Key Laws: Circular No. 34/2009 / TT-BNNPTNT on the criteria for determining and classifying forests (2009); Decree No.117/2010/ND-CP on Organization and Management of the Special-Use Forest System (2010); Land Law (2013); Law on Forestry (2017)—replaced Law on Forest Protection and Development (2004).

All land and the natural resources found under or on it is owned by the people through the state in Vietnam. However, the state recognizes long-term, alienable usage rights over both land and resources. Those with these usage rights in forest land are known as “forest owners.”

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Photo by Richard Allaway – Licence used by CC BY 2.0

The Government of Vietnam considers forests an important ecological resource, valuable for the socio-economic development and well-being of communities throughout the country. Forests play a major role in adapting to climate change as well as in regular environmental functions such as preventing erosion and maintaining water circulation. Both forest and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important sources of nutrition. Forests also have a social function, contributing to job creation and incomes. At present, there are about 25 million Vietnamese people for whom 20%, or by some estimates up to 40%, of their annual income comes from the forest.

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Photo by Richard Nyberg|USAID license CC BY-NC 2.0

Vietnam is considered a multi-ethnic country, made up of 54 ethnic groups. The Kinh ethnic group makes up 85.4% of Vietnam’s population, or 78.32 million people. The remaining 53 ethnic groups make up only 14.6% of the country’s population.

Although Vietnam voted in favour of UNDRIP, the government does not recognize ethnic minorities as indigenous peoples. Instead, the government uses the term “ethnic minority” to refer to everyone but the Kinh majority. The focus of the Vietnamese government is on “unity in diversity”.

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Photo: Wagner T. Cassimiro “Aranha”  via Flickr, license CC BY 2.0

Vietnam’s population and housing census is conducted every ten years and begins on April 1st. The country has conducted four population and housing censuses since the revolution in 1975, specifically in April of 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009.1 The fifth population and housing census in 2019 will aim to collect information about national indicators and some sustainable development indicators.

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Photo: sasint via Pixabay, license CC0 1.0

Vietnam is vulnerable to CC. It ranks the fifth in climate risk in the Global Climate Risk Index for 2018 (CRI) and eighth in the Long-Term Climate Risk Index (CRI), a list of the 10 countries most affected by extreme weather events from 1997 to 2016 (annual averages).

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Photo: Pisauikan via Pixabay, license CC0 1.0

International aid plays a significant but decreasing role in Vietnam’s national expenditure. The nature of development assistance has changed a lot over time. Previously aid came largely from developed countries members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), however recently, China, Arab countries, multilateral organisations, and private philanthropy is having a larger influence on how aid is accessed in Vietnam.

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Nhat Tan Bridge, Hanoi – a typical ODA project. Photo: Quang Ha Praha  via Pixabay, license CCO 1.0.

At the end of 2015, Vietnam had only met 3 of the 8 Millennium Development Goals. Now as they report on the first Voluntary National Review at the 2018 High Level Political Forum the work over the last two years to align Vietnam’s Sustainable Development Goals are highlighted in this examination of the localisation and monitoring progress of Vietnam. 

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Lotus, Vietnam national flower | Photo by Hoang Khai Nhan via  Flickr | CC.BY.NC 2.0

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Photo: ODV, license CC BY SA 2.0