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Despite remarkable achievements in economic growth and poverty reduction, disparities between upland & lowland areas in Vietnam still exist. Numerous development programs have been implemented in upland areas but have frequently failed to achieve their objectives. The top-down approach of the government & its failure to recognize both local informal institutions & the strategies that shape household decision-making has produced unintended results. International NGOs have started working and delivering services in rural areas of Vietnam. Unlike government intervention, NGOs often employ a bottom-up approach in order to represent the most marginalized groups. The aim of this book is to analyze the enabling & constraining factors for the average household, experienced as a result of planned intervention. Planned intervention mostly benefits households that already possess significant human & social capital & are able to strategically negotiate with external actors & incorporate elements of intervention in existing livelihood strategies. Other actors are constrained by intervention as a result of dependency on inputs, technology for intensive farming, as well as by inequality & debt.

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Andreas Waaben Thulstrup holds a Master´s degree in International Development Studies and Environmental Biology from Roskilde University in Denmark. Thulstrup has previously worked in Vietnam and Ghana and is currently carrying out his PhD research at International Development Studies, Roskilde University.

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