Community Forest Management and its Impacts on Ecosystem Services and Livelihoods in Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam

This study explores the implementation of Community Forest Management (CFM) and its impacts on ecosystem services and the local livelihoods in Thua Thien Hue province. Through interviews with CFM households, non-CFM households and local representatives, it found that although CFM contributes positively to the enhancement of ecosystem services, limitations remain. Specifically, CFM payments only account for up to 10% of households' income and therefore activities such as patrolling tend to be left to older, non-earning household members. The study also found evidence of `reverse exclusion' where limiting CFM participation to poor households also limited the capacity of the group to implement training and contribute voluntary labour. The study highlights that communities' income sources are increasingly shifting away from forest-related activities, driven in part by CFM policies. Despite limited financial returns from CFM, it plays a crucial role in shaping community livelihoods, which require integration with broader income diversification strategies

Diversification (marketing strategy) · Ecosystem · Ecosystem services · Forest management · Household income · Limiting · Livelihood · Patrolling · Payment · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies