Management approaches

Until the early 1990's, state forestry implied direct involvement of the state in the management, exploitation, processing and distribution of Vietnam's forest resources. A system of State Forest Enterprises (SFE) managed the forest resources. The Ministry of Forestry (now Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) supervised forest operations and provided technical expertise. By the end of early 1990's there were about 400 SFEs. However, State forestry was not able to maintain the forest capacity for supplying wood and providing services such as watershed protection because it could not contain the pressures on forest resulting from following problems:

 

*	Conflict between local people and SFEs over control of forest resources and land;
*	External demands for forest resources and land;
*	Lack of investments funds;
*	Limited capacity of the forest sector to innovate; and
*	Co-ordination problems between different levels of the forestry administration.

These pressures took different expressions in each forest region and affected the forest in different ways. For the country as a whole, they prevented state forestry from meeting the objectives of providing forest resources and services on a sustainable basis.

In response to these problems, new plans and policies emerged. In 1991, the Tropical Forestry Action Plan, the Forest Resources Protection and Development Act, and the first National Forest Policy all heralded a shift away from State Forestry. Households were to increasingly take the place of State Forest Enterprises as basic management units for forest and forest land. Under Household Forestry, households are empowered with long-term use rights over forestland, receiving technical extension support by reformed state enterprises, and credit by newly established rural banking system. Forest policy, thus, took a radical turn from a focus on securing national interests through the exclusion of local interests on forestland to enlisting rural households for national goals.

The allocation of forestland to households for management and protection has been the centrepiece of reforms of the forest policy. Land allocation takes two forms depending on the state of the forestland. For barren land and land with planted forest, the government is transferring long-term land use right to rural households. Since 1993, the transfer of long-term land use rights has happened under the framework of the new Land Law and accompanying decrees. Households or individuals receiving land are given the rights to exchange, transfer, lease, and mortgage and pass on the land by inheritance. According to the Decree 02/CP (January 15, 1994), land with standing forest is allocated to households for a period of 50 years, while barren land can be allocated for a longer period.

Strategies in forestry management

The drastic change in policy from State Forestry to Household Forestry has yet to be fully implemented by the government. Forestry in Vietnam is presently facing the following challenges:

The continuing degradation of the standing stock of timber and the timber production volume;

A low reforestation rate resulting in an imbalance between annual forest loss and reforestation and low yield of plantations;

Backward logging, timber and non-timber forest product processing technology, low rate of timber utilisation, low quality products and, consequently the low competitiveness of forest products in the world market.

In mountainous areas, the socio-economic infrastructure is not yet developed .

The strategic goal aimed for Vietnam Forestry in the next 2-3 decades is envisaged to be a stabilised and properly distributed national forest estate with the following components:

Special-use forests: 3 million hectares;

Protection forests: 6 million hectares;

Production forests: 10 million hectares.

For achieving  this overall goal, the objectives for the coming period have been determined as follows:

Strict protection of 9.6 million hectares of existing forests and complete halt of deforestation;

Recover 5 million hectares of open lands through facilitation of natural regeneration and re-afforestration of barren lands and denuded hills. A nation-wide endeavour to raise forest coverage to 45% by the year 2010.

Proper utilisation of forest resources with application of advanced logging and wood processing technology.

Following are the key solutions and activities:

Speed up forest land re-allocation (both forested and open lands) to households and collectives following the Land law, and the Law on Protection and Development of Forests;

Promulgate relevant policies to attract investments into midland forests and support farms to start effective utilisation of the lands and forests that have been re-allocated so far.

Intensify international co-operation for forestry development.

Enhance research and application of advanced techniques and technologies in forestry.

Reform the organisational structure of the forestry administration.

- Renovate the organisation and management of state-owned enterprises. The replacement of state role in forestry management serves as a premise for the renovation of sate owned forestry enterprises.

[top]