Abstract
This paper analyzes the effectiveness of existing financial incentives for mangrove conservation in Vietnam. Current conservation programs and projects have created financial incentives for mangrove protection, but the effectiveness of these incentives in addressing mangrove loss in northern Vietnam has been mixed. While financial incentives have contributed to a larger area of planted mangroves, their effectiveness is hampered by contradictory national policies, which encourage mangrove conservation on the one hand, and aquaculture expansion in mangrove areas on the other, thus making it difficult to address mangrove deforestation and degradation effectively. Mangrove conservation in Vietnam is challenged further by inequitable distribution of power and benefits, difficulties accessing information, weak law enforcement, lack of compliance, low payments for protecting mangroves, lack of full recognition of local rights, discontinued funding after policies and projects end, and lack of participation by local people in policy and project design and implementation. Conservation policies and projects should aim to protect existing mangrove forests, restore degraded mangroves and plant new ones to enhance mangrove area, quality and biodiversity. Sustainable mangrove conservation not only requires effective and sustainable financial incentives, but other enabling conditions such as addressing the conflict between mangrove conservation and aquaculture expansion, and grounding mangrove conservation projects by building on local knowledge and leadership. As these drivers are often motivated by national development goals and other sectoral development needs with ministries competing for budgets and influence, holistic land-use planning needs to be coupled with effective coordination and clarification of responsibilities between government agencies, and coordinated and consistent policies concerning these natural resources. Addressing these underlying governance issues is far more important for mangrove conservation and restoration than merely offering financial incentives as various national and international projects have attempted.
Highlights
The Warsaw Framework for REDD+ highlights the need to address the diversity of drivers of deforestation and forest degradation (UNFCCC, 2013)
Our study echoes the global findings of Friess et al (2019) where mangrove loss has slowed in recent years, and some drivers, like firewood collection, are no longer a threat in our study sites, key drivers like aquaculture and infrastructure, which are rooted in national development strategies, continue to pose a threat to mangroves
Our study supports previous research showing that mangrove conservation interventions are not always effective because drivers of mangrove loss are often associated with national economic goals, like converting mangroves for aquaculture and agriculture production, and are not well addressed by policy interventions (Richards and Friess, 2016; Chowdhury et al, 2017; Thomas et al, 2017)
Summary
Mangroves provide important environmental services for humankind, but are in decline globally and exposed to various drivers of deforestation and degradation (Giri et al, 2015; López-Angarita et al, 2016; Richards and Friess, 2016; Goldberg et al, 2020) To address these drivers, global initiatives like the Global Mangrove Alliance (Friess et al, 2020), REDD+ (Yee, 2010; Ammar et al, 2014; Aziz et al, 2016), payment for environmental services (PES) and national policy interventions (Wever et al, 2012; Locatelli et al, 2014; Friess and Thompson, 2016; Sommerville, 2016; Thompson et al, 2017) have been developed. There is little independent monitoring and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of policies and projects
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
