THE RESTORATION DIAGNOSTIC

THE RESTORATION DIAGNOSTIC Case Example: Restoration of Mangrove Forests in Vietnam KATHLEEN BUCKINGHAM AND CRAIG HANSON WRI.ORG Case Study: Restoration of Mangrove Forests in Vietnam 1

CASE EXAMPLE: RESTORATION OF MANGROVE FORESTS IN VIETNAM SUMMARY Since the 1950s, Vietnam has lost more than 80 percent of its mangrove forests. During the American War with Vietnam (1955 75), the mangrove habitats in the Mekong Delta were almost completely destroyed (Tai et al. 2009). This was largely because the mangroves in the south provided strongholds for military resistance. Consequently, the U.S. military used bombs and toxic chemicals to destroy the forests. Of 291,000 hectares of mangroves in Vietnam in total, 105,000 hectares 36 percent were sprayed with defoliant one or more times during the war (Hong 2001). 1 Since the war, the Vietnamese converted extensive areas of mangroves into agricultural land, salt beds, and human settlements (Hong and Hoang 1993). The main cause of mangrove loss after the war has been the expansion of aquaculture (Powell et al. 2011a), in particular shrimp farming 2 (Phuong 2007) in southern Vietnam (Cosslett and Cosslett 2014). Between 1987 and 1994, Vietnam lost more than half of its remaining mangrove habitat. In particular, a total of 102,000 hectares of mangroves were cleared for shrimp farming from 1983 to 1987 alone (Palis et al. 2014). This clearing occurred against a backdrop of significant social, political, and economic reform, as well as economic development and integration into the global economy (Figure 1). The Doi Moi reform policy attained significant achievements in openness to trade, poverty reduction, and human development (Kien and Heo 2008), but some researchers have blamed it for prioritizing economic development over environmental issues (Vuong 2014). 3 A range of mangrove restoration projects have been carried out in Vietnam: Can Gio mangrove forest (1978 2000) (Can Gio Man and Biosphere Reserve 2001), Vietnam Red Cross coastal mangrove protection program (1994 2015) (UNCSD 2012), Five Million Hectares Reforestation Program (1998 2010)(Sam et al. n.d.), the MYANMAR THAILAND LAOS Hanoi CAMBODIA TIME PERIOD: 1978 to present CHINA VIETNAM AREA RESTORED: 18,000 hectares within a broader area of 172,000 hectares TYPE OF RESTORATION: Primarily active planting 0 300 km Coastal Wetlands Protection and Development Project (1999 2007) (World Bank 2009), and the Minsitry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Proposal on Restoration and Development of Mangrove Forest in Coastal Areas (2008-2015) (MARD 2008). Since 2001, mangrove restoration has reversed this trend of coastal deforestation, adding a net 18,000 hectares of new forest, bringing total mangrove forest cover to 172,000 hectares in 2008 (WRI 2011). VIETNAM BEFORE VIETNAM AFTER 2 WRI.org

