Today I was invited for a presentation with students at Interdisciplinary Perspective on International Development (IPID), the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota (UMN). Most of them are studying the first or second years at Master of Development Practice in international development (MDP) – a graduate program jointly administered by the Humphrey School and the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC) and spans several academic units across the University of Minnesota. This international development degree provides training in policy analysis and management; health and education; natural sciences; social sciences, and interdisciplinary research methods.

My presentation topic is “Incorporating displaced persons in community-based forest management program in Vietnam: issues and challenges”. Parts of the contents are based on the results of the project “Access to development resources for the resettled communities in Huong Tra township, Thua Thien Hue province” funded by the Interchurch organization for development cooperation (ICCO), Netherlands. This project was jointly designed based on the 7-year experience of Consultative and Research Center on Natural Resources Management (CORENARM) and Center for Social Research and Development (CSRD) – two unique Vietnamese NGOs working on integrated natural resources and social issues for sustainable development in central Vietnam.

In the coming time, CORENARM will focus on how current national and global financing programs such as Payment for Environmental Services (PES) and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) can be sustainably utilized and managed by local communities. One of the potential approach is the community forest enterprises (CFEs) that can be embedded in current national initiatives such as forest land allocation, PES forest user group, and community forestry.

We’re working towards collaboration with MDP graduate program and try to bring some UMN students to join with CORENARM in their field experience (practicum) or collaborative research work. We hope to be able to host for the first batch of this program in the year 2014. Stay tuned for more updates.

If you’re eager to learn more on integrated development issues, then see my presentation here. Leave your comments below and I will try to respond to your queries as soon as I can.

dzungo