From protection to protection through production:

A process for forest planning and management in Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces

Mary Hobley Ram SharmaAxel Bergman

May 1998

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentVietnam Sweden Mountain Rural Development Programme 1996 - 2001

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Acknowledgements

This report is the product of a series of discussions with many different people and organisations in both Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces. We wish to thank everyone who gave their time so willingly and answered our endless questions so patiently. We hope that the report will provide a constructive way forward and will help to answer some of the concerns raised by different people. We particularly thank the staff of the MRDP in the provinces and in Hanoi for the support that they provided and for their guidance in moving through a very complex reality.

This report, however, represents the views of the team and does not necessarily represent the views of the MRDP or the Government of Vietnam.

Abbreviations

DARD Department for Agriculture and Rural Development

FPB Forest Protection Branch

FPS Forest Protection Station

HGDPEM Ha Giang Development Project for Ethnic Minorities

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

MARD Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development

MRDP Mountain Rural Development Programme

NTFP Non-timber forest product

SALT Sloping Area Land Technology

SFE State Forest Enterprise

SIDA Swedish International Development Agency

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Contents

Introduction....................................................................................... 9

1.1 Structure of the report.......................................................... 9

1.2 Study approach................................................................... 10

1.3 Key recommendations ....................................................... 10

Part 1: Key issues .......................................................................... 13

1.0 The policy framework......................................................... 13

1.1 The 5 million hectare programme: "Those who live around

forests will be the 'real owners' of the forest and will be

earning their living off it"........................................................ 13

1.2 Phasing out of subsidies for protection ................................ 14

1.3 Forest Classification.............................................................. 14

1.4 Methods for regeneration of forest lands: the arguments for

natural regeneration.............................................................. 15

1.5 Water Management as a part of integrated forest land

management ......................................................................... 17

2.0 The institutional issues for forest land management...... 17

2.1 Forest land allocation............................................................ 18

2.2 Protection contracts for natural forests (327 Programme) .... 19

2.3 Planting and protection contracts for bare land (327

Programme).......................................................................... 20

3.0 The Organisational Framework ......................................... 21

3.1 The Role of Forest Enterprises in Critical Watershed areas. 22

3.2 Forest protection stations...................................................... 22

4.0 Ways Forward for Contracts, Forest Land Allocation and

Management Plans ............................................................. 23

4.1 Institutional arrangements and benefit-sharing..................... 23

4.2 Responsibility for management plans ................................... 23

4.3 What needs to change to test these approaches?................ 25

5.0 Key questions ..................................................................... 27

5.1 Product or revenue sharing arrangements ........................... 27

5.2 Equity and gender considerations......................................... 28

6.0 Studies to support local forest management planning... 28

7.0 Training Requirements....................................................... 30

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8.0 Phasing of the Forest Protection and Development

Component: Ha Giang Development Project for Ethnic

Minorities ............................................................................. 31

8.1 Suggested changes to Forest Protection and

Development Component................................................... 32

Part 2 : Ways forward............................................................... 37

1.0 Local Forest Protection and Management Planning

Sequence and Methods ...................................................... 37

1.1 The Commune and Village Forest Planning Process............ 37

2.0 The Process......................................................................... 39

3.0 What support is required? ................................................. 49

Part 3: Case studies ....................................................................... 51

1.0 Case studies from Ha Giang province .............................. 51

1.1 Tu Nhan Commune, Hoang Sui Phi District .......................... 51

1.2 Po Lo Commune, Hoang Sui Phi District .............................. 57

1.3 Nam Dich commune, Hoang Sui Phi District......................... 62

1.4 Tan Lap Commune, Bac Quang District ............................... 66

1.5 Ngan La commune, Yen Minh District, Ha Giang ................. 70

1.6 Viet Lam, VI Xuyen District, Ha Giang .................................. 71

1.7 Suoi Dong village, Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang Province...... 72

2.0 Case studies from Yen Bai province................................. 73

2.1 De Xu Phin Commune, Mu Cang Chai District...................... 73

2.2 Kim Noi Commune, Mu Cang Chai District ........................... 77

2.3 Nam Lanh commune, Van Chan District ............................... 78

Annexes ........................................................................................... 83

Annex 1: A Photo-journey through Hoang Sui Phi Market: A rapid

survey of NTFPs from forest lands........................................ 83

Annex 2: Landscape management issues.................................... 84

Annex 3: A proposed format for a contract between a Commune

People's Committee and District People's Committee for

management of forest lands in a commune .......................... 84

Annex 4: Zonation of Ha Giang Province and ways forward-Ram

Sharma.................................................................................. 85

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List of tables

Table 1 Institutional arrangements and benefit-sharing 24

Table 2 Responsibility for management plans 26

Table 3 Suggested changes to Forest Protection and Development Component 33

Table 4 Individual households 52

Table 5 Green book allocation to villages for natural forest 53

Table 6 Protection and planting contracts for bare land with households 54

Table 7 Management Situation for Forest garden in Tu Nhan commune held under green book (in process of conversion to red book) 55

Table 8 Critical watershed area, forest enterprise pine plantations under protection contracts with no thinning, no natural regeneration 56

Table 9 Main products from forest land and their use 57

Table 10 Individual households under red books 58

Table 11 Village management 60

Table 12 Forest Management under Mass Associations 61

Table 13 Individual households - Thanh Loi village 63

Table 14 Village agreements and natural forest 64

Table 15 Institutional arrangements for bare land reforestation 65

Table 16 Natural Forest and individual household use 68

Table 17 Bare land: household contracts 68

Table 18 Natural forest: Commune contract but individual protection 69

Table 19 Natural forest: Village managed forests 69

Table 20 Institutional matrix current reality (data collection to be completed) 72

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Table 21 Bare forest land and individual household use 74

Table 22 Contract between Forest Enterprise and Commune 75

Table 23 Contract between Forest Enterprise and Commune 75

Table 24 Protection and enrichment contract between De Xu Phin village and Forest Enterprise 76

Table 25 Contract for planting between De Xu Phin village and Forest Enterprise 76

Table 26 Bare forest land and village management in Nam Cai village 79

Table 27 Ta Lanh - Contract between village and Forest Enterprise 80

Table 28 Nam To - No natural forest in the village 80

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Introduction

The study on forest land management was undertaken in two provinces that specifically requested this support - Ha Giang and Yen Bai. In Ha Giang, it was carried out within the context of Sida support to the forthcoming IFAD funded Ha Giang Development Project for Ethnic Minorities (HGDPEM). In Yen Bai province, it was within the context of on-going work supported by MRDP on village and commune planning. Both MRDP and HGDPEM are planning to introduce new approaches to forest contracting and management, so the main focus of this study was to provide a foundation for a common approach and formulation of action plans. This is therefore a practical document that describes a process for forest management planning to be tested in pilot communes in both provinces.

The report suggests improved forms of contracting and management agreements for forest land, as well as silvicultural management techniques, to maximise the long term benefits to local people as well as ensuring forest protection.

The overall objectives of the study are:

To undertake a topical appraisal of current approaches to forest land management in selected locations in Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces

To review the existing institutional and contractual arrangements for forest land management

To review the existing technical approaches to forest land management; and

On this basis to make practical recommendations and guidelines for pilot activities to test improved approaches to forest land management that can be carried out by MRDP in Yen Bai and by HGDPEM and MRDP in Ha Giang

The fieldwork was carried out in selected field locations in Hoang Su Phi, Bac Quang, Vi Xuyen and Yen Minh districts in Ha Giang Province, and Mu Cang Chai and Van Chan districts in Yen Bai Province.

1.1 Structure of the report

The report is divided into three sections. Section 1 discusses some of the key issues arising from a review of the institutional and technical background to forest management in Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces. Section 2 provides a methodology for a new approach to forest management planning and implementation in pilot communes

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in Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces. Section 3 provides detailed case studies of the forest management systems in communes visited during fieldwork in Ha Giang and Yen Bai and includes specific issues that will need to be followed up during forest management planning in these pilot communes.

1.2 Study approach

The study was undertaken within the context of the ending of a major programme of support to reforestation and protection of existing forests in critical watershed areas of upland Vietnam. This programme, known as the 327 programme, is to end at the end of 1998 and will be replaced by the proposed 5 million hectare programme. The implications of this for the future of forest management in the two provinces are considered in part 1 of this report. In addition, the study in Ha Giang was focused on developing a detailed way forward for the forestry sub-component of the IFAD-funded HGDPEM project, and as such, the team have focused their recommendations for Ha Giang on the appraised project document.

The study team based its fieldwork on an assessment of the current reality of forest management in 10 communes. This assessment was carried out through discussion with people at household, village, commune, district and province levels. It also involved assessment of current management practices in natural forests, plantations and forest gardens. The approach of the team was based on understanding the complexity and diversity of cultural and ecological conditions in different communes, and using this understanding to develop flexible approaches for the future that recognise complexity.

1.3 Key recommendations

The following recommendations underpin the methods suggested in this report:

Recognition that these are complex, diverse and risk-prone areas and therefore there is a need to structure strategies accordingly

Location-specific approaches are essential, there can be no models only a series of interventions based on an understanding of the social, economic and ecological circumstances of the area

There is a need for decentralised planning at the commune and village levels for forest lands and their management

There is a need for long-term contracts and land allocation

There is a need for careful business and market analysis and planning

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Any systems that are introduced must be able to be managed with little or no long-term government funding

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Part 1: Key issues

Introduction

This section discusses some of the key issues that emerged during the process of fieldwork and discussions with villagers, district and province staff concerned with forest management.

The long-term vision, expressed by many people at different levels, is to change local consumers of forest products into producers. The argument being that it is necessary for villagers to become self-reliant and producers of their own welfare, instead of passive recipients of aid and Government favour. This will result in increased returns on poor people's assets which in most cases in Ha Giang and Yen Bai are their labour but occasionally land also. The present practice of giving VND 50,000/ha for the protection of contracted land will not achieve the objective of increasing self-reliance and, therefore, should be phased out immediately before it creates chronic dependency among farmers. In order to do this it is essential to provide an appropriate policy and legislative environment that will allow active and productive management of the forests. This section considers some of the key elements of the enabling environment that will need to change in order to develop forests as a productive resource in support of sustainable rural livelihoods.

1.0 The policy framework

1.1 The 5 million hectare programme: "Those who live around forests will be the 'real owners' of the forest and will be earning their living off it"

The proposed 5 million hectare programme raises a series of important issues for future management of forest lands in the mountainous northern provinces. These comments on the programme relate directly to the situation in Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces.

The programme indicates a commitment to developing linkages between the farmer and the forest as a productive resource to support farmer livelihoods. This together with a relaxation of the rules concerning trade and transport should all contribute to the development of a positive environment where forests can make a real contribution to the rural economy.

However, one of the major issues concerns the methods by which this programme will achieve its aims of creating 5 million ha of forest by 2010 - planting. The following sections will consider an important alternative to planting that of natural regeneration which should be given very serious consideration in the mountainous areas of Vietnam.

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The other issue concerns the continued subsidisation of farmers to plant and protect forests and the problem of increasing the dependency of farmers on the state rather than trying to develop their self-reliance. The amount of money being suggested by the programme is large compared to the current 327 programme and will be an even more serious threat to the development of sustainable rural livelihoods. We argue that this dependency is sustainable neither for the farmer nor for the forest and will not lead to the dual aims of improving rural livelihoods and maintaining and improving the forest resources.

1.2 Phasing out of subsidies for protection

The present subsidy of VND 50,000/ha should be phased out in lieu of providing user rights to farmers. This means that management interventions are needed in the allocated and contracted forests in order to make provisions for user rights by adopting sound management principles applicable to different categories of forests including protection forests. Many NTFPs from both natural forests and plantations offer ample opportunities for addressing food security during food scarcity periods and provide self-employment, if NTFP-based cottage and small scale-processing industries are promoted at commune level. This would require the Government to facilitate this change through policy mechanisms and by liberalising rules and restrictions.

1.3 Forest Classification

The strict classification of Vietnam´s forests into the three categories of Production Forests, Protection Forests and Special Use Forests constitutes a major obstacle to ecological conservation as well as to sound development of the forestry sector as a vehicle for the development of sustainable rural livelihoods, particularly in the mountainous areas of Northern Vietnam.

The key for change is to understand, recognise and acknowledge the ability and capacity of the forest to combine production and protection while maintaining the sustainability of the forest. There are a series of changes that would be needed to achieve this objective:

Redefine the main forest categories to include a new category of Protection with Production forest

Confine the category of Protection Forests to the most steep terrain in critical watershed areas and other well defined critical areas of the same magnitude; to include also those areas of high biodiversity value (guidelines for this redefinition would need to be produced)

Revise current rules and regulations for management of production forests as well as natural forests, to enable flexibility and improved adaptation to local conditions

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Develop broad guidelines for implementation of these approaches which clearly indicate the parameters within which different forest management objectives can be set

If these changes are adopted then the opportunity to develop forest management systems to support rural livelihoods will be greatly enhanced. The methods outlined in the second section of this report are based on the premise that it will be acceptable for villagers and communes, on a pilot-scale, to plan the management of the forests with the objective of ensuring protection through production.

1.4 Methods for regeneration of forest lands: the arguments for natural regeneration

Following the general approach that consideration should be given to more active management of natural forests and the high cost implications of continuing to support reforestation through plantation, natural regeneration is a major management option for large areas of forest land.

It should be considered to be one of the main measures to restore forest cover. While natural regeneration is most often mentioned in relation to its ecological significance in forest cover restoration, it also has high potential for commercially oriented forest production, whether for firewood, NTFPs or timber.

Favourable features of natural regeneration compared to the plantation option include:

The usually high stocking of the young stand. This density in turn derives from an advantageous combination of coppice shoots, direct sowing from adjacent sources, from the seed-bank in the soil and from suckers

The high density of a natural regeneration area, compared to a forest plantation, is particularly important to prevent surface run-off and erosion and for soil stabilization.

New forest cover from natural regeneration is achieved without any disturbance of the soil. Tree planting, on the other hand, requires soil disturbance in the first year of planting and also requires intensive weeding and cleaning in years two to four from planting

The cost effectiveness of the natural regeneration is high compared to plantation establishment

The rate of failure is low compared to that of tree planting

The adaptation of tree species to local site and climatic conditions is self evident

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Biodiversity is high compared to tree planting. However, natural regeneration may also be dominated by only a few tree species but these are those that are indigenous to the area and therefore well-adapted to site conditions

Farmer risk is low compared to investment in planting of species that may have a low survival rate or be commercially inappropriate

The positive features of natural regeneration provide for flexibility and diversity of options for commercial utilisation (for both local and regional markets) of the stand depending on the objectives of the owner of the resource. Some of these alternatives include:

Fuelwood production derived from thinnings or rotational cutting (in the case of low value tree species only). While thinning may be considered both as an investment for gradual increase of the commercial value of the stand as a timber source, the commercial value of firewood deriving from early clearing and thinning may be considerable already at 3 - 5 years

Managing the natural regeneration for high value commercial timber production. Early tree species identification should form the basis for the management and silviculture treatment of a natural regeneration area. Depending on the tree species composition and the owner's objectives, thinning regimes would be designed to optimize the economic, ecological and social outcome.

Managing the natural regeneration for a diversity of products including non-timber forest products such as medicinal herbs, rattans and mushrooms. Each of which require different forest floor conditions which can be created through manipulation of the regeneration.

Motivating factors for villagers' participation in the MRDP and IFAD projects would include a regular flow of NTFPs, income through wage employment opportunities and perceived environmental benefits such as improved productivity of traditional land-use systems and an increase in water yield. Intermittent yields of NTFPs and water would make a mixed forest management system economically preferable to a timber-oriented model concentrating on a one time harvest of timber due mainly to the reduced impact of the discount rate. As such, natural regeneration offers more flexibility in responding to farmer needs and in particular the predominantly risk-averse nature of many households in these marginal environments.

The process for selection of management options to meet different objectives is discussed in Part 2: Ways Forward.

The need to codify different approaches to forest management is urgent and the current standards for silvicultural operations issued by

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MARD should be used as a starting-point for development of good silvicultural practice in the pilot communes with agreed forest management plans.

