Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Land tenure is an individual relationship to the land. Vietnam applies a regime of universal ownership of land. The land belongs to all the people of Vietnam, but the State represents the owner. Land ownership in Vietnam includes three fundamental rights: the right to possess, use, and dispose of land. When the State allocates land to land users, it only assigns them the right to own and use land. This article evaluated one out of eight rights to dispose of land by the State, land acquisition. Data was collected from a survey with 100 land-expropriated households, five interviews with authorities at all levels, and five interviews with households living next to the study area. The results show that land acquisition does not ensure fairness for families who lose land. Compensation rates are six to eight times lower for agricultural land. The right to access land information is also not appreciated when people do not know their household compensation details. Another inequity was also seen between households who lost land and those living around the land acquisition project.

Keywords

land ownership land compensation Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park land-use change land acquisition Hanoi

Introduction

Within nearly 35 years since applying the market-oriented Doi Moi policy, the Vietnamese economy has grown impressively at 7% to 8% per year (World Bank, 2020a). In the agricultural sector, allocating land to farmer households has created a great driver for agricultural growth at 3% to 4% per year (World Bank, 2016). From a country with frequent food shortages, Vietnam has ensured food security, supported industrialization, and became a top-ranked exporter in the world for commodities such as rice, coffee, and rubber (FAO, 2013; World Bank, 2020b). However, in recent years, the status of abandoned agricultural land in many localities causing waste of land resources has been reflected by the media (Anh, 2020; Phuong & Hoc, 2019; Thien, 2020). This problem has been handled by the local authorities to find solutions to support farmers to continue production. However, the situation has not improved much. The cause is determined to be due to the effects of climate change (Giulia et al., 2020). Many agricultural land areas lack irrigation water and cannot cultivate. Another fact is also the existing cause in some localities. Many rural land areas are in the planning area for industrial and urban projects, leading to people not interested in exploiting.

Land acquisition is how the Government acquires land from landowners for any purpose (Burns, 2007). Meanwhile, Keith et al. (2008) stated that land acquisition is an administrative organization authorized to act on behalf of the Government to take land from the owners. Land acquisition is an essential process in the construction of large projects. Important activities such as pricing and negotiation in land acquisition can directly affect project progress (Caldas et al., 2011). Delays in land acquisition also lead to serious harm (Anis, 2005). Economically, the planned timeliness is inevitable, so the project’s construction cost will also increase (Lukas, 2010; Samuel et al., 2019). The land area is recovered by the Government to serve urbanization projects or to serve industrial production. Still, the delay in implementation leads to the fall of the recovered land, wasting land resources. It also harms society as landless people often have to change their lives and possibly lose production means (if the acquired land is agricultural) (Nguyen et al., 2019).

Projects delayed in the land acquisition phase happen quite often in developing countries such as India and Cambodia (Santonso & Soeng, 2016; Solomon et al., 2017; Soni & Kumar, 2018). Meanwhile, in Vietnam, delay in land acquisition is a frequent problem. The wait is mainly organizational issues such as lack of transparent information and legal issues such as compensation and resettlement regulations (Ha, 2011). In particular, land equity in Vietnam has always attracted much attention in many aspects, such as the compensation policy (Tuan, 2021). Therefore, this article will seek to answer the question “Does land acquisition affect land ownership in Vietnam?”. To answer this question, the author surveyed to examine the actual situation of applying land acquisition policy for a large project in Hanoi with specific research questions as follows:

- What is the cause of the delay in land acquisition in the research project?

- What is the assessment of the land-losing households about the land acquisition process?

The rest of the article reviews and compares the similarities and differences in land use rights in some countries worldwide and Vietnam. Following are details of the research methods used in this article. Research results are presented along with their discussion and evaluation, followed by a conclusion with answers to the research questions.

Land Tenure and Ownership: A Literature Review

In the World

Land is a precious resource, and its management in each country is covered by specific regulations (Ashley, 2016; Washim et al., 2014). Land use rights and land tenure systems are critical to efficient agricultural production, the elimination of poverty and conflict, and for social equity (GTZ, 2016). For instance, land law in the USA provides for recognizing and promoting private land ownership (Vicent et al., 2020) and citizens’ fundamental rights are strictly protected. In Brazil, the majority of land is controlled either by the government or the economic elite, often in the form of “great estates” known as Latifúndio, which originated in Spain (Aparicio et al., 2013; Ilana, 2015). Similarly, land tenure in Chile still exists with the military government as a strong concept of “private property” (Jorge, 2015). Meanwhile, land tenure in other parts of the world as Africa has witnessed a complex evolution, with the existence of a mixture of customary, religious, and statutory agreements being important features defining land ownership (Cotula et al., 2004; Mwangi, 2006).

