with guards.

Dzao farmer of Yen Son, with only 1/20 th of a hectare of Carefully processed tubers, roots, barks, and other forest rice land, management their crops intensively but remain products dry in the sun for use as ingredients in heavily dependent on Ba Vi's forest to supplant their traditional medicinal remedies. (photo: Poffenberger) income. (photo: Poffenberger)

Page 8 of 11

Mrs. Lan (at far right), a Dzao herbal healer, stands with other women herlers from Yen Son Traditional healing practices are orally transmitted from one generation of women to the next. (photo: Poffenberger)

Collection

Medicinal plants are collected largely from within Ba Vi National Park, but increasingly collectors have traveled farther distances due to increased scarcity. Some plants are grown in home gardens largely for home consumption. Collectors have highly specific knowledge of both plant species and ecological habitats. Medicinal plants are often found in specific ecozones such as in dry rocky areas, along streams, or only in old swiddens, in addition to different elevational gradients (top of the mountain, midlevel, flat land). Dzao ethno land use classification reflects such elevational and microclimate categories.

Women collect medicinals grown in the garden and those that can be collected in day trips to the forest. Men are primarily involved in more extensive trips of greater distance where collection may last for several days and up to one month, but usually for 2 to 3 days. They frequently travel alone. Generally, gathering trips focus on 4 to 5 species. While most collection is done in the Ba Vi area some trips take gatherers to the Hoa Binh and other areas. To collect quzon, an important medicinal tuber, Mr. Tu travels to Hoa Binh for 3 days. On his last trip, he collected 23 kilograms. He has also crossed the Red River to collect in Vinh Phu Province’s nature reserve area. While 200 species are collected, 26 species are considered key ingredients for the preparation of most medicines.

Different parts of plants are utilized including fruits, flowers, bark, roots, leaves, and stems. The Dzao say they specialize in the use of shade-tolerant climbers, using both the tubers as well as the upper flowers and leaves. Often, they will climb trees in order to collect flowers and fruits without disturbing the plant, allowing sustainable harvesting. Flowers are collected in March and April, bark August to November, and tubers July to August. Leaves are collected throughout the year. The price the collectors can fetch per kilo ranges fromVND20,000 (US$1.90) for the average herb to VND40,000 (US$3.60) for certain rare and important species.

Processing

Women are largely responsible for processing herbs, preparing prescriptions, and traveling to treat clients. Most forest products are chopped and dried in the sun on circular bamboo trays. Each older women has recipes to treat a wide range of illnesses. Most recipes involve 10 to 20 dried ingredients which are boiled as an infusion or soaked in alcohol. Older women pass this knowledge on to younger women family members. There are six women elders who are medicinal specialists in Yen Son village, but many younger married women are also involved in medicine processing and prescriptions.

Medicinal preparations fall into two broad categories: preventative health-enhancing tonics and disease treatments. Tonics are used to improve intelligence, memory, blood, strength, and fertility. Medicines are used to treat rheumatism, bone pain, back pain, intestinal disease, snake bite, broken bones, skin infections, kidney disease, tuberculosis, and pre-and postpartum needs, including reducing bleeding.

Prescriptions and Marketing

Ba Vi villagers report that they do not generally trade any of their medicinals in bulk, but rather sell them in markets to retail buyers or use them in preparing treatments. Women family members go on house visits or establish clinics in markets. Mrs. Trieu Thi Lan, a 44-year-old traditional medicine doctor who was chosen by Page 9 of 11

the district to represent them at a traditional medicine festival in Hanoi, is the most prominent healer in Yen Son Commune. Having learned the trade from her mother and grandmother, she said most Dzao people in the village are knowledgeable regarding medicinal plants. Her family has lived in the area for 20 years, and previously lived near the top of Ba Vi Mountain. Mrs. Lan, together with seven or eight other elder Dzao women, are the keepers of the community ’s pharmaceutical wisdom.

