There are many pilot models of effective village community forest protection until now. Community forest entails cultural and livelihood significance for local people, as well as plays a positive role in environmental protection.

This research was carried out in the seven villages in Son Linh commune, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, where the Kinh (Vietnamese ethnic majority) reside and maintain community forests. 41 people involved in in-depth interview and provided information to fill up semi-structured questionnaire. The interview focused mainly in perception of the local people regardining community forest, their evaluation of the outcomes, effectiveness of community forest and mechanism of forest management. Son Linh commune obtain number of advantages for forming, maintaining and promoting collective forest. These advantages include long-term, stable watershed forest used by local people; little intervention by outside actors, especially state forest enterprises; local people’s good awareness of forest significance and their consent to protect forest; vision and courage of the district and communal authrities in land use planning and land allocation to local communities. Son Linh commune shows a good pilot model of forest protection, in which the role of the dam contractor cum watershed forest protector is remarkable, while village regulations are well integrated with statutory law on forest protection. Though watershed forest does not offer big direct income, it actually enables indirect income and great benefits owing to  its ability to stabilize and provide water sources for rice cultivation, drinking water, and food for animal. Moreover, community forest embeds humanity implication, while poor and landless households get access to non-timber products. In addition, watershed forest plays a vital role in prevention of landslide, soil erosion and flood.

On the basis of this real evidence of community forest, it is recommended that the on-going revisal of the law on Forest Protection and Development should confirm community forestland tenure in the classification of forest and recognize the role of village community in forest protection for the sake of the community and the common.