Harnessing Forest Resources to Retain Young People

The area of natural forests in the Central Highlands is decreasing, while the young labor force is leaving their hometowns to seek a living elsewhere. This reality poses an urgent need to innovate the land-forest allocation mechanism, linking rights with responsibilities. At the same time, build policies to attract the younger generation to participate in forest protection and development.

Economic resources from forests

The Central Highlands has the second largest forest area in the country, and is the source of 11 major rivers that affect the Central and Southeast regions and neighboring countries such as Laos and Cambodia. Therefore, the Central Highlands forests play a key role in climate regulation, environmental protection and maintaining water security.

However, over the past decades, the Central Highlands forest area has been continuously decreasing. In a 2020 research paper, Dr. Tran Ngoc Thanh (Dak Lak Forestry Science and Technology Association) said that in the period 2010-2019, the region lost an average of more than 31,000 hectares of natural forest each year. The main causes are over-exploitation, land use conversion, and lack of effective management mechanisms.

Faced with this situation, the Government has issued many policies on the socialization of forestry, notably Decision 304/QD-TTg in 2005 on piloting forest allocation and forest protection contracts for households and local ethnic minority communities. However, to date, only about 2.55% of the forest land area has been allocated to households and communities for management. The majority of the forest area is still held by state organizations.

Another notable issue is that many households receive “poor forests” with little economic value, which do not create motivation for protection. The decentralization of forest property ownership is unclear, leading to conflicts of interest between the State and the community. In addition, the lack of post-forest allocation support mechanisms leaves people without enough resources to invest and exploit sustainably.

From an economic perspective, the Central Highlands forest land is a strategic resource if properly exploited. Clear and transparent allocation of land use rights, coupled with technical, financial and market support, will help people increase their income, reduce deforestation pressure, and create a forest product value chain linked to local development.

The problem of retaining young people

Not only an ecological shield, the Central Highlands forests are also a living space for millions of people, belonging to 49 different ethnic groups. For a long time, villages have had conventions to protect forests, especially sacred upstream forests. However, many young people are now leaving their hometowns to find work in urban areas due to lack of opportunities and low income, while those who remain are not interested in forestry work because of harsh and dangerous conditions. As a result, the forest protection force is getting older.

Retaining young people is not only a human resource issue but also a socio-economic development issue. Without a young successor, land and forest allocation programs will lack implementers, creativity and resilience. Forest development associated with livelihoods, eco-tourism and agro-forestry production requires the participation of the younger generation, especially those with qualifications, skills and market knowledge.

To solve this problem, there needs to be a policy to encourage young people to participate in management, especially linking people's interests to the work of protecting, preventing forest fires and developing forests. In this regard, Ta Dung National Park (Lam Dong) is doing very well.

Accordingly, Ta Dung National Park has about 25 thousand hectares of natural forest and buffer zone area. In the period of 2021-2025 alone, this National Park has contracted forest protection to 153 households. Of which, 100% of the contracted households are ethnic minorities living near the forest such as: M'Nong, Dao, Tay... Based on the contracted area, the park has paid 15-20 million VND/household/year. In addition to paying for forest protection contracts, Ta Dung National Park also prioritizes hiring households living near the forest to carry out forestry works such as afforestation, forest fire prevention... These activities have contributed significantly to the economic development of the people. The result is that acts of encroachment on forest resources have been limited to the lowest level.

The Central Highlands is facing an important crossroads: either continuing to let forest resources be lost, or transforming itself dramatically by empowering communities and the younger generation. Models such as Ta Dung National Park show that when people are directly linked to the forest, they not only become an effective protection force but also the subject of local economic development.

To replicate this success, a comprehensive and synchronous strategy is needed, in which land and forest allocation must go hand in hand with investment in people, especially the young generation. Only when forests become sustainable livelihoods and a space for youth startups can the Central Highlands maintain the green color of the forests and the vitality of the highlands.