Documentation:Open Case Studies/FRST522/Illegal Logging in Vietnam

More details Bản đồ Việt Nam / Map of Vietnam

Introduction

Illegal logging definition

Vietnam implements deforestation and illegal logging

Illegal logging takes place when timber is harvested, transported, bought or sold in violation of national laws. The logging procedures tend to be illegal,such as the access to forests, the extraction without permission or in protected areas, the logging of rare species or the exceeding of agreed limit. Also, the transportation process can be illegal in order to avoid taxes and other charges when the business exports and declares timber to Customs. PLACE INVERTED COMMAS AROUND THE QUOTED TEXT.

History context

Vietnam's high deforestation rates were internationally concerned for creating incentives for illegal logging in neighboring countries, such as Laos and Cambodia REWRITE THIS SENTENCE; YOUR MEANING IS UNCLEAR. . Some researches show Vietnam experienced a sharp decrease in national forest cover, which accounted for 200,000 ha annually with a deforestation rate of 2.4%. Moreover, more than 75% of remaining forests are regarded as poor quality or replanted(<80 m³/ha).
How could forest cover decrease so fast? There is a long history of forest damage and illegal logging boom in Vietnam. During the era of French colonization, almost 43% of the total forest lands were disturbed because of production forestry in the late 19th century.With the outbreak of the Vietnam War, a large number of forests were subject to napalm, bombing and spray of chemical defoliants, along with the whole landscape flattened.
However, the most serious deforestation stage occurred in the post-war period when Vietnamese people sought to reconstruct their homes and livelihoods. The demand for rebuilding 10 million homes after the war triggered a peak of industrial roundwood production at 5.4 million m³ in 1987.Additionally, Vietnam government tried to earn foreign exchange and rebuild the economy through timber export, which firstly exceeded 1 million m³/year in 1960 and never came down.
After the mid-1950s, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) started to nationalize all natural forests, extending till the reunification of Vietnam, which meant that villagers' logging activities were related to "illegal logging". The government established State Forest Enterprises (SFEs), allocating forests where local communities used to depend on and earn a living in a traditional way. Therefore, local communities lacked tenure and resource allocation rights and suffered from severe food shortages resulting from the reservation of forests.

Framing the problem

Forestry perspective

Aspect	Actor	Cause	Impact
Political	Local governments	Corruption	Seizing on ambiguities in national law and asserting decentralized power (giving out small-hold license)
Political	State Forest Enterprises	Nationalization of forests	Claiming the authority of locally used forests
Political	Vietnamese government	Illegal import from Cambodia	Colluding with corrupt Cambodian regional officials
Social	Local communities	Rural poverty	Overexploiting forest resources
Economic	Timber chain enterprises	Bribe and monopoly	Eliminating competition and having privileged access to oversea markets

Layering perspective

The description above describes illegal logging in Vietnam from the perspective of a forestry student. In this section we welcome contributions from other perspectives. Those interested in contributing to this case study may use the following questions as a guide:

• How do scholars and professionals outside of forestry conceptualize the practice of illegal logging in Vietnam?
• What are other possible ways of framing this problem?
• What special expertise, resources, or theoretical orientations might others bring to help us understand this phenomenon better?

Implications

Forestry perspective

Environment

Delacour's langur

Illegal logging can trigger environmental problems. It directly leads to degradation or loss of forest cover, where illegal logging is linked with poor forest resources management. Also, it is related to loss of biodiversity and habitats. For instance, habitat loss has threatened some of the world’s most endangered primates, one of which is called Delacour's langur, presently restricted to limestone karst forest habitat of north-central Vietnam. Illegal logging also plays a significant role in climate change since forests are essential for absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen as a kind of 'carbon sink' in ecosystems.

Economic

Illegal logging can disturb global markets and undermine incentives to manage forest sustainably. One study has calculated that illegal logging depresses world timber prices by between 7% and 16%, depending on the product, which triggers US firms lost at least US$460 million each year.
Illegal logging can result in the loss of government revenue and land tenure as well. The World Bank estimated the annual government revenue loss was about 5 million US dollars.

Social&Cultural

Illegal logging leads to repression and human rights violations, or just plain exploitation. Basically, before the re-unification of Vietnam, local communities owned the forest which they depended on for a long period. The legislation process pushed them out and thereby their legal logging turned to be "illegal". The government forced people to consider illegal logging to maintain their lives. Like other countries, Vietnamese people seek developing opportunities and wanted to get rid of poverty by the way of illegal logging.

Layering perspective

The description above describes the implications from illegal logging in Vietnam from the perspective of a forestry student. In this section, we welcome contributions from other perspectives. Those interested in contributing to this case study may use the following questions as a guide:

• How could someone from a different discipline or profession add to the implications above?
• What other implications become apparent when illegal logging is viewed through the lens of other disciplines and professions?
• What special expertise, resources, or theoretical orientations might others bring to help us better understand the implications associated with illegal logging in Vietnam?

Current initiatives to combat illegal logging

EU-FLEGT

• VPA agreed: 11 May 2017
• Negotiations started: 29 November 2010

_{The Action Plan includes a number of measures:}

• Negotiation of Voluntary Partnership Agreements with timber-producing countries, under which FLEGT licenses for import to the EU will be issued to legally verified timber and timber products;
• Implementation of the EU Timber Regulation, which entered into force in 2013;
• Promotion of public procurement policies in consumer countries to support the trade in legal timber products;
• Support to private sector initiatives to improve supply chain management and verify legal timber;
• Encouragement of efforts in the financial sector to ensure that investments do not lead to illegal logging.

Recommendations

Forestry perspective

• Government:
  

reduce corruption and recognize land and resource use rights of forest communities, or of the rights of other concession-holders

• International:

1. financially sponsor local communities and teach them to manage their lands
2. legislation for those who trade illegal-logging timber

• Vietnamese people:
  

collaborate and fight against the government to protect their rights

Layering perspective

What recommendations might someone from another discipline or profession make to combat the issue of illegal logging in Vietnam? Examples might include:

• Law
• Geography
• Environmental Science
• Social Justice
• Economics
• History
• Anthropology
• Philosophy

References

This conservation resource was created by Nuo Shen.