Mrs. Lan, Dzao Herbal Healer

Prior to government market liberalization in the 1980's, Mrs. Lan used to market her herbal medicines by foot. Carrying the necessary herbs for her patients on her back, she typically would set out for two weeks, selling her healing prescriptions to people in the neighboring communes and districts. With the recent improvements in transportation she is able to travel farther and can carry more herbs and meet more patients than ever before. On average, she takes 40 to 50 kilograms of medicine on each trip. Normally, Mrs. Lan makes approximately 20 two-week-long trips per year, often traveling as far as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Thai Binh and Ha Bac. On her most recent trip, she visited five villages during a one-week journey, staying overnight at her patients' homes.

For each individual ailment, Mrs. Lan and the other herlers prepare a special package of medicine comprising over 20 different species of plants. This special mixture is consumed either as an alcohol infusion or as a brewed tea. Know locally as tampuang , a packaged prescription can sell for VND5,000 (USS0.45) in the market, but are typically brough to the home by healers like Mrs. Lan, where she can make a proper diagnosis and adjust the prescription as required.

To reduce the volume of medicinal plant material taken on each trip, and to minimize postharvest loss due to mold or bug infestation, Mrs. Lan development an innovative herbal processing technique. Most herbbal medicine recipes involve a standard selection of herbs that serve as a "base," into which special herbs are added to treat specific diseases. In recent years, Mrs. Lan has been preparing the base set of herbs prior to her trip by boiling them in water until they become a thick, dark sticky paste which is them cooled and rolled into a firm tube. During her home visits she carefully cuts segments off the tube, adding additional herbs as needed.

Mrs. Lan treats a range of illnesses including dysentery, nervousness, allergies, cough, inflammation, postpartum ailments, kidney diseases, cancer, rheumatism, diabetes, paralysis, and heart disease. Some of Mrs. Lan's patients who were still sick after going to hospital have found her medicine more effective and less expensive. Mrs. Lan's treatments will not exceed VND100,000 (US$9).

Some of the plants Mrs. Lan collects are easily accessible, however others are found deep within the strict protection zone of the Park. Access to these plants at different elevations is vital to Mrs. Lan and other herbalists. She and her colleagues are highly motivated to ensure that their sources protected and sustainably managed.

Managing and Development

Traditional medicine remains an important part of the health sector in Vietnam. In Son Tay town, Yen Son’s district center, there are 30 traditional doctors with heavy patient loads, receiving support and encouragement from the District People’s Committee. In Ba Vi, there is concern about the growing scarcity of small medicinal products. Climber species, dependent on large mother trees for support, are becoming scarcer as the forest has receded. During our interview with Yen Son’s village headman, he said, "We want to have close cooperation with the Park to improve the availability of medical plants in the forest, not just for protection, but regeneration." The community is interested in discussing the establishment of enrichment planting areas within the Park land. They suggest that it be divided into the three main areas where different species are found: 1) stony sites above 1,200 meters; 2) dense old growth forests at 800-1,200 meters; and 3) scrub and young secondary forests at 400-800 meters. A small working group comprised of village researcher specialists, FIPI staff, and Park staff could be formed to guide this activity.

Dzao villagers expressed interest in establishing medicinal plant collection and cultivation zones within the Park, representing all ecological microclimates suitable for the growth of species important to the community. The Park administration has already set up several experimental plots, and local NGOs have entered into a dialogue with community members to explore cultivating rare and endangered species. Experimental medicinal plant cultivation plots in the forest and in home gardens could be expanded further where successful. Page 10 of 11

Collaborating with other ongoing efforts, like that of the Association for Research and Environmental Aid which supports Dzao ethnomedicine, a community-based medicinal plant growth and harvest-monitoring system could be formed to document trials and manage exploitation. Yen Son villagers want to legalize the collection of medicinal plants, while establishing a collaborative system to monitor and control use to avoid unsustainable harvest practices. There are also opportunities to improve postharvest technology of medicinal plants to avoid loss due to mold and pests, and to provide extension and training programs on drying methods and energy- efficient processing technologies.