In European, in Western European countries, more diversified forms of ownership may respond to future development (Johan, 2002). For example, land ownership is greater, and ownership may cover horizontal division of space as well as resources below ground level (Paul & Tommy, 1999). In the UK, land ownership is divided into three main categories, namely, private, state-owned, and community-owned (Robert, 2009). In France, the law makes ownership of property sacred and inviolable; no one has the right to force others to cede their ownership rights. There exist two primary forms of land ownership in France, namely, private ownership of land and state ownership of land and public construction works. Public property includes public land whose characteristic is that it cannot be bought and sold. In cases where it is necessary to use the land for general purposes, the State has the right to require private landowners to cede ownership through a fair compensation policy (Roger, 2009). In Spain, in Andalusia, although land ownership by enterprises has increased in recent times, private land ownership still dominates (Aparicio et al., 2013).

Today, the countries of Eastern Europe practice a regime of multi-ownership of land, and they recognize private ownership. For Eastern European countries, a most common feature in the pre-transition period (before 1989) was a public land regime and large-scale collective farming (Wehrmann, 2010). Immediately following the end of communism, these countries moved toward reintegrating into the system of European countries with market economies. A land privatization process was adopted, and private land ownership was identified as a priority in the regime’s land tenure reform. The structure of the collective ownership of land was broken such as Poland (Jerzy, 2011), Hungary (Anna, 1998), Czech Republic (Homolac & Karel, 2016), and Bulgaria (Yanakieva, 2007).

Some countries in the Southern Caucasus and Western CIS developed on a model similar to that followed in Eastern Europe after the economic transition in the 1990s, with only Belarus still limited private ownership (Renee & David, 2001; Wehrmann, 2010). In recent times, some of these countries (e.g., Ukraine) have been under pressure from Western investors that the latter wants to rent out some Ukrainian land (Humenyuk et al., 2020). Meanwhile, Central Asian countries even implement different policies on land ownership. For example, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan maintained the economic and legal models, and the agricultural system, those left as legacies from the Soviet era (USAID, 2007). Land in these two countries is still owned by the State and is transferred to farmers by land tenure agreements. Land can only be privatized in such post-soviet countries that recognize private legal ownership of agricultural lands, such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Turkmenistan has also officially recognized private land ownership, but with limitations on transferring land from the state to the collective (Lerman & Sedik, 2009).

In Asia, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, six states (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste) choose to have multiple land ownership (Marcus et al., 2013). Two countries maintain all-people ownership systems, namely Laos and Vietnam (Michael, 2017; Nguyen, 2021). Only Myanmar chooses the state ownership system (FAO, 2016). In China, the land is owned by the state, including state ownership and collective ownership, in which all urban land belongs to the state (Huang et al., 2017). Rural land and city suburbs, apart from the land prescribed by law, belong to state ownership, the rest is collective ownership. In Korea, land ownership is private, but when the State needs to use the land for general purposes, it still has the right to recover the land (with compensation) (Kim & Park, 2020).

In Vietnam

Figure 1 shows land ownership rights in Vietnam under the current land law (land law 2013). Land, in Vietnam, is a national property and does not belong to anyone. Therefore, individuals and collectives are not allowed to misappropriate property successfully. The only legal representative for the entire people is the State, with full powers to modify the land laws. It aims to centralize the administration and unified management of the State in society’s entire field in general and land in particular. The whole people’s system ownership of land in Vietnam is understood as the institutionalization by the law of the land ownership relations, characterized by a mechanism to divide the owner’s rights among different entities. The Vietnamese Government has a unique role as the owner representative and a unified land management agency. From here, the vital role of State agencies in land management is undeniable.

Figure 1.

Rights and obligations related to land in Vietnam (following Land law of 2013).

In Vietnam, land ownership includes the right to use, possess, and dispose of the owner’s land. Ownership rights are expressed as the State’s rights as the representative of the land’s entire people owner, to hold all land capital in the country. However, this right is assigned by the State to land users for a particular time. Land use rights are the right to exploit beneficial land properties to serve its socio-economic development and land users’ specific purposes. From an economic perspective, land use rights are of great importance because they satisfy the needs and bring material benefits to the land users in using the land. The right to dispose of land determines the legal fate of the land. It is the most fundamental right in Vietnam because only the government can dispose of land through the eight methods shown in Figure 1.

In other words, in Vietnam, land users are only given ownership and use rights by the State, with the remainder belonging to various State management agencies. This right allows the State to decide whom land is allocated and whom land is acquired. It will enable the State to recover ground from users when needed, and they will receive compensation under the law. This leads to the incredible power of the State. It can be seen as inequality with land users when their land can be taken away at any time for national development.