Other areas for development of guidelines to support local forest management include:

Biodiversity assessment

Water management

1.5 Water Management as a part of integrated forest land management

Water yield should be treated as an important NTFP from forests due to its profound importance as demonstrated in the case studies. Water management should, therefore, be an integral part of forest land management and development of watersheds. Indeed there is a need to develop a comprehensive land-use policy including water-use as opposed to the project-based approach being followed currently under different externally funded programmes. In the proposed approach to forest management planning, water management is a key item that could, in some cases, be considered an objective for management. This necessitates taking a landscape planning approach to forest and water management, instead of a more narrowly focused approach based on existing landownership patterns.

2.0 The institutional issues for forest land management

The following sections consider the issues arising from a review of the institutional and organisational frameworks for forest land management. These frameworks provide the key to the future of sustainable forest management and the effective use of forests in support of the rural environment.

Contracts and Management agreements

There are two major policies that affect forest land allocation:

Allocation of forest land under land tenure certificates (red or green books) to households in accordance with Decree No 02

Allocation of forest land under contract in accordance with Decree No 01. These contracts may cover both protection and afforestation activities

In the communes visited, most of the land that has been allocated under Decree No 02 has been degraded forest land or land to be reforested. Good natural forest has generally only been allocated to individuals under short protection contracts, which militates against

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households taking a long-term approach to forest management. The major source of funding for these protection contracts has been through the 327 programme with payments for protection of between VND 27,000/ha to VND 50,000/ha. The following sections look in detail at some of the issues arising from local implementation of these two decrees.

2.1 Forest land allocation

From visits to different communes in both Yen Bai and Ha Giang provinces a similar pattern of issues emerged concerning current forest land management practices. The following observations were made:

There is widespread confusion about what practices are allowed on allocated forest land under green or red books and in particular whether timber may or may not be harvested and the procedures to be followed

Households felt that they could not manage forest land effectively for timber production because they found it difficult to obtain permission for harvesting and sale of timber

In several situations households held both a red book and protection and planting contracts for the same area of forest land. In effect this meant that although they had full rights to manage the land under a production objective, the protection contract meant that they could not exercise this right and thus were effectively not managing the forest on their land

Many households were allocated barren or highly degraded forest land under green or red books and were not given any business or market advice concerning the trees to plant on these sites. In many cases too, because there were contracts for planting and therefore money for labour provided, households were signing these contracts rather than taking the often more ecologically sound option of managing the natural regeneration on the site.

In cases where households were allocated good natural forest as forest gardens, there was no forest management advice on how to effectively manage these diverse forest systems for a multitude of products. In some cases farmers were clear about how they wanted to manage the forest but lacked the experience of marketing forest products to know whether their investment would be sound or not.

The procedures to obtain permission to harvest trees for sale often act as a disincentive to manage forest gardens for timber because it is difficult to get permission, particularly in more remote areas where the farmer may have to walk a long distance to the District to the Forest Protection Station

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In some villages, we noted that there was emerging inequity between households where forest land has been allocated. In some cases, households with limited labour capacity at the time of allocation were not able to take on forest lands as gardens and continued to rely on the common pool resources under village management. However, as more of this 'safety-net' forest is allocated to households it puts increasing pressure on these more marginalised households.

In areas of food deficit, many households are refusing to take forest land as forest gardens as they are continuing to use this land for shifting cultivation. This is a critical issue that will continue to affect the management of forest lands. It serves further to underline the need to actively manage forest lands for productive, economic crops (whether tree or shrubs)

2.2 Protection contracts for natural forests (327 Programme)

The other major mechanism for forest land management is the use of contracts for protection of natural forests. These lands fall under the provisions of Decree 01 and are funded primarily through Programme 327. There are a series of issues concerning the protection contracts.

Due to the short period of the protection contracts, there is no long-term security of tenure over forest land under contracts and thus no incentive to invest in management for the long-term. The terms of the contract effectively close the forest to use, with the major incentive for the farmer being the cash or in-kind payment

Uncertainty about length of contracts (in some cases there are only annual contracts) leads to limited interest in the future of the forest beyond the end of the year when payment is made for protection

In several cases, there was considerable uncertainty about the flow of benefits. In some instances, money for protection is paid in cash in others in kind (where the rice provided is often priced at a rate higher than that in the local market)

Many farmers expressed doubt about whether they will be paid money for protection at end of the year, given there is always some uncertainty about the availability of budgets

Many households were uncertain about how much land they were protecting and where it is. In many cases, they did not know what was contained in the contract (often because rates of literacy are low and so they cannot read the contract); and also because the contracts themselves are often unclear

In Yen Bai province it was found that the province could only afford to pay VND 30,000 per ha but in effect by the time

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administration charges had been removed by the Forest Enterprise, this amount had been reduced to VND 27,000 per ha. This is a very small amount of money and again leads one to question whether this is an appropriate use of government resources to achieve an objective that could probably be better achieved by mobilising the capital of the existing forest.

In conclusion, the money paid for protection is, in most cases, acting as a perverse incentive. It encourages households to protect forests for money from government rather than for the flow of benefits from the forest. This encourages dependency on government subsidy particularly in poorer areas and may lead to the situation where removal of subsidy leads to farmers ending protection of the forest and then unsustainably using the forest. The need to move from an objective of sole protection to protection through production is one means of trying to remove dependency on subsidy and to increase the link between sustainable use of the forest and development of sustainable rural livelihoods.

2.3 Planting and protection contracts for bare land (327 Programme)

The Government has actively promoted the reforestation of critical watershed areas and has, in both provinces, put large amounts of money into plantations on bare land. From field visits and discussions there are several issues emerging concerning the use of contracts for planting:

As with the money for protection, money for planting on bare land creates incentives to plant on land under other uses such as grazing. In some cases this is leading to problems where households are forced to find alternative means of feeding their livestock. These means tend to be more labour intensive and require cutting and carrying of feed together with systems for tended livestock. Although some free-grazing still remains generally households say that grazing lands have either been allocated or are now under contracts for planting and protection

In both Yen Bai and Ha Giang, there are a limited number of models for planting which in general are not related to site conditions and in particular pay little attention to ecological, social or economic factors. This is likely to cause future problems, particularly where farmers are being advised to plant large numbers of the same tree at the same time. In some areas, where pine is being planted, there is limited market for resin and the market for thinnings is virtually non-existent due to the distance from the market. As has been discussed previously, in general the promotion of natural regeneration leaves the farmer with more options to meet future markets and removes some of the vulnerability that a single crop focus leads to. In general, subsidies for planting

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inhibit the development of other reforestation approaches such as natural regeneration and stifle local innovation.

Where selection of areas for planting is driven by target rather than derived from local need, problems will arise in terms of good land management practice. Planning from a basis of local understanding will reduce the risk faced by farmers in investing in the wrong crop on sites that may not be able to support it, or in an area in which there are no markets. Again too where farmers invest their own money or labour rather than expecting to be paid by government, they will be less prepared to take the type of risk implicit in planting large areas of pine for which there is an uncertain future.

Local responsibility for planning will lead to more locally responsible outcomes. Where someone else takes the responsibility through the setting of centralised targets, it will often lead to locally inappropriate outcomes.

3.0 The Organisational Framework

There are several key actors in the forest sector which vary according to location. The main actors in the districts in which the fieldwork was undertaken are: the Forest Protection Stations, Extension staff and Forest Enterprises. There are several issues surrounding the effective implementation of forest management that concern the roles and functions of these different organisations.

Currently there are overlapping roles between Forest Protection Stations, Forest Enterprise and Extension. These roles include - regulation, technical extension and supply of funds as project-holders. These diverse roles can lead to a lack of clarity and accountability between organisations for these different functions and often confusing roles at the commune and village level, where households are unsure who to contact concerning use of forest land

Currently, there is little technical advice provided to households for management of forest lands, since in the main, management consists of a 'closed' forest policy. Thus advice is limited to the development of protection rules for natural forests, and advice on plantation establishment. There is, however, little or no advice provided on management of natural regeneration or multi-storey forests. In the move away from implementation of targets to site specific planning and management of complex natural forests, development of technical capacity to support this change will be necessary

Currently there is a lack of clear information at commune level and below about the implications of different contracts, forest land allocation procedures, input supplies, and organisational responsibilities. This leads to confusion and uncertainty which

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further adds to the lack of security over the future of forest lands.

3.1 The Role of Forest Enterprises in Critical Watershed areas

The Forest Enterprises, in both provinces, operating in critical watershed areas do not operate as Enterprises with economic objectives but mainly as a channel for 327 and other project funds. However, in both cases, in Hoang Su Phi District and in Mu Cang Chai, the Enterprises are responsible for the management of large areas of plantation, and also contracts with households and communes. In Van Chan the Enterprise is in transition to becoming a processing company for forest products. However, in the interim period it is still responsible for areas of natural forest and for the administration of contracts for protection and planting.

In general, it was found that because the Enterprises are not actively involved in forest management and are generally only involved in plantation activity, their skills are limited and they are unable to provide support to farmers for effective forest management particularly of natural forests.

As a result of their protection orientation they also do not have the business or market analysis skills necessary for providing support to farmers in the move from protection to protection through production. Similarly, for the Enterprise, if they are to remain as managers of forest resources they too will need to consider their own business future. This consideration should include an assessment of their future business potential, the development of business plans and investigation into the use of joint venture arrangements with local communities for the land they directly manage.

There is a need to clarify the role of the Enterprises and whether it is effective for them to remain as project-holders for reforestation funds, or whether this role should be replaced by one that focuses their work on provision of business and market advice. Similarly their role as gate-keepers to the market should be reviewed to analyse the most appropriate mechanisms for the flow of forest products in order to ensure the development of sustainable rural livelihoods based on productive and sustainably managed forest resources.

3.2 Forest protection stations

The staff of Forest Protection continue to exercise the dual roles of regulation and extension. These roles often conflict and lead to lack of clarity at the commune level. Currently, staff capacity to fulfil their obligations to protect all those areas of forest that currently do not have an owner, is inadequate. However, the pragmatic approach would be to devolve the authority for this protection to the commune and beneath. In many cases, de facto this is what is happening, where the commune and village have their own rules for protection which are enforced locally.

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If Forest Protection staff are to retain their extension function, it will be important to develop their skills in site-specific planning, and their silvicultural advisory skills. A list of skill requirements is suggested in section 6. In the interim the organisational support mechanism should draw on the strengths of the different organisations and support a team-based approach to facilitating forest management planning in the commune.

4.0 Ways Forward for Contracts, Forest Land Allocation and Management Plans

As discussed above there are a series of problems with the current contracts that will need to be resolved. The suggestions presented beneath aim to overcome these problems and provide a stable institutional framework for effective long-term management of forest lands under contracts and also under land tenure certificates (red and green books).

4.1 Institutional arrangements and benefit-sharing

The major principle to be followed is that the institutional framework should be location-specific and should respect the cultural, ecological and economic circumstances of the commune. As such flexibility should be retained within the contract framework for each commune to negotiate the optimum institutional arrangement that best reflects the social conditions of the area. ( See table 1 ).

4.2 Responsibility for management plans

The actual specific content of the management plans should be determined in each commune. However, each management plan should follow a similar format (see Part 2 for a more detailed discussion of the planning process).

Objectives, planned activities - responsibility, phasing, inputs required

Expected outputs, benefit-sharing arrangements

Each plan may have different combinations of contracts and land allocation dependent on the cultural conditions of the area. In some cases, group management may not be appropriate to the particular cultural conditions, or household management may be less preferred than village management. (The process for developing a village forest management plan is discussed in Part 2 of this report). See table 2.

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Table 1: Institutional arrangements and benefit-sharing

Level Arrangement Benefit-sharing

Commune Long-term contract (dependent on the forest management system but for at least 25 years) between commune and District for overall responsibility for monitoring of management of all forest areas

Commune share from village and groups to be put in forest development fund. To be used as a revolving loan source for borrowing by farmers, groups, villages for reinvestment in forest. First five years of pilot, money for protection and planting to be put in commune fund. Each village to access funds according to needs described in village forest plan. These needs could include payment to individual households for protection (this should be decided in each village forest plan)

Village Long-term sub-contract between village and commune for management of village forests

100% intermediate harvests (to include coppice harvests) and non-timber forest products 40:60 share village: commune on final harvest. Share in products not in cash from sale. Proportion of village share to be reinvested in forest development. Actual mechanisms for management to be decided by each village (whether they appoint a group of people or allocate to individual households)

Groups Long-term sub-contract between groups and commune for management of group forests

100% intermediate harvest (to include coppice harvests) and non-timber forest products 40:60 share group: commune on final harvest. Proportion of group share to be reinvested in forest development

Households Long-term (50 years) allocation of forest land for management as forest gardens

100% of products to household (planted and existing). Tax on timber sold. Tax payable to commune

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Table 2: Responsibility for management plans

4.3 What needs to change to test these approaches?

Following the analysis of issues presented above there are a series of changes that need to be put in place in order to test the new approach to forest management and contracting.

In summary there are series of major changes that need to be made:

1. Change in the contract arrangements to provide long-term contracts with a greater degree of flexibility to allow active forest management

2. Change in policy for critical watershed areas to move away from protection to protection through production on a site specific basis

3. Change to the forest land allocation policy to allow larger areas of land to be allocated to individual households within an agreed village forest management plan

4. Change in the support role of the different organisations involved in the forest sector, to move away from an input, target-driven approach to one based on facilitating best

Level Responsibility

Commune Contract-holder; Monitoring of implementation of management plans; negotiation in conflicts between villages, households; fines for infringements of agreements; arrangement of technical support for villages/households; fund-holders for any protection and planting funds; provision of credit for forest investment by groups, villages, households in commune; business planning and management advice or arrangement of provision; responsible for conflict resolution between villages; maintenance of equity of access to forests across commune to ensure that some villages or groups are not disadvantaged by bringing forest resources under active management; use of funds from forest resource rich areas to support investment in resource poor areas in commune. Organisation of input supply (nurseries for seedlings....)

Village Responsible for fulfilment of sub-contract against agreed management plan for all forests in village (includes group managed forests); protection of any spirit forests; ensuring maintenance of protection function of all forest in village boundaries; responsible for conflict resolution within village

Groups Responsible for fulfilment of sub-contract against agreed management plan for forests under management by the group; ensuring maintenance of protection function

Household Allocated land managed against household production objectives and plan - could include planting of bare land, natural regeneration of bare land; enrichment of existing natural forest or management of natural forest; ensuring maintenance of protection functions. Financing for planting will be provided by the commune forestry development fund. This will be phased out to become a revolving loan fund for planting.

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practice forest management based on an assessment of site conditions and local need (ecological, social and economic)

5. Decentralisation of authority to communes for monitoring, supporting and coordinating forest protection and management in the commune, to include granting of permission for harvesting timber against an agreed plan (village, group or household plan)

6. Move away from:

FUND - - - PLAN - - - ACTIVITIES

to

PLAN - - - FUND - - - ACTIVITIES

7. Clear sharing arrangements between commune and village and a decision as to whether there needs to be sharing of products or revenue between commune and district. The rationale for the sharing arrangements suggested (i.e. just between the commune and village) is that this is a means to mobilise the capital held within the forest resource for the development of the local area, thus releasing scarce other resources to be used for development of other communes where the forest resources are not as productive (or perhaps are too degraded to produce in the short-term)

8. Fund creation at commune level for forestry development; development of its use as a revolving loan in which initially money for protection and planting is placed; the fund should be used according to village, group and household forest plans; systems for fund management, auditing of accounts will need to be put in place

9. Supply of business planning and market analysis advice

10. Technical skill support to commune and to households; development of skills at the commune level of a person or group of people identified as being responsible for forestry activities

11. Development of location specific planning based on assessment of site - ecological, social and economic conditions, objective setting for site on basis of this assessment

12. Development of a landscape management approach to trees - to ensure linkages between water and tree management

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13. Removal of restrictions on farmer access to markets for sale of forest products to include removal of monopoly trading companies in forest products

14. Separation of functions between the different forest sector support organisations, together with review of alternative support mechanisms, such as development of commune advisory support:

Forest Protection Station:

regulation at a level above the commune

assessment of plans against policy and legislative frameworks

Extension staff with Forest Enterprise (dependent on situation):

team-based approach with Forest Enterprise (where appropriate)

provision of business, market and silvicultural advice - assessment of plans against best practice

training of commune staff to provide advice to farmers

facilitators of equitable decision-making.

