Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper

Recent large-scale afforestation programmes in Vietnam have had a mixed success. Official statistics report a forest cover increase, but the programmes' contribution to poverty reduction has been limited and their actual benefits to the environment are questionable. I discuss in this paper to which...

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Main Author: Clement, Floriane
Format: Conference Paper
Language:Inglés
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/38430
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author Clement, Floriane
author_browse Clement, Floriane
author_facet Clement, Floriane
author_sort Clement, Floriane
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Recent large-scale afforestation programmes in Vietnam have had a mixed success. Official statistics report a forest cover increase, but the programmes' contribution to poverty reduction has been limited and their actual benefits to the environment are questionable. I discuss in this paper to which extent policy design has contributed to these shortcomings. I focused on two state initiatives - a large national afforestation campaign, called the Five Million Hectare Reforestation Programme, and the recent allocation of upland to communities. I combined institutional and discourse analysis to assess how incentives, rules and discourses in the policy-making arena have affected outcomes on the ground. I also examined the role of evidence and the factors that have supported policy change. Findings highlight that policy flaws largely result from the characteristics of the policy-making arena at the central level. Discourses have played a significant role in the way they have shaped problem definition and beliefs. Black boxes have provided a means to neatly accommodate the diverse interests of policy-makers under consensus-based governance. I argue that revising policies might not result in improved outcomes as long as simplistic and biased narratives prevail. I conclude with a set of recommendations to bridge the gap between research and policy.
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spelling CGSpace384302025-03-11T09:50:20Z Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper Clement, Floriane institutions organizations afforestation forest policy land policies Recent large-scale afforestation programmes in Vietnam have had a mixed success. Official statistics report a forest cover increase, but the programmes' contribution to poverty reduction has been limited and their actual benefits to the environment are questionable. I discuss in this paper to which extent policy design has contributed to these shortcomings. I focused on two state initiatives - a large national afforestation campaign, called the Five Million Hectare Reforestation Programme, and the recent allocation of upland to communities. I combined institutional and discourse analysis to assess how incentives, rules and discourses in the policy-making arena have affected outcomes on the ground. I also examined the role of evidence and the factors that have supported policy change. Findings highlight that policy flaws largely result from the characteristics of the policy-making arena at the central level. Discourses have played a significant role in the way they have shaped problem definition and beliefs. Black boxes have provided a means to neatly accommodate the diverse interests of policy-makers under consensus-based governance. I argue that revising policies might not result in improved outcomes as long as simplistic and biased narratives prevail. I conclude with a set of recommendations to bridge the gap between research and policy. 2009 2014-06-13T11:41:45Z 2014-06-13T11:41:45Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/38430 en Limited Access Clement, Floriane. 2009. Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper. Paper presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Las Vegas, NV, USA, 22-27 March 2009. 14p.
spellingShingle institutions
organizations
afforestation
forest policy
land policies
Clement, Floriane
Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper
title Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper
title_full Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper
title_fullStr Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper
title_full_unstemmed Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper
title_short Analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern Vietnam: the role of policy design. Draft paper
title_sort analysing the outcomes of forest policies in northern vietnam the role of policy design draft paper
topic institutions
organizations
afforestation
forest policy
land policies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/38430
work_keys_str_mv AT clementfloriane analysingtheoutcomesofforestpoliciesinnorthernvietnamtheroleofpolicydesigndraftpaper