Promoting Land Rights for Ethnic Minority People

The project ‘Promoting Land Rights for Ethnic Minority People in Vietnam’ aims to contribute to the protection and promotion of ethnic minority people’s rights to
community forest lands.

Background

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that the primary contributor to chronic poverty in Vietnam is the lack of access to productive land. Over two-thirds of people from ethnic minority groups (EMG), particularly those who depend overwhelmingly on agriculture and forest use for their livelihoods, live under the poverty line. Current land and forest policies have allowed communities to apply for certificates of ownership over communal land, but EMG’s access to land remains impeded by a combination of limited formal tenure, the allocation of forest land to state and private enterprises, and lack of recognition of the efficacy of traditional community forest management mechanisms. Advocating for an enabling policy environment in forest land governance is key to ensuring that the rights of people from ethnic minority groups to have access to and control over community forest land are realized and protected.

Objective of Land Rights

The project ‘Promoting Land Rights for Ethnic Minority People in Vietnam’ aims to contribute to the protection and promotion of ethnic minority people’s rights to community forest lands:

Civil society organizations and communal authorities have the knowledge, skills, and connections to effectively advocate for the inclusion of community forest land rights and management in the formulation and implementation of policy and law.
Key policy-makers recognize and support ethnic minority land rights in the coming amendment of the Law on Forest Protection and Development.

How Land Rights works and expected results

BASING ADVOCACY ON EVIDENCE: Evidence on the importance of ethnic minority community forest governance is available to, acknowledged, and used by policymakers.
REACHING OUT TO WIDER NETWORKS: Increased interaction and dialogue between civil society organizations (CSOs), LandNet, communal authorities, policymakers, and media on the implementation of Land Law 2013 and the coming amendment of the Law on Forest Protection and Development.
PUTTING RIGHTS INTO PRACTICE: CSOs and LandNet coordinators and activists have increased confidence and capacity to engage in the campaign for ethnic minority community forest land rights.
PROMOTING WOMEN’S AGENCY: Ethnic minority women have increased confidence to participate in decision-making on community forest management and in policy dialogue on land rights.
HARNESSING THE CAPACITY OF PARTNERS: Communal authorities have increased their capacity to realize their responsibilities in protecting ethnic minority communities’ forest land rights.

Participants of Land Rights

Policy-makers who will determine the content of the Law on Forest Protection and Development, particularly the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VN Forest), the Department for Ethnic Minority Policies under the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs in the National Assembly, the Communist Party Economic Committee and Ethnic Minority Communities in six project provinces.

Location

10 districts in six provinces: Lao Cai, Lang Son, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Kon Tum

Time

1/2016 – 12/2018