Vietnam Forests and Deltas Program Phase 2 Evaluation

The program, implemented from 2018 to 2021, focused on promoting the payment for forest environmental services (PFES) system, which requires users to pay for forest services provided by forest owners. The evaluation identified seven significant changes resulting from the program, including improved forest management and protection, increased transparency in PFES, and accurate forest ownership records. The program also facilitated forest reallocation and improved participation and inclusion in forest protection efforts. Experts consulted during the evaluation noted that the improvements in forest protections, changes in stakeholder perceptions, and increased participation and inclusion were among the most sustainable outcomes. However, the evaluation also highlighted several challenges encountered during implementation, including a lack of incentives for businesses to participate in environmental initiatives, implementation challenges related to competing priorities and limited resources, incomplete monitoring and evaluation tools, and difficulties in building solidarity among diverse stakeholders. The evaluation team employed a mixed-methods approach, consisting of a desk review, key-informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. The team found that effective collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA) practices were key to the program's success. The program's achievements were attributed to the commitment of the GVN and local authorities, flexibility in planning and budgeting, and the participation of Vietnamese stakeholders. Based on the evaluation's findings, several recommendations were made to support the continuation of the program's goals. These recommendations include providing funding and technical support for the review, reallocation, and retitling of forestland red books, supporting the conversion of individual forest ownership to village or community ownership, and allowing flexibility in workplan and budget allocations to facilitate adaptive planning and course correction. The evaluation also suggested that USAID and implementing partners should work closely with Vietnamese counterparts to establish a coordination mechanism and address the needs of national implementing partners. Additionally, the evaluation recommended that the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund (VNFF) should draft guidelines to allow forest owners to contribute a proportion of their PFES money to forest reallocation activities and invest in improving PFES monitoring and evaluation tools.