Effects of Forest Land Allocation on the livelihoods of the local Co Tu men and women in central Vietnam

Abstract

In the 80’s Vietnam encountered serious problems of deforestation, partly due to the devastating effects of the Vietnam War. As a reaction to these deforestation problems and the internationally growing popularity of the concept sustainable development, the Vietnamese Government reformed its forest management, and the Forest Land Allocation (FLA) policies were developed. The main goals of the FLA policies were to protect the forest and to develop rural livelihoods. The policies are focused on the decentralization of land rights from the national to the regional and local level and on the allocation of land to different actors. Within this thesis the focus lies on the allocation of land on a household level. The Land Law and the Forest Protection Law form the basis of the policies as created and managed by the central government. It is the task of the district and the commune to divide and allocate the land among the different communes and villages. The research villages described in this thesis are located in the Nam Dong district in the province of Thua Thien Hué in Central Vietnam and are inhabited by the ethnic group called the Co Tu. In both villages researched, people received forest production land and garden land, and in most cases field land. Through the receiving of ‘Red Books’ people obtain their own documented land rights. The majority of the people living in both villages are farmers with a low level of education, and a lack of alternatives to find another occupation. In the past the Co Tu’s lifestyle was based on shifting cultivation. After most people got resettled to the villages in the lower mountainous areas they had to adapt to a sedentary lifestyle. Nowadays, most farmers are largely dependent on the profits obtained from the products cultivated on their land for their daily income. After the receiving of forest production land, people’s average incomes slightly increased and the villagers became less dependent on the products from the natural forest. In addition, due to the increased incomes and general economic development in Vietnam, people’s living standard slowly increased. The increase in living standard can be seen in improved housing, infrastructure and social and health services. The education level nowadays has improved and there is more equality between boys and girls than in the past. However people can still be considered poor and women do not have the same rights as men do. The Red Books are only inherited through the male line and the men’s name is often the only one written down in the Red Book, making the women dependent on their husbands. Most of the FLA documents are written in the national Kinh language which is not familiar to all Co Tu villagers making it hard to get access to clear information about the policies. Apart from the information on the policies, the spreading of agricultural information has increased since the implementation of the FLA. Whether the policies are actually fulfilling their goals in a sustainable way remains debatable.