Short description of the best practice

Two steps of improving the effective use of degraded land:
1) Sowing or planting leguminous, soil improvement trees/plants in degraded land area
2) Planing large size, native tress to create long-term protection of forest with supporting trees and mized forest planting.|

Location

North-West and Central Highlands of Vietnam

Estimated population living in the location:

10000000.0

Brief description of the natural environment within the specified location.

steep slopes with 30-35o
severyly eroded and degraded
severe drought in dry season and serious flash flood in rainy season

Prevailing socio-economic conditions of those living in the location and/or nearby

Annual crops.Though, it is high priority of the Government, there is still a need to speed up the process of land allocation in the location|
300-500 USD/year

On the basis of which criteria and/or indicator(s) (not related to The Strategy) the proposed practice and corresponding technology has been considered as 'best'?

- Good approach
- Application posibility for replication elsewhere
- Use valuable local knowledge, traditional practices and technical innovation|

Main problems addressed by the best practice

Improve degraded land management with the link of poverty reduction

Outline specific land degradation problems addressed by the best practice

poor forest cover; shifting cultivation; soil erosion and severe natural disasters

Specify the objectives of the best practice

Provision some good experiences and technical models to tacle with degradation in severely degraded land in upland areas

Brief description of main activities, by objective

Move from single forest plating model to mized plating model with multi-purpose combination of species
To create favourable conditions for long-lived tress species growth later, lasting from one year to three years depending to the decree of degradation|

Short description and technical specifications of the technology

The set of appropriate species for planting and the combination of modern and traditional techniques/knowledge have been introduced for rehabilitation of sandy area affected by drought and degraded soil linked with livelihood improvement of local populations.

Name and address of the institution developing the technology

Dr. Vo Dai Hai, Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (FSIV)|Dong Ngac, Tu Liem, Hanoi, Vietnam

Was the technology developed in partnership?

Yes

List the partners:

Local people
Sub-FSIV
Local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Seedling Research Center
Soil Research Center

Specify the framework within which the technology was promoted

• National initiative – government-led
• Programme/project-based initiative

Was the participation of local stakeholders, including CSOs, fostered in the development of the technology?

Yes

List local stakeholders involved:

Local people
Vietnam Forestry Association (VIFA)

For the stakeholders listed above, specify their role in the design, introduction, use and maintenance of the technology, if any.

Consultation when design, use and maintenance|

Was the population living in the location and/or nearby involved in the development of the technology?

Yes

Describe on-site impacts (the major two impacts by category)

Increased average income of local people
Increased tremendously production and productivity of crops
More moisture of soil and air
Better air and climate conditions

Describe the major two off-site (i.e. not occurring in the location but in the surrounding areas) impacts

Less sand movement attacking to the neighboring villages and roads
Better air and climate conditions

Impact on biodiversity and climate change

Explain the reasons:

People have better living conditions in the sites and can apply appropriate technologies for adapting of climate change.
More birds come to the area and less dry and hot conditions at the sites.
More possibility of removals and reduction of emissions through appropriate landscape management and cultivation.

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

No

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Yes

Where?

Central coastal region

Were incentives to facilitate the take up of the technology provided?

Were incentives to facilitate the take up of the technology provided?

Yes

Specify which type of incentives:

• Policy or regulatory incentives (for example, related to market requirements and regulations, import/export, foreign investment, research & development support, etc)
• Financial incentives (for example, preferential rates, State aid, subsidies, cash grants, loan guarantees, etc)

Can you identify the three main conditions that led to the success of the presented best practice/technology?

Active support of local authority (c)
Meeting the actual need of the local people (b)
Experts availability at local level (c)

Replicability

In your opinion, the best practice/technology you have proposed can be replicated, although with some level of adaptation, elsewhere?

Yes

At which level?

• Local
• Sub-national
• National
• Subregional
• Regional
• International

Related to human resources

Appropriate capacity of local participants and high interest and political commitment of local authority are the most important conditions for any success of researches.

Related to financial aspects

Secured adequate funding is precondition for successful transfer and sustainable making use of the results of researches.

Related to technical aspects

The techniques could be much more useful if they are applicable on large scale and linked with appropriate traditional knowledge.