Influence of current institutional arrangement on the desired outcomes of PES program in Vietnam

Project at a glance

Vietnam has recently implemented the payment for forest environmental services (PFES) nationwide under Decree 99 effective from the year 2011. During the implementation, PFES appeared to be a potential tool in re-shaping the forest management structure of Vietnam by providing market-based sources of payment for dual objectives of forest protection and local well-being improvement. However, challenges that prevent PFES to meet its objectives still remain in forms of limited local participation and unfavorable institutional arrangement. These challenges were rooted in program design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation system. This research aims to analyze how institutional arrangements contribute to the desired outcomes of forest protection and local livelihood improvement. The research will contribute case studies to the analytical framework of global PES, lessons learnt for current national PFES and REDD+ in Vietnam and other countries who share similar contexts.

Objectives

1. Assess how the design and implementation of PES policies influence the performance of service providers and users;
2. Explore determinant factors of household participation in the program;
3. Evaluate level of achievement of desired outcomes in different scenarios
4. Possible linkages between PES and REDD+ implementation

Expected results

Expected results include papers and policy brief sharing with various stakeholders.

Methods

The research employs Institutional Analysis and Development (Ostrom 1990) to analyze incentives of key actors in the program. In addition, the research will use concept of opportunity cost in Pagiola’s framework (2005) to explain the financial incentive for household decision-making process, especially in context of forest conversion to other commercial crop plantations as alternative land uses.

Partners

• Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry (HUAF)
• Center for Natural Resource Management (CORENARM)
• Forest Management and Development Group at Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystem, ETHZ (ForDev)

Funders

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship 2014-2015

Publications

Dung Tri Ngo and Edward L. Webb (2008). “Incentives of the Forest Land Allocation Process: Implications for Forest Management in Nam Dong District, Central Vietnam”. In Decentralization, Forests and Rural Communities: Policy Outcomes in South and Southeast Asia, ed. Edward Webb and Ganesh Shivakoti, p269–291. New Delhi: Sage.

Duration of the project

2014-2015