Methodology

Research Area Background

Hanoi capital is an important economic, political, cultural, and scientific centre of Vietnam. Hanoi is in the top 17 capitals with the largest area in the world with nearly 3,500 km². With the advantages of geographical location, size, and development potential, Hanoi is not tricky to become a destination for foreign investors. According to the Center for Promotion of Investment, Trade, and Tourism of Hanoi City (HPA), in 2016 to 2020, Hanoi is estimated to attract 25 billion USD of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). These local FDI projects have been selected for quality, efficiency, and sustainable development. By 2020, the city has 6,728 foreign-invested projects, with a total capital of over 47.7 billion USD. These projects are mostly distributed to industrial zones in the area.

As of 2015, the city has 19 industrial zones and Hi-tech park established with over 5.5 thousand ha. According to the plan, Hanoi will have 33 industrial parks and Hi-tech parks until 2050. This growth puts tremendous pressure on the land transfer mechanism, especially in land acquisition. According to World Bank (2011), in Hanoi, there are shortcomings in the implementation of the compensation policy when the land price (according to the State land price bracket) is only about 50% to 70% of the market price of land (the land price in Hanoi is the highest in Vietnam). There are many disagreements when Hanoi implements the support policy for households who lose more than 30% of agricultural land. According to regulations, these households are replaced by an area for business establishments or residential land in a place capable of developing a service business. As a result, it helps farmers who have land acquired to change their jobs. However, this policy is difficult to enforce for many reasons, such as equity and limited land availability. It has resulted in a voluntary land transfer mechanism that is problematic when land users do not cooperate with investors.

Despite facing many difficulties mentioned above, Hanoi is still one of the country’s most extensive land transformation localities. According to Hanoi’s land statistics, nearly 35.5 thousand ha. of agricultural land was converted to non-agricultural land from 2010 to 2019. The rice land area had the most significant change, followed by the annual cropland with 18,000 ha. and 9,000 ha. Based on Figure 2, we can also see that cropland’s conversion rate in Hanoi districts is the largest, especially in the capital’s central districts. Meanwhile, rice land’s conversion rate accounts for mainly in the city’s southern and western sections. Besides, the unused land area is almost fully utilized when there is a sharp decrease of 5,000 ha. after 10 years. To get the land fund for socio-economic development projects, within 5 years (2015–2019), Hanoi has made many decisions to acquire 13,728.77 ha. for 7,108 projects. This number tends to increase in the coming time when the land acquisition plan in 2020 is higher than before with more than 8,000 ha. (Compiled data from decisions of the People’s Council of Hanoi city through the year).

Figure 2.

Land cover maps in Hanoi: (a) land cover map in Hanoi in 2007, (b) land cover map in Hanoi in 2015, and (c) land cover change in Hanoi from 2007 to 2015.

Research Site

This study was conducted in Thach That district—Hanoi city. With a total area of 184.59 km², Thach That is one of the five satellite towns of Hanoi city. Due to the influence of the policy of developing the urban chain along National Highway 21 and Thang Long Avenue, Thach That district has had many construction investment projects over the years. These include North Phu Cat Industrial Park, Hanoi National University, the resettlement area for military units, and Binh Phu’s industrial clusters. The most prominent one is Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, one of the country’s three Hi-tech Parks.

Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park is located in the west of Hanoi and in five communes of Thach That district with a total natural land area of 1,586 ha. (Figure 3). The project was first approved in 1998, but in 2008, the planning of this Hi-Tech Park was once again adjusted under the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). However, it was not until 2016 that the Prime Minister approved an adjustment to the master plan for project construction until 2030. These changes indicate a delay in the implementation of project construction. According to statistics of the Center for Land Fund Development of Thach That District, the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park project acquires 1,377 ha. of agricultural land, accounting for 96.2%, in which mainly land for rice cultivation and land for annual crops. This change can be seen in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

The location of Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

In Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, there are 80 valid investment projects with a total registered capital of more than 60 trillion VND (2.6 billion USD) over a total area of 346.5 ha. in the fields of high technology, training, services, and social infrastructure. There are 36 projects in operation with more than 10,000 people working and studying. Twelve projects are in the construction process, and 30 projects are undergoing investment preparation procedures. In 2016, Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park’s total export turnover reached 2,436 billion USD (The Management Board of Hoa Lac Industrial Park, 2017).

