Báo cáo khoa học nông nghiệp " Lessons Learned from the Participatory Forest Land Allocation Process funded by AusAID in Quang Ngai " doc

PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page1

LessonsLearnedfromtheParticipatoryForestLandAllocationProcess
fundedbyAusAIDinQuangNgai

PhamDinhPhong
DeputyHead,LandManagementDivision
DoNRE,QuangNgai


Background
Forestry, as one of the important natural  resources of Quang Ngai Province, has contributed
significantly in the economic development of the Province. Though efforts has beenmade for
bettermanagementofforestresourcesbothatstateandindividuallevelsinthepast,however,
therewereambiguityintheforestboundaryandforestownershipsresultingtolackofeffective
forestmanagement.About343,436Ha.oflandisclassifiedasforestlandoutof515,266Ha.of
naturallandareainQuangNgaiProvince.

AusAID funded RUDEP (2002‐2007) assisted the Participatory Forest Land Allocation Process
(PFLAP) to allocate the forest land to individuals and enterprises. Later, it is followed by
Institutional Support Program (ISP)withthe purposetoenhance the qualityand effectiveness
of P135 II implementation in six upland districts  of the Province and supported the woodlot
ownerstoenhancetheircapacityandproductivity.

The objectives of PFLAP are to implement social contribution  policy of the forestry sector to
secure the forest land ownership to use it sustainably, to create employment to improve the
livelihoods of upland people resulting to enhance their incomes and to increase the
participation of relevant stakeholders in the forest management by allocating forest land,
especiallythepoorethnicminoritypeople.

This paper describes, in brief, the forest land allocation process with its strengths and

shortcomingscoveringoverallimpacttothecommunitywithforestownerships.

PFLAPImplementation
FollowingtheResolutionbytheProvincialPartyCommittee
andtheProvincialPeople’sCouncil
that mapping and issuance of forest Land Ownership Certificates (LOC) in the six upland
districts, DoNRE in coordination with the District People’s Committees (DPCs) prepared the
Economic‐Technical Reports (E‐T Reports) on mapping for preparation of cadastral maps of
scale 1/5000, land allocation,  land registration, preparation of cadastral documents and
issuanceof LOCsforforestland andother slopinglandsforannualtreecrop production. The
Economic‐Technical Report was prepared following the seven Steps of PFLAP.The Steps are
briefly shown in Appendix 1. PFLAP was commenced in 2005 with the pilot testing in
 two
communes.

PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page2

Communityawarenesshassignificantlycontributedtothesuccessoftheforestlandallocation.
Allthestakeholders,especiallyindividualhouseholds,werewellinformedinadvanceregarding
the process and they contributed in the decision makings at village and commune levels to
resolve boundary disputes, forestland rights, traditional users and others. Village
and hamlet
meetings were conducted to raise the community awareness on PFLAP. Such meetings were
coveredinthe63communesofthesixuplanddistricts.

Maincontentsofthevillagemeetingwereasfollows.
• inform households on the national and provincial policies related to forest land 
allocationandissuance
oflandownershipcertificates;
• introduce households to PFLAP and schedules for PFLAP implementation at the

provincial,districtandcommunelevel;
• introducehouseholdstoforestlandtypes,regulationsontheiruseandopportunitiesfor
householdstouseandmanagetheirland;
• ensure that the households understand the objectives, principles, and significance of
landuseplanningandlandallocationactivitiesandthattheycanidentifytheirrolesand
dutiesinlanduseplanningandlandallocationprocess;
• introduce households to concepts, signs, colours, and the ways to identify boundaries
andplacenamesonthecurrentthreeforest‐typemapsandexercisestoidentifycurrent
landusepractices.