Restoration in the northern and southern portions of the country took different approaches. In the north, mangroves were planted with special protective status. 4 The Red Cross Disaster Risk Program implemented a 17-year project in eight provinces, mostly in northern Vietnam, restoring mangroves along a 100-kilometer stretch of sea dike to reduce risk from storms and flooding. The benefits have been substantial. During tropical cyclone Damrey in 2005, the coastline s restored mangrove system led to a reduction of wave height in Kien Thuy District from 4 meters to 0.5 meters and prevented damage to the sea dike (Osbeck et al. 2010). Other areas without mangrove protection, such as Giao Hai and Giao Long communes, were seriously impacted, with costs of urgent repairs alone amounting to US $1.2 million. 5 In financial terms alone, the mangrove program proved that disaster preparedness pays. The planning and protection of just part of the restoration initiative 12,000 hectares of mangroves cost around US $1.1 million, but has helped reduce the cost of dike maintenance by US $7.3 million per year (Powell et al. 2011a). Restoration differed along many parameters between the northern and southern parts of the country. The northern portion of the country experienced disaster risk reduction through mangrove plantations (Powell et al. 2011a), while restoration efforts in the south sought to alleviate poverty and diversify livelihoods. This variability is not by design, but because the north and south differ in terms of governance systems and exposure to natural disasters. However, these differences presented important opportunities. 6 The southern part of Vietnam has generally been thought to be less vulnerable to typhoons or storm surges (Takagi et al. 2014). In the northern region, mangrove restoration had a single purpose protection and most forest land was not allocated to individuals or households. The top-down approach in the north is in contrast to the primarily bottom-up approach in the south. 7 In the south, attempts were made to promote and design mangrove restoration and rehabilitation as part of a broader approach to alleviate poverty and diversity livelihoods to generate food and income. Rather than just being monocultures the case in the north many mangrove plantations in the south were both species-rich and existed under a number of different land-use arrangements. Nearly 8,000 households in the south have received land leases and benefited from infrastructure development such as roads, schools, and health focusing on the wider social, economic, and environmental landscape (Powell et al. 2011b). These changes make developing new value chains easier; markets are more accessible for alternative commodities and provide greater incentives to set up businesses and have families in the area. 8 Mangrove forest restoration can generate larger benefits than that of aquaculture. Restoring an area of just 150 hectares with mangroves was estimated to generate about VN$21 billion compared to VN$10 billion for aquaculture over 22 years. Another study found that investing about VN$17.7 billion over four years to restore 150 hectares of mangroves will create about VN$32 million (about US $1.7 million) in return (Tran and Tinh 2013). 9 WHICH FEATURES AND KEY SUCCESS FACTORS WERE EXHIBITED? Restoration in Vietnam exhibited a number of the features and key success factors of forest landscape restoration. Motivate The government became motivated to pursue restoration due to several factors: CRISIS EVENTS. Historically, tropical cyclones have caused considerable damage along the 3,000 km coastline of Vietnam. In October 1985, one typhoon caused the loss of almost 900 lives, sank 3,300 boats, and rendered more than half a million people Figure 1 Mangrove coverage reached a low point in 1999 and increased as of 2001 450,000 400,000 408,500 350,000 300,000 290,000 Hectares 250,000 200,000 150,000 252,000 156,608 155,290 179,293 171,995 100,000 50,000 0 1943 1962 1982 1999 2001 2007 2008 Year Source: Based on data from Powell et al. (2011). Data from Hawkins et al.(2010) show current mangrove cover at a higher 209,741 hectares. Case Study: Restoration of Mangrove Forests in Vietnam 3

