Social Organization and the Management of Natural Resources : A Case Study of Tat Hamlet, a Da Bac Tay Ethnic Minority Settlement in Vietnam's Northwestern Mountains

Abstract

Community-based resource management has become the latest magic bullet employed by development planners in the uplands of Southeast Asia. It is assumed that devolving power to local communities to manage natural resources will produce better results than continuing to rely on agencies of central governments. This policy has enjoyed remarkable success when applied in areas where indigenous communities are cohesive and endowed with abundant social capital. But not all ethnic minority settlements are well-endowed with social capital or able to successfully mobilize their inhabitants for collective action. Tat hamlet, a Da Bac Tay settlement in Hoa Binh Province in Vietnam's northwestern mountains, is such a community, characterized by scarcity of social capital, lack of social cohesion, and limited ability to collectively manage its natural resources. In this case study, the historical background of social organization in Tat hamlet is described, and the implications of social organization for management of natural resources explored.