Conclusion

This report has explored the feasibility of comanagement in the Ba Vi Mountains, one of Vietnam’s leading National Parks. When designated as the eighth National Park in 1992, the natural forests of Ba Vi were already depleted by earlier commercial logging and swidden farming. While timber extraction has been halted, these endangered ecosystems are under mounting informal pressure from an expanding rural population of 12,000 households residing in adjacent villages. As in many nations, forestry agency staff working in Ba Vi have encountered problems protecting the Park from local use. Illegal tree felling, hunting, plant gathering, and swidden farming remain common occurrences.

In 1990, a Buffer Zone strategy was created to better meet local economic needs and engage neighboring communities in forest conservation activities. While some agroforestry projects have effectively supported the introduction of valuable tree crops, forest land allocation to households has proceeded slowly. Parcels have been small and have not always reached the low-income households most in need of land resources. Poverty remains a problem with many families facing food shortages for three to six months of each year. Collection of forest resources, both plant and animal, as well as grazing and illegal mining, continues to increase tension between the Park authorities and the local people.

Currently, there are no members of the Yen Son Commune working for the Park. While agroforestry (VAC) projects were designed to generate income and produce for resident villages within the Park’s periphery, no institutional initiatives have been taken to establish collaborative management mechanisms that facilitate communication among stakeholders and allow joint management decisions to be made. Sometimes there are training courses for the local people in agricultural and forestry extension, but for the most part, their needs are not addressed in the existing management plan.

In Asia and Africa there is mounting evidence suggesting that forest conservation strategies cannot be separated from the needs and reliance of local peoples on the forest resource base. The experience of Ba Vi indicates that to achieve both the National Park objectives of conservation of flora and fauna and protection of a crucial watershed area, as well as meeting local economic and health needs, an alternative plan based on comanagement may be required. A series of informal comanagement meetings could lead to the development of formal institutional mechanisms designed to facilitate greater community participation in the management of Park resources combined with a series of practical strategies geared to addressing specific resource problems.

An initial comanagement team comprising villagers, park officials, and local NGO representation could focus on four main areas:

A general description of Dzao resource use practices around the Park as they relate to current policies and programs. To improve the understanding of Dzao resource use practices, profiles of Dzao resource use patterns would be formulated by working with key informants from the village who would be included as active members of the research team. The team would also examine current institutional resource use control systems and problems, generating ideas to better control fires, illegal cutting, and other disturbances which slow or disturb natural regeneration.

A diagnostic assessment of natural regeneration patterns and problems would be conducted, and ways to accelerate the ecorestoration process would be suggested. Data collected would include ecological information describing patterns of regeneration in a time-series of abandoned swidden plots, past logging sites, and bum areas above and below 400 meters. The joint villager and Park staff team would explore how regeneration might be accelerated, and forest species composition made more economically productive, through a variety of manipulation techniques.
A dialogue to establish how use rights and regulations for medicinal plant collection could be allocated within specific elevational zones. This component would also explore possibilities for in-situ cultivation trials at different altitudes.
Park administrators could work with village leaders to formulate recommendations to establish greater Page 11 of 11

community representation in park protection and management. This could include formal representation within the Park administration and the establishment of community-based forest management groups.

In conclusion, Ba Vi National Park presents a valuable opportunity to preserve a unique natural ecosystem, rehabilitate degraded natural forests, and conserve ethnobotanical knowledge while responding to the economic needs of land-poor communities. To achieve these multiple goals, a management framework may need to be developed that brings Buffer Zone communities into the Park’s planning process. Establishing ethnomedicine as an important theme in Ba Vi National Park would give this sanctuary a unique identity among the country’s and the world’s protected areas. In addition, co-management would support the Dzao's subsistence livelihood, as well as their important role in providing health care services in the region. Ba Vi administrators will need to work closely, not only with Dzao, but with Kinh and Muong community leaders to meet both national conservation goals and local needs.

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NOTES

1. SRV State Committee for Sciences et al., Vietnam National Plan for Environment and Sustainable Development: 1991-2000. Framework for Action (Hanoi: UNDP Project VIE/89/021, August 1991), p. 82.