Data Collection and Analysis

This study applied a mixed-method with data collection in both qualitative and quantitative forms through survey and interview. The survey questionnaire also includes several open-ended questions aimed at collecting qualitative data from the participants. This study used primary data from the collection of 100 questionnaires of households who lost land for the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park project. A mixed research method is a method that uses quantitative data for one period of research and uses qualitative data for another period of the same study. When surveying the questionnaire with 100 households whose land was acquired in combination with the field survey, the author found that some vacant land around the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park project is being abandoned. Therefore, the author interviewed five more households with agricultural land around the project to determine whether this project to build this high-tech park will have a negative impact on the farming problems of those households. If it has a negative impact, will these households receive any support from the local government?

The questionnaire is divided into two main parts: general information about the household participating in the survey (name, age, address of the land plot, and type of land acquired) and information on the land acquisition and compensation process of these households. After completing a draft of the questionnaires, they were tested by surveying five participating households to determine the feasibility of data collection. After that, the author completed the official version of the questionnaire and surveyed the identified research site.

The survey was conducted using the method “stratified” and “snowball.” The stratification method was applied through the geographical location of the project. As pointed out in section Research Site, the project has been built in five communes of Thach That district, so the stratification method was used to select the commune with the largest amount of land acquired up to the survey time. As a result of applying this method for the first time, Ha Bang commune was selected. This method was again applied according to administrative boundaries. Ha Bang commune has eight hamlets, but the number of households losing land for the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park project is concentrated in four hamlets. Therefore, these four hamlets were the primary data collection sites, with 282 households having their land acquired for the research project.

In addition, five key informant interviews were conducted with local officials at all levels and land acquisition council members. This study also interviewed five households who have not had their land acquired but have agricultural land adjacent to the research project. The selection of five households to participate in the interview was also applied by snowball method. These interviews were conducted through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. These primary data are believed to provide a broad perspective on the problem that needs research. The information gathered with the survey is expected to provide critical data for their estimates for implementing the land acquisition and compensation process. To avoid a one-sided perspective, five interviews with local authorities would offer a different perspective on this issue. From there, the truthfulness of collected data can be compared. Meanwhile, the remaining households’ interviews would assess the law’s fairness among the directly and indirectly affected families. The research methods applied will also provide a great deal of useful information for this study.

Moreover, to obtain a detailed view of the project’s land conversion, map data from the Japanese organization ALOS was used. The maps were produced using QGIS software. In order to review land acquisition progress for project construction, data from Google Earth was also used. When primary data collection was completed, the SPSS software-assisted in processing them. The statistical results are presented through tables and figures to bring convenience to the author to analyze and show the results externally.

Results of Research

According to the plan, Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park covers 1,586 ha. in five communes of Thach That district. However, during the fieldwork and interviews with local officials, the current project has just been revoked, concentrating in three communes of Tan Xa, Thach Hoa, and Ha Bang. According to the interviews with the People’s Committee of Thach That district, the locality has directed specialized agencies to conduct land inventory and acquisition of 8,025 households. As of 2018, the project acquired 1,036 ha. of land, of which agricultural land accounts for 94.9%. More specifically, land for annual crops (including land for rice and other crops) accounts for more than half. However, in land inventory to develop compensation plans, households with agricultural land in the project have voluntarily planted crops, built tents, and some other structures on the ground. They work intending to get more money in compensation and support. This action causes specific difficulties in implementing the compensation plan. It leads to an extension of the time for compensation payments and land acquisition. This delay, combined with 95% of agricultural land being acquired, can negatively impact households’ livelihoods (Table 1).

Table 1.

Acquired Land for the Project.

No	Categories	Code	Area of recovery (ha.)	Percent (%)
1	Agricultural land		983.5	94.9
1.1	Land for perennial crops	CLN	336	32.4
1.2	Annual cropland (including rice land)	CHN	573	55.3
1.3	Aquaculture land	NTS	74.5	7.2
2	Non-agricultural land		52.5	5.1
2.1	Resident land	OCT	27.5	2.7
2.2	Specialized land	CDG	25	2.4
	TOTAL		1,036	100

Source. Thach That District Land Fund Development Center.

Some Difficulties in the Process of Land Acquisition

After a construction period, Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park has created many difficulties in construction and investment attraction. These difficulties lead to ineffective land use and investment capital. Funding for site clearance is substantial, estimated at more than 6,242 billion VND (269.7 million USD). However, at present, the newly allocated budget is over 3,000 billion VND (129.6 million USD). The lack of funding is a significant cause of the project’s prolonged status. Besides, the Hi-tech park’s technical infrastructure is organized in the direction of the one-time synchronous investment for the whole zone.

Nevertheless, it was deployed in many stages and lacked synchronization due to a lack of budget. Since having Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital of the Japanese Government, difficulties in investing in new technical infrastructure have been removed. Mechanisms and policies for Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park are not also suitable with reality (The information collected from interviews with local authorities and investors). The incentives applied to investors are not specific and inconsistent. It leads to a lack of transparency in implementation. If compared with conventional industrial zones, these incentives are not outstanding. Meanwhile, investment projects in Hi-tech Zones must also meet high-tech criteria and regulations. That is also the cause of difficulties in the investment attraction process.

