Determinants and Challenges of Community Sand Forest Management in Vietnam

Abstract

In the inland sandy areas along the central coast of Vietnam, there is a specific type of ecosystem that local people call a sand forest. Over time, despite many economic, political, and social upheavals, local people in some places still maintain these sand forests. In this study, we aimed to investigate the determinants and challenges of community sand forest management in coastal north central Vietnam. For this purpose, we explore insights regarding the changing roles of sand forests in community perception, community challenges, and the role of stakeholders in sand forest management. We then discuss policy implications for sustainable sand forest management. By ap-plying focus group discussions, household surveys, and in-depth interviews, this study found that local people have used village conventions to manage the sand forest for hundreds of years because they have been aware of the role of the sand forest in daily life, especially the spiritual and environmental roles of the sand forest. However, sand forest management is confusing and inefficient due to the neglect of the role of traditional organizations. Along with this, local people face several chal-lenges, such as conflicts over the use of sand forests, and a lack of recognition of the community’s legal rights to such forests. Based on these results, some policy implications are proposed, such as strengthening the participation of related stakeholders, and providing coordination between traditional organizations and local authorities in forest management and conflict management in forest use. It is necessary to promote the allocation of sand forests to local communities so that they have the legal rights to effectively manage and protect their forests and to obtain potential benefits in the future.