Agricultural intensification versus extensification: A case study of deforestation in the northern-hill region of Vietnam

Northern Vietnam has experienced significant deforestation due to the expan sion of shifting cultivation fields. Since the late 1980s, with the introdu ction of individualized land rights, such agricultural extensification was followed by the agricultural intensification and regeneration of forests. W t: present a dynamic model of agricultural intensification versus extensifi cation and test its implications using commune-level data in 1978, 1987, an d 1994. The results suggest that the choice between intensification and ext ensification is relevant in hilly areas with limited Aat land and sloped up land. and that strengthened land rights, particularly that on upland. tend to deter deforestation. (C) 2000 Academic Press.