Environmental change and policy: natural resource access in Vietnam's ethnic communities

This policy brief examines how environmental changes and policy interventions, such as hydropower projects and forest conservation, impact natural resource access and livelihoods for ethnic minorities in north-eastern Vietnam, specifically within the Dong Phuc commune.

• Environmental and tenure policies in the studied region of north-eastern Vietnam have reinforced existing inequalities between different ethnic groups and transformed socio-natural configurations, which in turn affects the livelihoods of local communities.
• Local perceptions that forest protection increases water resource availability have been used to justify the appropriation of natural resources for conservation purposes, leading communities to accept their limited access to forest resources.
• While not a direct result of environmental demarcation policies, the increasing economic influence of women has started to change the power structures governing land access and control.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2020). Environmental change and policy: natural resource access in Vietnam's ethnic communities. https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-change-policy-natural-resource-access-vietnam-ethnic-communities/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Environmental change and policy: natural resource access in Vietnam's ethnic communities. 2020. https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-change-policy-natural-resource-access-vietnam-ethnic-communities/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Environmental change and policy: natural resource access in Vietnam's ethnic communities |date=7 September 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-change-policy-natural-resource-access-vietnam-ethnic-communities/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2020environmental, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Environmental change and policy: natural resource access in Vietnam's ethnic communities}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-change-policy-natural-resource-access-vietnam-ethnic-communities/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }