Rethinking Livelihoods, Forest Governance and Socio-ecological Systems: The State of REDD+ in Vietnam

The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme is offering developing countries financial incentives by creating financial values for the carbon stored in forests. The main aim of this initiative is to combat climate change, deforestation and forest degradation. It also includes forest conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. However, in a decade in which community forest management initiatives are rising, the REDD+ programme could reverse this process in putting forest governance on national level again. This could have severe consequences for local forest-dependent communities. Many local forest communities are indigenous peoples. They have often created complex forest management systems, which are deeply intertwined with their social, cultural and religious lives. Many of those systems have already been changed or altered by the state or other conservation agencies, but community-based forest management (CBFM) and benefit sharing mechanisms (BSM) seemed to have revised indigenous forest management systems.;Vietnam has implemented various REDD+ programmes, including that of the United Nations (UN-REDD), the World Bank and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Besides that, the country is home to many forest-dependent indigenous peoples. Since the late 1980s, forest governance has been devolving in Vietnam, and local governments, communities and local households have more involvement and rights in the forest management of the country. BSM and CBFM have been introduced, and communities and local households were entitled to financial and in-kind rewards for forest conservation. The question which arises is in what way will REDD+ be implemented in the forest-governance arrangements of Vietnam, as well as the socio-ecological systems of the affected communities. Therefore, the central question of this study is: In what way does REDD+ integrate into the local forest governance context, and what will be its outcomes on livelihoods and socio-ecological systems?.;This research will focus on four communes in Vietnam: Huong Hiep, Thuong Nhat, Hieu and Bao Thuan. Huong Hiep has pre-REDD+ and pre-BSM arrangements, Thuong Nhat has BSM arrangements, Hieu is involved in a REDD+ programme of a NGO, and Bao Thuan is involved in the UN-REDD programme. First, Huong Hiep and Thuong Nhat commune are analyzed to explore the potential livelihood impacts of REDD+. Then, Hieu and Bao Thuan are analyzed to explore the integration of REDD+ in the socio-ecological systems of the affected communities. Finally, the last part of this thesis will deal with the role of CBFM in REDD+ and BSM. Could CBFM mitigate the negative impacts of REDD+ and BSM?...