Forest devolution in Vietnam: Differentiation in benefits from forest among local households

Proponents of forest devolution argue that by involving local people in forest management, forest devolution can improve economic efficiency. While empirical evidence shows that outputs of devolution remain unclear across locations, the issues of whether or not devolution can generate economic benefits for local households and how the benefits from forest are distributed among them arise. This paper subjects these questions to empirical research in thirteen villages in Dak Lak province of Vietnam. The purpose of the paper is to examine the distribution of forest benefits among local households and the links between household productive resources and the benefits from devolved forests. Two major types of benefits are identified: the forest endowments (legal rights over forest) and forest entitlements (actual harvests from forest). Findings show a wide differentiation in forest benefits, particularly forest entitlements, among local households. Wealth, labor capacity and political position were influential to the distribution of forest benefits. Furthermore, there exists a difference between forest endowments and forest entitlements. Not only the legal rights over the forest but also access are needed to bring in true economic benefits for local people.