15. MARD production of strategic guidelines for best practice (Forestry Development Department) to support the local forest planning process

16. Gradual phasing out of protection money from government as forests begin to produce products for sale (planned phasing in line with planned production i.e. phasing out on basis of prediction of forest product flow in forest management plan)

5.0 Key questions

5.1 Product or revenue sharing arrangements

Particular attention should be focused on the question of product or revenue sharing between the village and the commune. It has been suggested here that a 60:40 split between commune and village could be made. This implies that there will be no revenue sharing outside the commune with the government. The rationale for this is to make the commune self-sustaining in financing for forestry in the medium to long-term, with the long-term view that surplus revenue will be produced through active management of the forests that can then be reinvested in local development in the commune. This will then release the pressure on scarce government funds for their

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reallocation to communes which have no opportunity to use forests as a source of renewable capital.

However, these presumptions need to be tested. It is recommended that a thorough economic analysis is carried out to model the possible flow of benefits from forest management, to test the assumption that forests under sustainable management can provide a steady flow of capital for local development (see section 6 studies).

5.2 Equity and gender considerations

As has already been discussed there are questions concerning the equity of distribution of forest resources. The proposed approach to contracting suggested above, is an attempt to try to address some of these equity concerns. The over-riding principles underpinning this approach are:

Local determination of appropriate forest land management frameworks to include household, group, village management

Contract arrangements that formalise village or group management of forests to ensure that user rights are protected to common pool resources

In-built systems to ensure those who use the forests are involved in the determination of management objectives and management systems (i.e. inclusive systems that explicitly focus on the different forest interest groups in a village)

In addition, there are two proposed changes that will also raise local female awareness of forest land management issues:

Red book/green book and contracts to be signed jointly by the female and male head of household

Active involvement of women in planning processes, as an important interest group that use forest products on a daily basis

6.0 Studies to support local forest management planning

The following studies may be taken up to provide support to the forest management planning process in Ha Giang and Yen Bai:

Biodiversity and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs):The study may include identification and inventory of NTFPs in the pilot communes as part of the village forest planning process (to develop a system for NTFP management); use-patterns; trading patterns including trade to China, local and regional markets; ethnobotany of the different NTFPs; management systems for NTFPs (these to be trialed as part of

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the village forest planning process) production; costs and benefits of NTFPs and assessment of their contribution to rural livelihoods

Forestry Business: Benefit & cost streams from home and forest gardens; markets for products from different categories of forests allocated to villagers under contracts; cost effectiveness and economics of different forest land management options; transit and trade restrictions and policy environment and impacts on benefit flows from forests; role of middlemen; economics of growing fruit trees and cash crops in forest and home gardens; particular focus on resin and its markets; the role of forest enterprises in protection areas and investigation of future options for the Enterprises. This should include an assessment of the potential for joint ventures with local communities in critical watershed areas.

An important aspect of the IFAD project is the promotion of private tree growing by supplying seedlings, training and credit to farmers. In order to be successful, it is necessary to create a conducive environment (through policy mechanisms) in which villagers can benefit from their enterprise. This would require an investigation into and modification of constraining rules and regulations which might prohibit farmers' interest at the time of harvesting of private trees and forests. Efforts should be made to study the entire dynamics of private tree growing including demand, supply, prices, land-use and ecological implications, policy issues, legal implications, legal restrictions on transit and trade, appropriate technology, extension support to farmers, management issues. At present there are three types of markets operational - Government controlled, e.g. timber; middlemen controlled, e.g. fruit trees such as oranges and villager controlled, e.g. NTFPs. These three methods of control have very different implications in terms of farmer access to markets and the benefits to be obtained. The implications of the control mechanisms should be evaluated in terms of developing sustainable rural livelihoods.

This is a critical study that should be undertaken in conjunction with development of village forest planning and the introduction of silvicultural systems to meet different local management objectives. This study should provide clear guidance on the economic viability of forest management systems and their contribution to rural livelihoods. It should review and suggest the most effective and efficient marketing systems for forest products to ensure best flows of value to the local level.

Land-Use Economics : Socioeconomic impact of forest land allocation policy, particularly on rural poor; management of common pool resources; inputs and outputs from the traditional and integrated land-use system comprising

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agriculture-forestry-horticulture-aquaculture-livestock; forward, backward and inter-sectoral linkages; cost-benefit analyses, economic viability and ecological sustainability.

The understanding gained from this study should be built into the commune and village forest planning process, to ensure that equity and gender issues, in particular, are being fully addressed.

7.0 Training Requirements

The first year of the IFAD project should place emphasis on 'on-the-job', skills oriented training, for participating staff and people from District and Commune Peoples Committees who may subsequently act as trainers to villagers. This same approach should be taken in MRDP supported areas. The main elements of training should focus on the following areas:

Site-specific forest planning at village level (to include household forest gardens), extension and applied research methods (in particular participatory action research for the development of different forest management trials), PRA techniques, participatory monitoring methods.

Participatory action research methods for testing out new silvicultural approaches

Silviculture (in particular for multi-storey diverse forest gardens), marketing and management of natural forests including NTFPs.

Land husbandry technologies including water management; rain water harvesting; Linkages and interactions of ecological and socio-economic aspects of watershed management (landscape planning and management)

Rural sociology and ethnic culture - with particular respect to indigenous knowledge and land management practices

Integrated farming systems, grazing systems and agroforestry

Development of business plans for small business

Financial and fund management, use of revolving loans

Training materials should be produced from the process testing of village forest planning in the pilot communes. Eventually this should form the basis for a series of competence based training modules for village forest planning which could be used outside MRDP and IFAD.

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8.0 Phasing of the Forest Protection and Development Component: Ha Giang Development Project for Ethnic Minorities

This study was carried out in the context of the new IFAD project and was specifically requested to provide a detailed action programme for the start of the Forest Protection and Development component of the project. This programme is suggested below in the light of the overall recommendations from this study on local forest management practices.

The following table proposes a timetable of activities for year 1 of the project, following the methods for commune and village forest planning described in Part 2 of the report. This timetable should be coordinated closely with that of the extension component to ensure that village forest planning is carried out in the same villages and communes. This will ensure the complementary development of skills by farmers and reduce the risk of duplication (in particular PRA and business planning will be required for both the farm and the forest).

Activity Year 1 Selection of one commune from each zone, based on communes for which basic data is available from this study

Three communes selected, and work started following methods provided in Part 2 of report

Training in village forest planning (basic skills – PRA, silvicultural skills for natural forest management, site-specific planning skills, fund management, business and market analysis)

One commune in each zone, relevant staff from Forest Protection, Extension and Forest Enterprise

Training of commune staff in technical support for forest management (training in the commune in different management techniques, fund management, business planning and market understanding)

Identified key individuals to be trained in forest and business management. Three communes with trained individuals providing support to village forest plans

Production of village forest plans for one commune

3 plans produced by end of year 1 with agreed action plans for year 2

Production of provisional method guidelines for commune and village forest planning

Draft guidelines (based on experience from 3 pilot communes) to be produced by end of year 1 for use in other communes in year 2 etc.

Production of training materials for support of commune/village forest planning

Training materials to be produced by end of year 1 based on experience from 3 pilot communes

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Year 2: on-going support to first three communes and initiation of process in another set of communes

The selection of communes in which to start should be taken from the listing below. These are the communes visited during this study for which basic data are available (and are presented in part 3 of this report).

Zone District Commune 1 Yen Minh Ngan La 2 Hoang Sui Phi Nam Dich (MRDP are already supporting)

Tu Nhan Po Lo Bac Quang Tan Lap

3 Vi Xuyen Sui Dong (MRDP are already supporting) Viet Lam

8.1 Suggested changes to Forest Protection and Development Component

There are some significant differences between the suggested programme of activities provided in the appraised main report of the HGDPEM (1997) and those proposed as a result of this study. These are described in the table on the next page.

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Table 3: Suggested changes to Forest Protection and Development Component

Appraised project document: establishment of protection contracts and associated forest development activities

Proposed activity as a result of study

1. PRA to identify final sites and households to be involved

Identification of 3 communes (one in each zone) for commune and village forest planning in line with those identified under the extension component

2. Survey and issue of contracts for 20,000ha of watershed protection forest, scheduled over PY 1-4

Issue of 3 contracts in year 1 between commune and district for management and protection of all forest land within commune (excluding allocated forest land under red or green book). Process to be continued over remainder of project period

3. Payment of forest protection fees (VND 50,000/ha/yr to contracted farmers for the first 5 years of the contract period

Payment of forest protection fees (VND 50,000/ha/yr) to commune (into commune Forestry Development Fund) for the commune to use in response to requests through the village forest plans for investment in forests for forest management Support from the rural credit component to provide communes with advice on fund management

4. Extension programmes designed to increase the income derived from the contracted areas. These programmes will be developed and implemented as an integral part of the extension sub-component

Forest management systems designed with farmers and village to move from protection to protection through production. Participatory action research trials on different silvicultural methods to meet different local objectives Village and commune forest planning developed to build ecologically, economically and socially sustainable forest management systems Revenue sharing between village and commune from final timber harvests, with 100% of revenue from intermediate harvests remaining with the village or household. Revenue to be held in forestry development fund at village and commune level for reinvestment in forestry and other local development needs Training of extension staff, Forest Protection and Forest Enterprise staff in the skills required to move to active forest management

5. Establishment of nurseries and distribution of seedlings for enrichment planting programmes

Communes to establish nurseries, if enrichment planting is identified as one of the management systems to be introduced to meet a particular objective Villages and households to buy seedlings from commune if they want to enrich their forests. However, first priority should be given to natural regeneration

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6. On-going supervision of contracts to ensure compliance with contract conditions

Training of commune staff to become monitors of village forest plans to ensure individual and household compliance with plans and fulfilment of terms of contract Annual monitoring by Forest Protection staff to ensure overall commune compliance with approved forest management plans

Improving capability of FPD (Annex 7 Forest Protection & Development)

Improving capability of all organisations that operate in forest sector in Ha Giang

Training:

Extensive training for provincial and district FPD staff

Subjects:

Extension methods PRA techniques Applied research methods Social forestry Agroforestry SALT techniques Non-timber products generation Ethnic culture and farming systems Human ecology

Training:

Extensive training and redefinition of roles for FPD staff, forest enterprise and extension staff involved in forestry

Subjects:

Communication techniques (holding of meetings, production and use of appropriate materials – information posters, audio-visual etc); development of leadership skills PRA techniques as applied to village forest planning Participatory action research approaches as applied to establishment of different silvicultural systems to meet different management objectives Market and business analysis particularly for non-timber forest products Village and commune forest planning as a concept Ethnic culture and indigenous knowledge with reference to farming systems and landscape management Development of gender and equity awareness and implications of different interventions Silvicultural skills for site-specific planning (analysis of site potential and selection of appropriate management options)

Organise the corresponding forest protection group/community

Develop commune and village forest management plans based on village, group and household management

1. survey the given forested/watershed areas

2. make detailed maps of individual parcels of each protected area

3. facilitate the organisation of farmer group or community

4. allot individual areas to each farmer-contractor

5. provide detailed map and certificate of contract for each family, with contract period of minimum of 20 years

6. pay farmer-contractor VND 50,000/ha/yr for next 5 years

7. From year 6 replace money with benefits from exploiting non-timber products

Follow the planning methodology outlined in part 2 Organisation of protection and management of forest to be decided by each village/commune Contracts to be signed by the commune and district, sub-contracts to be issued between the commune and village, group, household (depending on the village plan) Payment to be phased out on basis of business plan prepared for each village, group, household, with timber and non-timber benefits accruing Revenue sharing arrangements between household, village and commune to be agreed (proposed shares 40:60 village:commune) Payment of VND 50,000 to be put in commune forestry development fund

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Support to the forestry component will be required from several other components including:

The extension component

Rural credit component - in particular for market surveys and studies of timber and non-timber forest products, analysis of potential for development of small forest product related business; training for establishment and operation of funds for revolving loans for forestry reinvestment in the commune

Provision of materials for training villagers in forest management - particularly for non-literate people

Training of contracted farmer group/community

1. FPD with AEN conduct training:

Sustainable agroforestry Community-based resource management – non-timber product generation and market opportunities Nurseries established and seedlings supplied free Study tours to neighbouring areas

FPD, AEN and where appropriate Forest Enterprise will conduct training:

Silvicultural skills required for good forest management – pruning, selection of natural regeneration, gap management for NTFP production, species choice (depending on objectives, markets etc) Market and business planning, income projections Financial management Establishment of nurseries as small business opportunity (assessment of risk etc) Monitoring of plan implementation

Supervising of the activity

1. FPD with district FPS will visit contracted sites to ensure no illegal activities

Commune staff responsible for monitoring of forest management plans will regularly visit each village and forests and produce six-monthly reports Annual visits to commune will be made by FPD and FPS staff to ensure compliance with forest management plans Regular support visits will be made by extension staff to advise on forest management (in beginning)

Technical assistance

1. 4 p-m for research into sustainable forest management practices and for means to increase yields of NTFPs

Use 4 p-m to support village forest planning process, in particular to focus on development of silvicultural skills to manage natural forests for diversity of products (this to include a large element of on-the-job training)

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Part 2 : Ways forward

1.0 Local Forest Protection and ManagementPlanning Sequence and Methods

The following sequence outlines a method for local forest planning as an intrinsic part of village planning. It can be used either as part of a village planning process or it can be used separately as the entry-point to village planning in an area that has previously not been part of the MRDP or IFAD project. The process presented will need to be tested and adapted to conditions. It is not fully detailed, as experience from elsewhere suggests that it is important to develop locally appropriate methods and thus experimentation is necessary to get the 'detail right'.

It is recommended that by the end of the pilot period a forest management handbook should be produced to guide staff and farmers in the forest management decision-making pathways and the processes for village forest planning.

For examples of the types of data to be collected and possible formats see the case studies presented in Part 3 of this report (in particular the case study from Tu Nhan which is the most complete).

1.1 The Commune and Village Forest Planning Process

Forest planning should form part of a commune and village planning process, in order to ensure the development of linkages between different parts of the rural livelihood system.

Objective

To ensure sustainable (ecologically, economically and socially) forest management of forest lands in the commune by

Establishment of clear and agreed objectives for management between all the different users of a forest or forest lands

Development of agreed forest management plans and action programmes

Support to diversity of institutional arrangements for management of forests to include households, groups, associations and villages

Features

Long-term contracts (20-50 years) between Commune People's Committee and District People's Committee for management of forests in commune

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Product sharing between commune and village (possibly 60:40)

Any government or other financing for forestry to be put in Commune Forestry Development Fund

Regulation, monitoring and coordination of forestry activities in commune to be carried out under the auspices of the Commune People's Committee

There are three levels at which planning should happen:

Commune

Village (and group)

Household

The Steps

Step 1: Commune discussion meeting - to plan the way forward

Step 2: Village meeting to discuss village forest planning & to obtain a preliminary understanding

Step 3: Village forest planning through a series of planning exercises with forest users to set objectives and management practices

Step 4: Writing of plan

Step 5: Presentation of plan to whole village and agreement

Step 6: Presentation of plan to commune

Step 7: Signing of sub-contract between commune and village for management of all forest lands within village and monitoring of forest lands allocated to households

What does the commune forest plan look like?

The commune forest plan would have the following elements:

A map of the commune showing the forest areas under different agreements.

A copy of all village plans with monitoring formats to indicate what stage of implementation each plan is at.

The Commune Forestry Development Fund

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What is the Commune Forestry Development Fund?

