Northeastern Viet Nam
Land Area: 669,072 ha
Limestone Areas: 227,600 ha
Forest Cover: 208,585 ha (96% natural ; 4%
plantations)
Areas Under CFM: 122,511 ha (55% from local
authorities)
Population: 497,000
Forest Dependent People: 430,000 (87% of
total population)
Districts with CFM: 12 districts
One landscape feature that stands out for
visitors in Northeast Viet Nam is the majestic
limestone outcrops abruptly jutting out of
near planar surfaces. The main ethnic groups
managing natural resources in the region
are the Tay, Nung, Dao, Hmong and San Chay.
Resource use practices are closely tied to
their worship of ancestors and influenced
by Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
Northeast Viet Nam accounts for 36% of the
country's 1.15 million hectares of stone
mountains, with limestone concentrated mostly
in the provinces of Cao Bang and Lang Son.
Some can be seen in other parts of northern
Viet Nam, in the provinces of Lai Chau, Ha
Giang and Quang Binh.
Local people value the limestone forests
beyond their stunning beauty. Farmers see
them as a source of water supply for paddies
below. With karst environments having a complex
water balance, the water-regulating capacity
of the steep slopes of these mountains can
make or break their season's harvest. For
households, they are a source of fuelwood,
medicinal plants and housing materials.
However, Viet Nam's northeastern eco-region
has the poorest forest cover on its mountain
areas, with only 18% of limestone mountains
forested. Other areas in the north average
between 45%-65% vegetation cover on limestone
mountains.
Cao Bang Province
Land Area: 669,072 ha
Limestone Area: 227,600 ha
Forest Cover: 208,585 ha (96% natural; 4%
plantations)
Areas Under CBFM: 122,511 ha (55% from local
authorities)
Population: 497,000 (as of 2000)
Forest Dependent People: 430,000 (87% of
total population)
Districts with CBFM: 13
Cao Bang is a mountainous province in Northeast
Viet Nam. Forestland accounts for 64% of
its total land area. Different types of forest
management have evolved through the years
in the province, including State, collective
and individual management.
Indigenous forms of resource use management
have been in practice by ethnic communities
largely comprising the population.
Cao Bang is known for its considerable achievements
in rehabilitating forests on limestone mountains.
In Quang Uyen District, Phuc Sen Commune
provides an overview of Viet Nam's evolving
resource management forms.
Forest Management in Phuc Sen Commune
Land Area: 1,300 ha
Forestland: 1,010 ha
Areas Under CFM: 404 ha (village managed),
606 ha (household managed)
Population: 2,027 (Predominantly Nung
An
ethnic group)
No. of Villages: 11
Phuc Sen villagers have over 40 years
of
experience in limestone forest regeneration.
Faced with severely damaged forest
and low
living standards, the Phuc Sen People's
Committee
allocated forestlands to village communities
for management in the 1960s. Each village
was assigned 2-4 limestone mountains
or 
half a mountain ridge to manage.
Over the years, three forms of management
arrangements with villagers emerged:
-
Forests managed by community - These are
located in high elevation areas and far from
the village allowing natural regeneration
to occur. Common forests are tended twice
a year wherein each family sends one to two
members to participate in collective tending.
-
Forests managed by group of farmers - This
area also belongs to the common forest of
the village. It is only allocated to groups
of households for more convenient management.
As fewer households are involved (10-12),
management methods and benefit-sharing schemes
are easier to formulate.
-
Forest managed by households - This is an
area allocated to households to encourage
them to protect and plant trees on their
own land. It is usually found in lower areas
or within village forests. Households are
responsible for afforestation and tending.
Protection activities should follow village
regulations. The household can get all kinds
of products from the forest without paying
tax or any form of contribution to the village.
As forest growth accelerated though these
management forms, villagers started to enjoy
benefits from their forests, such as housing
materials, firewood, food, traditional medicines,
income from selling non-timber forest products,
and water sources for production and domestic
consumption. Aside from providing good habitat
for wildlife species, regenerated forest
in Phuc Sen has greatly helped in stabilizing
microclimate in the area.
CFM Networking and Support from Local Authorities
In 2002, Phuc Sen farmers hosted a meeting
for 16 other villages in Quang Uyen District
to share stories and "tricks" in
rehabilitating limestone forests. Phuc Sen
representatives were very enthusiastic in
presenting experiences over the past 50 years
and charismatic in encouraging participants
to protect and rehabilitate limestone forests.
The strategy has been proven effective and
resulted into the formation of the Community
Forest Management Network in Quang Uyen District.
The network now groups together the 16 villages.
Aside from meetings, actual field visits
to Phuc Sen have been done by network members.
Officials from the provincial and district
levels also attend network meetings, allowing
a dialog between government officials and
the villagers; educating both in the process.
Ms. Zrieu Thi Lien, Quang Uyen District Peoples'
Committee Vice-Chairperson, said: "Networking
is very good because it broadcasts CFM in
other communes. We are also learning some
technical forest management skills at the
village level."
