Since 1986, the doi moi policies of the Vietnamese Government have been implemented in all fields of economic, political, and social affairs in Vietnam. The political changes are remarkable, "opening the door" to decentralization, democratization, and co-operation. As a result of this shift in policy, Vietnam now aims to establish good relations with all countries in the world. International collaboration in all fields has expanded greatly. The Government has extended the principles of decentralization and democratization to all levels, which has created an opportunity for involving different stakeholders in socio-economic development, encouraging people to participate and work together. Doi moi policies have created an essential foundation for the Vietnamese government to collaborate with other countries and receive support from international organizations, some of which are noted later in this chapter. This co-operation has led to the introduction of new steps and approaches in the planning process at national and local levels, and has had a great impact on many different sectors in Vietnam, including the development of the forestry education and training system at different levels.
Over the years, Vietnam has continually expanded its international relationships and co-operation efforts in different fields, including agriculture and forestry. There has been a trend towards integration, sharing and mutual development, in particular with members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). There have also been changes in the approach to education and training, particularly in information sharing and experience exchange among training institutions.
As noted in Part I, Vietnam has shifted from a planned economy to a State-regulated market economy. Instead of being co-ordinated via orders from higher authority institutions, economic activities have shifted to meeting the users' needs with an orientation provided by the State. There have been fundamental changes in methods and planning orders for each economic institution.
Vietnam has also applied multi-sectored economic development policies. All economic sectors have equal rights in terms of participation in economic activities. These rights are ensured by law. In the past, only State-owned enterprises played the key role in the national economy. At present, not only the State-owned enterprises but private enterprises, joint ventures and individuals, among others, have the right to participate in economic activities in various fields. These changes are mirrored by the forestry sector, which is undergoing a similar transition, and therefore creating a need to change the education and training process in order to prepare graduates to cope with the emerging economic system.
Socio-economic change is also having a considerable effect on forest degradation in Vietnam. A major report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2000) sets out a number of socio-economic factors which are affecting forest degradation:
One of the responses from the Government of Vietnam to difficulties such as these has been to increase linkages between key institutions, and to try to encourage a more interdisciplinary approach. For example, agricultural development has a close link with development of forestry, irrigation and aquatic product processing. An interdisciplinary development trend is clearly seen through the merging in 1996 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Processing Industry and the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Irrigation into the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This new organization and management model has led to fundamental changes in interdisciplinary co-operation from the centre, and to the hamlets and village levels.
Fourteen years have passed since Vietnam first adopted the doi moi policies, and in this time, the level of economic development has been remarkable. In the agricultural sector, farmers are now tilling their land in a way that is quite different to the exploitation-style of co-operatives. With increasing agricultural production over the last several years, agriculture now contributes to more than 50 percent of the GDP (Vo Tong Xuan et al. 1996). Unfortunately, agricultural development has been focused more in the lowlands than in the uplands, and despite government interventions, the expected development targets in the uplands have not been achieved. Many authors have confirmed the existence of low living standards, poor infrastructure, and risk-prone farming systems in newly occupied lands, both in the upland and mangrove areas.
The uplands can be characterized by a unique array of geographic, ethnological, demographic and economic features. The development needs of each area can not be met by uniform interventions or blueprint solutions such as the promotion of cash crop farming, forest conservation, or soil erosion prevention. Rather, an integrated approach for sustainable development is required.
In the context of the uplands of Vietnam, the following characteristics need to be considered:
The recent ADB (2000) draft report gives a useful description of issues relating to forestland classification and use. Since this report draws on an in-depth survey involving a range of different actors, some of its findings are presented in Box 1.
