The Politics of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge in Vietnam

Studies of Indigenous environmental knowledge (IEK) provide valuable information helpful for resource management, yet there remain gaps for many countries. This paper reviews the literature on IEK in Vietnam across key areas, including ethnobiological studies, customary law, applied agricultural research, and management of natural resources for a range of Indigenous communities. Despite increasing attention by researchers, and a growing body of evidence on IEK, there remain considerable gaps in content in Vietnam compared with global IEK literature, and the paper suggests a framework for assessing these differences. Overall, the review suggests that there is little integration of IEK into policy, scientific assessments, or management in Vietnam due to numerous barriers to IEK in both research and policy, ranging from methodological limitations to political sensitivities. The article concludes with suggestions to improve engagement with and application of IEK in the future in Vietnam and elsewhere.