Given the above difficulties in the project implementation budget, the project cannot be completed after 20 years. Although the Government has announced the acquisition of most of the planned land area, in reality, the land clearance and project construction process is still fragmented (Figure 4). This delay poses many problems with households losing land and wasting land. The land is in the area of acquisition, so families have no desire to invest in production. In addition, many land acquisition decisions were made, but it was not until 3 years later that households receive compensation notices leading to frustration from homes.

Figure 4.

Construction area changes in Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park (2013–2020).

General Information About Households Participating in the Survey

General information on gender, education level, and households’ job participating in the survey are detailed in Table 2. The research results show that male head of household accounts for most surveyed household heads (accounting for 72%) compared to the number of female heads (accounting for 28%). This figure is not too surprising in Vietnam when this country is still considered a patriarchal country. Even though men and women are considered equal, men still play a significant role in the social organization and the family. The education level of household heads is also quite diverse. Over 50% graduated from high school, according to Vietnam’s educational program. It is followed by the number of households graduating from secondary school with 37%. When the industrial park was established, the transition from agriculture to non-agricultural jobs was a barrier for households whose land was acquired. Non-agricultural occupations require high skills, so households face many difficulties in apprenticeship, production, and business activities in an industrialized environment. Thus, if there is a high level of education, it will help households reduce the risks they have to take.

Table 2.

Characteristics of Surveyed Households.

No	Categories	Frequency	Percent
1	Sex
	Female	28	28
	Male	72	72
2	Academic level
	No grade	2	2
	Primary	3	3
	Secondary	37	37
	High school	55	55
	Technical worker	2	2
	Bachelor	1	1
3	Job before land loss
	Farming	97	97
	Business	1	1
	Old/retire	2	2
4	Job after land loss
	Farming	13	13
	Business	4	4
	Waged-worker	5	5
	Casual labor	59	59
	Old/retire	18	18
	Others	1	1

Source. Household’s survey, 2020.

Households’ pre- and post-acquisition work also showed apparent changes. Before losing land, nearly 100% of households chose agriculture as their primary production method. This rate drops to 13% when the State acquired farmland. Instead, households’ choice to work in non-agricultural jobs increased. The reason is that after the establishment of the Hi-Tech Park, the opportunities for non-farm employment expanded for them. They choose unskilled labor jobs in industrial zones or some new occupations such as security guard at companies in the hi-tech zone with 59%. The proportion of household heads choosing to stay at home is also relatively high, at 18%. These figures show that there is a significant change in employment for landless households.

Some Problems in the Process of Land Acquisition and Compensation at the Research Project

Compensation Cost for Land-Acquired Households

Compensation and assistance that households lose land for the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park project are detailed in Table 3. This project is aimed at the Hanoi capital’s socio-economic development in particular and Vietnam in general, so the project’s compensation price is applied according to the State’s land price bracket. If compared to the market price at the time of the recall, there is a big difference. According to the People’s Committee of Thach That district, during this project’s land acquisition period, the price of agricultural land on the market fluctuates from 650,000 to 900,000 VND/m² (28–39 USD/m²). Meanwhile, the households’ amount is only about 100,000 VND/m² (4.3 USD/m²) of agricultural land. This price is six to eight times lower than the amount they should be able to receive. Such low compensation values affect the inequality of land-recovered households. Meanwhile, the cost of support for job conversion gives households the highest assistance that households can receive under Vietnam’s land law. Besides, to speed up handing over land to investors, households also receive a bonus if they hand over the land on time. This is a “bonus” to speed up the land acquisition process more quickly and smoothly.

Table 3.

Compensation Cost for Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park Project.

No	Categories	Compensation
1.1	Agricultural land
1.1	Land for perennial crops	98,000 VND/m² (4.2 USD/m²)
1.2	Annual crop land	105,000 VND/m² (4.5 USD/m²)
1.3	Aquaculture land	84,000 VND/m² (3.6 USD/m²)
2	Non-agricultural land
2	Resident land	750,000 VND/m² (32 USD/m²)
3.1	Support for job change
3.1	Land for perennial crops	5 times (490,000 VND/m²) (21 USD/m²)
3.2	Annual crop land	5 times (525,000 VND/m²) (22.5 USD/m²)
4.1	Support for life stabilization
4.1	30%–70% of land loss	2,610,000 VND/person (112.6 USD/person)
4.2	>70% of land loss	5,220,000 VND/person (225.2 USD/person)
5	Rewards for handover	3,000 VND/m² (0.1 USD/m²)

Source. Thach That District Land Fund Development Center.

Assessments of Land-Acquired Households About the Notice of Land Acquisition

Land acquisition is one of the crucial stages for the State to clear the ground, create a clean land fund, and conduct further exploitation activities. This period also has a significant impact directly on the livelihoods of people whose land is acquired. However, suppose the State effectively carries out the tasks at this stage as well as promptly communicates to the people relevant legal provisions, on the one hand. In that case, the site clearance can be accelerated. On the other hand, it contributes to stabilizing people’s lives, creating confidence between people and the Government. The current land law stipulates four modes of making land acquisition notices to inform people. It includes sending land acquisition notices to each person whose land is acquired; Meetings to disseminate to people in the area where land is acquired; Announcements on mass media; and post it up at the People’s Committee’s office of the commune where the recovered land is located.

Through the above provisions, it can be seen that the notice of land acquisition is an obligatory procedure to be implemented and plays a prerequisite role for the next steps. Besides, land acquisition announcement is also an important preparation step in terms of material and spirit for people in the area where land is acquired. It helps them be more active in arranging daily life, labor, and production. Table 4 shows how affected households receive information on land acquisition. Nearly 100% of the families receive the notification directly from the local authorities. They also get much information about the project from their neighbors and friends. No one is unaware of land acquisition information. This contributes to ensuring the rights of the people. It also plays a vital role in speeding up the project construction process.

Table 4.

How to Know the Information About Land Acquisition.

No	Categories	Frequency	Households	Percent
1	Receiving an official notice from the People Committee	99	100	99
2	Your neighbors/cousins/friends	100	100	100
3	Public announcement posted at local the People Committee	79	100	79
4	Community meetings and public announcement from local authorities	25	100	25
5	You know nothing until the land acquisition was implemented	0	100	0

Source. Households’ survey, 2020.

Assessment of Land-Acquired Households on the Implementation of Land Acquisition

After grasping the information on land acquisition, 73% of households feel worried that their land is about to be lost (Figure 5). They worry because agriculture is their primary income. Losing agricultural land means losing their jobs, so they are afraid to rely on others and become a burden on their families. They also worry about their children’s future because if they do not have anything to do, they will quickly become spoiled. These households also feel regret because it is the land left by their ancestors. Compensation price is also a reason for the panic. They fear that the compensation is not commensurate with the land they have lost. In general, landless households worry about both the present and the future.

Respondent Th: “I am old without a salary and afraid of the reputation of my adopted children, so I worry about the future.”

Respondent Kh: “I am afraid of not having a job and of my children being damaged.”

Respondent M: “Father’s land left, so I regret.”

Respondent D: “Plowing enough to help my family afford food in the house, now losing land, I do not know what to do.”

Respondent L: “The whole family is mainly engaged in farming, so my family does not know what to do to live after losing land.”

Figure 5.

Evaluation of the implementation of land acquisition.

Compensation money is what people are most concerned about when land is acquired. The compensation price is often much lower than the market price. However, there is a shortcoming for this project that households almost said that the State did not make any agreement on land compensation between the Government and landless households. This percentage accounts for 96%. Nearly half of the households also said that they did not receive any other Government support other than land compensation. 17% of households also noted that the Government did not fulfill their promises before taking land. The local authorities have not met pledges to provide service land to homes. The people do not highly appreciate promises about job placement for households in Hi-Tech Park. Although the Government has helped them find a new job in the Hi-tech park, these households are often only able to work for a short time for various reasons. Then, they are fired or have to accept a resignation to find a new job.

Respondent L: “The Government did not mention any support, and my family did not know. The Government also promised to divide one portion of service land, but I have not received it yet.”

Respondent V: “The Government only tells the people that there are classes to teach bamboo and rattan making. If people want to go to work, they can register. If not, the Government has no other support.”

Respondent D: “My family received an additional rice crop. The Government promises to create favorable conditions for children to work in the Hi-tech park. However, when entering the job, companies ask for degrees, quality, and age. If they can work, then after 4–5 months, they also quit because they cannot meet the requirements.”

However, when verifying the households’ information from the local government, we have demonstrated that the families receiving compensation included State supports. It provides job transition costs and life supports. From there, it can be seen that, even though they have obtained all information on land acquisition, households are not aware of the compensation and assistance. This lack of understanding seems to be a gap that low education has brought to the affected households. They do not know what benefits they receive. Therefore, the State needs to disseminate information and support people to access legal information fully. Well, exercising the right to access information in land acquisition ensures people’s interests and plays a role in serving the State management. It meets the requirements of socio-economic development and completes the goal of developing modern national information infrastructure.

