Acacia Plantation Development and the Configuration of Tree Farmers’ Agricultural Assets and Land Management—A Survey in Central Vietnam

Roland Cochard,Dung Tri Ngo,Bien Thanh Vu

doi:10.3390/land10121304

Roland Cochard, Dung Tri Ngo + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/land10121304

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Abstract

Since 1990 acacia-based tree plantations have fast expanded in Vietnam, now supporting a multi-billion-dollar export-oriented wood industry which is transforming from woodchip production to value-added products. Within this dynamic context, tree farmer associations have started to produce sawlogs under FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. In this paper, we retrace the development of plantation assets, investigating farmers’ current livelihoods and land management, specifically considering various aspects of sustainability. We interviewed 180 tree farmers in three districts (lowland–upland regions) of Thừa Thiên Huế Province, including sawlog producers with and without FSC and smallholder producers of woodchips. Acacia planting in ‘barren lands’ was initiated through state programs in the 1990s (low-/midlands) and 2010s (uplands). Farmers now producing FSC sawlogs were among the first to gain forestland tenure; they now own large plantations (on good terrain), are in tune with policies and maintain resources/capacities to adopt management in line with FSC standards. Yet, most farmers also retain plots for easy-to-manage and low-risk woodchip production. Soil/vegetation conservation depends on farmers’ status/capacities and environmental awareness; FSC membership added economic-political benefits. Findings are discussed within a regional historic context. Plantations contribute to economic development, but issues persist/emerged in terms of land equity and environmental governance, risks (e.g., plant pathogens), and spaces/impetus for farm-based innovation and adaptiveness.

Highlights

Vietnam’s forested landscapes, the living space of people of different ethnicities, languages and environmental-cultural traditions, have gone through profound changes.In very broad terms, three periods of forest-related changes may be identified, i.e., a period of (1.) ‘natural forest decline’, (2.) ‘forest transition’ (~1990–2005), and (3.) plantation-based ‘new forestry’ (~2005 until now) [1,2]
We investigated the timelines and initial processes by which the farmers became enrolled in acacia farming and related these ‘development patterns’ to the farmers’ profiles of plantation land holdings, forms of resource management, as well as other livelihood activities and agricultural/technical assets
Thừa Thiên Huế Province (TTHP) is a magnet of industrialization and agricultural development [18,19,20], and it is a microcosm of recent developments in forestry in Vietnam

Summary

Introduction

Vietnam’s forested landscapes, the living space of people of different ethnicities, languages and environmental-cultural traditions, have gone through profound changes.In very broad terms, three periods of forest-related changes may be identified, i.e., a period of (1.) ‘natural forest decline’ (until ~1990), (2.) ‘forest transition’ (~1990–2005), and (3.) plantation-based ‘new forestry’ (~2005 until now) [1,2]. Many developments (past and current), come with trade-offs and result in variable outcomes across social strata and environmental spaces/aspects, raising a variety 4.0/). Land 2021, 10, 1304 development objectives are thereby forged in accordance with specific formulations of ‘sustainability’. Many developments (past and current), come with trade-offs and result in variable outcomes across social strata and environmental spaces/aspects, raising a variety of questions with regard to ‘sustainability’, insofar as this relates to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals [11,12,13,14,15]. TTHP encapsulates many of Central Vietnam’s historical and present development trajectories. TTHP was one of the first provinces in Central Vietnam to implement programs promoting ‘sustainable forestry’ in terms of FSC-defined criteria [16,22]

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