Purpose: to be used for forestry development in the commune

1. to provide investment funds for forestry particularly in areas of the commune that do not have easy access to forests of their own and therefore have limited funds in their village forestry development fund

2. to provide funds against plans from each village for long-term management of their particular forest areas

3. to provide revolving loan facilities for households that wish to invest in their allocated forest lands (where there is no money available in village forest fund)

4. to provide funds for development of forest product based small-enterprises in the commune

Sources of funding:

Money for protection from the government

Money for planting from the government

60% share of products from village and group-managed forests

Tax on sale of timber from forest gardens

Other outside sources of funds

2.0 The Process

Step 1: Commune discussion meeting: to plan the way forward

Purpose of meeting:To discuss the process of forest management planning in the commune, to agree the way forward, and to collect some basic data about the commune.

Who should be present?

Commune People's Committee

Village leaders

Mass association leaders (particularly women and youth union)

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Who should facilitate?

Team-based approach with representatives of FPS, Forest Enterprise (if they are involved in the commune), Extension and supported by the advisory staff of MRDP or IFAD

What should be done?

Activities:

Discussion about objectives of project and the forestry component

Basic data collection about the commune

A visioning exercise to discuss with the commune the condition of the forests today and how they want them to be in the future and the pathways to move from today to the future

Discussion on Government forest policy

Discussion about the Commune Forestry Development Fund - how it will operate, how it should be managed, training support for fund managers

Discussion on the institutional framework for management of forest lands in the commune e.g. whether one person should be appointed or a task-force of people

Plan an action programme for development of forest management planning in the commune

Agree dates for start of programme

How long?

Duration of meeting in commune: one day

Step 2: Village Forest Land Planning: Preliminary Assessment

Purpose of meeting?

To clarify the current institutional and technical framework for forest management in the village

Who should be present?

Village leaders

Mass associations

Representatives of different interest groups

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Who should facilitate?

Team-based approach with representatives of FPS, Forest Enterprise (if they are involved in the commune), commune representative, Extension and supported by the advisory staff of MRDP or IFAD

What should be done?

Assess the current institutional and technical management framework at the village level

How?

1. Sketch mapping: begin the group discussions by asking the key informants to make a sketch map of the village showing the location of different categories of forest. This map does not have to be accurate in terms of size and precise location. What is most important is to clearly identify all the different types of forest land management situation. This is followed up later with a more detailed mapping exercise.

2. Charts showing responsibilities and terms of agreement: for each different category of forest land identify the different people and organisations that are involved in the management of that area (households, community organisations, forest organisations (e.g. Forest Enterprise) etc.). Then identify their specific responsibilities and the terms of the agreement made in land allocation or contracts

3. Mapping product flows and utilisation: for each category of forest land make a list of the main products coming from that area. These can be divided into marketed products and products for household use. These products should also be ranked in terms of importance to different users. These products should include livestock grazing, hill crop cultivation and water.

4. Site observations and transect walks: The purpose of this exercise will be to discuss and collect some preliminary information on the technical aspects of forest land management in the area

5. Individual household interviews and small group discussions. The purpose of these interviews will be to understand particular interest groups points of view about forest management - in particular women and poorer households.

How long?

Duration: two days

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First day for group discussions and understanding the overall frameworks for management of forest lands (to include land under contracts and allocated land under green or red books)

Second day for visits to the forests and discussions with different interest groups

Step 3: Village Forest management planning

Purpose?

To plan the management of different areas of forest land

Who should be present?

Village leaders

Mass associations

Representatives of different interest groups

Who should facilitate?

Team-based approach with representatives of FPS, Forest Enterprise (if they are involved in the commune), commune representative, Extension and supported by the advisory staff of MRDP or IFAD

What should be done?

1. Forest resource mapping

Who? With all the interest groups in the village

Why? The forest resource map provides a visual and spatial understanding of:

Where the settlements are located in the village

The local names for different areas and their boundaries

Where the forest areas are in relation to the village

Which forests have outsiders using them

Which forests are used by which communities

Which are sacred forests

Major natural features such as rivers, ponds, hills, rock outcrops

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Provides a map of the village infrastructure - roads, paths, schools

Provides a rough indication of the location of agricultural lands

2. From the forest resource map select an area of forest to be planned, agree the boundaries of a particular forest area. This will become a forest management unit. Agree the institutional arrangements i.e. whether it is under village, group of households or association management.

What is a Forest Management Unit ?

For example:

A forest management unit should be relatively uniform in terms of its management objective

Forests close to a settlement will probably have a series of objectives to do with provision of household requirements

A Spirit forest would be a single FMU with a strict protection management regime with the objective of maintaining its cultural integrity

Forests along water-courses may also form a FMU with the objective of maintenance of the water flow and purity, the management regime will be very low intervention

Plantation FMU with an objective of sustainable production of resin, management regime will be to ensure this objective

3. Agree on who are the key interest groups for this area i.e. who are the main users of this forest land

For example:

Those who live close to the forest or forest land

Those who regularly use the forest or forest land (from inside or outside the village)

Those whose water supply is dependent on the forest cover of this land

4. Go to the forest with the key interest groups

5. Assess the current status of the forest and forest land

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Tool box

Transect walk: participatory resource assessment:

To help assess the condition of the forest - status of natural regeneration, availability of bamboo; status of pole crop, availability of timber trees; status of medicinal plants etc

A decision needs to be taken as to whether resource assessment through inventory will be required. If the village or group decides to manage the forest for timber, an inventory will be necessary. Guidance on this will need to be provided and training to villagers on what is required.

6. Identify and agree management objectives for the site

Tool box

Forest product matrix for that particular site:

To help select trees/shrubs for planting or selection (in natural regeneration)

To indicate preferences for particular users

To highlight priorities and differences between different interest groups

To identify which products the plan for this area of forest should concentrate on and the objectives for management of an area

7. Decide how you are going to achieve your objectives

Question: If the area is bare what are the options ?

Establishment of a forest:

Through closure for natural regeneration

Enrichment planting

Planting 100%

Question: If it is an existing forest, what do you want to do with it?

Management of an existing forest:

Manipulation of natural forests

Manipulation of plantation

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Possible management options:

Thinning for firewood and to favour final timber crop

Opening of plantation to favour natural regeneration for fruits, firewood and timber

8. Evaluate your management options

Based on an assessment of:

Site conditions Household/village/ commune needs

Market conditions

Tool box

Site conditions Assessment of forest condition and potential:

Canopy density Basal area Stocking Regeneration Availability of seed trees Soil type and fertility Drainage Ecological zone Light conditions, slope, aspect Canopy density can be measured visually or with a spherical densiometer.

Basal area is a good measure of forest condition. It is particularly important if you wish to carry out tending operations in existing plantations or forests but it is also useful in natural forest management. It can be measured using a wedge prism.

Stocking is a measurement of the number of stems within the site. It is useful for planning thinning operations. It is measured by counting the number of stems in small sample plots or along transects.

Regeneration counts are done by laying out small sample plots or transects and by recording the numbers of tree species regenerating.

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9. Select and agree on management options

On the basis of an assessment of the site, agreed interest group priorities from the forest product matrix and local markets, select and agree on management options and rules for management.

Finalise institutional arrangements for management

If it is village management, who is to be involved, are individuals going to be paid for labour days, if so how

If it is under group management - ensure total agreement in village that this is appropriate, ensure it is clear who is to be involved and basis of involvement, who is to share in benefits from forest land, in particular the 40% share of the final harvest, ensure that principles of equity are safeguarded

If it is under association management e.g. Women's or Youth Union, ensure that it is clear who is involved and basis of involvement, who is to share benefits and how

10. Prepare a mini-plan for forest area based on agreed management options

Step 4: Compile all mini-plans into one village forest plan

These mini-plans should be made for each identified forest management unit which are then compiled into one village forest plan. It is not necessary that all the areas of forest land are planned at one time, more areas could be planned in subsequent years and be approved then.

A summary chart at the beginning of the plan should indicate the financial or other input requirements, such as numbers of seedlings for all the forest areas in the village under village or group management.

The village plan should also include a set of rules that all in the village have agreed, to include:

Who has responsibility for ensuring the plans are properly implemented

Agreement about who can harvest what products when

Agreement about who can use the forests for collection of different products, to include rules about outsiders using the forest (whether they are allowed and if so will they be allowed free access or on payment of a fee)

Fines or penalties for infringements of rules

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Clarity about beneficiaries of each forest area (to include a listing of all forest gardens and names of each household)

Example of Contents of a Village Forest Plan

1. Description of current situation

Institutional matrix

Management matrix

2. Forest land mini-plans for each forest management unit

Objectives

Sketch map of area with boundaries identified (i.e. streams, particular tree, rocky outcrops etc)

Institutional arrangements (household, groups, association, village management)

Rules for use

Silvicultural system

Business plan

Expected outputs

Required inputs

Benefit-sharing arrangements

3. Village rules for use of forest

4. Responsibility matrix - to indicate who in village is responsible for forest lands e.g. names of households for forest gardens, village management group for village forests etc.

The forest garden plan inputs should be listed separately.

Forest Gardens: Example of a mini-plan

In most cases, it will not be necessary to develop individual plans rather it is a mechanism to help households think through the different options available for them for management of their forest lands. A plan is necessary, however, where there is financing required for particular inputs such as tree seedlings, in order to assess the risks associated with the investment, including the potential markets

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1. Household objective setting Household identification of production needs - timber and non-timber forest products (to include water)

2. Assessment of Market capacity Identify market demand: local and provincial for NTFPs and timber forest products (including firewood)

3. Coordination of production objectives Examine the option for coordinated production objectives with other forest gardens (could be with a few neighbours in the village or across the commune). At this early stage it is probably too ambitious to look beyond the boundaries of the commune, although this is a logical longer term development where it makes sense for farmers to group together to meet a particular market demand.

4. Site assessment Evaluate basic conditions for selected and preferred product(s)

Growth potential (soil, climate)

Physical (size of forest garden, accessibility etc)

Existing basic status of the forest regeneration

If it is barren land then assess: Potential for obtaining natural regeneration

Potential for establishment of forest plantation

If there is sufficient natural regeneration, then: Identify tree and herb species (where appropriate using local knowledge together with botanical knowledge)

Grade species value for different end uses according to objectives set by household

If there is insufficient natural regeneration, then: Assess option for enrichment planting

Identify suitable tree species in relation to existing natural regeneration and objectives of management

If there is no rootstock or seed bank then Assess the site conditions for plantation

Help household to select species to match with their objectives and to meet future markets

5. Management plan

To include plan for input requirements (on an annual basis) - Funds required to carry out management (if any)

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To include projected income and other benefits from forest garden

Funding for forest gardens should come from village forest fund where possible, if there is no money in the fund then the households should apply to the commune for funding for required inputs.

Step 5: Agreement of village forest plan (including all mini-plans) at village meeting with representatives of all interest groups

Step 6: Submission of village forest plan for approval and funding to commune

Approval to be obtained from:

Commune People's Committee

Forest Protection Station

Step 7: Signing of sub-contract between village and commune on basis of agreed forest plan for management of forest lands in village (other than those allocated to individual households under red or green books)

3.0 What support is required?

These steps need to have a practical framework developed for them in the pilot communes

Recommendation:

Short-term support is provided in pilot communes to develop a practical approach to technical forest management

In addition there is also a need for:

Redefinition of roles of the forestry sector organisations, in particular the Forest Enterprises

Skill development of forestry organisations in the silviculture of natural forests for production of diverse products (in particular non-timber forest products)

Skill development in planning, facilitation, business and market assessment

Skill development of the commune in planning, silviculture, monitoring and fund and loan management

50

Skill development of farmers in business management and forest management

51

Part 3: Case studies

Introduction

The work carried out in 10 communes provided the basis for the key issues and method development sections. The information presented here represents a preliminary data base that can be used by staff involved in the development of pilot forest management plans in each of these communes.

Each case study follows a similar format, although in some cases there are gaps where information was not available and will still need to be collected.

At the end of each case study there are a series of issues arising that will need to be considered during the forest planning process.

1.0 Case studies from Ha Giang province

1.1 Tu Nhan Commune, Hoang Sui Phi District

Land data

Total land area 2216 Total Forest land area 1483

Natural forest 290 Plantation forest 662

Bare land 532

Agricultural land 631 Paddy 130 Upland 230

Homegarden 6.4 Fruit trees 18.2

Land with potential for agriculture 247

Residential land 12.5 Other land 88.5

where are most products sold? Hoang Sui Phi town about 6km

Social Data

Numbers of households 462 Number of people 2621 Ethnic group: Nung Tay Chinese La-Chi

52

Institutional matrix: current reality

Table 4: Individual households

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Village management Rules Management and products

Forest land allocation

Natural forest

Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: five villages each have one green book each; one household appointed to protect forest paid 100-150kg rice/year - supplied by each household No. of h’holds: all households in each village Area of land: total 30 ha (divided between five villages: 7.3, 3.3, 2.2, 10.0, 7.2) Expected benefits: firewood and non-timber forest products

only households within village can use village forest, outsiders are not permitted allow collection of dry firewood honey and mushrooms each household can collect allow collection of medicinal herbs but only a few people know which they are not allowed to cut bamboo shoots not allowed to cut green branches violation of rules leads to fines in rice or money

Protection, no management. Each village forest is also a spirit forest and thus is protected for worship (2x per year)

Bare land Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: under green book No of h’holds: 137 Area of land: ? Expected benefits: 100% to the household

All products property of village

If a household needs timber write a letter to village leader with reason for need; payment large pole VND15,000, small pole VND 5,000

Cunninghamia planted in 1972 by Old Age Association, coppiced by village 3 or 4 times since then for production of construction poles

53

Table 5: Green book allocation to villages for natural forest

Issues

Importance of recognition of spirit forest and need to maintain strict protection

Village plantation - want to sell timber on open market but say are not allowed to do so by the Forest Protection Station

Institutional arrangements Managementagreement Village management Rules Management and

products Forest landallocation

Natural forest

Source of funding: noneInstitutional arrangement: five villages each have one green book each; one household appointed to protect forest paid 100-150kg rice/year - supplied by each household No. of h’holds: all households in each village Area of land: total 30 ha (divided between five villages: 7.3, 3.3, 2.2, 10.0, 7.2) Expected benefits: firewood and non-timber forest products

only households within village can use village forest, outsiders are not permitted allow collection of dry firewood honey and mushrooms each household can collect allow collection of medicinal herbs but only a few people know which they are not allowed to cut bamboo shoots not allowed to cut green branches violation of rules leads to fines in rice or money

Protection, no management.Each village forest is also a spirit forest and thus is protected for worship (2x per year)

Bare land Source of funding: noneInstitutional arrangement: under green book No of h’holds: 137 Area of land: ? Expected benefits: 100% to the household

All products property of village

If a household needs timber write a letter to village leader with reason for need; payment large pole VND15,000, small pole VND 5,000

Cunninghamia planted in 1972 by Old Age Association, coppiced by village 3 or 4 times since then for production of construction poles

54

Table 6: Protection and planting contracts for bare land with households

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected Benefits and Rules

Management and products

Protection contracts

Bare land Source of funding: 327 programme Institutional arrangement: Protection contract between individual household and Forest Enterprise. Long term contract for protection - 50 years; sub-contract for planting and tending; each household has a separate design for land indicating what to be planted and where No. of h’holds: 121 households with labour available Area of land: each h’hold has different size area of land depending upon h’hold capacity

Expected benefits: money for labour invested in planting and tending years 1-4 (yr. 1 VND 220,000/ha; yr. 2 VND 350,000/ha; yr. 3-4 VND 290,000/ha); money for protection VND 50,000/ha from the 5th year

All planted products property of state forest enterprise

Resin property of household but has to sell to SFE - VND 1,600/kg. Over last three years 11 households involved in resin tapping

Protection area so no thinning or final harvesting; no active management; resin tapping is allowed

55

Table 7: Management Situation for Forest garden in Tu Nhan commune held under green book (in process of conversion to red book)

Objective Management Product Outcome Constraints

CURRENT

Protection enrichment planting: bamboo - cutting of bamboo cunninghamia, melia

income from bamboo secure water source

Income from bamboo (VND 1 million/year) Water source protected Overmature Cunninghamia and Melia because difficult to get permission to harvest and sell in market

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE TO MOVE FROM

CURRENTSITUATION TO FUTURE OPTIONS

FUTURE

Protection enrichment planting: bamboo, cunninghamia - coppice melia - harvest and sell for timber replant melia

income from bamboo secure water source income from cunninghamia income from melia

Income from bamboo Water source protected coppiced Cunninghamia providing regular income to household Melia harvested and replanted - sale of Melia providing good income to household, improved livelihood status

Procedures preventing easy harvesting and sale of timber technical skills for better management of forest garden business planning skills Knowledge of local and regional markets Access to markets Provision of clear information about what is allowed under green book and red book allocation

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Table 8: Critical watershed area, forest enterprise pine plantations under protection contracts with no thinning, no natural regeneration

Objective Management Product Outcome Constraints

CURRENT

Protection None Protected watershed in short term

Overmature forest and unprotected watershed in long termno benefits to local people (other than D 50,000) cost to government to reafforest area ultimately longer-term local and downstream negative benefits due to degraded watershed

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE TO MOVE FROM

CURRENTSITUATION TO FUTURE OPTIONS?

