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Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) - Call for papers!

Participation and payment for forest management in Vietnam: A case study in northwest mountainous region

(Vietnam), Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (University of the Philippines Los Baños)

Thesis Abstract:

This study attempted to evaluate the application of payment for environmental services (PES) scheme for upland farmers in forest management in northwest mountainous region of Vietnam. It also tried to determine the factors affecting the decision of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs, and the willingness to accept (WTA) level of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs in the study site.
 
The results of the study showed that very few upland farmers were willing to participate in the forest management programs of the government in the northwest mountainous region. The primary reason seemed to be that the payment level to upland farming households for participating in the forest management programs as well as income derived from the forest resources were quite low.
 
Results of the empirical logit model revealed that the significant factors that influence the decision of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs include age and ethnicity of upland farmers, labor supply of the households, distance from house of upland farmers to forest, and income portion from forest.
 
The results of the study also indicated that the WTA level of non-participating upland farmers in participating forest management (VND 286,000 (USD 15.5)/ha/ yr) and the WTA price of whole respondents (VND 202,000 (USD 10.9)/ha/yr) was higher than present payment level for forest management programs of the government (USD 100,000 (USD 5.4)/ha/yr). There was the difference in WTA level of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs among two communes (It Ong and Nam Pam) and ethnicity groups (Kinh and minority group). Kinh upland farmers and upland farmers in It Ong commune required higher WTA level to participate in forest management programs than upland farmers who belong to minority group and upland farmers in Nam Pam communes. Results of the multiple linear regression model showed that age and ethnicity of upland farmers, distance from house of upland farmers to forest, topography of the forest, and total income of the households were major factors that affect the WTA level of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs.
 
Policy recommendations that will encourage more upland farmers to participate in the government forest management programs included: (1) increasing the benefits, which upland farmers get from participating in forest management programs; (2) improving the training programs on natural resources management; (3) increasing the livelihood of the minority upland farmers, who usually settle closer to the forest; and (4) increasing the payment level for forest management.