Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

REDD+ as a Vehicle for Community-Based Forest Management? Critical Insights from Vietnam

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Small-scale Forestry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Both the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation program (REDD+) and community-based forest management (CBFM) aim to combat forest degradation and deforestation on various levels. Both approaches include multiple objectives such as carbon sequestration, livelihood improvement and forest tenure reform. New institutions, such as community-forest management boards or REDD+ implementation agencies, are being introduced to achieve sustainable development in the forestry sector. However, the way REDD+ affects local CBFM systems and community livelihoods remains understudied. This study analyzes the effects of REDD+ on CBFM systems in Vietnam. We selected four research communes (sub-district level units) and we conducted household surveys (n = 187), focus group discussions (n = 4), expert interviews (n = 8) and secondary data analysis (n = 23). Our findings show that in one commune REDD+ introduced CBFM and forestland allocation to communities in accordance with their customary boundaries. In another commune, REDD+ was implemented in a pre-existing CBFM and institutional landscape, and the program had little effect on households’ livelihoods. The implementation of CBFM in all four communes led to further consolidation of influence of formal institutions and a higher level of formalization among involved communities. Based on the results of this study, we propose a novel typology on CBFM systems in a post-REDD+ era. This typology takes the level of formalization, marketization, globalization and forest dependence of respective households, which make up a community, into account. We present CBFM systems on a spectrum from customary to formal, and we highlight the need to adapt REDD+ and CBFM to individual households’ livelihood trajectories.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Data from: Giungato et al. (2008) and Marsh (2007)

Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agarwal B (2001) Participatory exclusions, community forestry, and gender: an analysis for South Asia and a conceptual framework. World Dev 29:1623–1648. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00066-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal A (2007) Forests, governance, and sustainability: common property theory and its contributions. Int J Commons 1:111–136. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.10

  • Agrawal A, Angelsen A (2009) Using community forest management to achieve REDD+ goals. In: Angelsen A, Brockhaus M, Kanninen M, Sills E, Sunderlin WD, Wertz-Kanounnikoff S (eds) Realising REDD+: National strategy and policy options, 1st edn. CIFOR, Bogor, pp 201–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal A, Gibson CC (2001) The role of community in natural resource conservation. In: Agrawal A, Gibson CC (eds) Communities and the environment: ethnicity, gender, and the state in community-based conservation, 1st edn. Rutgers University Press, London, pp 1–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal A, Chhatre A, Hardin R (2008) Changing governance of the world’s forests. Science 320:1460–1462. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1155369

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal A, Nepstad D, Chhatre A (2011) Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Annu Rev Environ Resour 36:373–396. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-042009-094508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alemagi D, Hajjar R, David S, Kozak RA (2012) Benefits and barriers to certification of community-based forest operations in Cameroon: an exploratory assessment. Small Scale For 11:417–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-011-9192-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson J, Mehta S, Epelu E, Cohen B (2015) Managing leftovers: Does community forestry increase secure and equitable access to valuable resources for the rural poor? For Policy Econ 58:47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2014.12.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baynes J, Herbohn J, Smith C, Fisher R, Bray D (2015) Key factors which influence the success of community forestry in developing countries. Glob Environ Chang 35:226–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.09.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayrak MM (2015) Rethinking livelihoods, forest governance and socio-ecological systems: the state of REDD+ in Vietnam. Doctoral dissertation. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  • Bayrak MM (2019) State of forest governance in Vietnam: Where are the local communities? In: James H (ed) Population, development, and the environment, 1st edn. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore, pp. 273–295 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2101-6_16

  • Bayrak MM, Marafa LM (2017) Livelihood implications and perceptions of large scale investment in natural resources for conservation and carbon sequestration: empirical evidence from REDD+ in Vietnam. Sustainability 9:1802. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2018) Sacred ecology, 4th edn. Routledge, Oxon

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard F, Minang P (2019) Community forestry and REDD+ in Cameroon: What future? Ecol Soc 24:14. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10708-240114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casse T, Milhøj A, Nielsen MR, Meilby H, Rochmayanto Y (2019) Lost in implementation? REDD+ country readiness experiences in Indonesia and Vietnam. Clim Dev. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2018.1562870

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS, Folke C, Kofinas GP (2009) A framework for understanding change. In: Chapin FS, Kofinas GP, Folke C (eds) Principles of ecosystem stewardship: resilience-based natural resource management in a changing world, 1st edn. Springer, New York, pp 3–28

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • CPC Bao Thuan (2012) Quy Chế Tổ Chức Quản Lý, Hoạt Động Và Chia Sẻ Lợi Ích Từ Rừng Của Ban Quản Lý Rừng Cộng Đồng Thôn Ka La Tơng Gu – Xã Bảo Thuận [Regulations on organization, management, activities and benefit sharing in the community forest of Kala Tonggu village, Bao Thuan commune]. CPC Bao Thuan, Bao Thuan (unpublished report)

  • Dang TL (2013) Recommendations for re-arranging forest boundaries for effective performance of forest use and management rights of communities and governmental agencies involved in REDD+. Technical report no. 2. Fauna and Flora International, Kon Tum (unpublished report)