2. Associate for Research and Environmental Aid Ltd., Ba Vi National Park Management Plan (Hanoi, 1993), p. 15.

3. Associate for Research and Environmental Aid Ltd., Ba Vi National Park Management Plan (Hanoi, 1993), p. 15.

4. Ministry of Forestry, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, "Economic and Technical Feasibility of Ba Vi National Park" (Hanoi, unpublished report, 1989).

5. D.K. Nguyen, "Evaluation of Materials in Ba Vi National Forest Region and Some Plans for Protection, Exploitation, and Development" (Hanoi, unpublished report, 1990). Page 1 of 4

PART V

THE ROLE OF COMMUNITIES IN UPLAND FOREST MANAGEMENT

Mark Poffenberger

Vietnam ’s forest policy and management systems must respond to several immense challenges in the coming decade. As the preceding sections indicate, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), as state custodian for nearly 58 percent (19 million hectares) of the country’s land area, will need to establish effective partnerships with local communities to protect Vietnam’s critical watersheds and natural forests (FN 1) . Millions of upland households continue to be dependent on forest resources for fuel, fodder, housing materials, foods, medicinals, and for other raw materials that provide cash income. There is mounting evidence from many of the world’s nations that formally involving user communities can strengthen forest management systems, making them more responsive to local needs. The process of transferring management authority to community groups, however, is complex and will require coordinated policies and operational strategies. Most challenging, public land reform policies and processes can be manipulated by local elites, undermining the intention of planners to allocate forest lands to those most dependent upon them and exacerbating economic inequities.

The second challenge will be restoring the productivity of national forest reserves that are already badly depleted through decades of excessive logging, clearing for agriculture. and war. According to a recent assessment, only 3 percent of the nation’s forests were classified as well-stocked (over 150 cubic meters per hectare), with moderate forest 8 percent (80-150m 3/ha), poor forest 38 percent (less than 80m 3/ha), and 51 percent of all forest land classified as treeless or barren (FN 2) . Eighty-nine percent of the country’s forests are therefore considered seriously degraded and of marginal productivity. During 30 years of war, an estimated two million hectares of forests were badly degraded by 13 million tons of bombs and 72 million liters of herbicides and defoliants (FN 3).

Protecting Vietnam’s watersheds is one of the Ministry’s priority goals. Densely populated delta and coastal regions are highly dependent on irrigation water from upland watersheds to sustain their intensive agricultural systems. The economic growth of lowland urban-industrial centers will continue to require increasing supplies of hydroelectric power generated by large dams and reservoirs like Hoa Binh. While Vietnam has designated six million hectares as protected forests, half in critical watersheds, such policies are difficult to implement given the large rural, resource-dependent populations. In the Da River watershed, for example, much of the population continues to rely on swidden farming techniques that can sustain densities of 20 persons per square kilometer, while actual population densities for the watershed have risen from 12 persons per square kilometer in 1945 to 37 person/km 2 in 1993 and will likely reach 75 persons/km 2 in the year 2020, substantially surpassing estimates of sustainable carrying capacity under traditional technologies (FN 4) . Where shifting cultivators have been "sedentarized" it remains unclear whether the fragile, erodible upland soils can support continuous farming. Further population expansion in the Vietnam uplands will lead to a further acceleration of environmental degradation processes.

In Part II, a review of national forest policy indicates that planners have attempted to shift authority for public lands from State Forest Enterprises to households under the Doi Moi economic restructuring strategy initiated in the mid-1980’s. However, the process of allocating leaseholds of public forest land to individual households has proceeded slowly, in part reflecting the complexities of land reform processes. Land surveys, negotiating use rights, reviewing applications, and issuing leases for each parcel requires large investments of capital government staff time. The MARD plans to redistribute seven million hectares of forest land to cooperatives, households, and individuals under 30-to 50-year leases by the year 2000. While this ambitious target will be difficult to achieve, there are also more fundamental questions whether such programs will lead to better forest management, especially in the uplands (FN 5) .

