The objective of this study was to assess the situation of livelihood capitals, as well as their impacts on the poverty status of forest-dependent households in highland areas of Bac Kan province. | Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2588-1299 VJAS 2018; 1(1): 85-96 Livelihood Capital and Poverty Status of Forest Dependent Households in the Highland Area: A Case Study in Bac Kan Province, Vietnam Nguyen Hai Nui1, Nguyen Quoc Chinh1, Do Quang Giam1, Nguyen Thanh Lam1, Cao Truong Son1, Philippe Lebailly2, and Martin Reinhardt Nielsen3 1 Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi 131000, Vietnam; University of Liège, Gembloux 5030, Belgium; 3 University of Copenhagen, København 1165, Denmark 2 Abstract Bac Kan is the mountainous province with the largest forest cover in Vietnam and forest dependence by rural households is of great significance. The objective of this study was to assess the situation of livelihood capitals, as well as their impacts on the poverty status of forest-dependent households in highland areas of Bac Kan province. Data were collected through direct interviews of 218 households living near forests in the districts of Ba Be and Na Ri. Descriptive statistics, comparison, logit model, student t-test, and chi-square test were used in this study. The results revealed that forest-dependence was high for poor households; the households‘ livelihood capital was weak; and households with stronger livelihood capitals were primarily non-poor. The effect of livelihood capitals on household's poverty status was significant, and human and financial capitals had the strongest impact. The estimated logit model had high accuracy with of observations correctly predicted. In poverty reduction programs, the state should improve the livelihood capitals, especially human and financial capitals, for the households in order to improve their welfare. Keywords Forests dependence, livelihood capitals, logit model, poverty status, ethnic minority, Bac Kan Received: March 20, 2018 Accepted: April 26, 2018 Correspondence to hainui@ ORCID Nui Hai .
