local governance, social networks and redd+: lessons from swidden communities in vietnam
TRANSCRIPT
"Local Governance, Social Networks and REDD+: Lessons from Swidden Communities in Vietnam"
Moira Moeliono, Thu Thuy Pham, Ngoc Le Dung, Tien Nguyen, MaaritKallio, and Maria Brockhaus
ASFN Sixth Conference: Inle Lake, Myanmar, 1-6 June 2015
‐ dynamic vs static ‐ linked through multiple social networks vs isolated‐ enhancing carbon stocks (below ground) vs driving deforestation
‐ adapting to change and new opportunities, e.g. through migration and remittances
In this process communities also adapt, ignore, bypass and manipulate the various constraining rulesand thereby change and reproduce these
Swidden communities: perceptions, understanding, discourses
Means by which society (or in this case the swidden community) makes or shapes or implements decisions on how natural
resources are to be used and or managed
Formal structures: formal organizations and institutions, how hierarchy plays out
Informal structures: social relations, how people work together in practice creating a social network
both include a set of rules and procedures that guide objectives and outcomes
Environmental governance
Questions
What are key lessons for REDD+ and PES schemes when analysing
‐ the formal and informal structures in swiddencommunities
‐ the social networks in these communities through which information and resources are exchanged
Data Collection
FGDs, gender disaggregated: what are important ‘governance systems’ affecting your land use decision making, drivers of changeEgo‐network survey:• who are the three most influential
persons involved in the systems? • why and who are the most important
people with whom you most frequently exchange information and benefits?
• what types of information and benefits did you exchange?
Key informant interviewsWorkshops
Study sitesCharacteristic Lay village Que village
Main ethnicity Hmong TaiLocation (remote/relatively easy access)
Remote Remote but with the new road more accessible
National park Core zone of the Xuan Nha National Park
Bordering, buffer zone of the Pu Huong National Park
Swidden farmers (at least partially)
80.4 91.5
Population (No. of households)
96 84
No. of respondents interviewed
48 40
Most forests are rich in “natural” resources but they are also rich because local groups have enriched forests through their knowledge and practice.
THINKING beyond the canopy
Swidden systems and environmental governance: complex institutions, management rules, regulations and norms
SWIDDEN FALLOWADAT LAND
TEMBAWANG
THINKING beyond the canopy
Overall governance and mass‐organisations
Vietnam’s formal governance structure follows the official administrative system of three tiers: province, district and commune‐ main actors in the local government is the Peoples Committees
‐ village head and village government
Mass –organization: ‐ at commune and village level, most people belong to mass organizations, observed changing role from party‐extension to civil society organisations
Motivation to join mass-organisations
Village
Access to micro loans
Access to in‐kind benefits (seedling etc.)
Labour exchange
Informa‐tionexchange
Enter‐tainmentactivities
"Herd effects"
Security issues
Lay 9 0 7 20 0 2 5
Que 9 1 0 2 3 14 0
Security issues in the remote village
Taking part in swidden - and in mass organizations
ActorsPSD bankAgricultural extension officers (representing both the commune and district agricultural boards) Forest rangers representing Forest Protection Board of the national parkStaff from the Department of Natural Resources and the EnvironmentCommune government and village leadersBorder security policeMass organizationsGoldminersCommune health clinicOutside and itinerant tradersVillage shop ownersAgents and traders from townOther ethnic peopleInternational NGO
Actors’ reputational power in swidden governance
Informal
important
Informal governance: Linkages outside
village are most
important
Networks of swidden related information exchange: Lay
Networks of swidden related information exchange: Que
‐ almost all innovations (seeds, new techniques) and information (on new techniques, market prices, and opportunities) are brought in by outside traders in both cases
‐ Influence of informal actors might indicate a governance vacuum‐ government agencies presence limited (forest protection measures,
agriculture extension services)
traders might be door openers for large scale drivers of DD, however people rely heavily on these actors.
Simultaneously, government efforts on reforestation and reduce emissions so far did not consider diversity in communities
Swidden, deforestation/degradation and social networks
THINKING beyond the canopy
Implications for REDD
REDD+/PES schemes require MRV (information sharing) and benefit (and cost) sharing architectures
swidden communities and related governance systems are highly diverse, formal and informal elements - dominance and relevance depending on multiple factors
.. In a situation of formal governance: misconceptions of swidden dominant, diversity not captured, lack of consultation may lead to misinformed policies.. In a situation of informal governance/absence of state unbalanced power relations dominant, often to the disadvantage of people and forests
THANK YOU!