homeless. Over the ten-year period from 1977 to 1986, More than 400,000 hectares of crops were lost in the coastal provinces of Vietnam as a result of tropical cyclones (Tri and Kelly 1998). Over a 20-year period from 1973 to 1992 in Nam Dinh Province, floods and typhoons caused more than 990 injuries and fatalities and more than US $22 million 10 in damages (Tri and Kelly 1998). This trend may continue with increasing threats from climate change. Vietnam s average annual temperature has risen by 0.5 0.7 C in the past 50 years. A rise in sea level of 20 cm in this period, combined with an annual increase in the frequency of tropical storms (by 2.15 events) and a significant decrease in mangrove forests, has magnified the impact of storm surges on coastal areas. Projections also suggest an increase in the frequency and intensity of tropical storms and a further rise in sea level of 11 to 68 cm by 2050. Sea level rise of just 1m would have a serious impact on 11 percent of the population and would reduce GDP by 10 percent. Inappropriate land use planning in urban and agricultural development has amplified the vulnerabilities associated with natural disasters (Powell et al. 2011a). These disaster risk concerns current tropical cyclone patterns coupled with perceived increased risk from climate change have particularly motivated mangrove restoration in northern and central Vietnam (Thu and Populus 2007). In the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami, mangrove restoration gained additional attention from international organizations that were widely promoting restoration of coastal areas (Powell et al. 2011a). LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. Motivated by Vietnam becoming more vulnerable to storm surges and saline intrusion, the government created legal requirements to restore mangroves. In 2007, a new dike development program began to focus on the south. This program, approved as Decision 667, aims to restore and upgrade the 900-km sea dike system from Quang Ngai Province to Kien Giang Province. The establishment of a protective mangrove forest situated between the sea dike and the coastline with a minimum width of 500m is a mandatory condition written into Decision 667 (Powell et al. 2011a). BENEFITS. Clear benefits were identified and expected through mangrove restoration by both the Vietnam National Red Cross and the government. As one of the most typhoon-prone nations in Asia, without mangrove protection in the past, waves would breach the coastal dykes and flood the land of poor coastal families. As well as saving lives, possessions, and property from floods, the Red Cross estimates that the livelihoods of 7,750 families have benefited from the replanting and protection of the mangrove forests. In the north, mangroves provided protection from storms, while in the south families can now earn additional income from fisheries selling the crabs, shrimp, and mollusks that mangrove forests harbor as well as supplementing their diet (Red Cross 2002). In the Can Gio District, mangrove restoration has reduced erosion and provided habitat for shell and clam farming. The restored mangroves provide filtration for the estuary, trapping sediments and preventing discharge of solid waste from Ho Chi Minh City into the sea. Fifteen years after mangrove restoration, Can Gio saw increases in bird populations and other wildlife. These benefits further motivate restoration and maintenance of mangroves (Hong 2001). Enable Several enabling conditions were in place to facilitate mangrove restoration in Vietnam. ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. Mangroves naturally would line the coastline of Vietnam. The soil, water, climate, and fire conditions were suitable for restoration. POLICY CONDITIONS. A number of policies influenced restoration activities. Doi Moi, the economic reform or renovation policy implemented in 1986, marked the official transition of Vietnam from a centrally planned economy to a socialist-oriented market economy (Powell et al. 2011a). In 1988, the collective system was abandoned in favor of private ownership (Do and Iyer 2003). One of the hallmarks of the Doi Moi was the Land Law, which changed approaches to mangrove land tenure. While land still remains the property of the state (Land Law 1993, Article 1), rights to use the land were assigned to individuals over a period of up to fifteen years. In addition to an increased lease term, land-use rights could now be inherited, transferred, exchanged, leased, and mortgaged (Do and Iyer 2003). Although falling short of providing outright land ownership, the government granted people the right to use and profit from land (Seto and Fragkias 2007). Another important policy factor has been the application of the Land Law (2003) and the Forest Protection and Development Law (2004). Together with the Civil Law, these laws form the basis for the establishment of rights and duties for mangrove stakeholders (Hawkins et al. 2010). Forests are classified under three forms: protection forest, special use forest (nature reserves/ national parks), and production forest. Since 2000, 77 percent of mangrove forestland in Vietnam s southern provinces has been designated as productive and therefore designated as production forests. They have been allocated and leased to 33,000 households and 62 collective organizations for active management (Powell et al. 2011a). Clear land rights and leasing has provided motivation for mangrove conservation, restoration, and management. MARKET CONDITIONS. After 2000, competing demands for alternative uses of mangrove areas declined and the market value of mangroves increased. For example, markets emerged, particularly tourism, which valued thriving mangroves. From 1998 to 2001 ecotourism in Can Gio developed rapidly. In 1991, Can Gio was declared a protection forest, and in 1999 it was designated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Located not far from Ho Chi Minh City, the reserve has approximately 20,000 hectares of mangroves, of which 7,000 hectares are restored mangroves. Macaques, crocodiles, and other wild animals in the protected Can Gio Forestry Park attract many tourists, contributing to the socioeconomic improvement of the local community (Hong 2001). SOCIAL CONDITIONS. Conditions for local people to participate in the decisions about restoration goals and methods and for local people to access the benefits of restoration differ between the northern and southern regions of Vietnam. In the south, local people had an active role in both. This has led to restored man- 4 WRI.org

