Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Forestry (MAF) subsequently issued regulation No. 0204/MAF.2003 to effectively
implement the above Decree by sustainable management and use of forests, non-
timber forest products and forestlands within production forest areas with participa-
tion of local authorities and villagers (Phanthanousy and Sayakoummane 2005).
Village participation is organized through (Groups of) Village Forestry Organizations
((G)VFO) under a Village Forest Management Agreement signed between the
(G)VFO and the respective district's Forestry Management Unit. The agreement
specifies the rights and responsibilities of all parties, the scope of village participa-
tion, and the revenue sharing arrangement. Other MAF regulations give details on
legal prescriptions for logging and harvesting of forest products, including cutting
limits for natural trees.
Vietnam
In Vietnam , tree growing in the form of agroforestry have existed for a long time and
shows similarities with systems of tree growing in Laos discussed above. Typical are
the traditional swidden or shifting cultivation systems implemented by ethnic minor-
ity groups in the uplands and the homegarden systems in rural areas throughout the
country. Research into agroforestry systems has, however, only been initiated in the
early 1970s, leading to adaptation of some traditional agroforestry systems (particu-
larly innovated shifting cultivation and swidden systems) and introduction of new
systems (e.g., alley cropping, boundary planting and taungya). CARES (2004) refers
to different types of traditional agroforestry systems, including intensive perennial
(particularly multi-purpose) tree gardens of 0.5 to several hectares, more extensive
(planted, high-value fruit/timber) forest gardens of 0.3-0.5 ha per household, three
to four-storied fruit gardens close to settlement areas, homegardens, (fruit/
timber)garden-fishpond-livestock systems covering about 500-1,000 m 2 per house-
hold on average, and related to the latter, the forest-garden-fishpond-livestock
systems. In addition, tree growing is practiced within a number of forest-based
systems such as (predominantly natural) forest-terrace systems, composite swidden
systems, (natural/planted) forest-cash crops-rice systems and the taungya systems to
recover natural forests. Traditionally, Vietnamese forests have been managed by
upland communities over centuries but the recognition and implementation of the
concept community forestry only started to develop in the 1970s (Nguyen et al.
2005). A legal basis for both subsistence and commercial community forestry was
achieved again much later with the Land Law (revised) in 2003 and the Forest
Protection and Development Law in 2004 (Nguyen et al. 2005). The former specifies
the village community as the party to which the State allocates land or whose
agricultural land use right is recognized by the State whereas the latter stipulates
forest allocation to village communities including their rights and duties. The Civil
Law (revised) in 2005 acknowledges the concept of common ownership by the
community, based on either traditional customs or a benefit sharing agreement on
joint management and utilization of the forest by community members.
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