Perceptions of indigenous people as service providers on payments for forest environmental services in the Central Highlands of Vietnam

Abstract

Payments for environmental services (PES) have been used popularly to manage natural resources, and their contribution to conservation and socio-economic objectives has still received concern from researchers. This study uses data from the household survey and focus group discussions on assessing the perceptions of indigenous people about payments for forest environmental services (PFES) policy in Vietnam. The results show that this policy still has some limitations and faces many challenges although indigenous people's perceptions on the effect of PFES on livelihood, forest conservation, and activities of the PFES implementation are positive. The main issues are legal rights for households to participate in forest protection, mechanisms and regulations for forest patrol and protection at the household and community level, and some issues in the payment norm to ensure equality in implementing the PFES program.