FUTURE

Protection Thinning Protected watershed Natural regeneration Poles for construction, firewood, employment

protected watershed regenerating forest Sustainable supply of timber improved local livelihoods

Changes required: Policy in critical watershed area - prevents harvesting of trees Lack of knowledge about markets, local, regional, national

Protection Thinning and resin tapping

Protected watershed natural regeneration poles for construction firewood employment resin and cash income to households

protected watershed regenerating forest Sustainable supply of poles improved livelihoods - income and forest product flows

Low prices for resin and poles - need to identify new markets Lack of business planning Short contracts to be changed to long contracts with clear management and business plans

Protection Thinning, resin tapping, harvest of mature trees

Protected watershed natural regeneration poles for construction; firewood employment; resin and cash income to households Supply of construction timber to local & other markets

protected watershed regenerating forest Sustainable supply of poles Sustainable supply of timber improved livelihoods - income and forest product flows

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Table 9: Main products from forest land and their use

Issues:

Clarification of what farmers are allowed to do on red book land. Some farmers thought that they would be able to harvest trees without permission

1.2 Po Lo Commune, Hoang Sui Phi District

Land data:

Total land area 2268 Total Forest land area 1894

Natural forest 510 Plantation forest 450 Bare land 801

Agricultural land 488 Paddy 132 Upland 183 Homegarden 4.2 Fruit trees 17 Tea 29 Land with potential for agriculture 133 Residential land 9.7 Other land 75 where are most products sold? Hoang Sui Phi town

about 6km

Category of forest land Main products Own use Marketed

forest garden 1. bamboo 2. water 3. cunninghamia 4. melia

1. yes 2. yes (only source of

drinking water) 3. yes 4. yes

1. yes 2. no 3. cannot 4. cannot

spirit forest 1. water 2. protection of

sacred site 3. fruits

1. group of households near by

2. village 2x a year for worship

1. no 2. no 3. yes - to local

market (H. Sui Phi)

village managed plantation Cunninghamia poles sold to villagers

Plantation - forest enterprise contracts with individual households

1. resin 1. sold to SFE

58

Social Data:

Numbers of households Data not collected Number of people Ethnic group:

Institutional matrix: current reality

Table 10: Individual households under red books

Issue:

The village leader told farmers that forest land allocated under a red book should be planted under contract with Forest Enterprise. Since farmers do not have access to money for investment in forests they have to accept the investment from the Forest Enterprise. This is a

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and Rules

Management and products

Forest land allocation and protection contracts

Forest gardens, natural forest under 50 year household management

Source of funding: obtain protection money from village through contract signed by village leader with Forest Enterprise for red book land in 1994 Institutional arrangement: red book allocation made No. of h’holds: ? Area of land: allocation between 0.1-0.6 ha per h’hold

Expected benefits: VND 50,000/ha for protection given by village leader from contract with state enterprise. This was given for a 4 year period and will end in 1998

Rules: any harvesting of timber from forest gardens must get permission from FPB

Protection of forest gardens since being paid to protect by Enterprise.

Forest gardens - bare land also under 50 year household tenure

Source of funding: 327 programme through contract signed between village leader and forest enterprise Institutional arrangement: allocated under red book No of h’holds: ? Area of land: ?

Expected benefits: money for labour invested in planting and protection money. They do not have shares in the final harvest, since this is a critical watershed, no harvesting is permitted. Even if it was, the farmers thought that the Forest Enterprise owns the trees since they invested their money in planting them.

Pinus merkusii planted. Expected to manage for resin production

59

clear example of where low interest loans for investment may have helped farmers to raise their own plantations. However, the farmers also noted that they are not keen to take out loans for investment in new crops (such as trees) as they do not know what the markets will be like in the future and feel that it is a high risk strategy. It is particularly risky where credit has to be paid back in three years, whereas tree crops rarely start bringing in income until 10 years. In the case of pine, resin production will begin at 10 years at the earliest. Therefore farmers find it more attractive for the Forest Enterprise to take the risk and supply the investment funds. Again this points to the need for careful business planning linked to forest management to help farmers to make reasonable investment decisions on land use.

Farmers do not have any decision making powers over the future of plantations on their red book land, despite the fact that the red book allows farmers use of the land for 50 years. However, the farmers are not planning this land with a 50 year management plan. Their time horizons for this land are confined to the limit of the protection contract signed with the SFE and the flow of money. They expect the State Forest Enterprise to continue to fund them to protect the plantations. This leads to increased dependency on the State for financial support rather than increasing the capacity of farmers to manage forests for sustainable flow of products.

The lack of critical business analysis concerning choice of species and future markets for resin is also of concern. It is possible that farmers are being encouraged to plant species that have little future in terms of income production.

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Table 11: Village management

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Village management Expected benefits and Rules Management and products

Protection contract

Natural forest

Source of funding: 327 programme - protection contracts between village leader and Forest Enterprise Institutional arrangement: within each village, the residual forest not allocated under red books comes under village protection; each village has own protection rules; No. of h’holds: all households in each village Area of land:?

Expected benefits: protection money VND 50,000/ha to be used for village fund

Rules: only households within village can use village forest, outsiders are not permitted allow collection of dry firewood for own use and sale grass cutting for buffalo hunting is not allowed honey, fruits and mushrooms each household can collect trees along streams are protected to protect water sources fines for cutting of timber; for each 1cm of diameter 2kg of rice must be given (e.g. 20 cm log = 40 kg of rice)

Protection, no active management.

Bare land Source of funding: 327 programme, planting and protection contracts Institutional arrangement: under contract between village leader and Forest Enterprise No of h’holds: ? Area of land: ?

Expected benefits: employment for planting of trees; protection money goes to village funds to be used for community

All trees property of Forest Enterprise

Any action in plantations must be sanctioned by Forest Enterprise

Wait and see management. Expect may be able to tap resin in future

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Table 12: Forest Management under Mass Associations

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Unions Expected Benefits

and Rules Management and

products

Protection contracts

Bareland

Women’s unionSource of funding: 327 programme since 1994 Institutional arrangement: Protection and planting contract between women’s union at the commune level and Forest Enterprise. Contract signed in 1992 No. of h’holds: 117 women involved in planting and tending Area of land: 3.5 ha scattered across commune (essentially an individual tree-planting programme)

Expected benefits: each member involved paid on a labour day basis for planting and tending.

Scattered trees so no management. Not sure what the products will be or who will own them

Bare land

Youth UnionSource of funding: 327 programme since 1994 Institutional arrangement: protection and planting contract between commune level youth union and Forest Enterprise. Contract signed in 1992 No of h’holds: 210 youth members participated in tree-planting campaign Area of land: scattered planting of 10ha of pine across commune - mainly in forest gardens

Expected benefits: protection money kept in central fund to be available for use by members if in difficulty

Scattered trees so no management. Not sure what the products will be or who will own them

Bare land

Veteran’s associationSource of funding: Planted in 1974 under government funding and another area in 1997 under 327 funding Institutional arrangement: protection and planting contract signed by Veterans Association and F.E. in 1994 Area of land: 2 plots - 1.4 ha (1974) and 1.2 ha (1997)

Expected benefits: planting and protection money, since it is so little, they have kept in Association fund to be used as required

No management of old plantation and no resin-tapping; no planned management of new area

Bare land

Old age associationSource of funding: 327 programme and planting and protection contract with F.E Institutional arrangement: contract between commune association and F.E signed in 1997 Area of land: 1.3 ha in one place

Expected benefits: money for planting and protection money

No plans for how pine plantation should be managed

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Grazing land

This has become a residual land category as it has increasingly become identified as suitable for plantation. Since there is money available both for planting and protection, this land has increasingly be placed under a new landuse. Villagers said that since the area of land available for grazing has declined there have been significant changes in grazing practice. There has been a shift from free-grazing to tended grazing with livestock tended by children and older people. The villagers said that the practice of tended grazing has only predominated since 1984, due to increased pressure on land for both agriculture and forestry.

1.3 Nam Dich commune, Hoang Sui Phi District

MRDP supports one village in this commune - Thanh Loi

Land data:

Total land area 1699 Total Forest land area 1328

Natural forest 819 Plantation forest 98 Bare land 411

Agricultural land 722 Paddy 78 Hill fields 110 Homegarden 6.4 Fruit trees 15 Tea 50.8 Land with potential for agriculture 46.2 Residential land 12.5 Other land 50.7 where are most products sold? Local market in commune

where most products are sold, particularly at the Sunday market

Social Data:

Number of villages 9 Numbers of households 253 Number of people 1331 Ethnic group: Tay 189 Nung 3 Dao 7 Mong 42 La Chi 2 Kinh 10

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Thanh Loi village (Nam Dich commune) institutional matrix: current reality No funding under the 327 programme as this is not part of the critical watershed area. The only source of funding or inputs is the MRDP.

Table 13: Individual households - Thanh Loi village

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Rules Management and products

Forest land allocation

Forest gardens, natural forest under 50 year household management

Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: red book allocated in 1996 No. of h’holds: 100% h’holds have red books for forest land Area of land: each h’hold has between 2-17 ha (area based on land household has traditionally used) Expected benefits: 100% to the household

All products property of household, have to get permission to cut trees first from commune and then from FPB

Bamboo can be cut without any permission

According to individual household objectives

Forest gardens - bare land

Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: red book No of h’holds: ? Area of land: ? Expected benefits: 100% to the household

All products property of household

Planting for production: Cunninghamia for construction timber

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Table 14: Village agreements and natural forest

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Village management Rules Management and products

Village agreement

Natural forest

Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: each village manages all forests within boundary of village, apart from those under red books. Only five villages have natural forests, some of which are spirit forests No. of h’holds: all households in each village Area of land: total 30 ha (divided between five villages: 7.3, 3.3, 2.2, 10.0, 7.2) Expected benefits: firewood and non-timber forest products

only households within village can use village forest, outsiders are not permitted. However, if a village does not have natural forest of its own, can ask permission from other village to collect products from individual forest gardens allow collection of dry firewood allow to cut branches for firewood mushrooms and fruits each household can collect cutting of timber is prohibited, fines based on FPB regulations (high fine for high quality timber etc) not allowed to cut bamboo shoots, I shoot taken fine = VND 5,000

Protection, no management. Each village forest is also a spirit forest and is also strictly protected for worship (2x per year)

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Table 15: Institutional arrangements for bare land reforestation

a) Village

b) Group of households

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Village Expected Benefits and Rules

Management and products

village agreement

Bare land - Cunninghamia plantation

Source of funding: none originally planted by cooperative Institutional arrangement: under village management for last 10 years

Expected benefits: All products property of village; construction timber sold to village members; money goes to village fund and cooperative fund

If a household needs timber write a letter to village leader with reason for need

Cunninghamia planted 10 years ago coppiced regularly for local need.

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Group of households Expected Benefits and Rules

Management and products

MRDPcontract

Bare land - Cunninghamia plantation

Source of funding: MRDPInstitutional arrangement: contract signed between head of Village Management Group and DARD; individual households get money for planting and protection No of h’holds: 11 h’holds involved with contiguous areas of land

Expected benefits: All products from Cunninghamia belong to 11 households; in addition involvement with project means the households get access to other project benefits such as NPK and fruit trees

Cunninghamia will be managed on coppice system by each household

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c) Commune

Grazing land

Under the old system of grazing management, each village would manage its own area of grazing land. However, there are no more areas of permanent grazing and now livestock mainly graze in forest gardens. The villagers attribute this change to land allocation under red books and the afforestation of former grazing areas,

Issues

The rationale for village managed forests was clearly provided by the commune members. They said that they had decided to keep those large areas of forest remote from villages under village management because it is too difficult for individual or groups of households to protect these areas. It is better therefore to have an agreed set of rules that everyone has responsibility to comply with.

1.4 Tan Lap Commune, Bac Quang District

Land data:

No agricultural or forest land allocation has been carried out in this commune so the land data was not complete. It is a very large commune that has already been divided into two.

The Commune is part of a special project that is directly managed by the District. The protection contract project holder is the Planning Section.

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Commune Expected Benefits and Rules Management

Commune agreement

Bare land - Cunninghamia plantation

Source of funding: none originally planted by cooperative 30 years ago Institutional arrangement: under commune management

Expected benefits: All products property of commune; construction timber sold to commune members and for use by commune for school construction etc; individuals have to pay VND 30-35,000 for a 30-35cm stem

If a household needs timber write a letter to commune with reason for need (people do not apply because timber is available in forest gardens for no payment)

Cunninghamia planted 30 years ago coppiced for commune need.

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Total land area 12,000 Total Forest land area

Natural forest 5,000 Plantation forest 194 Bare land

Agricultural land no data Paddy 79 Upland 31 (maize/cassava) Homegarden no data Fruit trees “ Land with potential for agriculture

“

Residential land 12 Other land where are most products sold?

Tan Quang and Bac Quang (8km & 16km)

Social Data:

Number of villages 7 Numbers of households 291 Number of people 1884 Ethnic group: Dao 198 Pa then 80 Hmong 11 Kinh 2

Food security:

50% households 1-2 months food shortage (but have money to buy rice)

20% households 3 months food shortage 10% households 4 months food shortage

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Institutional matrix: current reality Tan Lap commune

Table 16: Natural Forest and individual household use Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and Rules Management and products

Allocation under old green book

Forest gardens, natural forest

Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: land allocated in 1975 and again in 1993 to new households; allocation done by FPB. Duration of green book is for 20 years, so in most cases a renewal process is underway No. of h’holds: 100% Area of land:

Allowed to cut trees for construction but need permission from FPS Can sell bamboo

Active management of forest gardens for a diversity of products, includes enrichment planting of Cinnamonum Active management of bamboo for sale to workshop in Bac Quang (makes chopsticks) (Class 1 bamboo: VND 2,500 Class 2 bamboo: VND 2,000 Class 3 bamboo: VND 1,500 No management plan for bamboo (Average annual income for h’holds involved in sale = VND 3-4 million) Firewood is also sold from forest gardens on the roadside

Table 17: Bare land: household contractsInstitutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and Rules

Management and products

Protection and planting contract

Bare land Source of funding: 327 programme Institutional arrangement: individual household contracts with Planning Section No. of h’holds: 100 Area of land:194 ha scattered in 7 places, area of individual plot varies from 16-50ha

Do not know what the terms of the contract are Benefits are entirely from payment for planting work carried out and from protection money

The project-holder suggested to each household to plant Mangletia, they were not involved in the decision

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Table 18: Natural forest: Commune contract but individual protection

Table 19: Natural forest: Village managed forests

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual management Expected benefits and Rules Management and products

Protection contract

Natural forest

Source of funding: 327 programme - protection contract signed between commune and Planning Section of the District. Duration of contract is five years Institutional arrangement: within each village areas for protection are allocated to households No. of h’holds: all households in each village Area of land:?

Expected benefits: protection money VND 50,000/ha allocated to each household in village by commune

Rules: allow collection of dry firewood for own use and sale honey, bamboo shoots, medicinal herbs and mushrooms each household can collect not allowed to cut trees for timber or to cultivate agricultural crops in these areas

Protection, no active management.