groves that generate multiple benefits, including food production, shoreline protection, and livelihood diversification. Social factors were different in the north, generating different results. Local people did not have an active role in the design of the restoration programs in the north. This has led to more monoculture mangrove systems designed for the sole purpose of shoreline protection. Marginalized members of society were displaced, particularly women dependent on access to the coast to harvest noncultivated seafood like clams and crabs (Powell et al. 2011a). Implement During this time period, capacity and resources for implementation came into place that facilitated restoration, including: FINANCE AND INCENTIVES. Incentives and funds for restoration existed, were easily accessible, and came from multiple sources. For instance, the Coastal Wetlands Protection and Development Project received US $65.6 million from the Danish International Development Agency, the World Bank, and the Vietnamese government (UNEP 2000). The mangroves planted by the Red Cross Disaster Risk Program received financial support from the Japanese and Danish Red Cross. Due to the huge benefits accrued, the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) invested more than US $100 million between 2008 and 2010 on the restoration and rehabilitation of mangroves in coastal areas (Powell et al. 2011a). In addition, MARD announced a plan to invest about US $940 million 11 to upgrade the country s coastal dike system, with the mangroves acting as a protective mechanism for the constructed dikes (WRI 2011). The Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City s Environmentally Protected Forests provided finance and incentives for agroforestry workers and employees of the forestry agency to restore and manage mangroves. For instance, households were allocated 30-year contracts to manage three to five hectares of mangrove forests. Mangrove guards received monthly salaries and rewards for successful forest protection. Other benefits to households included money to build houses on allocated land, boats for forest protection, loans for authorized fisheries production, and technical training on tree thinning, reforestation, and shrimp farming (Hong 2001). LOOKING FORWARD While the restoration of mangroves has had proven benefits, there are a number of challenges which threaten the sustainability of these efforts, including: FINANCE AND INCENTIVES. Since the Red Cross program support ended in 2006, the compensation local people receive for protecting mangroves in the north has declined so significantly that it no longer provides the incentive needed for continued local engagement (Powell et al. 2011a). 12 There have been unanticipated conflicts in the north as a result of protecting mangrove forests without adequate compensation. Moreover, residents of local communities have been denied the ability to earn a livelihood from the mangrove forest and wetlands because of their protected status. This development contrasts sharply with those in the south, where local people can access the restored mangroves and earn livelihoods from them (WRI 2011). POLICY CONDITIONS. Differences between tenure arrangements in the north and south are affecting the management of mangroves. In the north, former aquaculture mangroves have been designated with special protective status, not granting local inhabitants user rights. This has magnified conflicts over claims to coastal wetlands between the lucrative shrimp industry and locals dependent on mangrove plantations for noncultivated seafood (Powell et al. 2011a). Mangroves remain classified as protected or special use in the north, and few individuals benefit directly or receive compensation. For those who do receive compensation, it is barely sufficient as an incentive, leading to weak management and protection. In contrast, the south has a diversity of tenure arrangements, ranging from individual management to collective or comanagement. Livelihood diversification and capacity building has led to locals not being dependent on mangrove resources (Powell et al. 2011a). MARKET CONDITIONS AND FINANCE. Benefits from payments for ecosystem services (PES) have been explored for mangrove restoration in Vietnam. Mechanisms exist at the national and provincial levels to allocate mangrove rights and benefits to local people, either directly or via a management board or other government body. However, challenges to successful PES remain, most notably related to: (1) high opportunity costs; 13 (2) coordination and management difficulties; and (3) stakeholder capacity. PES has been advocated by various organizations and departments to deal with the amount of protected mangroves. However, the application of PES to mangrove ecosystems is limited by unclear regulatory and management authority over Vietnam s mangroves due to the overlapping mandates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), and the People s Committees at the provincial, district, and commune levels. This lack of clarity has the potential to undermine mangrove PES, 14 which requires a stable, predictable regulatory system (Hawkins et al. 2010). To a large extent, Doi Moi has championed economic expansion over environmental preservation. Moving forward, the Doi Moi economic reforms which have turned Vietnam into a country known for agricultural exports (such as rice, coffee, rubber, cashew nuts, catfish, and shrimp) and a manufacturing hub for China needs to be balanced with environmental goals (Vuong 2014). TECHNICAL DESIGN. Researchers have expressed concern about high-density mangrove forest planting. For example, one of the major tourist destinations in Vietnam for mangroves, Can Gio, has the potential for die-back due to inadequate spacing (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment 2008). Efforts are ongoing to provide adequate incentives for mangrove restoration, conservation, and management. Alternative livelihoods from the lucrative seafood industries still provide a draw, causing losses in mangroves. The government is trying to avoid potential losses faced by inadequate coastline protection, yet many challenges still remain. Case Study: Restoration of Mangrove Forests in Vietnam 5