Throughout Asia, land allocation programs have been manipulated to the advantage of village elites and local officials, while low-income, forest-dependent families who were targeted for participation in such activities have been left behind. Typically, market-oriented, agroforestry projects perform better in lowland areas with high populations, available sources of credit, good transportation, and well-developed markets. Similarly, in Vietnam lowland and midland households involved with forest land programs have been more successful in raising forest productivity than families in more remote upland watersheds. Household forest land allocation programs were designed to provide greater tenure security to families who were in positions to develop degraded forests into small plantations, or who were already using small tracts of public lands on a de facto basis.

Such privatization programs are not designed for larger tracts of forest in upper watersheds that need to be Page 2 of 4

managed to meet a diversity of goals including hydrological, hunting and gathering, and subsistence timber requirements. In the Da River watershed, forest allocations are only being implemented within a few kilometers on each side of the primary regional highway. Remote watershed forests that comprise much of the nation’s land area are often distant from roads and settlements may best be protected from fires, illegal clearing, and other threats by community groups. Individual households, due to limitations on labor, are unable to actively monitor and control access to forests far from their homes.

In remote upland regions, predominantly settled by ethnic minority groups, forest management by private households may also be in conflict with indigenous or traditional community-based institutions that have historically controlled forest use and access. The land use systems and the resource management institutions of ethnic minority groups in Vietnam are in a process of change. Highland communities are responding to new systems of governance, commercial agriculture, and growing population pressures. Yet, despite the emergence of new political systems, cash crops, and emerging markets, indigenous institutions and leaders remain influential in shaping community decision making regarding resource use in the Da River watershed and many other parts of the country. To establish effective policies and programs for the nation’s upland communities, planners will require more information regarding traditional resource management institutions, land tenure systems, indigenous knowledge, technologies, and forest use practices.

The current distribution and effectiveness of informal upland resource management systems is difficult to determine. Where ethnic minority communities have been resettled, as in the case of the Dzao of Ba Vi, traditional institutions and land use systems have often undergone significant change. With other groups, like the Tai of the Yen Chau district, traditional management institutions still operate, but have lost much of their authority as communities spent decades under the governance of cooperative administrators. Without policies which acknowledge and legitimize community -based forest management, many local systems experience a gradual erosion of influence. In both of the case studies presented here, however, communities perceive a need for a greater role in resource decision making and management. Tai, Hmong, and Dzao community leaders in Ban Tat, Khao Khoang, and Yen Son stressed the importance of increasing the productivity of their farmland and forests and protecting them from further degradation. They also expressed fears that their resources could be captured by "outsiders." and unsustainably exploited.

Building resource management and development strategies based on local community knowledge and interests can strengthen government efforts as well. Communities frequently have an intimate knowledge of their physical environment. including soils, flora, fauna, and microclimatic conditions. They are also keenly aware of communication channels and market conditions. The village headman of Yen Son, for example, suggested that important endemic tree species be reestablished in Ba Vi National Park, as alternatives to Eucalypti and Acacia. If agreements could be developed to begin planting within the Park’s boundaries, families in Yen Son would have considerable knowledge regarding seed sources, nursery techniques, appropriate planting environments. and the marketability of products. While this kind of proposal would assist in achieving both community and park objectives, the dialogue has never been initiated due to the absence of any fora for such communication or discussion.

Community decisions to invest in forest resource development usually reflect careful assessments of opportunities and risks. Government support and tenurial security are often major considerations. Government extension efforts should enhance community initiatives and resource development strategies, rather than importing rigidly packaged projects that are not responsive to local needs and opportunities. Working with community initiatives is made easier when forest management partnerships have already been established with local resident populations and frameworks for collaborative discussions already exist.

For government policies and programs to interface successfully with indigenous land management systems, they will need to identify and be compatible with local land classification and use systems, distinguishing those held under community and household control. As the ethno land use classification systems of the Tai of Ban Tat and Hmong of Khao Khoang illustrate, these specialized terms allow greater precision in labeling actual land use, and provide a clearer basis for land use planning exercises between government staff and village leaders. New forest land allocation policies to transfer rights to households can be used effectively in the case of land under agroforestry or long rotation agriculture, however communally managed upper watershed forests need community-based tenure mechanisms.

