TY - JOUR
T1 - Challenges of the Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) program in forest conservation
T2 - a case study in Central Vietnam
AU - Ngoc, Hoang Phan Bich
AU - Fujiwara, Takahiro
AU - Iwanaga, Seiji
AU - Sato, Noriko
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Japanese Government for providing a scholarship (MEXT) for the first author’s PhD program at the Kyushu University. We wish to thank all villagers, officials and TTHFPDF staff for their hospitality and support in this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Japanese Forest Society.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - In 2010, the Vietnamese government initiated the Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) program to conserve forests and improve local livelihoods. While some researches have demonstrated the effectiveness of PFES, other studies reported inappropriate implementation and distribution at the initial stage. This study aimed to examine how PFES was implemented, and explore the challenges of forest protection efforts faced by the local people under PFES. Thua Thien Hue province was the first province to adjust the distribution of payments according to the type and quality of the forest using the K-coefficient. We conducted in-depth interviews with relevant staff and officials and organized focus group discussions with local people in seven payment areas in the province. The findings showed that the K-coefficient applied in this study was composed of four elements: forest condition (K1), forest function (K2), forest origin (K3), and the difficulty of forest protection (K4). However, forest condition (K1) was the only factor that could increase the efforts of the local people toward forest conservation. The capacity of the staff played an essential role in PFES distribution for local people. Additionally, establishing the relevant institutions and encouraging participation at the local level can increase forest conservation effectiveness. However, there is a lack of regulations for dealing with violations under the current rules. In conclusion, this study recommends expanding the range to calculate payouts, thereby increasing remuneration and motivation for the local people to be involved in forest conservation.
AB - In 2010, the Vietnamese government initiated the Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) program to conserve forests and improve local livelihoods. While some researches have demonstrated the effectiveness of PFES, other studies reported inappropriate implementation and distribution at the initial stage. This study aimed to examine how PFES was implemented, and explore the challenges of forest protection efforts faced by the local people under PFES. Thua Thien Hue province was the first province to adjust the distribution of payments according to the type and quality of the forest using the K-coefficient. We conducted in-depth interviews with relevant staff and officials and organized focus group discussions with local people in seven payment areas in the province. The findings showed that the K-coefficient applied in this study was composed of four elements: forest condition (K1), forest function (K2), forest origin (K3), and the difficulty of forest protection (K4). However, forest condition (K1) was the only factor that could increase the efforts of the local people toward forest conservation. The capacity of the staff played an essential role in PFES distribution for local people. Additionally, establishing the relevant institutions and encouraging participation at the local level can increase forest conservation effectiveness. However, there is a lack of regulations for dealing with violations under the current rules. In conclusion, this study recommends expanding the range to calculate payouts, thereby increasing remuneration and motivation for the local people to be involved in forest conservation.
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U2 - 10.1080/13416979.2021.1955438
DO - 10.1080/13416979.2021.1955438
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85112579736
VL - 26
SP - 400
EP - 409
JO - Journal of Forest Research
JF - Journal of Forest Research
SN - 1341-6979
IS - 6
ER -