Hydropower development and rewarding plantation in Viet Nam

Hydropower plant development has positive economic impacts for the country but the negative impacts to the local people and the environment can be more expensive if contingency plans and policies are not in place. Although the forest protection and development law, and other legal documents require compensation schemes for these conversions, in the practice they are not being implemented. There is a lack of knowledge on how compensation policies and programmes should be applied and therefore any further policy development is hampered.

Tropenbos International Viet Nam is implementing this project that aims at providing policy makers with information about the policy making process regarding compensation schemes in the form of tree planting and its implementation at local level. Additionally, the project will point out the negative impacts caused by hydropower plant development on forest protection efforts and biodiversity conservation. And, finally it will gain insight on how forest governance takes place at the provincial and community level.