ACKNOWLEDGEMENT After a period of study at the Faculty of Forest Resources and Environmental Management - Vietnam National University of Forestry, with the assistance of teachers and friends, I finally completed my graduation thesis I would like to express my gratitude to the teacher - Prof.Dr Dien Pham Van, who has directly supported, enthusiastically helped me throughout the course of doing graduation thesis I sincerely thank the cadres of the People's Committee of Lam Son Commune, Luong Son District, Hoa Binh Province for creating favorable conditions and helping me throughout the internship Especially the support of Mr Hoang Van Hung has helped me a lot in collecting information Last but not least, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents and my friends who providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout the process of studying this thesis Sincerely thank! I ABSTRACT In this thesis, a study on the livelihood assets of farmer households in Lam Son commune - Hoa Binh Province was conducted In this commune, forestry production accounts for 32.3% of the commune economy, plays a key role to improve the income of local communities This study focuses on analysis of groups of livelihood assets of 30 households participating in forest conservation and development in the study area Data analysis of the thesis has helped to classify households based on characteristics of their livelihood assets, and to propose support direction that may help improve livelihoods associated with forest conservation and development Interviews were applied to collect data for this research Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data Results shows that there are 4/5 household livelihood assets in Lam Son commune are still weak (human asset, natural asset, financial asset, and social asset) The households were classified into main groups: the first group with households is the poor households; the second group with 27 households is the non-poor households The recommendations are opening more courses of vocational training, intensive farming training, land use planning, and sustainable cultivation; organizing the meeting, club for people to share and expand their knowledge, facilitating for production households to improve their knowledge so that they can expand their production and diversify livelihood activities Insights from this study might contribute to developing future plans for helping improvement of livelihoods linked to forest protection and development II LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Map of the study site 13 Figure 5.1 The loans of the households in Lam Son Commune 23 Figure 5.2 Similarity of households in the human assets group 25 Figure 5.3 NMDS of households in the human assets group 25 Figure 5.4 Similarity of households in the natural assets group Figure 5.5 NMDS of households in the natural assets group 26 27 Figure 5.6 Similarity of households in the physical assets group 28 Figure 5.7 NMDS of households in the physical assets group 28 Figure 5.8 Similarity of households in the financial assets group 29 Figure 5.9 NMDS of households in the financial assets group 30 Figure 5.10 Similarity of households in the social assets group 31 Figure 5.11 NMDS of households in the social assets group 31 Figure 5.12 Similarity of households in groups of livelihood assets 33 Figure 5.13 NMDS of households in groups of livelihood assets 33 Figure 5.14 The educational level of the householders 34 Figure 5.15 The proportion of cultivation of the households 36 Figure 5.16 Participation of the households in the local mass organizations 37 III LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1 Information of householders 13 Table 5.2 Demography and labor force of each household 16 Table 5.3 Area of cultivated land of the households 17 Table 5.4 Water used in households 18 Table 5.5 The level of the using living and production facilities in the households 19 Table 5.6 The value of the properties of the households Table 5.7 The number of livestock in the households 21 Table 5.8 Percentage of income sources of the households 22 Table 5.9 The participation in social activities of the households in Lam Son commune 23 IV TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I ABSTRACT II LIST OF FIGURES III LIST OF TABLES IV Chapter INTRODUCTION Chapter SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Chapter METHODS 3.1 Data collection 3.1.1 Desk research 3.1.2 Sampling 3.1.3 Interviewing 3.2 Data processing Chapter STUDY AREA 4.1 Overview of Luong Son district 4.1.1 Topography 4.1.2 Natural conditions 4.1.3 Socio-economic conditions 11 4.2 Overview of Lam Son Commune 13 4.2.1 Natural and social conditions 13 4.2.2 Economy 14 Chapter RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 15 5.1 Characteristics of household livelihood assets in Lam Son commune 15 5.1.2 Natural assets 17 5.1.3 Physical assets 18 5.1.4 Financial assets 20 5.1.5 Social assets 23 5.2 Household classification based on characteristics of their livelihood assets 24 V 5.2.1 Household classification based on characteristics of human assets 24 5.2.2 Household classification based on characteristics of natural assets 26 5.2.3 Household classification based on characteristics of physical assets 27 5.2.4 Household classification based on characteristics of financial assets 29 5.2.5 Household classification based on characteristics of social assets 30 5.2.6 Household classification based on characteristics of the livelihood asset groups 32 5.3 Recommendations for support direction that may help improve livelihoods associated with forest conservation and development 34 5.3.1 Solutions for human asset development 34 5.3.2 Solutions for natural asset development 35 5.3.3 Solutions for financial asset development 36 5.3.4 Solutions for social asset development 37 Chapter CONCLUSION 38 REFERENCES 41 APPENDIX 42 VI Chapter INTRODUCTION Livelihood is understood as a way of making a living to achieve one’s goals and aspirations Livelihoods are also necessary for generating income (Robert Chambers and Gordon Conway, 1992; Ellis et al., 2003) Sustainable livelihoods are the primary concerns of human today It is a necessary condition for the development and improvement of human life but still meets the requirements of natural environment quality In fact, there are many programs and organizations supporting the community to aim stable and sustainable development Choosing livelihood activities of people is greatly influenced by many factors: natural conditions, society, human factors, material, infrastructure Assessing the effectiveness of livelihood activities helps us to understand whether people's livelihoods are suitable for local conditions, sustainable, long-term and stable development Developing sustainable livelihood and poverty reduction strategies are the basic support policies aimed at human development especially the poor, created opportunities for them to participate in the socio-economic development process of the country, to give the poor the opportunity and condition that help access resources to develop the production, get out of poverty and get a stable life However, in reality, people still have difficulty in accessing resources for economic development They have less access to capital sources such as finance, information, and facilities for development Improving livelihoods for local people and communities linked to forest conservation and development is not only a goal, a requirement, but also an important solution which is defined in the legal documents, policies of forestry development in our country This becomes special meaning for remote, upland areas where nearly 10% of the population is poor and ethnic minorities live inside or near natural forests (approximately 10.2 million hectares) These forests can be special use forests, protection forests or production forests - need to be strictly protected or closed, and prohibited to harvest timber according to the policy of the government Thereby, we see that sustainable livelihood is a top concern of human beings today It is the necessary condition for the process of development and improvement of human life but still meets the requirements of natural environment quality The livelihood assets, also known as livelihood capitals, of an individual, household or community, and consist of five groups of factors: - Human capital: mostly skills, knowledge, capacity for and efficiency at work, and education level - Natural capital: mostly forests and forested lands - Financial capital: mostly income, and accumulation of and access to credit - Physical capital: mostly housing, utilities, supplies, and production equipment - Social capital: mostly social relations and the level of participation in social organizations Both the poor and the rich are pursuing livelihoods However, the poor are more likely to be vulnerable to the effects of climate change or resource degradation Therefore, we need to focus on the livelihoods of poor rural people (Lase Krantz, 2001) Their livelihoods will be sustainable when have ability to adapt or tolerate in the context of vulnerability, maintain or increase livelihood assets, no destruction or causing degradation of natural resources (Pham Van Dien, Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, 2017) Human livelihoods often occur in the context of vulnerability (such as economic shock, health, natural disasters, pests, conflicts; trends in population change, resources, technology, government actions; seasonality such as changes in prices, production, employment opportunities) The livelihood assets are central and also the starting point of each object They have to approach these assets at certain levels These assets will change through its interactions with the legal, policy, institutional and administrative environment This environment will determine people's livelihood strategies and generate livelihood outcomes (Kollmair et al, 2002) Experience has shown that livelihood improvement linked to forest protection and development is a wise choice to achieve a "balance" between "people's lives" and "forests’ survival and development" (Pham Van Dien, Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, 2017) From this point of view, the state responsibility is to set up high-incentive policies to encourage people to participate in social forestry, in order to improve and enhance the quality of life for the people, as well as to protect and develop forests and effectively respond to natural disasters, risks and climate change However, the current data on livelihood assets of farmer households have not been received much attention from researchers and so have been insufficient Hoa Binh is a province which located at the Northwest of Vietnam, where has abundant natural resources and especially forest resources