Participation and payment for forest management in Vietnam: a case study in northwest mountainous region

This study attempted to evaluate the application of payment for environmental services (PES) scheme for upland farmers in forest management in northwest mountainous region of Vietnam. It also tried to determine the factors affecting decision of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs, the willingness to accept (WTA) level of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs in the study site. The results of the study showed that very few upland farmers are willing to participate in the forest management programs of the government in the northwest mountainous region. The primary reason seems to be that the payment level to upland farming households for participating in the forest management programs as well as income derived from the forest resources are quite low. Results of the empirical logit model revealed that the significant factors that influenced the decision of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs include age and ethnicity of upland farmers, labor supply of the households, distance from house of upland farmers to forest, and income portion from forest. The results of the study also indicated that the willingness to accept (WTA) level of non-participating upland farmers in participating forest management (286, 000 VND (15.5 USD)/ha/year) and the WTA price of whole respondents (202, 000 VND (10.9 USD)/ha/year) are higher than present payment level for forest management programs of the government (100, 000 VND (5.4 USD)/ha/year). There was the difference in WTA level of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs among two communes (It Ong and Nam Pam) and ethnicity groups (Kinh and minority group). Kinh upland farmers and upland farmers in It Ong commune required higher the WTA level to participate in forest management programs than upland farmers who belong to minority group and upland farmers in Nam Pam communes. Results of the multiple linear regression model showed that age and ethnicity of upland farmers, distance from house of upland farmers to forest, topography of the forest, and total income of the households are major factors that affected the WTA level of upland farmers to participate in forest management programs. Policy recommendations that will encourage more upland farmers to participate in the government forest management programs included: 1) increasing of the benefits which upland farmers get from participating in forest management programs; 2) improving the training programs on natural resources management; 3) increasing the livelihood of minority upland farmers who usually settle closer forest; and 4) increasing the payment level for forest management.