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Village management Expected benefits and Rules

Management and products

Village agreement

Natural forest

Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: all forests within boundary of village, apart from those under green books or protection and planting contracts, are managed by each village. No. of h’holds: all households in each village Area of land:

Expected benefits: Free collection of products for all village members following certain village defined rules Only households within village can use village forest, outsiders are not permitted. If anyone violates village rules they will be reported to FPS If bamboo is cut to cultivate land, a fine of VND 5,000 will be applied for each stem cut If timber is cut for own use - no fine If timber is cut for sale, the cutter will be reported to FPS

Protection, no management. Each village forest is also a spirit forest and is also strictly protected for worship (2x per year)

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Issue:

In this commune, the villagers were keen to have all forest land under individual allocation, even though there are large areas of land extremely remote from the village which would be difficult for any individual household to protect. Possibly, this response is because there has been no formal land allocation process carried out in this commune so each household is keen to stake claim over as large an area as possible. This experience is contrary to other communes where land allocation has already occurred where generally more remote forests remain under village management with formal protection systems in place.

The villagers also indicated a preference for red books for forest land rather than green books, as the red book would allow them to use the land as collateral to borrow money from banks.

1.5 Ngan La commune, Yen Minh District, Ha Giang

Land data:

Total land area 4,750 Total Forest land area 3,200

Natural forest 1971 Plantation forest 0 Bare land 1279 Forest garden 501 Agricultural land Paddy 6.5 (2 crops)

129 (1 crop) Upland: rice maizecassava

604050

Social Data:

Number of villages 15 Numbers of households 450 Number of people 3035 Ethnic group: Dao 399 h’holds (2670) H’mong 51 h’ holds (365)

Food security:

May to July is a food shortage period Income sources are mainly tea and livestock Shifting cultivation practised with a 2-3 year fallow.

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No forest protection contracts but a verbal agreement made between the commune and FIB to protect the forest, but there is no money for protection.

Potential for natural regeneration in this commune is high. On land allocated to farmers under green books, farmers are allowing natural regeneration of khao together with planting with bamboo and tea. The khao yields a good timber after 15 years. The land was allocated in 1994 and in 1996 FPB and Land Administration began the process of converting the land to red book status.

Remaining data to be collected.

1.6 Viet Lam, VI Xuyen District, Ha Giang

Land data:

Total land area 3774 Total Forest land area 1915

Natural forest 1108 Production forest 527.9 Protection forest 580 Plantation: Production Protection

703 104

Bare land (rocks etc) 1200 Agricultural land 517 Paddy Home gardens 169 Perennial industrial crops 3 Ponds and lakes 20

703 ha are allocated to households with green books 1212 ha are under commune protection

Social Data:

Number of villages 6 Numbers of households 810 Number of people 3788 Ethnic group: Thai (majority) Kinh Nung Hooa (Chinese) Pa-sen

Remaining data to be collected.

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1.7 Suoi Dong village, Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang Province

Table 20: Institutional matrix current reality (data collection to be completed)

Issues:

Villagers want longer-term protection contracts, currently only for five years and do not know what will happen when contract ends. Want to have contracts that are at least 30 years. This will allow them to plan for long-term management of the Mangletia and for at least two rotations.

Need for management advice for plantation and protection areas.

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Rules Management

Forest land allocation (green book)

Forest gardens

Source of funding: none Institutional arrangement: green book Area of land: 5 ha close to households No of h’holds: 13 Expected benefits: all products, to include any naturally regenerating and planted trees

Each forest garden managed according to the objectives of each household

forest land for planting (bare)

Source of funding: MRDP VND 250,000 per h’hold (includes materials for nursery, seed). Each household got VND 25,000 Institutional arrangement: green book land divided between each household Area of land: 19.8 ha close to households No of h’holds: 31 Expected benefits: all products, to include 100% of planted Mangletia and cinnamonum and any naturally regenerating trees

Each household makes own decisions about which trees to be left depending on their knowledge of its value Medicinal plants belong to the plot holder Each household owns trees they planted on each plotBamboo can be cut by each household

Mangletia will be managed on a coppice system

Groups of households Village

protection contracts

natural/ secondary forest

Source of funding: MRDP funded at VND 50,000/ha. Institutional arrangement: forest land area divided between five groups all households are members of the groups. Informal division of the land Area of land: - 50 ha - closer to village No of h’holds involved: previously 29 households - split to 31 households Expected benefits: Each household gets a proportion of protection money, no harvesting alllowed

Source of funding: MRDP funded at VND 50,000/ha institutional arrangement; management agreement between village management group and technical section DARD [no legal standing] Area of land: 72.5 ha - remote from village No of h’holds involved:4 households on management board - (Extensionist, vice-head of village, youth union representative and guard) Expected benefits: to 4 households VND 25,0000/month/person for protection activities; VND 20-25,000/month to the village management group and the residual to the credit and savings fund; no harvesting of timber allowed

Village and group managed forest:

If timber for construction required - villager submits application to village management group who then apply to FPB If small trees are cut without permission, offender will be reminded of policy not to cut If large trees are cut or more than 4-5 small trees then the offender wlll be punished and report sent to FPB Households are free to cut 10 bamboo, if more required permission needed from VMG. If cut without permission fine VND 1,000 per bamboo cut Firewood can be collected freely by households and sold in market if surplus

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2.0 Case studies from Yen Bai province

2.1 De Xu Phin Commune, Mu Cang Chai District

Land data:Total land area 4,600

Total Forest land area 2,194

Natural forest 1,440

Plantation forest 650

Enrichment 116

Agricultural land 946.7

Paddy 649

Hill fields 296.7

Homegarden no data

Fruit trees no data

Tea none

Land with potential for agriculture

no data

Residential land no data

Other land no data

where are most products sold?

Few products sold in local market Pung Luan (Enterprise HQ)

Market data:

Firewood Pung Luan - 2km VND 2,000 per bundle (poor households sell 4 bundles per day)

H’mong apple

Van Chan - 90km (traders come to village on agreed day)

VND 400/kg, whole commune sells 20,000kg

Pine timber Pong Luan - 2km VND 250,000 cu.m

Yen Bai - 170 km VND 600,000 cu.m (transport costs are VND 2.5 million for 6 cu.m)

Pine seed Sold to Enterprise no data

Resin

Sold to Enterprise who sold to trader from Lang Son (thought to be selling to China)

VND 3,000/kg

Honey Pung Luan VND 35,000/litre

Medicinal herbs

sold but no data available

Bamboo shoots

Only for household consumption

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Social Data:

Number of villages 5 Numbers of households 204 Number of people 1501 Ethnic group: H’mong 204

Food security

50-60% households 4-5 month food shortage 15-20% 1-3 months 20% no food shortage

Forest Enterprise

Half the land area of the commune is owned by the Forest Enterprise.

Institutional matrix: current reality De Xu Phin commune

Table 21: Bare forest land and individual household use

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and Rules Management and products

Allocation under green book and planting and protection contract

Bare land Source of funding: 327 programme for planting and protection Institutional arrangement: green books granted in 1995 No. of h’holds: 100% of h’holds in De Xu Phin village but not other villages have red books for agriculture and green books for forest land Area of land: ?

When pine matures, allowed to tap resin

Rules:

responsible for protection of land, including construction fire breaks

No active management at this stage

Some households have planted fruit trees on degraded land

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Table 22: Contract between Forest Enterprise and Commune

Table 23: Contract between Forest Enterprise and Commune

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and

Rules Management and

products

Protection Natural forest

Source of funding: 327 programme Institutional arrangement: contract between commune and Forest Enterprise, area to be protected determined by Enterprise (on basis of money available), commune divides area equally between villages, village takes collective responsibility for protection of forest, but money for protection divided equally between households; contract renewed annually dependent on amount of money available No. of h’holds: 100% Area of land: 1440 ha, although this is not all under paid protection each year

Each household receives money for protection – VND 27,000/ha or the rice equivalent

If construction wood required, household gets permission from head of village and commune

Cinnamon, medicinal herbs and incense root freely collected

Rules:

Group established for fire control, prepares firebreaks. This group is paid from the total sum provided for protection to the commune

The only technical intervention is firebreaks

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and

Rules Management and

products

Protection Natural forest

Source of funding: Fixed Settlement Programme Institutional arrangement:contract between commune and Forest Enterprise, area to be protected determined by Enterprise (on basis of money available), commune divides area equally between villages, village takes collective responsibility for protection of forest, but money for protection divided equally between households; contract renewed annually dependent on amount of money available No. of h’holds: 100% Area of land: closer to village than land protected under 327 Programme

Each household receives money for protection – VND 27,000/ha or the rice equivalent

Collect firewood because close to village

Rules:

Group established for fire control, prepares firebreaks. This group is paid from the total sum provided for protection to the commune

The only technical intervention is firebreaks

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Table 24: Protection and enrichment contract between De Xu Phin village and Forest Enterprise

Table 25: Contract for planting between De Xu Phin village and Forest Enterprise

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and

Rules Management and

products

Protection Degraded natural forest

Source of funding: MRDP Institutional arrangement:contract between village and Forest Enterprise. Individual plots allocated to households, generally areas they have traditionally used close to their houses. Land was allocated on basis of household capacity but unclear what the boundaries of each plot are. No. of h’holds: 100% Area of land: 100 ha

Each household will receive all products from the trees planted (mango, wild apple, rattan and timber species). Also thought that they would get 100% of trees already on land (this is not the case)

Seedlings supplied by the Enterprise

Each household will also receive VND 27,000/ha

No management All products from the planted trees – fruits as well as timber

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and Rules Management and

products

Protection Former grazing land

Source of funding:MRDPInstitutional arrangement: contract between commune and Forest Enterprise. Individual plots allocated to households. Paid to plant land with pine. 20 ha of land planted in 1996 not allocated to individual households but managed as village resource No. of h’holds: 100% Area of land: 100 ha

Each household paid for labour for planting and for protection Do not know for how long protection money will be paid

Village plot: households paid for labour for planting and tending

Rules: all forests are protected by protection group in village (paid on basis of numbers of days – VND 1,000/ha/day)

Prevent logging, fire and shifting cultivation Fines for cutting timber = VND 50,000 per tree Collecting of non-timber forest products is freely allowed

Will thin individual plots when mature Interplanted with mango, Cunninghamia, H’mong apple, Schima

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Issues:

There are very low levels of understanding about the contents or the implications of contracts in this commune. In particular villagers were unaware that they would only receive the products of the trees they have planted under the MRDP agreement. They had thought that they would receive 100% of all products from all trees on the land whether they had planted them or not. This indicates a major problem with the type of information support provided through the project to this commune, and reinforces the need for careful local forest planning based on involvement of all the users of forest resources. This would replace the current approach which appears to rely on contact with a few key individuals who may or may not communicate fully with all the other households in the commune.

2.2 Kim Noi Commune, Mu Cang Chai District

Land data

Total land area 3,596 Total Forest land area 510

Natural forest 107 Plantation forest 403

Agricultural land 256 Paddy 88 Hill fields 94 Other 41 Home garden 26 Perennial crops 4.5 Land with potential for agriculture 2,804 Residential land 7.5

Social Data:

Number of villages 7 Numbers of households 203 Number of people 1,393 Ethnic group: H’mong Majority Thai 1 village

No systematic data collection was possible in this commune because they were not expecting us, due to a change in our itinerary. These notes are from a discussion with the Deputy Head of the Forest Planting Group in the commune.

The Forest Planting Group (FPG) was established in the commune to handle the contracts with different agencies for tree planting. The

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function of the group is to assess the amount of land each household in the commune is prepared to plant and then prepare an Annual Plan of Operations for the commune for afforestation. The target for the commune is based on the amount of money available through project funds managed by the Forest Enterprise. /Meetings will be held in each village convened by the village or clan head to identify the amount of land to be planted. If the commune FPG considers this to be too little they will request the village to identify more areas for planting. The FPG will also monitor the quality of implementation of planting. The FPG is also responsible for monitoring the protection contracts.

Issues for consideration in Mu Cang Chai

There are interesting and significant differences between the market in Mu Cang Chai and in Hoang Sui Phi. In Mu Cang Chai there was little local fresh produce for sale, nearly all the goods were imported. There is no Sunday market. People indicated that this was because there is a very limited amount of surplus food produced. There also appeared to be limited trade in non-timber forest products, but this may also be due to the season, rather than the lack of trade. However, it appeared that there was very poor development of local markets and this will have to be carefully considered when planning any local forest management initiative.

Recommendations:

1. Careful market analysis of timber and non-timber forest products prior to starting any forest management planning

2. A careful risk assessment should be made before any interventions are proposed in existing land use systems due to the high vulnerability of farmers. There is a very high opportunity cost of labour in these areas and any transfer of labour from agriculture to forestry carries a high food security risk. There should be clear gains to households from any increased labour investment in forests in such high poverty areas.

2.3 Nam Lanh commune, Van Chan District

Land data:

Total land area 7,000 Total Forest land area 2,900 Natural forest 1,420 Plantation - tea and cinnamon 100 Agricultural land 300 Paddy 35 Hill fields 100 Land with potential for agriculture 1,000 Residential land 3.8

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Social Data:

Number of villages 6 Numbers of households 400 Number of people 2,500 Ethnic group: Dao 2321 Hmong 151 Thai 78 Kinh 22 Tay 5

Institutional matrix: current reality Nam Lanh commune

Table 26: Bare forest land and village management in Nam Cai village

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Village and individual households

Expected benefits and Rules Management and products

Allocation under green book and planting and protection contract

Bare land Source of funding: 327 programme for planting and protection Institutional arrangement: one green book granted to whole village for all forest land. Area of forest is so small it cannot be divided between households Also one planting and protection contract for same area of forest land. Contract is between Forest Enterprise and village. No. of h’holds: 100% Area of land: 34 ha

Payment for each household for planting carried out (payment in rice or cash dependent on what FE provides, it is not based on the decision of the village)

Each household contributes one person day for protection (payment in rice for number of days)

100% of benefits from tea and cinnamon accrue to household who planted them

Rules: Only villagers from Nam Cai village can use the forest land and collect:

Bamboo shoots Mushrooms, medicinal plants

Timber can be cut for own use, if permission granted by head of village, commune, Enterprise and FPS (need permission from FE because timber is only available on FE land)

Permission to cut timber from green book land is granted by village leader

Tea and cinnamon planted on bare land

Cinnamon will be managed for production of bark and sold to state trading company (VND 3,500/kg)

Bamboo shoots are sold to traders who come to village

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Table 27: Ta Lanh - Contract between village and Forest Enterprise

Table 28: Nam To - No natural forest in the village

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Groups Expected benefits and Rules Management and products

Protection contract

Natural forest

Source of funding: 327 programme for planting and protection Institutional arrangement: two groups have signed contracts with FE for protection of natural forest No. of h’holds: 29Area of land: 400 ha

Payment for each household for protection on basis of labour days. Do not know for how many more years money for protection will be paid

Rules: Total protection of forest, do not allow collection of firewood

Only people of Ta Lanh village are allowed to use forest

Are allowed to collect medicinal plants

No active management, closed forest policy

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Individual households Expected benefits and Rules Management and products

Green book Forest gardens

Bare and degraded forest land

Source of funding:none Institutional arrangement: green book for each household No. of h’holds: 100% Area of land: ?

Planted cinnamon and tea, expect to get 100% of products from these

Also collect firewood from forest gardens

Planting of cinnamon and tea

Selective removal of natural regeneration

Institutional arrangements

Management agreement Group of households Expected benefits and Rules

Management and products

Protection contract

Reafforested Forest Enterprise owned land

Source of funding: 327 programme Institutional arrangement:protection contract between 4 households and forest enterprise No. of h’holds: 4 Area of land: 32 ha

Protection money (VND 27,000/ha/yr) paid on basis of numbers of labour days. Previous to 1997-98 they were paid in money now they are only paid in rice

No management just protection

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Issues

Nam Lanh is supported by the MRDP and has had a land use planning exercise carried out, supported by MRDP. The results of this exercise were shown to us. Two maps were produced, one showing the current status of land use in the commune, and the second showing the proposed land use. Interestingly, the commune people's committee knew little about the origins of the map, either the current or the proposed and said that they were not involved in their construction. When we looked at the future proposals to reforest large areas currently under upland agriculture those at the meeting expressed their concern and said that they had not been part of this decision.

