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Forest devolution in Vietnam: From rhetoric to performance

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  • Dang, Thi Kim Phung
  • Visseren-Hamakers, Ingrid J.
  • Arts, Bas

Abstract

This paper discusses the performance of forest devolution, the major reform in forestry in developing countries over the last two decades. Although this change in forest governance has been studied by many scholars, the impacts of forest devolution and the various ways to measure them are still under discussion. This paper contributes to this discussion by evaluating the performance of a specific forest devolution policy, namely, forest land allocation (FLA) in Vietnam. The study is based on the policy arrangement approach to operationalize the concept of ‘governance performance,’ and particularly focuses on the local people’s involvement in the policy. Overall, our findings from three regions of Vietnam reveal a medium governance performance for FLA. The main explanation for this performance is the tradeoffs between the two key policy goals: forest rehabilitation and to increase local income. These tradeoffs are shaped by various factors, namely, the strategic use of forest rights by target groups, social learning by state and nonstate actors, and unanticipated effects on the ground.

Suggested Citation

  • Dang, Thi Kim Phung & Visseren-Hamakers, Ingrid J. & Arts, Bas, 2018. "Forest devolution in Vietnam: From rhetoric to performance," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 760-774.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:77:y:2018:i:c:p:760-774
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.06.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bas Arts & Pieter Leroy & Jan Tatenhove, 2006. "Political Modernisation and Policy Arrangements: A Framework for Understanding Environmental Policy Change," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 93-106, June.
    2. Sikor, Thomas, 2001. "The allocation of forestry land in Vietnam: did it cause the expansion of forests in the northwest?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 1-11, April.
    3. Sikor, Thomas & Nguyen, Tan Quang, 2007. "Why May Forest Devolution Not Benefit the Rural Poor? Forest Entitlements in Vietnam's Central Highlands," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 2010-2025, November.
    4. Dang, Thi Kim Phung & Turnhout, Esther & Arts, Bas, 2012. "Changing forestry discourses in Vietnam in the past 20years," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 31-41.
    5. Thi Kim Phung Dang & Ingrid J. Visseren-Hamakers & Bas Arts, 2017. "The Institutional Capacity for Forest Devolution: The Case of Forest Land Allocation in Vietnam," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35(6), pages 723-744, November.
    6. Edella Schlager & Elinor Ostrom, 1992. "Property-Rights Regimes and Natural Resources: A Conceptual Analysis," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 68(3), pages 249-262.
    7. Nguyen, Tan Quang, 2006. "Forest devolution in Vietnam: Differentiation in benefits from forest among local households," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 409-420, June.
    8. Bebbington, Anthony & Dharmawan, Leni & Fahmi, Erwin & Guggenheim, Scott, 2006. "Local Capacity, Village Governance, and the Political Economy of Rural Development in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 1958-1976, November.
    9. Arun Agrawal & Elinor Ostrom, 2001. "Collective Action, Property Rights, and Decentralization in Resource Use in India and Nepal," Politics & Society, , vol. 29(4), pages 485-514, December.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Dong, Jiayun & Liang, Wenyuan & Liu, Weiping & Liu, Jinlong & Managi, Shunsuke, 2020. "Does forestland possession enhance households’ access to credit?—Examining China’s forestland mortgage policy," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 78-87.

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