ABSTRACT
More than 50 ethnic minorities live in Vietnam’s uplands, and from these, nearly three million people still practice shifting cultivation. This has led to serious destruction of the natural environment, and the country’s forest assets are shrinking at a rate of 200,000 ha per year. As a consequence, the Government of Vietnam has given priority to encouraging the adoption of more-permanent farming systems. Recognizing the difficulties rural households face in developing settled and permanent farming systems while their land tenure remains insecure, the government reshaped its land allocation policy, allowing forests and forest lands to be allocated to economic entities, including industry. In 1993, the Land Act was passed, and land uses under specific conditions received the sanction of law. Land could be transferred, including to offspring, it could be leased, and it could be used as collateral to secure loans and other transactions. With new security of tenure, farmers were encouraged to develop more intensive cultivation methods, to diversify their agricultural production, and to adopt soil protection technologies.