The inability to access detailed information on land compensation and assistance has made nearly half of households opposed to their family’s land acquisition for this project. Following that, 43% of households agreed to cede land, but they still pay much attention to the price of land compensation. Some households disagree because, until the survey, their family has not received any payment from the local authority. Land acquisition is made simultaneously, but some households have already received compensation, others have not yet received it. This difference makes them feel inadequate. Meanwhile, the delay in paying compensation costs and the lack of information transparency has also caused some negative comments on the implementation process. Some households believe that only a few commune officials and several “connected” houses can share service land with the compensation payment. Another reason families disagree with this land acquisition process is that losing ground makes them lose their jobs. The most important reason is still the difference in compensation rates. It is too low for the market price. Therefore, households feel unfair to this Government’s payment.

Respondent Th: “We feel not transparent. During the same land inventory, some households received the compensation payment, but some households still did not receive anything.”

Respondent Tu: “The people and the Government have no compensation agreement. The same land category but the amount of compensation is different among households. Households recover in advance one price, and the house goes after another price.”

Respondent Ti: “The house was crowded, and no one rented, so everyone stayed at home. Our family has no fields now, so we are worried about being hungry.”

Respondent H: “The Government has not compensated my family. The Government promised to split service land but has not seen it. Only the commune officials and a few houses with relationships with the cadres were allowed to allocate land.”

Respondent D: “My land is in the area planned for the Hi-Tech Park, but the Government has yet to take land. Therefore, we also cannot invest in production.”

Some Shortcomings in the Land Acquisition Process

In addition to the survey, we interviewed five households living and having agricultural production near Hi-Tech Park. This is a loophole of the current land law. In addition to households directly affected by land acquisition, some other people living in the area may also be affected by the project due to changes in technical infrastructure, society, and the environment. As a result, these subjects should know some necessary and essential information to be proactive in their labor, daily life, and production. Interview results indicated that these households have to suffer consequences from the construction of the Hi-Tech Park. Pollution of domestic water due to the rubbish of hi-tech zones and dust during construction is inevitable. Water supply also affects agriculture due to drought and inundation. Thus, productivity in plowing also decreases. Although they are also affected by the project’s construction, these households do not receive any local authorities’ attention. This fact raises the question of whether there is fairness with these indirectly affected households.

Respondent H: “Field land cannot be cultivated. When it rains, the field is flooded. Even though we still have rice fields, there are also no.”

Respondent V: “The plowed fields are sometimes flooded, sometimes there is a lack of water because the water system cannot bring water into the field.”

Respondent Th: “In the plowing, productivity is reduced due to the affected irrigation system. The soil is arider, so it is more difficult to produce.”

Respondent Ha: “My family’s life is much more difficult than before. Livestock decreased because environmental pollution created many diseases. Our family is affected both in terms of life and income.”

Respondent T: “I hope the State pays more attention to households like us because the project construction also affects the farmers living around it.”

From Table 4 and Figure 5, the author overview that, although the local authority has fulfilled its duty by fully informing households of land acquisition information, these households only know to get general information, not details. In particular, homes are not aware of the methods and the compensation and support their families receive. Among the four forms of accessing the information on land, a popular meeting format to people in the area where land is acquired is considered the most popular method. This way ensures openness and transparency. Simultaneously, thanks to this method, people can express their wishes and questions and listen to feedback from representatives of the organization in charge of compensation. On the other hand, the announcement of land acquisition in public meetings also brings formalization of land acquisition information. It ensures that people exercise their right to access information. However, in reality, land acquisition for the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park project does not show transparent land acquisition information. The people do not have discussions about compensation or support costs. In other words, the households’ right to access information on land was not appreciated.

Discussion

From the review of research materials in the world and Vietnam, the author realize that the model of single ownership for land is not a specific product of Vietnam. It also appears in many countries around the world. The multi-form or single-form ownership model does not really reflect the nature of the ownership regime, but the most important thing is the ownership structure. Although there are many models of land ownership globally, there are differences in the origin, role, and importance of land for human existence and development. Therefore, no matter who owns land, there are restrictions to ensure the common interests of the community in the direction of sharing power between the owner and the state (for the multi-form model of land ownership) or between the state as the owner and members of the community (for the state-owned land model). Thus, the difference in land ownership models is only a difference in approach.

With the research results shown at the study site, it shows some outstanding problems in land acquisition and compensation in Vietnam in general and Hanoi in particular. With the all-people land ownership system, the people are only assigned the right to use and possess, while the right to dispose belongs to the government of Vietnam. Therefore, when there are land acquisition projects under the approval of the Government, the land users will be recovered. This can be seen as causing impacts on land ownership rights for people. It is also partly the cause of the difficulties in land clearance (section Some Difficulties in the Process of Land Acquisition). Although households who lose their land will also receive compensation for land and other support (job change, life stabilization) when the State recovers land, the compensation process still has many problems.