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Environ Sci and Pollut Res 11 (6): 359 370. ENDNOTES 1. More than half of the Vietnamese forests were subjected to spraying operations. This included mangroves along the main shipping channel to then-saigon (Young et al. 2004) 2. The aquaculture sector in Vietnam began with small-scale extensive culture systems such as rice-cum-fish, livestockcum-fish, and earthen ponds in the early 1960s. The rapid growth the sector has achieved has been a direct result of the sector diversifying its farming practices and adapting to the production of exportable species at increased levels of intensification (FAO 2010). 3. Forest conversion to agriculture was a significant problem. Agricultural exports accounted for 79 percent of GDP by 1995, and the economy has experienced a growth rate of above 8 percent in the 1990s.The benefits from growth have been fairly widespread: poverty rates are estimated to have declined from 75 percent in 1984 to 55 percent in 1993 (Do and Iyer 2003). 4. The mangroves are protected from being cut. 5. VND 25.4 billion 6. Economists have drawn attention to a fundamental north/ south distinction in general economic reform experiences in several recent studies. The north is characterized by barriers to entry by outsiders, production for subsistence purposes, and an overriding ethic of redistribution. In the south, in contrast, production is market-oriented, the concept of land and other property as possessions that may be traded on markets is well accepted, and there are no restrictions on entry into the community. For instance, measures of total factor productivity in rice production consistently show both faster and higher responses to reform initiatives in the south relative to the north. Households are generally poor, but relatively better-off in the south than the north (Hare 2008). 7. An important and key distinction between north and south is that land reform was never fully implemented in the south following reunification in the 1970s. This led to more land consolidation and a less top down approach to land management in the south (Delaney, J. 2015. pers. comm., 27 January). 8. This is in the context of significant overseas development assistance. Vietnam relied heavily on Soviet and Western development assistance in the 1970s (Library of Congress 1987). The World Bank s assistance program for Vietnam has three objectives: to support Vietnam s transition to a market economy, to enhance equitable and sustainable development, and to promote good governance. From 1993 through 2004, Vietnam received pledges of US $29 billion of official development assistance (ODA), of which about US $14 billion, or 49 percent, actually has been disbursed. In 2004 international donors pledged ODA of US $2.25 billion, of which da1.65 billion actually was disbursed. Three donors accounted for 80 percent of disbursements in 2004: Japan, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (Library of Congress 2005). 9. The cost of aquaculture development is a market-based measurement, including pond construction, seed, food, labor, pond reinforcement and protection. The net benefit is the difference between total revenue and total cost. The study assumed that a total of 150 hectares was available for conversion into aquaculture ponds (Tran and Tinh 2013). 10. VND 470 billion 11. 20 trillion VND 12. The Red Cross program began in the north but under the Coastal Mangrove Restoration Program expanded to include another six provinces (UNSCD 2012). 13. The opportunity costs or foregone income from alternative land uses like fishing, aquaculture, and agriculture are high. For example, a shellfish collector can earn VND 100,000 per day, and a fisherman practicing dynamite fishing can earn VND 60,000 120,000 per day. Aquaculture is even more lucrative. Communities near Xuan Thuy National Park earned a total of VND 7 8 billion from selling clams in 2004 05 (Hawkins et al. 2010). 14. The Decree No. 99 of 2010 on the Policy for Payment for Forest Environmental Services, for example, stipulates that certain ecosystem services users (including hydropower, water supply, and tourist companies) must pay ecosystem services providers for valuable forest ecosystem services. Case Study: Restoration of Mangrove Forests in Vietnam 7

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank the following for reviewing and giving helpful suggestions for improving this case study: Jim Delaney (World University Service of Canada), Maria Osbeck (Stockholm Environment Institute), Tuan Huu Tran (Hue University), Christopher Delgado (WRI), and Todd Gartner (WRI). ABOUT THE AUTHORS Kathleen Buckingham is a Research Associate for the Global Restoration Initiative in the Forests Program at WRI. Contact: kbuckingham@wri.org Craig Hanson is the Global Director of the Food, Forests & Water Programs at WRI. Contact: chanson@wri.org ABOUT WRI World Resources Institute is a global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being. PHOTO CREDITS pg. 2 left and right Center for Social Research and Development (CSRD) Vietnam 8 WRI.org

Each World Resources Institute report represents a timely, scholarly treatment of a subject of public concern. WRI takes responsibility for choosing the study topics and guaranteeing its authors and researchers freedom of inquiry. It also solicits and responds to the guidance of advisory panels and expert reviewers. Unless otherwise stated, however, all the interpretation and findings set forth in WRI publications are those of the authors. Copyright 2015 World Resources Institute. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Case Study: Restoration of Mangrove Forests in Vietnam 9

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