Subsequentlysecondmeetingwasfollowedtodiscussandproposeaforestlanduseplan.The
meetingwasconductedwiththeapplicationofPRAmethodologytodiscusslanduseplanning,
and land use and management plans. Forest land use criteria, such as the areas planned for
protection, production, cultivation, or afforestation were introduced to the households using
the topographical map (1/5,000 scale). Discussions also i ncluded the future forest land use
strategies.The District Working Group  (DWG)thenworked with households to identifyfuture
land use activities for various forest land types. Forest land use status as well as the ways to
improveland usepractices of local  people wasdiscussed andagreed byall participantsat the
meeting.

Draftoftheforestlanduseplanningwaspreparedasfollows.
• The DWG in coordination with the consultants entered the information in the future
land
useplanningandboundariesintothe1/10,000scaletopographicalmap.Thismap
included land use planning details and proposed land allocation plans agreed by
participantsatthevillagemeeting.
• The forest land area and planned area of different land types for each village were
calculatedandenteredintoaninventorysheet.Communelanduseplanningmapswere
anaggregationofvillageplanningmapsanddata.
• On the basis of these maps, the DWG assisted the Commune People’s Committees

(CPCs) in drafting the commune participatory forest land use planning and land
allocationplans.

PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page3

The DWG presented the draftcommune forest landuse planningand land allocationplans to
the Commune Land Advisory Council(CLAC).Recommendations andcommentswere givenby
participantsatthemeetingtofinalisetheexplanationofthecommuneforestlanduseplanning
andlandallocationplans,mapsandotherrelevant
documents.

TheDWGassistedtheCPCstofinalisetheplanstosubmittotheDistrictPeople’sCommittees
(DPCs)forapproval.

Altogether, there were 1,040 commune and village meetings with the participation of 58,539
persontimes.Thisincluded:
+Communemeetings(2meetings/commune): 102;4,189persontimes
+Villagemeetings(2
meetings/village):  938;54,350persontimes


After two years (2007‐2008) of the implementation of mapping for preparation of cadastral
maps and issuance of land ownership certificates in the six upland  districts in Quang Ngai,
121,930 Ha./124,138 Ha. of land was measured, accounting for 98%, and 111,909 LOCs were
delivered, accounting for 117% as compared to the Economic‐Technical Reports.LOCs are
jointlyownedbybothmaleandfemaleheadsofthehouseholds.

In order to complete mapping and issuance of the LOCs, DoNRE with the support of
InstitutionalSupportProgram(ISP)covered


• TrainingstoprovideguidanceonapprovalworktotheCLAC;
• Preparationforthevillagemeetingandconsolidationoftheproposals;
• Villagemeetings;
• CLACmeetings;
• DistrictSteeringCommittee(SC)meetingsand
• TrainingsontheuseofViLissoftware.

ByJune 2009,totalareameasuredforthepreparationofcadastralmapswas122,647Ha.with

theissuanceof117,616LOCs.

CommunityEffortsinForestManagement
With the ownership of forest land, the individual households are contributing to establish
plantation forest  especially with Acacia species. Though there are individual efforts in the
plantation establishments, they are also involved in the Activity Groups to enhance  the
productivity
andmarketdevelopment.ISPhassupportedwiththetechnicaltrainingtowoodlot
ownersandimprovementintheforestmanagementtooptimizetheproductivity.

Achievements
Overall,the LOCs have been delivered in all the area of forest land currently used by local
peoplewiththecompletionofcadastralmapsofforest
landinsixuplanddistricts.
PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page4


This was due to the timely instructions of the political system from province, districts and
communesandskilledstaffofDepartmentofNaturalResourcesandEnvironmentandrelevant
agenciesincludingconsultantagencies.ItshouldbenotedthatRUDEPandISPhassignificantly
contributedintermsoffinancialandtechnicalsupports.


Majorachievementsareasfollows.
• The DWG,the CLACand governmentstaff at different levelshave been well equipped
with fundamental knowledge on the participatory forest land use planning and land 
allocationthroughtechnicaltrainingcourses;
• The approval work by CLAC has been conducted in an accurate, fair, democratic and
transparentwaywhichenhancedthequalityoflandregistrationdocuments;
• Through the program, technical staff of District Natural Resources and Environment
Division(DNRED)andtheLandRegistrationOffice ofthedistrictshavebeenabletouse
FaMisandViLissoftwareincompilationandadjustmentofdigitalmaps,preparationof
cadastral documents, and preparation of the LOCs. The commune cadastral officials
havebeenfamiliarwiththeuseofcomputersandsoftware’s;
• Participatory approach has been applied widelyby theagencies at different levelsand
particularly by people. This process has helped people  understand well the party and
thegovernmentpoliciestowardsforestland;
• The participation of upland people in this process not only improved their knowledge
butalsohelpedthemidentifytheirrolesandresponsibilitiesinforestlanduseplanning
andlandallocation;
• In the implementation of PFLAP, people had opportunities to participate such as
identification of boundaries between villages, land use organisations accompanying
consultant agencies in the preparation of cadastral maps, land registration, land
allocation in the field and issuance of the LOCs. Consequently, on receiving the LOCs,
households are able to immediately identify the locations and the boundaries of their
land,whichminimizedpotentialconflictsandclaimsonland.
• This PFLAP has extensively and comprehensively raised the awareness of the DNRED
andtheDistrictLandRegistrationOfficestaff,andespeciallytheCLACmembersonthe
importance of land management. Responsibilities of the leaders and the staff of each
agency have been clearly defined, which contributes
 to addressing the issues and
shortcomings during the past time. Work has gradually become stabilized and

developedforthecomingyears.
• This Process not only shows the elaborate and logical nature of work but  also brings
practicalbenefitstouplandpeople.TheyarenowprovidedwiththeLOCsand
havethe
rightswiththeirland.

DifficultiesandShortcomings
• The transfer from Protection Forest into Production Forest afterthe approval ofthree
forest‐type classification was slow due to the lack of guidelines from  the central
government.Itwasnotuntil2008thatMARDprovidedguidelinesonthis.Asaresult,it
PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page5

has been impossible to allocate land and issue the LOCs for some area of land
transferredfromProtectionForestintoProductionForest.
• TheDNREDandtheLandRegistrationOfficesintheuplanddistrictsarelackofstaff.In
addition, these staff are overloaded with work volume and their contribution to this
workwasthereforeverylimited.
• Some local authorities did not concentrate efforts on this work.What they did wasto
assign the work to the professional staff and consultant agencies without any
instructions. Consequently, the issues emerged during the implementation were not
addressedinatimelymanner.
• Theeffective coordinationbetweenthe consultantagencies, the CPCs,and theDNRED
ofsomedistrictswassometimeslackingandnotregular,whichcausedthecheckingand
appraisalofdocumentsinaccurate.
• Due to scattered settlement of the local people, it was difficult to conduct meetings
since people had to travel too far. In some villages, meetings had to be held several
timesandsomemeetingshadtobeheldatnightsothatpeoplecouldfullyparticipate.

LessonsLearned
ThroughtheimplementationofPFLAPinQuangNgai,thefollowinglessonshavebeendrawnby

DoNRE:
• TheSC,theDWGandtheassignedstaffhavetomanageanddirecttheimplementation
closely,objectivelyanddemocratically.Also,issuesemergedduringtheimplementation
havetobeaddressedinaflexibleway.
• Thosedistrictsandcommuneswhich  receiveintensivesupportand directionsfromthe
politicalsystemsfromdistrict,commune,andvillagelevelswillbeabletocarryoutthe
plannedactivitiesverywell.
• CommunicationworktomakepeopleunderstandtheGovernmentpoliciesandlawsand
thebenefitsoflandallocationandissuanceoftheLOCsisveryimportantandthisplays
apivotalroleinthesuccessofthisprocess.
• Coordinationbetween
theconsultantagencies,theCPCs,andtheDWGhastobeona
regularbasis.Inaddition,theseagencieshavetocooperatecloselytoresolvetheissues
duringtheimplementation.
• It is really difficult tocarry outPFLAP in thecommunity wheremost ofthe people are
ethnicminorities. This required patienceandresult‐based approach indoingthe work.
Moreover,itisveryimportanttopromotetherolesofmassorganizationsinmobilizing
theparticipationofpeople.
• Itisnecessaryto integrateotherprogramsand projectswithPFLAPsothat peoplecan
use their land more productively. Households often harvest the products before the
harvesttime,therefore,thereshouldbealongtermsupporttothehouseholds.Itisalso
necessaryto restrictthe transferof theLOCsfromone household to another (because
therearetendenciestoselltheLOCsbylandowners)whenpeoplegetthe
LOCs.More
importantly,peopleshouldnotlosetheirforestland,especiallytheirlanduserights.


PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page6

Conclusion

Forestlandallocationhascontributedtoguaranteethelandrightsofindividualhouseholds
especiallythepooruplandpeople,bothmaleandfemale,oftheprovince.Theymade
significantcontributiontoenhancetheproductivityoftheforestoncetheyreceiveland
ownership.ThePFLAPhasnotonlysupportedthepoorhouseholdsbutitalsocontributedto
capacitybuildingoftheimplementingagenciesbothinpolicydevelopmentandtechnicalfield.
Astheallocatedforestisscattered,theindividualforestownersneedtomanagetheforestina
communityapproachwithmarketdevelopmenttomaximizetheproductivityandincome.
PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page7



Appendix1:SevenStepsofPFLAP
No Step Contents
Step1 Administrativepreparation
+ Formation of the provincial and district Steering
Committees; (In practice, SC was not formed at the
provincial level. PPC assigned DONRE to take the
leadintheimplementation)
+Formation(orrestructuring)oftheCommuneLand
AdvisoryCommittees;
+ Formation of the provincial and district Working
Groups.
Step2 Technical preparation and
collection of information,
documentsandmaps
+ Technical Training for the district Working Group
andtheCommuneLandAdvisoryCouncil;
+Preparationofmaps;
+ Collection, review and evaluation of related
documentsandmaps;

+Preparationoftechnicalequipmentandtools;
+Financialpreparation;
+ Commune meeting for the implementation of
PFLAP.
Step3

Field surveys, data collection,
and development of current
land‐usemaps
+ Village and Hamlet meetings conducted for
communityawarenessraisingonPFLAP;
+ Field survey to develop current land use maps
(fieldexercises);
+Evaluationofthedatacollectedandpreparationof
thecurrentlandusemaps(indoorexercises)
Step4

Development of the forest
land‐use planning and
proposed forest land
allocationplans
+ General principles offorest land useplanning and
forestlandallocationplans;
+ Village and hamlet meeting to discuss the forest
landuseplanningandlandallocationplans;
+ Draft of the forest land
use planning and forest
landallocationplans;
+Seminarontheforestlanduseplanningandforest
landallocationplansatthecommunelevel;

+Approvalofthecommuneforestlanduseplanning
andforestlandallocationplans.
PaperpresentedattheCommunityForestryManagementWorkshopinBacKan(20‐21April2010) Page8

Step5

Mapping and identification of
land boundaries in the field,
and preparation of cadastral
maps
+ Surveying, mapping, identification of boundaries,
and locations of forest land lots in the field (field
exercises);
+ Development of cadastral maps of forest Land‐
Scale1/5,000(indoorexercises);
+Reviewandinspectionof
theoutputs;
+Submissionofmaps
Step6 Preparation of LOCs
documents, appraisal of land
allocation documents and
issuance of Forest Land Use
OwnershipCertificates
+RegistrationofLOCs
+ Preparation of documents for land ownership
certificates;
+Appraisalandapprovalofthedocumentsforforest
land allocation and forest land‐use ownership
certificates.
Step7


Issuance of the LOCs;
Preparationandfinalisation of
cadastraldocuments.
+HandoveroftheLOCstolandusers;
+Developmentofcadastraldocuments;
+Reviewandappraisalofcadastraldocuments;
+Submissionoftheoutputs,copiesoftheLOCs,and
cadastraldocuments.