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Annexes

Annex 1: A Photo-journey through Hoang Sui Phi Market: A rapid survey of NTFPs from forest lands

A survey was carried out in Hoang Sui Phi market to get a superficial understanding of the flow of non-timber forest products into a local market.

Wood Products

Product Price Distance from market

Firewood:

Pine twigs D 5,500

Broad-leaved firewood thicker dimension (miscellaneous)

D 5,00

Quarter cut billets D 10,000

Construction poles - Cunninghamia (small)

D 10,000

Construction poles - Cunninghamia (large)

D 35,000

Product Price Distance travelled

Chewing bark (mostly used by women) D 1,500 per bundle walked 3-4 hours

Fern (for making fine baskets) D 4,000 per bundle Po Lo commune

Bamboo shoots D 1,000 per bundle Po Lo commune

Wooden ladles D 3,000 per ladle ?

Mushrooms (ear-wood) D 4,000 per pile 2-3 hours walk

Flat cap mushroom D 6,000 per pile Ban Luoc commune

Mountain tea D 1,000 per pile 2 hours walk (Nam Van commune)

Bamboo baskets (different types) D 6,000 per basket D 5,000 per basket walked 3-4 hours

Beetles D 1,000 per pile Po Lo commune

Bark (looked different from previous bark) D 2,000 per bundle ?

Mountain tea fruit (for drink) D 500 per whole bag ?

Rat type animal - alive (caught in forest) D 18,000 15 km away

Birds (nightingales) D 30,000

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Annex 2: Landscape management issues

In this photo annex, several different landscapes are illustrated together with notes on some of the land management issues raised. The photos illustrate the importance of considering the linkages between different land uses and land use decisions. This is particularly true when considering water management in the landscape.

Annex 3: A proposed format for a contract between a Commune People's Committee and District People's Committee for management of forest lands in a commune

The suggestions here cover the types of heading to be included in a contract. However, this should be thoroughly reviewed prior to starting any pilot activities. Rules for management of the Commune Forestry Development Fund will also need to be developed.

Title: Contract between District People's Committee and Commune People's Committee for the coordination of the protection and management of all forests and forest lands in the commune

Date:

Name of commune:

Contractor: District People's Committee name of appropriate person

Contractee: Commune People's Committee name of appropriate person

Responsibilities:

a) District People's Committee

To respond to requests from commune for advice, support, conflict negotiation

To approve commune forest plan (comprising village forest plans)

To monitor and audit functioning of commune forestry programme

b) Commune People's Committee -

Overseeing of village forest plans

Maintenance of protection of function of forests

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Management of inputs to village forest plans

Liaison between commune and district for supply of advice

Rights:

a) District People's Committee

b) Commune People's Committee

Benefit-sharing arrangements: 100% of benefits remain within commune

Monitoring arrangements: role of FPS and commune

Duration of contract: 20-50 years (to be decided for each commune, dependent on status of forests)

Arrangements for auditing of Commune Forestry Development Fund

Penalties for infringements: to include conditions for termination of contract by either party

Signatures of both parties:

Annex 4: Zonation of Ha Giang Province and ways forward-Ram Sharma

This Annex is of particular importance to the development of the IFAD project and support to the Forestry component. The main findings are incorporated in the main report. However, the detailed descriptions of problems and opportunities provide useful background.

Zone I: The northern-most Zone I is a rocky plateau consisting of the districts of Yen Minh, Quan Ba, Meo Vac and Dong Van, and is characterised by exposed rocks of limestone, rocky and poor soils, dry winters, high demand for fuelwood, severe water shortage during March-May, degraded forest cover, low rainfall (average 1400 mm) lasting from April to October and high altitude (1000 - 1600 m). Almost all the forests in this Zone have been categorized as protection forests for watersheds. Nearly 34% of the total population live in this Zone and also has the highest average population density (80 persons/km2) of all the three zones in Ha Giang province.

Zone II: This Zone, comprising the districts of Hoang Su Phi and Xin Man, is characterised by highly dissected terrain but more favorable rainfall (1800-2300 mm) and dry winter. The topography is mountainous (1000-1500 m) with high slopes and poor soil with low humus content, thin soil layers prone to erosion and low water retention capacity. The rainy period is shorter by two months and,

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therefore, water scarcity is experienced. It has mixed ethnic composition consisting 15 ethnic groups and the average population density is 60 persons/square Km (17% of the total population of the province).

Zone III: This Zone, covering the districts of Hi Giang, Bac Me, Bac Quang and Vi Xuyen, is better in comparison to Zones I & II with respect to forest cover and perennial streams of water. The annual rainfall is one of the highest in the country (2500-3200 mm). The hills are lower (50 - 1000 m) and soil depth is comparatively more. A substantial part of the Zone consists of flat valleys with Lo and Gam rivers, making it suitable for forestry and agriculture. Infrastructure is better in terms of road and communication. Typically despite being more favorable environment in terms of natural resources, the average population density is the lowest (60 persons/square Km. - constituting 43% of the total population) among the three Zones.

Land-Use Economy of Ha Giang

The land-use systems in Ha Giang have undergone a tremendous change due mainly to Government land allocation policies pursued from the 1980's, in particular the resettlement programme, the abolition of the cooperative system, agricultural land allocation and the ongoing programme of forest land allocation started since 1993. As a result the traditional smallholder agricultural systems have undergone substantial change. This process is still continuing taking on board the economic liberalization as a part of the process of Doi Moi. For example, at the local level in Quan Ba district we came across commercial plantations of pea for export to Taiwan. The backward and forward linkages of such positive developments are important for the socio-economic development of the country which has until recently experienced food shortages.

The land in Ha Giang is characterized by red or yellow soils with low pH (4.0 - 5.5) and low levels of organic matter. The agricultural productivity is low due to poor soils and a lack of water in the dry season results in food scarcity. Absence of markets has also resulted in a lack of incentives for the production of fruits and vegetables by the farmers better endowed with resources.

There are strong inter-sectoral linkages in the uplands of Ha Giang as a result of which the roots of many problems being faced in the forestry sector in fact lie outside the sector. This means that the solution to such problems would many times come from outside the forestry sector. In fact the lack of market economy in the uplands of Ha Giang has been a major constraint to the socio-economic development of the province. On the other hand positive Government interventions in terms of enacting appropriate policies and establishment of proper institutions have been constrained due to weak awareness and resulting lack of political support for development programmes in remote provinces such as Ha Giang. The inadequacy of proper delivery systems, high dependence on land-based resources, lack of off-farm income generation activities,

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high levels of illiteracy and lack of popular participation of upland people in the development programmes seem to be other important reasons for forestry sector problems such as deforestation, soil erosion and shifting cultivation. Nearly 38% of the total land area of the province has slope of more than 35 degrees putting a major constraint on the sustainable utilization of land resources.

Agriculture and forestry account for 42% of the total GDP of the province as per the projections of the Five Year Plan (1996-2000) for the socio-economic development of Ha Giang. The strategy for agriculture development seems to be based on the introduction of high yielding varieties, and increasing the area under wet rice cultivation. In a capital scarce but surplus labour economy of Vietnam, the land resources are being made available for economic development by diverting forest lands for agriculture. As an illustration, nearly 100,000 ha of forest land is presently being converted to agriculture annually. Having seen the spectacular success of agriculture land allocation, the Government policy on forestry attempts to increase the areas under forest protection and management by allocating forest lands to individual household and communities, thereby reducing shifting cultivation by increasing access and control of hitherto common pool resources.

The forest land in Ha Giang is classified into four categories: protection forest, production forest, special use forest and bare land. With the issue of a ban on logging, the Government policy ensures an increase in protection forests from that of production. The forestry sub-component of IFAD project is focused on watershed protection and management which will be commented upon in detail.

Forest Land Management Practices: A Review

The following description is based on our impressions and observations from the field visits. As there are distinct variations among the three Zones, it was thought necessary to understand present management practices of forest lands in all the three zones so that realistic recommendations can be made for future forest management planning.

Most of the forest areas in Ha Giang are secondary forests which have come up after primary forests were subjected to resettlement, shifting cultivation, and clear-felling. However, we saw some sacred (spirit) forests which have remained intact and gave us glimpses of erstwhile multistory tropical forests which must have been extensive in the past.

The following forest land management practices were identified during our field visits:

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Forest Land Management in Zone I:

Special Use Forests: We were told that some forests in this Zone have been designated as special use forests, particularly for wildlife and nature conservation, but we could not visit these areas as the focus of our field visits was on protection and watershed forests. These forests have potential value for biodiversity, and endangered plant and animal species. It emerged during field discussions that these forests have strict provisions for conservation and human interference is minimized by enacting rules for punishments. However, the implementation of these laws is posing problems as there are many villages in and around these forests who depend on these areas for their daily use for fuelwood, fodder, timber for construction, medicinal herbs and other subsistence needs.

Except for the enforcement of rules and regulation not much is done for the management of these forests, particularly for biodiversity conservation. In many cases even the management boards for these areas have not so far been set up.

Production Forests: There are no formal production forests (either natural or planted) in this Zone, although some management of allocated forests lands to households for production is envisaged once they receive red books after the present process of allocation is completed.

Protection Forests: The Government places a high priority on protection forests and, therefore, almost all the forests (except special use forests) in Zone I have been designated as protection forests mainly for watershed conservation through protection of existing forests, establishment of natural regeneration and reforestation. These forests include plantations of Pines, Cunninghmii and Sao developed by the Forest Enterprise. Individual households and village communities are contracted for the protection of such forests by entering into agreements for forest protection and natural regeneration. The objective is to control soil erosion and ensure regular water supply. Except for protection contracts no management principles are being implemented in such forests.

Bare Land & Shifting Cultivation: The extent of bare land is the largest in this Zone and is being used by villagers for their livestock grazing and shifting cultivation (forest fallow/swidden). Farmers are not interested in the allocation of such bare lands since they require large inputs for their reclamation which poor farmers cannot afford. Although shifting cultivation is not allowed under the law, the practice has been going on a large scale in this Zone. While traveling from Quan Ba to Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac we saw extensive areas being put under slash and burn. Despite Government special programmes on eradication of shifting cultivation through sedentarization and resettlement of shifting cultivators, the practice of shifting cultivation continues due mainly to

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its high productivity in the short-term and the socio-economic milieu of the uplands.

Shifting cultivation systems were traditionally sustainable due to low population pressures and long fallow periods. But currently fallow periods in this Zone have been considerably reduced to 2-3 years due mainly to high population pressures. As elsewhere in the tropical world, villagers who lack capital to buy inputs required for fixed cultivation, utilize forest biomass through slash and burn to enhance soil fertility by releasing nutrients. This instant land fertility combined with surplus family labour makes shifting cultivation as a low input but high output land management system and is an attractive option to resource poor farmers.

The practice has now become a major cause of forest land degradation and indeed is unsustainable in the changed context in which many parameters responsible for its sustainabilty have now been altered. For instance, productive land resources are unavailable due to the rapid increase in population, soil infertility and large scale immigration. As a result the fallow period, which used to be adequate (say 25-30 years) for forest land productivity recuperation, has now shortened to 2-3 years, thereby making it almost a permanent cultivation system. Farmers many times adopt a combination of shifting cultivation on upper hill slopes and permanent wet rice cultivation in valleys. Additionally, they combine intensive land-use systems comprising home garden, forest garden, fish pond, livestock and tea cultivation.

It appears to us that almost all the forest lands in Zones I and II have undergone a shifting cultivation cycle as a result of which secondary forests, mainly of bamboo, are seen all around. This combined with the dramatic impact of deforestation during periods of war have left the forests impoverished, requiring extensive land husbandry practices for their rejuvenation and rehabilitation.

Agriculture on Forest Lands: The entire Zone faces food shortages for at least for three months in a year, although the severity of food shortage varies to a great extent among people in the dry districts of Dong Van and Meo Vac. As a result, villagers are forced to cultivate wherever they can find some soil, even on very high slopes and in between outcrops of limestone rocks (as was seen in part 1 of the report, section 1.4 the photo-characterisation of the provinces). We saw highly erodible and steep slopes being put under cultivation of maize and cassava, often after practicing slash and burn. Cassava is widely grown in this Zone due to the unsuitability of the land and water shortages for rice cultivation. It is the main source of soil erosion as its plantation (unlike rice cultivation) requires the making of large holes in fields.

Forest Garden : Although a formal allocation of forest gardens has not gone as quickly as planned, the villagers have informally identified such lands among themselves in many areas of this Zone. All the 15 villages in Ngam La commune of Yen Minh district have forest

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gardens (501 ha allocated to each household with between 1.0 - 4.0 ha each) allocated to them. In 1991 villagers have entered into an informal agreement with the staff of the FPB but Red Books have not been given to them so far. Interestingly nearly 10% of the households refused to receive forest garden lands on the plea that their present freedom of practising shifting cultivation wherever they want would be curtailed. Bamboo was the main species in all the forest gardens visited by us. Villagers use forest gardens for meeting their domestic needs but also sell bamboo shoots. Villagers have not planted any plantations, as the Commune visited is not covered under any government programme. The District Peoples Committee has now selected this Commune for the implementation of the IFAD project.

Forest Land Management Practices in Zone II:

Almost all the forests in this Zone are conspicuous by the absence of large trees. Most of the forests are secondary forests developed as a result of disturbance due to war, relocation and shifting cultivation. Grasses and bamboo have come up extensively as early colonizers in the primary succession of vegetation on the abandoned patches of forest lands. Due to low economic opportunities and awareness, shifting cultivation is still continuing as a major source of subsistence needs for people who lack both capital and land. No management of forest lands is being done particularly for encouragement of natural regeneration of the areas having such potential in terms of existing root stock. Appropriate management interventions are required to prompt natural regeneration of tree species as a next succession stage from bamboo forests and grasslands.

Protection Forests : A large extent of forest lands in this Zone has been designated as protection forests forming important watersheds for Song Lo and Chai rivers. This process of declaration of protection forests is still continuing. Pine plantations (Pinus mercusii and Pinus khaseya) have been raised by the FE (established in 1996) as a watershed protection measure. The FE in Hoang Sui Phi has 34,000 ha of protection forests under its control, out of which 6,000 ha are natural forest and 100 ha are plantations. Nearly 1,270 ha of protection forests have been contracted to farmers by the FE in this district. Farmers are paid 50,000 Dong year/ha for protecting the allocated forests. They are entitled to share 1/3 of the estimated growth from year 3 onwards on plantations and 1/2 on natural forests. But no management of such plantations is being done, although the canopy of Pine plantations (which are strong light demanders) should be opened up through intermediate and final felling in order to encourage natural regeneration and ensure their sustainability..

Poor infrastructure makes the harvesting of these Pine plantations expensive and, therefore, trees are not being supplied to Bai Bang Paper Mill. However, Pine plantations are being allocated to farmers for protection and tapped for resin by them which is then sold to the Forest Enterprise. Natural forests have also been allocated to

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farmers for protection under the Programme 327. We were told by the District Peoples Committee (DPC) that local people do not want Pine plantations as these are of no local use in terms of production of fuelwood and other non-timber forest products (NTFPs).

Bare Land & Shifting Cultivation : This Zone faces food deficit for 2-3 months in a year and shifting cultivation with low fallow cycles is widely prevalent. In such lands farmers take two crops of maize in spring followed by soya bean cultivation. Cassava is grown subsequently after which lands are abandoned with a fallow cycle of 2-3 years.

Agriculture on Forest Lands : In the drier areas where tea does not grow well dry farming systems of staple crops such as cassava and maize are seen. The farming systems are unsustainable and no land husbandry practices including soil and moisture conservation measures are being implemented. Forest and Home Gardens : In some communes visited individual households have been allocated forest gardens with red books. Farmers are entitled to get timber and fuelwood for their own domestic use. But for sale they require permission for cutting and transport. There are many multi-storey agroforestry systems being used by farmers in their forest and home gardens. A main difference noticed between home gardens and forest gardens (located at a greater distance from the home) is that there is predominance of natural trees in the latter. Farmers plant species such as cinnamon in forest gardens for which they are financially and technically supported. A home-garden combines tree species, fruit trees, fodder, vegetable, fishpond and livestock as an integrated farming system. Farmers utilize good soil, rainfall and stream water for sustaining these traditional land-use systems which are ecologically and socio-economically stable, low input-oriented but with multiple outputs, and less susceptible to pests and diseases.