Box 1: Forest classification and land use Population pressure and the scarcity of arable land outside the major river deltas in Vietnam has created the conditions for severe denudation stresses in its forests which are far more severe than many of its neighbouring countries in East Asia. Given the potential for adverse ecological destruction, Vietnam's remaining natural resources, especially its biodiversity and its head watersheds (much of which are still densely forested), need to be protected and properly managed. At the same time, forests remain important as sources of livelihood and economic raw materials for the rural sector and increased pressure will deplete these sources if there is no conscious effort to ensure their renewal. The aim of overall land classification is to ensure that land is allocated for appropriate uses in both the urban and rural areas. In the rural areas, land is essentially classified as either agricultural or forest. In effect, agriculture land is largely rice land and some lands for perennial crops. The rest (forestland) is essentially under trees, farmed under multiple use or fallow. Actual land use is quite different from what is prescribed under present land classification. The aim of forestland reclassification is, therefore, to enable forestland to be appropriately used so that successful reforestation activities and long term forest management can take place. Within the classification of forestland are the following two categories of land use: (a) plantation forest and (b) natural forest. Natural forestland is further divided into (i) production forest, (ii) protection forest (watersheds), and (iii) special-use forests (national parks or nature reserves). Human incursions for non-forestry activities have taken place in all these categories in varying degrees and such a reality has to be recognized in the classification process. The dichotomy between actual use and the classified use is further complicated by the fact that a large part of natural forests are (a) "unused land" or bare land (the "forests without trees" -- largely degraded forests which are unused bare scrub or under fallow/livestock grazing) and, to a much smaller extent, (b) "barren" (uncultivable) land - all in need of reclassification. These lands are usually of poor quality for cropping (suitable for relatively low-nutrient requiring crops or trees) or, where moderate fertility exists, are generally remote from human habitation. Furthermore, protection forests (essentially watersheds), presently have a complicated classification of 3 categories (very critical, critical and less critical) that is hard to define operationally. Consequently, these criteria are not followed in practice. Because the system excludes a social dimension, it does not respond to actual land use practices, which are driven by the need for food security. The need is for a classification that accepts the present reality. ADB, 2000, p. 5-6 |
There have been fundamental changes in agricultural and forestry land use rights in Vietnam. The Land Use Law promulgated in 1993, created a legal basis for offering long-term land use rights to individuals, social institutions and communities. About 3 million hectares of forestry land and 0,6 million hectares of forest have been allocated to farmers and individual households. Much of this land is now being managed and utilized for various forms of forest production. A wide range of actors is involved, including farmers, extensionists, state forest enterprises, Forest Protection Departments and mass organizations.
Land, or in a broader perspective, resource tenure is the main focal point for the resource management system. The Law was issued, along with a declaration of the "transition from state forestry to people's forestry" by the former Minister of Forestry (Nguyen, 1993). However, in order for this strategy to be feasible, different aspects such as land and tree tenure, and the relation between what is meant by "people" and "forestry enterprises" must to be considered.
While the new legislation is intended to bring some positive impacts on forest land and forest resource management in Vietnam, mainly by increasing ownership and responsibility for those who have a vested interest in managing forest land, a reductionist approach can also create problems in the management system. In the new Law on Land Use Management, six classes of land use were defined; forestland, agricultural land, rural resettlement area, urban, lands for specific uses and unused land. According to the Law on Forest Protection and Development (1991), forestland consists of forest and barren land to be reforested. There is no clear definition of a private forest. However, article three of the law specified that usufruct is awarded to legal or physical persons in forests planted by their own investments on land allocated to them.
It appears that a stakeholder analysis is needed as, in many cases, different types of land users (communities, organizations, households and individuals) have not been clearly defined. In the uplands, the state forestry enterprises still dominate the process, and their role is often interpreted by local people as one of restriction.
Before 1990, Vietnamese forestry was based mainly on the network of more than 400 State-owned forestry enterprises. Since 1990, it has been developing in the direction of decentralization of management to individuals, economic institutions and communities. Forestry has shifted away from being based on timber-exploitation and a forest-use model, to one that makes use of different forest products and includes afforestation and agroforestry development as its main activities. Timber production has been diminishing while demands for timber and other forest products have been increasing gradually. One of the government's major solutions to the above-mentioned issues is to increase timber processing and production of one million m3 of artificial plywood.
At the same time, forest management is shifting from State organizations to farmer households, so that households are the main forest owners. In addition, the Government has national programmes, such as the 327/CT programme and the five million ha programme. An objective of these programs is to encourage farmers to develop forest farms and effective agroforestry systems. These are programmes of national forest development, combined with socio-economic integrated development. Thus, forestry based on State management is shifting towards "social forestry", or forestry management by the people for their own benefit. In a paper announcing the social forestry programme in Vietnam, Hoang Hoe (1993) observed that " the forestry sector of Vietnam has been making efforts to shift from the old state-owned forest enterprise-based production system to a new concept of social forestry, in which more and more farmer participation under State guidance is to be encouraged".
It is clear that there have been many changes in Vietnam at the political, socio-economic and educational context, which in turn have implications for land ownership and forest management. Different contexts are emerging at the lowlands and the uplands. All this is creating new educational requirements in knowledge, skills and attitudes for forestry education. Appropriate, relevant and flexible curricula for forestry and social forestry need to be developed in order to respond to real and practical needs.
This case study cannot present a complete picture of the current changes taking place in the forestry sector in Vietnam, since it is in reality, a complex set of issues relating to land classification, land use and land management. Research is currently underway which seeks to better understand the reality of the situation on the ground, which often diverges from the conditions assumed for the purposes of policy formation. Overall, the main changes taking place especially since 1995 are as follows:
It is clear that as changes take place in the forestry sector, change is needed within the education system to prepare those who will be involved in forestry-related activities in the future for the challenges which await them. Part III of this study outlines the approach and methodology which has underpinned the development process for forestry education, and which seeks to respond to these needs and to a changing environment.
