Ethnic minorities in Vietnam face ongoing constraints obtaining access to agricultural and forest land, which affects livelihoods and results in high poverty rates for many in these communities. The nationalization of land prior to the 1990s, coupled with in-migration and development pressures, excluded many ethnic minority communities from their traditional lands. Since 2014, the government has directed that ethnic minorities who lack productive land should be prioritised to receive reallocated land from state-owned forest and agricultural enterprises (SFAEs).

Objective and Key results

The project aims to strengthen ethnic minorities’ access to, and their right to use and manage, customary forest and agricultural lands, through:

  • Strengthening access to, use of, and management over approximately 1,500 hectares of forestry land and forests from state agricultural and forestry companies and handed over to local authorities, enabling 15 ethnic minority communities to manage and use these resources effectively;
  • Local ethnic minority communities improving their capacity to dialogue with authorities and to monitor land-related plans; 
  • Policy recommendations for a customary land and forest allocation procedure, based on gender equality and community participation and consensus, in line with the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

Location

Kon Tum and Lao Cai provinces

Watch the project documentary

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