Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute
Project: VIE/00/018/08
Participatory Rural Environmental Management: In the Northern Upland Areas
(Mo Chau district, Son La province)
Le Quoc Thanh et al
Hanoi, Vietnam
2003
Abstract
Parts of Son La Province are environmentally degraded, and farmers experience poor health and living conditions, and low income from farming. The Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute (VASI) undertook field research to analyze the situation and consult with farmers to identify necessary measures and develop action plans to solve the environmental problems.
Specific study locations were selected, with one adjacent to the Da River in hilly and dissected forested terrain, one next to the National Highway No. 6 on the Moc Chau highland, and one on the Vietnam-Laos border on moderately high and dissected terrain. The locations represented three common physical and social situations in northern Viet Nam.
Field research along transects focused on change in agricultural production systems over time. VASI, together with farmers and other residents, appraised the social and environmental problems and their potential solutions. Meetings with stakeholders reviewed and verified the roles of different players in environmental management and the research findings.
Observed changes over time were linked to shifts in agricultural food production from the cooperative land management regime (up to 1983), to the period of changing ownership over to farm households (to 1993), to the latest situation of farmers controlling land resources and managing their own production (to 2003). Environmental impacts changed markedly over this 27 year period. Minimal changes were noted during the cooperative period (to 1983) because of tight control over land management. During the period of change from cooperative to household ownership, a strong demand for food production resulted in a transformation of the stable forest ecosystem into an unstable upland cultivation system. In the last period, when farmers controlled land and crop management (1994-2003), intensive farming was practiced, forest exploitation was banned, and the environment was heavily damaged. The main factors were over-application of fertilizers and pesticides, and the growth of large-scale livestock operations without adequate solid and liquid waste management, resulting in major public health problems.
The shift to maize production resulted in serious soil erosion on slopes, but the local economy and standard of living improved significantly. However, current farming practices are not environmentally sustainable, since soil erosion and depletion are increasing the risk of flooding and drought. Loss of forest cover has reduced biodiversity and led to the disappearance of wild animals, birds and plants.
Rural communities stress the need to raise awareness about how to practice intensive farming in a sustainable fashion and for training on improved cultivation methods and cropping patterns to foster sustainable land use. Methods for making better and more sustainable use of farmlands in valleys in order to reduce pressure on upland slopes are also particularly sought. There is also a demand for sustainable forest management practices with support from the forestry authorities. Rural communities and other stakeholders also identified a need for joint planning of the livestock and crop processing industries and for improved waste management in order to reduce negative impacts on farm households and villages.
Based, in part, on the knowledge and experience of rural communities, the following conclusions and substantive recommendations were made:
- Land use planning based on slope and soil properties shows that current intensive upland farming practices are not sustainable. Reforestation efforts should be increased.
- On lands better suited to forest management, farmers must have feasible alternatives in order to shift away from maize production. Community forestry and enterprises that ensure that benefits from forests accrue to rural community and households will be important for forest protection and development.
- Upland farmers are ready to shift from annual to perennial crop species, including fruit trees, if these can yield higher returns than maize. Suitable species are being sought.
- Training and technical assistance for farmers and rural communities is needed to introduce improved cultivation techniques that limit erosion on steep slopes and to replace maize farming with improved cattle breeds and community pastures. In valley lands where intensive rice farming is practiced closer management of farm chemicals, improved forecasting of pest outbreaks, and more stringent control over approved pesticides, fertilizers, and their application, are needed.