Cinnamon is a common tree species planted by farmers under the shade of other tree species naturally occurring in their allocated forest gardens; trees are thinned if their density is more than 60-70% at the time of planting and a second thinning is carried out once the Cinnamon is 6-7 years old. Tea is the second preferred crop in forest gardens which is very good for cash income, particularly during the period when farmers face food shortages.

Forest Land Management in Zone III:

The better climate and topography of this Zone has favorably shaped land management practices, thereby resulting in comparatively better land-use systems, less deforestation and reduced shifting cultivation. Typically this Zone has the highest rainfall in the country which farmers utilize by cultivating a number of agricultural crops including two wet rice crops annually. This high production, coupled with better access, communication and infrastructure, has provided people with food security and consequently made them less dependent on forests and shifting cultivation.

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The farmers with whom we interacted were found to be more aware and informed due mainly to better education and training. In those communes where MRDP is being implemented this awareness was more pronounced and visible. The average family size is comparatively less which, although a disadvantage from the point of view of the extent of allocation of agriculture and forest lands, has indeed reduced dependency on land resources.

Production Forests : There are three Forest Enterprises (FE) working in production forests in this Zone, mainly for supplying raw material to the Bai Bang Paper Mill. A visit was made to the production forests (total area = 5340 ha comprising 1340 ha natural forests mainly of bamboo and 1784 ha of plantations of Acacia mangium, Mangletia, Pines and Styrax) of one such FE at Bac Quang. This FE established in 1978, is now under the management of the Ministry of Industry and operates in 8 communes. The target for plantations is at present 250 ha annually.

As elsewhere in Ha Giang, the natural forests in this Zone have currently bamboo as a primary colonizer species, regenerating naturally after the original forests were cleared. Due to a good market for edible bamboo shoots, local people collect them for eating and selling in the nearby markets. Currently no silvicultural operations (except protection measures) such as mounding, tending and decongestion of bamboo clumps are being done in these natural forests for encouraging their optimum production. The yield of bamboo from forests has decreased since 1978 when this FE was set up. The management of bamboo should, therefore, be given a priority and one of the objectives of such management should be to develop the next succession stage of forests in which tree regeneration will come up.

An annual production of 4,000 cubic metres of timber and 2,000 tonnes of bamboo is achieved for supply to Bai Bang Paper Mill, by utilizing funds obtained from Government as a credit with an interest rate of 0.33%. There are no more plantations of Mangletia and Pines since 1994 as these species were found to be too slow growing. Acacia mangium, planted at 2x3 m spacing and managed with a rotation of 8 years contributes 60% of the annual plantation, whereas the remaining 40% is met from Styrax plantations, raised at 2x2 m spacing and managed with a rotation of 9 years. Only one thinning at the age of three years (the thinning material is used by the farmer for domestic use) is resorted to and typically at final harvest only 70% of the total stock is removed, thereby retaining 30% stock. After final harvest this area having 30% mature plantation crop is again taken up for new plantations.

The old plantations are harvested once the new plantations become sufficiently old. The logic behind the retention of old plantations is not clear except that they help protect the area from soil erosion. But the objective of soil conservation could be achieved by either adopting land husbandry technologies or planting and harvesting plantations

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raised in blocks of say four ha. The present system poses management problems including harvesting and transportation, and is also not silviculturally sound.

Nearly 3,000 ha of forests have been allocated to 166 staff and 155 farmers under the following three contract arrangements:

FE invests all the required capital from establishing plantations on the allocated land up to their harvest, and contractees contribute laboor for tending and protection of plantations till the harvest when the allocated land is returned back to the FE. Most of the allocated area (2,400 ha.) falls under this category of contract arrangement.

For natural forests of bamboo the FE enters into a contract according to which farmers are entitled to get half of the incremental crop (at the stage of signing the contract the status of the existing crop is estimated and recorded). Farmers sell the bamboo to FE at the rate of 50,000 Dong/tonne. In case of plantations, the farmers would get 50% share if the minimum yield of 60 cubic m/ha is achieved. If the yield is more the FE will get 30 cubic m/ha, with the remainder going to the farmer.

FE provides seedlings for plantations and the farmer contributes labour for planting, tending and protecting in lieu of which the farmer gets all the output after paying fees of 15 cubic m/ha to the FE to which he sells all the standing timber at the rate of 100,000 dong/cubic m.

The FE sells the timber and bamboo to the Bai Bang Paper Mill (rafted to the Mill site by river) at the rate unilaterally decided (which means that it is basically a buyers market with monopolistic bias) by the Mill. The prices are at present 248,000 Dong/cubic m and 255,000 Dong/tonne respectively. It is understood that due to the import of pulp material the Paper Mill (possibly due to favorable import price and quality of pulp) does not purchase all the raw material available with the Forest Enterprises. As a result the supply is more than demand thereby reducing the sale price. Earlier the association of FEs used to negotiate the sale price but after this association broke down each FE, in its anxiety to sell all of its bamboo material, accepts the rather low prices fixed by the Mill. This is a policy matter which needs to be looked into in order to generate local employment and value addition to the local economy.

We were told that the tight specifications of bamboo, with fixed diameter and length, by the Paper Mill results in lot of wastage and only Vao bamboo could be harvested (2,000 bamboo stems are retained per ha by cutting bamboo of three years old and more). As a result other species of bamboo such as Dung bamboo, which occur abundantly in forests, have no use and are, therefore, not harvested. The other paper mill at Viet Tri can use such bamboo but being far away from Bac Quang it is too expensive to transport. An adverse

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consequence of Dung and other species of bamboo not being harvested can be seen in the expansion of bamboo clumps, thereby harming the natural regeneration of tree species. The retention of 2,000 stems of Vao bamboo seems to be on the high side given the need to encourage natural regeneration of tree species. .Protection Forests: We visited many protection forests which have been allocated to individual households and village communities for protection under different formal and informal contracts and management agreements. The main objective of protection of these forests is watershed conservation and environmental amelioration. We came across many protection forests which are sources of perennial water streams being productively shared and used by 3-4 households for wet rice cultivation and domestic water supply. Except for fuelwood for domestic use neither the farmers carry out any management activity nor the Government Departments.

Bare Land and Shifting Cultivation: The extent of this category of land is less in this Zone due mainly to better climatic conditions and soil fertility.

Forest Garden: In this Zone the allocation of forest lands to farmers is comparatively better due mainly to many ongoing programs including Programme 327 and MRDP. The number of species present in these forest gardens is also more due mainly to the better land potential.

Ways forward for Ha Giang Province

Technical Approach and Forest Land Management: No single forest land management model can be applicable in Ha Giang due mainly to diverse site-specific needs as a result of diverse edaphic, climatic, socio-economic, biophysical, cultural and ethnological situations encountered in different Zones of the province. However, the generic suggestions on forest land management and relevant technical approaches are made below based on the criteria such as sustainability, environmental conservation, adaptability and optimum productivity. These suggestions are not once and for all solutions but need to be flexible and dynamic seeking to address the new challenges and problems brought about by the fast changing environment.

Forest Land Management in Zone I:

Protection Forests: Low input-oriented land husbandry technologies adaptable by villagers are needed in this Zone where lands have substantially degraded. With limited funds from the Government, it may not be possible to take up large scale land reclamation programmes including large plantations which are very expensive. Indeed lands have degraded so much that it may not support plantation of tree species. With the main objective of restoring a vegetative cover on

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these degraded lands a site-specific planning approach is needed keeping in view the relevant socio-economic and environmental impacts of proposed interventions. Depending upon the site conditions income generation activities could include:

Cinnamon planting

Bamboo planting and processing

Resin tapping from Pines

Honey production

Tea and coffee cultivation

Silk & mulberry cultivation

Pasture development and animal husbandry

Fruit trees

Cultivation and processing of NTFPs.

Broadly those sites having very little soil trapped between the outcrops of rocks (where farmers at present grow cassava and maize) could be brought under grasses and shrubs species. Grasses are more effective than tree species for the conservation of soil and moisture as they do not transpire much water.

There could be two approaches adopted for establishing grasses. A preferable but slow method is the encouragement of natural regeneration of grasses through land husbandry measures. The second approach is by planting grasses which although expensive, is worth trying as this process would provide employment to local people while creating renewable assets of palatable grasses for their livestock.

These grasses may include species such as Saccharum spontaneous, Mischantus chinensis, Imperata cylindrica, Eupatorium odoratum, Vetiver and Saccharum munja. Unfortunately the importance of grasses and grazing lands is not well understood either by government staff or villagers as it is taken for granted that grazing will always be freely available from Government lands.

On higher quality sites herb and shrub species such as Sao could be planted. Although this species grows well in these difficult land conditions, unfortunately the plantations of Sao have been stopped due to non-availability of markets for its oil. This was the main reason for its planting.

Natural regeneration should be encouraged wherever there is existing root stock. Although there are large outcrops of rocks without any potential for natural regeneration, the initial judgment on the resilience

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and regenerative capacity of land can prove wrong. Therefore, before taking up measures for assisted natural regeneration including weeding and enrichment planting it may be better to close the identified area for at least two years during which time protection measures, and soil and moisture conservation technologies, as outlined below, can be adopted.

Suitable species of herb, shrubs and trees of multiple use should be planted in those areas having no root stock but better soil status and moisture regimes.

Bare Land & Shifting Cultivation : The extent of shifting cultivation is greatly influenced by the availability of fertile land, food security, poverty and surplus labour. Although the Government has initiated many programmes for controlling shifting cultivation, the practice is widespread. It is important to consider the issue of food security in the context of unfavourable environments in which farmers eke out their subsistence living. Any forestry-based interventions made in these areas must consider the impact on food security.

Forest Garden : Promising trees and shrubs for livestock fodder may include Jackfruit for goats, Gliricidia sepium for cattle and buffalo, and Trichantera gigantea for pigs and poultry. The leaves of Gliricidia and Jackfruit are eaten by goats. Trichantra can grow under shade of banana and is rich in protein. The extent of forest gardens allocated to individual households should beincreased due to less forest productivity in this Zone.

Land Husbandry : This Zone suffers from acute water shortage and, therefore, the importance of water is widely perceived by people. This understanding should be made built on when developing participatory forest land management systems. Water yield through forest conservation should be treated as one of the important NTFPs.

The current land-use systems including farming are highly dependent on an intensive use of natural stream water. For instance, wherever water is available farmers are able to grow two wet rice crops thereby reducing the pressure on forests to supply products for household security. With the present allocation arrangements households are able to use forest gardens as a source of water for cultivation and home ponds, in addition to other multiple products derived from such lands.

Appropriate technologies for land husbandry would differ depending upon ecological site conditions and socioeconomic characteristics of a village. Indigenous technologies for water harvesting should be widely developed and practiced.

Wherever possible water should be conserved through better percolation. Most of the low input land husbandry technologies can be

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implemented by local villagers themselves with some training. This would help to create productive assets. Depending upon the biophysical requirements of selected sites in the identified micro-watershed and relevant socio-economic interactions, one or a combination of suitable soil and moisture conservation techniques can be selected from the following basket for implementation:

Contour bunding, tillage and planting

Bench and ridge terraces

Mulching, cover crops, crop rotation and composting

Diversion ditches and drop structures

Continuous contour trenches

Staggered trenches

Soil barriers and traps, and check dams

Half moon trenches

Contour furrows with grasses, grass strips

Minimum and zero tillage

Dams with spill overs

Low input water harvesting structures including impounding pits, small tanks and reservoirs

Low input-oriented water harvesting structures should be developed in forest lands having watershed or catchment area generating run-off. But water-sharing mechanisms for the stored water should be carefully designed taking into account the socio-economic interactions among households and villages.

In addition to technical specifications it is important link the socio-economic aspects of the village with the management of water and the ecology of the site. In many villages two or three households traditionally share a stream of water. This tradition should be utilized by harnessing the community action centered around the water stream. The water stream can be taken as a management unit and forest land management programmes can be designed focused on this management unit.

Grazing Lands : It is important that grazing lands are managed properly due to their importance for livestock which contribute significantly to the economy of households. While allocating forest lands it is necessary that the availability of grazing lands is considered. The possibility of allocating grazing lands as one specific category should be considered at household, village and Commune

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level. As discussed above the development of degraded grazing lands should be considered either through natural or artificial regeneration. Grazing lands, as common pool resources, are important from an equity perspective as poor households often are highly dependent on them for their subsistence living.

Forest Land Management in Zone II:

Protection Forests : As in the case of Zone I appropriate land husbandary technologies need to be adopted in order to assist natural regeneration of vegetation by improving the soil and moisture regime. The water harvesting techniques should enable percolation of water underground and water streams should be managed in order to efficiently utilize them for the water-intensive land-use systems currently being practised by farmers. The land husbandary techniques should focus on in-situ moisture conservation.

Forest Land Management in Zone III:

Special Use Forests: The approach of village forest planning should be followed in managing special use forests. This means that no attempts should be made to move households from these forests. In-situ development of communities should be achieved by involving them in designing, planning, implementation and monitoring of land-based development schemes, both in the core and buffer areas.

Production Forests: Most of the production forests are secondary. Production forests can be categorized into the following three types depending upon their stocking:

Natural forests having good stock density,

Natural forests with inadequate stock density but having root stock which can be developed through assisted natural regeneration techniques and

Plantations.

Management of bamboo forests needs special mention because these are predominant in Ha Giang, occurring often as pure bamboo forests. These forests should be managed in order to develop them into the next stage of forest succession i.e. forests having tree species with bamboo forming as a middle storey. This must have been the status of original forests as evident from some of the Spirit forests we visited, representing some of the remaining erstwhile tropical evergreen forests which must have occupied a large area of Vietnam before deforestation.

The management of bamboo forests should be taken up by following appropriate silvicultural practices. Bamboo harvesting rules must be

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developed so that the natural regeneration of tree species is assisted by opening the canopy and providing a growth environment for seedlings and saplings naturally coming up after opening of the canopy. At present only Vao bamboo is being commercially harvested as there is a market for it at Bai Bang Paper Mill. But other types of bamboo should also be managed and harvested for use either by the Viet Tri Paper Mill or for other uses. Subsidiary silvicultural operations including mounding, decongestion of clumps, climber cutting, etc. should be carried out regularly for the development of bamboo forests.

Natural forests of miscellaneous species having good stock density should be managed as production forests by following sound silvicultural practices necessary for their natural regeneration.

Forests with comparatively less stock density may be taken up for assisted natural regeneration either by encouraging the development of the existing root stock or through enrichment planting, if root stock is not sufficient. As most of the forests in Ha Giang are secondary forests, they have good potential for natural regeneration from the existing root stock including coppice shoots. The identified forest area should be closed for at least two years so that the existing root stock may come up.

Preferably plantations of indigenous species should be taken up by adopting species-site matching. Although there is a great diversity in site conditions not only among different Zones but within a Zone as well, the basket of species being planted currently is restricted.

The flora of species of Vietnam mentions a number of species which occur naturally and could be planted by developing site-specific plans including site-species matching. These and other exotic species for planting may include:

Bombax ceiba, Casuarina equisitifolia, Anogeissus acuminata, Terminalia species, Shorea species, Dipterocarpus species, Tamarindus indica, Quercus species, Albizzia species, Butea species, Pongamia pinnata, Lagerstromia species, Melia azedarach, Eucalyptus, Grevillia, Alnus nepalensis, Adina cordifolia, Madhuca species, Symplocos fasciculata, Gmelina arborea, Cunninghamia chinensis, Rattan, Bamboo, medicinal herbs, shrub species, etc. Wherever possible NTFPs such as anise seed, tea, cinnamon, cashew nuts, pine for resin, mushroom, Sao oil, tung oil, honey, mulberry, silk production, fruit trees, bamboo, rattan, bark. etc. should form part of village forest planning approaches.

Protection Forests: The stock density of protection forests is better in this Zone and, therefore, the production objective can be combined while still ensuring the the protection function. However, silvicultural practices need to be applied in such a way that natural regeneration of forests is achieved and in this process farmers obtain products which can either be used for their domestic use or for sale.