Forest is a very valuable resource - the most important factor that constitutes the natural balance of Hoa Binh province Moreover, the forest is also the residence, living and major economic source of some ethnic groups in the province The forest ecosystems are diverse and abundant with different economic value The livelihoods of the local people mainly depend on agriculture and forestry; have created great pressure for forest management and conservation Therefore, the title of this study is “Analyzing the livelihood assets of farmer households in Lam Son commune, Hoa Binh Province” with the aim to propose support direction that may help improve livelihoods linked to forest protection and development Chapter SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES  To analyze groups of livelihood assets of households that participate in forest conservation and development in the study area  To classify households based on characteristics of their livelihood assets  To propose support direction that may help improvement of livelihoods linked to forest conservation and development Figure 5.6 Similarity of households in the physical assets group Figure 5.7 NMDS of households in the physical assets group 28 5.2.4 Household classification based on characteristics of financial assets Figure 5.8 and 5.9 show that the similarity of households in financial assets is relatively low, all the households are a population at 23% similarity There are two groups in the degree of homology 62%, of which the first group of households has income from business, the second group of 20 households has small and medium livestock and no income from the business At the similarity of 100%, there are households with identical indicators: no livestock, low income from cultivation, major income from other sources, and no loans In addition, there are pairs of households with the similarity of 99%, most of the indicators are the same and only differed in the loan Figure 5.8 Similarity of households in the financial assets group 29 Figure 5.9 NMDS of households in the financial assets group 5.2.5 Household classification based on characteristics of social assets The evidence from Figures 5.10 and 5.11 demonstrates that regarding social asset with the similarity of 67%, all the surveyed households are a population It is clear to see that the households in Lam Son commune have a high degree of similarity in term of society At the similarity of 100%, the households are divided into two populations, the first one consisted of households which regularly joined the local mass organizations, and the remaining 26 households belong to the second group that does not participate in the local mass organizations Although cultural activities of village and commune are enthusiastically attended by all households, those which regularly participate in mass organizations are able to access more information 30 Figure 5.10 Similarity of households in the social assets group Figure 5.11 NMDS of households in the social assets group 31 5.2.6 Household classification based on characteristics of the livelihood asset groups Summary of all groups of livelihood assets, at 56% similarity, all the households are a population At the similarity of 86%, there are households belonging to the poor group because of lack of facilities, low asset value, a small area of cultivated land The large population consists of remaining 27 households with similar levels of 72% belong to non-poor households group Of which, the households are divided into two groups: the first group consists of households with the similarity of 77% belong to the group of households with relatively high income and assets value, the ratio of labor/head is not less than 60 %; the second group consisted of 20 households with the similarity of 74% belong to the group of households with median income and asset value In addition, there is no household group that is 100% similarity, the highest is 97% with the same in terms of: The ratio of labor/head, source of water use, housing value, high value of living and production facilities, no livestock, low income from cultivation, major income from other sources, no loan, and regular participation in the activities of local mass organizations 32 Figure 5.12 Similarity of households in groups of livelihood assets Figure 5.13 NMDS of households in groups of livelihood assets 33 5.3 Recommendations for support direction that may help improve livelihoods associated with forest conservation and development 5.3.1 Solutions for human asset development Humans live and mature in a well-educated environment that will develop in a positive direction If human capital is strengthened, the ability to choose livelihood activities will be more appropriate and effective So developing human capital is a very important issue According to Figure 5.14, it can be seen that most of the heads of the household studied at primary or secondary school, with primary school accounts for the highest rate of 43% and secondary school accounts for 37% The number of household heads studied at high school accounts for 10% On the other hand, there are still 10% of householders were not going to school Thus, the educational level of householders in Lam Son commune is still low, which causes the weakness of human assets Although the rate of labor/head is not too low, due to limited education level, the households not know how to generate high income 10% 10% Not going to school Primary school Secondary school 37% 43% High school Figure 5.14 The educational level of the householders Changing human capital is primarily a change in perception, which requires policies, programs, and projects in order to improve literacy levels It 34 has to change profoundly from human's perceptions of education, helping them understand that knowledge is a capital source of life-changing, contributing to enhance their position in society The advantage of human capital is the relatively high rate of labor/head However, not all of them generate major income Women and members who are over the working age but still have the capacity to participate in labor have not been actively utilized It is necessary to expand the handicraft industry so that they can have more jobs and take advantage of idle labor Local government should open many courses of vocational training, intensive farming training, land use planning, and sustainable cultivation for local people Moreover, it needs to organize the meeting, a club for people to share and expand their knowledge, facilitate for production households to improve their knowledge so that they can expand their production and diversify livelihood activities 5.3.2 Solutions for natural asset development The households selected for the study are those who own at least of forest land However, from Figure 5.15, it can be seen that households in Lam Son commune not take the maximum advantage of the forest cultivation in order to generate high income There are 87% of the households specialize in forestry, while only 13% of the households intercropping agriculture and forestry Therefore, it is necessary to carry out reforestation programs under the support of the Government, guide people intercropping suitable agricultural crops to ensure food demand, take the short term to grow long term In the long term, agro-forestry models can be developed on sloping land 35 13% Not participate Participate 87% Figure 5.15 The proportion of cultivation of the households In addition, except the surveyed households, there are many other households have no forest land or own small area of forest land So it needs to support those households, allocate land or help them loans to buy land 5.3.3 Solutions for financial asset development The lack of financial capital in livelihood activities is characteristic of farm households People face many difficulties in accessing this capital On the subjective side, their livelihood activities generate little-accumulated capital, moreover, in the perception of each farmer does not dare to invest with large scale In terms of objective, people not have the assets to mortgage, bank loans in large numbers The number of the surveyed household loans from policy banks and commercial banks is very small (Figure 5.1) Meanwhile, the loan term for agricultural and forestry development is too short (maximum years) There is no clear distinction between assistance and relief, and many policies have the same of beneficiaries (Pham Van Dien, Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, 2017) Therefore, it is necessary to introduce the policy consistent with the region, create favorable conditions for preferential loans for the poor 36 Lam Son commune has very few households with the large scale of livestock, mainly in the household scale The commune authorities should establish a livestock group, provide capital for production activities of local people, and apply policies to ensure livestock output and price stability in the region Facilitating to support intermediaries to find and expand markets On that basis, extend or restore the traditional industries to take advantage of idle workers, especially women 5.3.4 Solutions for social asset development Figure 5.16 shows that there are only 13% of households in Lam Son commune participate in the mass organizations, 87% non-participating households Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to and promote the activities of mass organizations, because this is the best bridge between the government and the people In addition, there should be timely information on prices and diseases for producers 13% Not participate Participate 87% Figure 5.16 Participation of the households in the local mass organizations 37 Chapter CONCLUSION Characteristics of household livelihood assets Human assets: The majority of household heads have the educational level at primary school and at secondary school The population in the commune formerly came from purely farmer families, so that leading to the situation of the low educational level The ratio of labor to dependents is 2:1, which means that two laborers taking care one dependent This does not affect the economic development of farming households Natural assets: On average, each household has 2.63ha of cultivated land Most of the cultivated land is forestry land and the main crops are acacia (very few households planting citronella, tea, and eucalyptus) Water sources are often used in the daily life of the households is hygienic water (water from bored wells that have not been filtered and treated) They not have access to water supply and drainage services such as clean water supply, waste treatment Physical assets: The most valuable asset of the farming household is mainly housing, the average value of housing of the household in the commune is 303.33 million VND per household Other assets such as motorbike, TV, fridge, and other living and production facilities have the total average value of 86.27 million VND per household The infrastructure in the commune is quite good, 100% of households are using the national grid electricity; the roads in the commune are all concreted, convenient for transportation Financial assets: The major income of the households not from cultivation and livestock (many households without livestock and low income from cultivation), it comes from business and trading or working for individuals and organizations There are only 27% of households have loans, of which 7% are from commercial banks, 10% are from policy banks and the 38 remaining 10% are from private sources with high-interest rates This is mainly because they not know how to access policy loans Social assets: There are 100% of surveyed households participate in the cultural activities of the commune and the village However, there is very few households participate in the activities of mass organizations (13.3% of surveyed households) This limits the access to new sources of information, exchanges, and transactions in living life Household classification At 56% similarity, all the households are a population With the similarity of 86%, there are households belonging to the poor group because of lack of facilities, low asset value, a small area of cultivated land The large population consists of remaining 27 households with similar levels of 72% belong to non-poor households group Of which, the households are divided into two groups: the first group consists of households with the similarity of 77% belong to the group of households with relatively high income and assets value, the ratio of labor/head is not less than 60 %; the second group consisted of 20 households with the similarity of 74% belong to the group of households with medium income and asset value Recommendations Due to limited education level, the households not know how to generate high income Local government should open many courses of vocational training, intensive farming training, land use planning, and sustainable cultivation for local people Moreover, it needs to organize the meeting, clubs for people to share and expand their knowledge, facilitate production households to improve their knowledge so that they can expand their production and diversify livelihood activities It is necessary to carry out reforestation programs under the support of the Government, guide people intercropping suitable agricultural crops to 39 ensure food demand Allocating land for the households have no forest land or own small area of forest land, or help them loans to buy land Introducing the policy consistent with the region, create favorable conditions for preferential loans for the poor The commune authorities should establish a livestock group, provide capital for production activities of local people, and apply policies to ensure livestock output and price stability in the region Facilitating to support intermediaries to find and expand markets On that basis, extend or restore the traditional industries to take advantage of idle workers, especially women Paying more attention to and promote the activities of mass organizations, because this is the best bridge between the government and the people There should be timely information on prices and diseases for producers 40 REFERENCES Chambers, R and Conway, GR, 1992 Sustainable rural livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st century IDS Discussion Paper No 296 IDS, Brighton Chambers, Robert, 1983 Rural Development: putting the last first Prentice-Hall London and New York, 1983, republished 1995, 2008 Department for International Development (DFID), 2000 Sustainable Livelihoods - current thinking and practice Department for International Development, London Lase Krantz, 2001 The sustainable livelihood approach to poverty reduction National Assembly Session 14, 2017 Forestry Law No 16/2017 / QH14 Ha Noi People's Committee of Luong Son district, 2014 About Luong Son District luongson.hoabinh.gov.vn People's Committee of Luong Son district, 2015 About Lam Son Commune People's Committee luongson.hoabinh.gov.vn Pham Van Dien, 2017 Balanced agriculture: the convergence of economy, ecology and conservation - suggestions for the Red River Delta Region Proceedings of the workshop GEF - SGP, UNDP Quảng Ninh Pham Van Dien, Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, 2017 Livelihood improvement linked to forest protection and development: practices and recommendations UNDP, GEF - SGP 10.Truong Quang Hoang, 2017 Development of a livelihood fund demonstration sites in Thuong Nhat and Huong Loc Communes, Bach Ma National Park and the possibility of linking with the Viet Nam Forest Protection and Development Fund Reported at the GEF/SGP Conference Da Nang 41 APPENDIX 42 ...ABSTRACT In this thesis, a study on the livelihood assets of farmer households in Lam Son commune - Hoa Binh Province was conducted In this commune, forestry production accounts for 32.3% of the commune. .. study is ? ?Analyzing the livelihood assets of farmer households in Lam Son commune, Hoa Binh Province? ?? with the aim to propose support direction that may help improve livelihoods linked to forest... Map of the study site 13 Figure 5.1 The loans of the households in Lam Son Commune 23 Figure 5.2 Similarity of households in the human assets group 25 Figure 5.3 NMDS of households in