Agricultural Intensification versus Extensification: A Case Study of Deforestation in the Northern-Hill Region of Vietnam

Northern Vietnam has experienced significant deforestation due to the expansion of shifting cultivation fields. Since the late 1980s, with the introduction of individualized land rights, such agricultural “extensification” was followed by the agricultural intensification and regeneration of forests. We present a dynamic model of agricultural intensification versus extensification and test its implications using commune-level data in 1978, 1987, and 1994. The results suggest that the choice between intensification and extensification is relevant in hilly areas with limited flat land and sloped upland, and that strengthened land rights, particularly that on upland, tend to deter deforestation.