In protected areas like Ba Vi National Park, biodiversity conservation and recreational goals must mesh with local community requirements for produce and income. Complementary objectives can be achieved by engaging specialized forest dwelling communities like the Dzao in Park management strategies. The Dzao’s knowledge of the Park’s medicinal plants can contribute to the monitoring and study of changes in biodiversity, while local involvement creates opportunities for community income generation while providing health services for neighboring populations. Increasingly, scientists and tourists visiting conservation areas are equally interested in the natural environment as the cultural context. Creating protected area management systems Page 3 of 4

which integrate local community use with forest ecosystem preservation can respond to these needs, while reducing conflict between communities and government.

Vietnam has established a variety of forest management and upland policies in the past decade to enhance the stability and productivity of the natural resource base. Oriented towards decentralization and privatization, millions of parcels of forest land have been transferred to rural households. While these investments have been relatively successful in regions with good market access, remote upland regions inhabited by ethnic minorities still engaged in more traditional agroeconomies have experienced little benefit. While policies have shifted away from forest management by public corporations, and restructuring is ongoing, in 1991 over 450 State Forest Enterprises still controlled 6 million hectares of the most productive forest land (FN 6) , MARD recently announced that the number of SFE’s has fallen to 241 and will be further reduced to 200 over the next few years. MARD has also stated that it will phase out commercial felling of natural forests in 18 of 36 provinces, while investing VND9 billion (US$820 million) to establish 2 million hectares of production forests to meet domestic and industrial needs (FN 7) . This shift towards upland forest protection is significant and should help to relieve pressure on already deteriorating upland watersheds.

Vietnam ’s recent forest policies and programs reflect a variety of subsidies and tenurial instruments to facilitate privatization, market engagement, and to encourage commercialization. Most forest protection strategies are limited to providing cash incentives to families to act as custodians and lack strategic direction to effectively conserve and restore upland watersheds. There is a striking absence of community forest management policies in Vietnam. In Nepal, the Philippines, India, and other Asian nations forestry agencies are formulating policies that recognize indigenous forest-dwelling communities and other forest-user groups as comanagers of public forest lands. In eastern India, newly formulated community forest management policies have supported the emergence of tens of thousands of village-based forest protection committees that now protect several million hectares of regenerating natural forest. These groups receive no payment from the government, contributing their labor on a voluntary basis to ensure the presence of healthy local forests to meet their need for important products and to stabilize hydrological functions and microclimatic conditions.

In Vietnam, as in many other countries, the formal involvement of local communities in planning forest production and conservation management actions will likely be a critical element in the success of upland resource management. To engage rural communities as partners in forest management, they require treatment as equals in planning decision making, rather than as beneficiaries of central or regional government-driven projects or as employees of SFEs. To interact with a diversity of indigenous institutions, government staff will require flexibility to deliver financial and technical resources that are responsive to local needs. A new generation of community forest management policies and tenure mechanisms are required to authorize informal forest users groups and reempower the traditional resource management institutions of ethnic minority groups and the forest-dependent communities of the uplands.

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NOTES

1. Ministry of Forestry, "Guidelines for Development and Allocation of Productive Resources for Forestry Development in Vietnam: 1986-2000," Research Documents on Forestry Inventory and Planning: 1961-1991 (Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute, 1991), p. 277.

2. Hoang Hoe, "The Role of Forestry for Sustainable Development in Vietnam," in Neil Jamieson et al.. eds., The Challenges of Vietnam’s Reconstruction (Fairfax, Virginia: The Indochina Institute, 1992), p. 85.

3. Ministry of Forestry, "Vietnam Forestry" (Hanoi: Agricultural Publishing House, 1995), p. 25.

4. A. Terry Rambo, "Perspectives on Defining Highland Development Challenges in Vietnam: New Frontier or Cul-De-Sac?", in Rambo et al., The Challenges of Highland Development in Vietnam (Honolulu, HI: East - West Center, 1995), p. 23 - 25

5. Hoe, p. 91.

6. Hoe, p. 87 Page 4 of 4

7. Vietnamese News Agency report dated November 5, 1997.