Vietnam’s central government has enacted sweeping reforms over the past two decades to increase forest management by local people. Despite high expectations, improvements in forest conservation and poverty alleviation have been disappointing.
This project, completed in July 2011, demonstrated the importance of transferring forest rights to villagers through three initiatives:
– Convincing policy makers that better forest rights helps to alleviate poverty, improve state capacity, and conserve forests;
– Developing practical recommendations for forestry experts on how government policy can strengthen villagers’ forest rights;
– Raising public awareness about the importance of such rights.
By addressing concerns raised over the last five years, the project has contributed to putting forest tenure rights back on the national agenda. Key contributions included the publication of five policy briefs in English and Vietnamese, a video that appeared on Vietnamese television, and a strategy paper, as well as high-level seminars and debates in Vietnam and the UK. For further information on these outputs please see the RECOFTC website.
PARTNER ORGANISATION
The Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC)
