Vietnam has been reforming its forest management in favour of household and local organization (Barney 2005). The government increasingly gives local people the right to manage the forests. Unfortunately, in this changing environment, recognition of local people’s rights is still limited and local knowledge and perspectives are rarely taken into account by the state institutions implementing land titling and decentralization. The challenge is to better inform each stakeholder on the perspectives of people living in and near the forest on the natural resources and landscapes. Furthermore, clarification of the local capacity to manage forests is necessary for better informed decision.
