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Environmental Cognitions, Land Change and Social-Ecological Feedbacks: Local Case Studies of Forest Transition in Vietnam

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Abstract

Forest transition — i.e., the shift from decreasing to expanding forest cover — in the northern mountains of Vietnam was analyzed at the local scale in four villages from the 1970s to 2007–2008 to understand feedbacks from local environmental degradation on land uses, the conditions under which such feedbacks occur, and their possible roles in the transition. Remote sensing data were combined with field surveys including interviews, group discussions, mental and participatory mapping, observations and secondary sources. The feedbacks from environmental degradation and changes in the provision of ecosystem services to land practices via environmental cognitions were analyzed. The case studies showed that forest scarcity was perceived, interpreted and evaluated before possibly affecting land use practices.

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Notes

  1. The four villages were Khang and Na Da in Xuan Lac commune, and Hoc and Pa Dong in Ta Hoc commune.

  2. I.e., rich, poor and middle-class farmers; young, older and middle-aged; and farmers practicing upland and lowland agriculture, forestry and off-farm activities (Appendix 1).

  3. Note that the decline in labor productivity with shortening fallow length observed here is not a universal feature of shifting cultivation systems (Nielsen et al. 2006), as shorter fallows require more labor for weeding but less for clearing the land (Conelly 1992).

  4. Weeding is indeed often regarded as the most difficult taks in shifting cultivation, see Mertz et al. 2008, Pandey and Dang 1998.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partly funded by a travel grant from the Communauté Française de Belgique, and was made in collaboration with the Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (FSIV). The author thanks Prof. Nguyen Hoang Nghia and Mr Hoang Lien Son (FSIV). Invaluable help on the field was provided by Mr Khuc Van Quy, Mrs Do Thi Ha, Mr Ha Van Tiep, and Mrs Nguyen Thi Thuy. Warm thanks to numerous people and families from the four villages, who provided their time, knowledge and hospitality, to Prof. E. F. Lambin for his support, Profs. K. Rasmussen, A. Van Rompaey and V. Vanacker for fruitful discussions, and anonymous reviewers. Some of the financial support for writing was provided by the E.U. FP 7 project 226310 REDD-Alert. The contents of this publication are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

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  1. F.R.S.-FNRS, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

    Patrick Meyfroidt

  2. Georges Lemaître Center for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

    Patrick Meyfroidt

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Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Table 9 List of Interviews, December 2007–February 2008; structured and semi-structured interviews with mainly open-ended questions, and group discussions
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Meyfroidt, P. Environmental Cognitions, Land Change and Social-Ecological Feedbacks: Local Case Studies of Forest Transition in Vietnam. Hum Ecol 41, 367–392 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-012-9560-x

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