IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i17p10976-d905097.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Discourse of Forest Cover in Vietnam and Its Policy Implications

Author

Listed:
  • Thi Kim Phung Dang

    (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 72900, Vietnam)

Abstract

As the world’s largest ecosystem, forests affect the location, layout, and functionality of human populations worldwide. Despite environmental efforts, forests are being taken down. As socioeconomic issues promote deforestation, sustainable development is a worldwide answer. However, there is still a shortage of information about the manifestation and interconnection of sustainability aspects in a country’s forestry and their impact on policy making in developing nations. To address this knowledge gap, this study analyzes the preeminent discourse of forest cover in Vietnam forestry and determines how well it incorporates the three pillars of sustainable development. The various pieces of pertinent material (forestry regulations, reports, articles, statements by government officials and National Assembly representatives in the media, etc.) were analyzed using discourse analysis and thematic analysis. Overall, the findings show that the discourse has evolved through four themes: intercropped supporting trees, multi-purposed trees, replacing afforestation and change from forest cover to tree cover. These themes all exclude ecosystems that must exist beneath forest cover, which is frequently disrupted by the clear cut of fast-growing trees and industrial crops. The institutionalization of the discourse is facilitating legal deforestation by converting natural forest into other land uses, in particular infrastructure with replacing afforestation. The economic coalition, which strategically includes livelihood and social development in their storylines to legitimize forest conversion to other land uses, is winning the discursive struggle for hegemony. The paper concludes with some recommendations to improve Vietnam’s forestry policy, making for long-term sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Thi Kim Phung Dang, 2022. "The Discourse of Forest Cover in Vietnam and Its Policy Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:17:p:10976-:d:905097
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/17/10976/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/17/10976/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thi Kim Phung Dang & Mariëlle Zouwen & Bas Arts, 2019. "Challenges of Forest Governance: the Case of Forest Rehabilitation in Vietnam," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 425-452, December.
    2. 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.
    3. Siry, Jacek P. & Cubbage, Frederick W. & Ahmed, Miyan Rukunuddin, 2005. "Sustainable forest management: global trends and opportunities," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 551-561, May.
    4. Nguyen Nghia Bien, 2001. "Forest Management Systems in The Uplands Of Vietnam: Social, Economic and Environmental Perspectives," EEPSEA Research Report rr2001011, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised Jan 2001.
    5. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. Duong, Ngoc T.B. & de Groot, Wouter T., 2018. "Distributional risk in PES: Exploring the concept in the Payment for Environmental Forest Services program, Vietnam," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 22-32.
    3. Thi Kim Phung Dang & Mariëlle Zouwen & Bas Arts, 2019. "Challenges of Forest Governance: the Case of Forest Rehabilitation in Vietnam," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 425-452, December.
    4. Alba Rocio Gutierrez Garzon & Pete Bettinger & Jacek Siry & Bin Mei & Jesse Abrams, 2019. "The Terms Foresters and Planners in the United States Use to Infer Sustainability in Forest Management Plans: A Survey Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    5. Dinh, Hoang Huu & Wesseler, Justus, 2024. "Decentralization Of Vietnam'S forestlands: The policy process and impact," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    6. Hubert Paluš & Ján Parobek & Rastislav Šulek & Ján Lichý & Jaroslav Šálka, 2018. "Understanding Sustainable Forest Management Certification in Slovakia: Forest Owners’ Perception of Expectations, Benefits and Problems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    7. Tran Thu Trang & Simon R. Bush & Judith van Leeuwen, 2023. "Enhancing institutional capacity in a centralized state: The case of industrial water use efficiency in Vietnam," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(1), pages 210-222, February.
    8. Trædal, Leif Tore & Vedeld, Pål Olav & Pétursson, Jón Geir, 2016. "Analyzing the transformations of forest PES in Vietnam: Implications for REDD+," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 109-117.
    9. Morgan, Edward A. & Buckwell, Andrew & Guidi, Caterina & Garcia, Beatriz & Rimmer, Lawrence & Cadman, Tim & Mackey, Brendan, 2022. "Capturing multiple forest ecosystem services for just benefit sharing: The Basket of Benefits Approach," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    10. Wang, Quan-Jing & Sun, Yi-Hong, 2022. "The impact of governmental ideology on forest preservation: Evidence from cross-country data," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Wang, Sen & Wilson, Bill, 2007. "Pluralism in the economics of sustainable forest management," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(7), pages 743-750, April.
    12. Lee, Donna J. & Adams, Damian C. & Kim, C.S., 2009. "Managing invasive plants on public conservation forestlands: Application of a bio-economic model," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 237-243, July.
    13. Cubbage, Frederick & Harou, Patrice & Sills, Erin, 2007. "Policy instruments to enhance multi-functional forest management," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(7), pages 833-851, April.
    14. Johanna Gisladottir & Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdottir & Kristín Vala Ragnarsdóttir & Ingrid Stjernquist, 2021. "Economies of Scale and Perceived Corruption in Natural Resource Management: A Comparative Study between Ukraine, Romania, and Iceland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-26, June.
    15. Ramage, Michael H. & Burridge, Henry & Busse-Wicher, Marta & Fereday, George & Reynolds, Thomas & Shah, Darshil U. & Wu, Guanglu & Yu, Li & Fleming, Patrick & Densley-Tingley, Danielle & Allwood, Juli, 2017. "The wood from the trees: The use of timber in construction," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 333-359.
    16. Ziye Liu & Zhongke Feng & Chen Chang, 2022. "GEF Innovative Forest Management Plan—Taking Grassland Forest Farm in Fengning County as an Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-26, June.
    17. Dekker, M. & Turnhout, E. & Bauwens, B.M.S.D.L. & Mohren, G.M.J., 2007. "Interpretation and implementation of Ecosystem Management in international and national forest policy," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 546-557, January.
    18. Francesca Giannetti & Andrea Laschi & Ilaria Zorzi & Cristiano Foderi & Enrico Cenni & Cristiano Guadagnino & Giacomo Pinzani & Francesco Ermini & Francesca Bottalico & Guido Milazzo & Lorenzo Massai , 2023. "Forest Sharing ® as an Innovative Facility for Sustainable Forest Management of Fragmented Forest Properties: First Results of Its Implementation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    19. Sousa-Silva, Rita & Verbist, Bruno & Lomba, Ângela & Valent, Peter & Suškevičs, Monika & Picard, Olivier & Hoogstra-Klein, Marjanke A. & Cosofret, Vasile-Cosmin & Bouriaud, Laura & Ponette, Quentin & , 2018. "Adapting forest management to climate change in Europe: Linking perceptions to adaptive responses," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 22-30.
    20. Daigneault, Adam & Johnston, Craig & Korosuo, Anu & Baker, Justin S. & Forsell, Nicklas & Prestemon, Jeffrey P. & Abt, Robert C., 2019. "Developing Detailed Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) Narratives for the Global Forest Sector," Journal of Forest Economics, now publishers, vol. 34(1-2), pages 7-45, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:17:p:10976-:d:905097. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.