Land privatization and afforestation incentive of rural farms in the Northern Uplands of Vietnam

Poverty and deforestation are critical issues in a number of developing countries where the policy framework is in many cases insufficient to provide rural people an incentive to afforest. This paper analyzes both the impact of land privatization on afforestation efforts of rural farm households in the Northern Uplands of Vietnam and the economic incentive of farm households on afforestation efforts. The determinants of afforestation by farm households were analyzed. Empirical findings were used to derive relevant policy implications for promoting forest rehabilitation in a country where the majority of forestland had been in State control prior to land privatization in 1994. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.