  • Dang TL (2014) Community forestry for REDD+ in Kon Tum. Fauna and Flora International, Kon Tum (unpublished report)

  • Dang TL, Trinh, NT (2012) Description of communities participating in the EU-REDD+ project in Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province, Vietnam. Technical report no. 1. Fauna and Flora International, Kon Tum (unpublished report)

  • De Haan LJ (2016) Livelihoods in development. Rev Can Etudes Dev 38:22–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2016.1171748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong W, Galloway G, Katila P, Pacheco P (2017) Forestry discourses and forest based development: an introduction to the special issue. Int For Rev 19:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1505/146554817822407358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delgado-Serrano MM (2017) Trade-offs between conservation and development in community-based management initiatives. Int J Commons 11:969–991. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.792

  • DPC Di Linh (2011) Quyết Định Về Việc Giao Đất, Giao Rừng Cho Cộng Đồng Dân Cư Thôn Ka La Tơng Gu – Xã Bảo Thuận [Decision on Forestland Allocation to Kala Tonggu Village, Bao Thuan Commune]. DPC Di Linh, Di Linh (unpublished report)

  • Fauna and Flora International—FFI (2013) Community Landuse database. Livelihood survey results. Fauna and Flora International, Kon Tum (unpublished dataset)

  • Fauna and Flora International—FFI (2015) Policy bulletin no. 3—REDD+ pilot project: key lessons learned for expanding the national REDD+ model and its implementation. Fauna and Flora International, Cambridge

  • Food and Agricultural Organization—FAO (2018) Viet Nam. https://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/index/en/?iso3=VNM. Accessed 24 June 2018

  • Forest Protection Department Lam Dong Province—FPD (2014) Hợp Đồng Trách Nhiệm Bảo Vệ Rừng Để Được Chi Trả Tiền Dịch Vụ Môi Trường Rừng Năm 2014 [Contract of Payment for Forest Environmental Services in 2014]. Forest Protection Department, Dalat (unpublished report)

  • Fox J, Truong DM, Rambo AT, Tuyen NP, Cuc LT, Leisz S (2000) Shifting cultivation: a new old paradigm for managing tropical forests. Bioscience 50:521–528. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0521:SCANOP]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Germain R, Ghosh C, Jayasuriya M (2018) Community Forestry in the State of Uttarakhand, India: not meeting the needs of the villagers. Small Scale For 17:225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-017-9384-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour D (2016) Forty years of community-based forestry: a review of its extent and effectiveness. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Giungato P, Nardone EL, Notarnicola LU (2008) Environmental and socioeconomic effects of intensive agriculture: The Vietnam case. J Commod Sci Technol Quality 47:135–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Hajjar R (2015) Advancing small-scale forestry under FLEGT and REDD in Ghana. For Policy Econ 58:12–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2014.09.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajjar R, McGrath DG, Kozak RA, Innes JL (2011) Framing community forestry challenges with a broader lens: case studies from the Brazilian Amazon. J Environ Manag 92:2159–2169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.03.042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajjar R, Kozak R, Innes JL (2012) Is decentralization leading to “real” decision-making power for forest-dependent communities? Case studies from Mexico and Brazil. Ecol Soc 17:12. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04570-170112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajjar R, Kozak RA, El-Lakany H, Innes JL (2013) Community forests for forest communities: integrating community-defined goals and practices in the design of forestry initiatives. Land Use Policy 34:158–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.03.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajjar R, Oldekop JA, Cronkleton P, Etue E, Newton P, Russel AJ, Tjajadi JS, Zhou W, Agrawal A (2016) The data not collected on community forestry. Conserv Biol 30:1357–1362. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12732

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes T, Persha L (2010) Nesting local forestry initiatives: revisiting community forest management in a REDD+ world. For Policy Econ 12:545–553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2010.07.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosonuma N, Herold M, De Sy V, De Fries RS, Brockhaus M, Verchot L, Angelsen A, Romijn E (2012) An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries. Environ Res Lett 7:044009. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/044009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulme D (2007) Integrating quantitative and qualitative research for country case studies of development. Working paper. GPRG, Oxford

  • Huong Hiep Commune People’s Committee—CPC (2012) Statistical yearbook 2011. Huong Hiep CPC, Dakrong

  • Institute for Global Environmental Strategies—IGES (2013) Viet Nam REDD+ readiness—state of play. IGES discussion paper no. 2013-04. IGES, Kanagawa

  • Khatri D, Maskey G, Adhikari B (2018) REDD+ and Community forestry in Nepal: Strengthening or paralysing decentralised governance? J For Livelihood 16:35–55. https://doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v16i1.22881

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh A (2007) Diversification by smallholder farmers: Viet Nam Robusta Coffee. Agricultural Management, Marketing and Finance Working Document. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Maryudi A, Devkota RR, Schusser C, Yufanyi C, Salla M, Aurenhammer H, Rotchanaphatharawit R, Krott M (2012) Back to basics: considerations in evaluating the outcomes of community forestry. For Policy Econ 14:1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2011.07.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McElwee PD (2016) Forests are gold: trees, people, and environmental rule in Vietnam. University of Washington Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development—MARD (2012) Decision no. 2089 on the country’s forest status of 2011. MARD, Hanoi

  • Nguyen BN (2009) Community forest management in Vietnam: status, problems and solutions. The Union for the Conservation of Nature, Hanoi

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson RG (2016) Reasons to conserve nature. Trends Ecol Evol 31:366–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.02.005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phelps J, Webb EL, Agrawal A (2010) Does REDD+ threaten to recentralize forest governance? Science 328:312–313. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1187774

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Porter-Bolland L, Ellis EA, Guariguata MR, Ruiz-Mallén I, Negrete-Yankelevich S, Reyes-García V (2012) Community managed forests and forest protected areas: an assessment of their conservation effectiveness across the tropics. Forest Ecol Manag 268:6–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.05.034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RECOFT—The, Center, for People, and Forests (2010) Evaluation and verification of the free, prior and informed process under the UN-REDD Programme in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, November 2010. RECOFT, Bangkok

  • Research Center of Forest and Wetlands—Forwet (2013) Báo Cáo Kết Quả Khảo Sát Tình Hình Khoán Bảo Vệ Rừng Cho Hộ Dân Ở Xã Đa Sar Và Giao Rừng Cho Cộng Đồng Ở Xã Bảo Thuận, Xã Phú Hội, Tỉnh Lâm Đồng [Survey Report on forest contracts to Da Sar commune and forestland allocation to communities in Bao Thuan and Phu Hoi commune, Lam Dong Province], Forwet, Ho Chi Minh City (unpublished report)

  • Research Centre for Forest Ecology and Environment—RCFEE (2011) Final report on forest ecological stratification in Vietnam. UN-REDD, Hanoi

  • Roe D, Nelson F (2009) The origins and evolution of community-based natural resource management in Africa. In: Roe D, Nelson F, Sandbrook C (eds) Community management of natural resources in Africa: impacts, experiences and future directions, 1st edn. International Institute for Environment and Development, London, pp 5–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Samakov A, Berkes F (2017) Spiritual commons: sacred sites as core of community-conserved areas in Kyrgyzstan. Int J Commons 11:422–444. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.713

  • Schusser C, Krott M, Movuh MCY, Logmani J, Devkota RR, Maryudi A, Salla M (2016) Comparing community forestry actors in Cameroon, Indonesia, Namibia, Nepal and Germany. For Policy Econ 68:81–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2016.03.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sikor T (2012) Tree plantations, politics of possession and the absence of land grabs in Vietnam. J Peasant Stud 39:1077–1101. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2012.674943

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart HM, Swan S (2013) Final evaluation of the UN-REDD Viet Nam programme. UN-REDD, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunderlin WD (2006) Poverty alleviation through community forestry in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam: an assessment of the potential. For Policy Econ 8:386–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2005.08.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunderlin WD, Huynh TB (2005) Poverty alleviation and forests in Vietnam. CIFOR, Bogor

    Google Scholar 

  • The REDD Desk (2019) REDD in Vietnam. https://theredddesk.org/countries/vietnam. Accessed 3 Apr 2019

  • To PX, Tran HN (2014) Forest land allocation in the context of forestry sector restructuring: opportunities for forestry development and uplands livelihood improvement. Tropenbos International Viet Nam, Hue

    Google Scholar 

  • To PX, Mahanty S, Dressler WH (2015) ‘A new landlord’(địa chủ mới)? Community, land conflict and State Forest Companies (SFCs) in Vietnam. For Policy Econ 58:21–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2014.10.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • To PX, Tran HN, Zagt R (2013) Forest land allocation in Viet Nam: implementation processes and results, info brief May 2013. Tropenbos International Viet Nam, Hue

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomaselli MF, Hajjar R (2011) Promoting community forestry enterprises in national REDD+ strategies: a business approach. Forests 2:283–300. https://doi.org/10.3390/f2010283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN-REDD (2012) Lessons learned Viet Nam UN-REDD programme phase 1. June 2012. UN-REDD Vietnam, Hanoi

  • UN-REDD (2013a) UN-REDD Viet Nam phase II programme: operationalising REDD+ in Viet Nam. July, 2013. UN-REDD Vietnam, Hanoi

  • UN-REDD (2013b) Hướng Dẫn Áp Dụng FPIC REDD+ Ở Việt Nam [Guidelines on applying FPIC for REDD+ in Vietnam]. UN-REDD Vietnam, Hanoi

  • UN-REDD (n.d.) REDD+ interlocutors manual to Kala Tonggu Village (unpublished report)

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Worldwide Universities Network Research Fund titled “Adopting REDD+ for Conservation, Sustainable Community Livelihood and Climate Change Mitigation”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak

  2. Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong, SAR

    Lawal Mohammed Marafa

Authors
  1. Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lawal Mohammed Marafa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bayrak, M.M., Marafa, L.M. REDD+ as a Vehicle for Community-Based Forest Management? Critical Insights from Vietnam. Small-scale Forestry 19, 57–81 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-020-09432-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-020-09432-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation