Forests Are Gold: Trees, People, and Environmental Rule in Vietnam (Culture, Place, and Nature)

Forests Are Gold examines the management of Vietnam's forests in the tumultuous twentieth century�from French colonialism to the recent transition to market-oriented economics�as the country united, prospered, and transformed people and landscapes. Forest policy has rarely been about ecology or conservation for nature�s sake, but about managing citizens and society, a process Pamela McElwee terms �environmental rule.� Untangling and understanding these practices and networks of rule illuminates not just thorny issues of environmental change, but also the birth of Vietnam itself. Ho Chi Minh, The Founder Of Modern Vietnam, Once Famously Remarked That Forests Are Gold--if We Know To Protect And Develop Them Well, They Will Be Very Precious. Ho's Statement Conveys Important Ideas About Nature, The State, And Society That Are Relevant In Understanding Contemporary Environmental Issues In Vietnam. For Ho And Other Political Leaders, Forests Have Been About More Than Trees: They Were About The Development And Administration Of Both People And Landscapes. This Book Presents A Genealogy Of Forest Management In Vietnam From The Beginning Of French Colonial Rule To The Present Day. Using Detailed Ethnographic, Interview, Archival And Biological Data, Pamela Mcelwee Presents A Nuanced Perspective On Environmental Change Through The Eyes Of Subjects On The Ground. By Explaining How Knowledge About Forests Was Generated, And By Whom, And How This Knowledge Was Used By Different Actors Engaged In Forest Governance, The Book Shows That Forests Are Not Natural Entities Outside Of Human Influence-- Introduction : Seeing The Trees And People For The Forests -- Forests For Profit Or Posterity? : The Emergence Of Environmental Rule Under French Colonialism -- Planting New People : Socialism, Settlement, And Subjectivity In The Postcolonial Forest -- Illegal Loggers And Heroic Rangers : The Discovery Of Deforestation In đổi Mới (renovation) Vietnam -- Rule By Reforestation : Classifying Bare Hills And Claiming Forest Transitions -- Calculating Carbon And Ecosystem Services : New Regimes Of Environmental Rule For Forests -- Conclusion : Environmental Rule In The Twenty-first Century. Pamela D. Mcelwee. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 241-267) And Index. "Ho Chi Minh, the founder of modern Vietnam, once famously remarked that "forests are gold--if we know to protect and develop them well, they will be very precious." Ho's statement conveys important ideas about nature, the state, and society that are relevant in understanding contemporary environmental issues in Vietnam. For Ho and other political leaders, forests have been about more than trees: they were about the development and administration of both people and landscapes. This book presents a genealogy of forest management in Vietnam from the beginning of French colonial rule to the present day. Using detailed ethnographic, interview, archival and biological data, Pamela McElwee presents a nuanced perspective on environmental change through the eyes of subjects on the ground. By explaining how knowledge about forests was generated, and by whom, and how this knowledge was used by different actors engaged in forest governance, the book shows that forests are not "natural" entities outside of human influence"-- Résumé de l'éditeur Cover 1 Contents 8 Foreword 10 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 18 Vietnamese Terminology 24 Abbreviations 26 Introduction: Seeing the Trees and People for the Forests 30 1 Forests for Profit or Posterity? The Emergence of Environmental Rule under French Colonialism 56 2 Planting New People: Socialism, Settlement, and Subjectivity in the Postcolonial Forest 90 3 Illegal Loggers and Heroic Rangers: The Discovery of Deforestation in Đổi Mới (Renovation) Vietnam 124 4 Rule by Reforestation: Classifying Bare Hills and Claiming Forest Transitions 161 5 Calculating Carbon and Ecosystem Services: New Regimes of Environmental Rule for Forests 199 Conclusion: Environmental Rule in the Twenty-First Century 234 Notes 252 References 268 Index 296 A 296 B 296 C 297 D 299 E 300 F 301 G 302 H 302 I 303 J 303 K 303 L 303 M 304 N 305 O 305 P 305 Q 306 R 306 S 307 T 308 U 309 V 309 W 310 X 310 Y 310 Foreword by K. Sivaramakrishnan PrefaceAcknowledgmentsVietnamese TerminologyAbbreviationsIntroduction | Seeing the Trees and People for the Forests1. Forests for Profit or Posterity? The Emergence of Environmental Rule under French Colonialism2. Planting New People: Socialism, Settlement, and Subjectivity in the Postcolonial Forest3. Illegal Loggers and Heroic Rangers: The Discovery of Deforestation in Doi Moi (Renovation) Vietnam4. Rule by Reforestation: Classifying Bare Hills and Claiming Forest Transitions5. Calculating Carbon and Ecosystem Services: New Regimes of Environmental Rule for Forests Conclusion | Environmental Rule in the Twenty-First CenturyNotesReferencesIndex