In Vietnam, the lack of quality data in the forestry sector has been an obstacle to institutional reflection and effective policy formulation. This study analyzes the status and gaps of this data, and its implications for addressing poverty in Vietnam.

"This article analyzes the on-site and off-site economic impacts of various sustainable land management (SLM) practices in Kenya. Long-term trial data are used to establish the relationship between SLM practices and maize yield. The analysis of on-site effects focuses on the profitability of maize production at the farm level, while the examined off-site effects include carbon sequestration and siltation from maize farms, which increase the cost of potable water production.

The Agroforestry Tree Seeds Association of Lantapan (ATSAL) in Bukidnon province, southern Philippines was organized in 1998, facilitated by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Farmers were trained on germplasm collection, processing and marketing of agroforestry tree seeds and seedlings. ATSAL has been marketing various tree seeds and seedlings with apparent success, and has provided training on seed collection and nursery management to farmers, government technicians, and workers from non-government organizations (NGOs).

Up to 25 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are caused by deforestation, and Indonesia is the third largest greenhouse gas emitter worldwide due to land use change and deforestation. On the island of Sulawesi in the vicinity of the Lore Lindu National Park (LLNP), many smallholders contribute to conversion processes at the forest margin as a result of their agricultural practices. Specifically the area dedicated to cocoa plantations has increased from zero (1979) to nearly 18,000 hectares (2001).

This study is part of a project implemented by the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for the Asia and Pacific (RECOFTC) in collaboration with the Rights and Resources Group (RRG) to advance policy and market reforms in four countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The overall goal of the project is to reduce poverty in forest areas, expand sustainable forest use and trade, and increase the effectiveness and impact of regional analysts and institutions in advancing pro-poor forest policy and market reforms.

Under present and foreseeable economic and social trends in the Asia-Pacific region, can we achieve sustainable forest management and better realize the potential of forests and forestry to contribute to improved human well-being? 

Over the last two decades, Vietnam has made significant progress in forest tenure reform, which aims to meaningfully include all relevant stakeholders in the management of forest resources. Under these reforms, forest area officially under the management of local people has expanded from almost nothing in the early 1990s to nearly 3.5 million ha (27% of the national forest area) in 2006. However, until now little is known about the extent to which such tenure reform has worked in practice and how it has affected local people’s livelihoods and wellbeing.

PES is a new concept gaining momentum in the Asia-Pacific region. But what are the enabling conditions for employing PES schemes, and how can they be made pro-poor? Payment for Environmental Services (PES) sets up systems where beneficiaries of environmental services reward the providers of such services with payments or other non-financial goods (market access, land security, public services, infrastructure, capacity building).

The Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG) Vietnam undertook a survey in Dak Lak and Thua Thien Hue provinces between December 2006 and April 2007. The survey aimed to provide insights into different forms of community forest management, the factors influencing its success, and their contribution to poverty alleviation. 

Debate over the potential of NTFPs for achieving ecosystem conservation and poverty alleviation has grown in the past decade. Concern has been raised that NTFP activities may not always provide the poor with the expected benefits, and could in some cases even act as a poverty trap (see discussion in Overview paper). Considering these concerns, the objective of this publication is to share experiences on how innovative approaches have led to successful outcomes such as increased access of poor forest dwellers to resources and markets, increased participation, and benefit sharing.

RECOFTC and RRI co-organized the International Conference on Poverty Reduction and Forests: Tenure, Market, and Policy Reforms, which was held 3-7 September 2007 in Bangkok.

This article addresses the methodological complexities inherent in researching poverty, examining how to differentiate the poor from other social groups, and how to assess the relationships between poverty and technology adoption and impact. The use of specific types of quantitative and qualitative methods, the degree to which their integration was achieved, and the benefits of integration are analyzed.