These problems are the difference in compensation price and the process of land acquisition. In fact, this problem occurs not only in the study area, but also in some other localities in Vietnam, such as Da Nang, Nghe An, and Quang Binh (Nguyen, 2021; Nguyen et al., 2019; Tuan, 2021). In addition, inequalities in compensation among households directly and indirectly affected by the project were pointed out. Therefore, the research results have shown a shortcoming in the legal system of Vietnam when it has not entirely solved the problems caused by land acquisition. It is the basis for policymakers as well as authorities to add options to address the remaining limitations of the land acquisition process. This will reduce the negative impacts of land acquisition on land ownership in Vietnam.

Conclusion

Land tenure is to define an interpersonal relationship concerning land. It is an essential and multidimensional part of the social, economic, and political structure. Thanks to land tenure, an individual or a group can use the identified land. The use duration and the conditions under which the land is used is also determined by land tenure. Therefore, this article discusses land ownership in several regions, countries worldwide, and in Vietnam. A field study was then conducted in the Hanoi capital to examine how the implementation of the land acquisition process affects Vietnamese people’s land tenure.

In Vietnam, the regime of all-people ownership of land must be understood as institutionalization by law on land tenure relations characterized by a mechanism to divide the owner’s rights between different actors. In particular, the State has a unique role both as the representative of the owner and as a uniform land management agency in the country. Land ownership in Vietnam includes three fundamental rights: the right to possess, use, and dispose of land. When the State allocates land to an individual or a group, it only gives them the right to own and use it. Only the State has the authority to determine land use purposes. It also means that when necessary, the government can take back the allocated land to carry out economic development according to the State’s planning. This shows that land ownership in Vietnam is not as highly valued as in some developed countries.

A study on land acquisition for Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park’s construction has shown inequities in households’ land tenure who lose land. The survey with 100 participating households and ten interviews with local authorities and families living around the project gave the following results. First, the acquisition of 95% of agricultural land for the project has made a drastic change in households’ work. People who only know how to work in agriculture have to accept looking for non-farm jobs or without an appointment. To compensate for these people’s losses, the Government has introduced a compensation policy combining costs to support job search and stabilize life after land loss. However, the compensation is six to eight times lower than the amount they should receive (at market prices). Such inadequate compensation leads to dissatisfaction from households. This finding is the second result of the study.

Third, although the land was lost, 96% of households said the government did not negotiate about land compensation costs with them. Nearly half of the households were also unaware that they had received other support from the government. This issue shows a common situation among households living in rural areas. They do not have access to much information to grasp the minimum compensation and assistance they can receive. Finally, a gap in the land legal system identified in this study is that the State has neglected the land users who have land next to the project. Even though their land was not taken away, their lives were also indirectly disturbed by changes in the environment and society. These changes also significantly affect the agricultural production process, reducing the productivity and income of these households. From there, it can be seen that the entire people’s ownership of land creates conditions for the workers to have free access to land. Nevertheless, the policy enforcement process still creates inequities for land users in Vietnam.

Footnotes

I want to thank Thach That district’s local authority for assisting me in the collection of secondary data. I would also like to thank the households who participated in the survey and interview for providing data so I can do this research.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Nguyen Tran Tuan

References

Anh

(2020). Chấm dứt tình trạng bỏ hoang đất nông nghiệp (End the abandonment of agricultural land). https://vneconomy.vn/cham-dut-tinh-trang-bo-hoang-dat-nong-nghiep-20201204055549888.htm

Anis

(2005, December 3). Problems of land acquisition in the context of urban development [Paper presentation]. “Urban West Bengal: Current Issues”, Session III: Land, location and urban planning, at the Centre for Urban Economic Studies, Calcutta University, India.

Anna

(1998). Land valuation and land rents in Hungary. Land Use Policy, 15(3), 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-8377(98)00013-1

Aparicio

Flores

Landeros

Mingorría

Ortega

Tudela

(2013). Land: Access and struggles in Andalusia, Spain. In Franco

Borras

S. M.

Jr . (Eds.), Land concentration, land grabbing and people’s struggles in Europe (pp. 34–61). Transnational Institute (TNI) for European Coordination Via Campesina and Hands off the Land network.

Ashley

J. M.

(2016). Chapter six—Cross-cutting issues. In Ashley

J. M.

(Ed.), Food security in the developing world (pp. 141–191). Academic Press.

Burns

(2007). Land administration reform: Indicators of success and future challenges (Agriculture and Rural Development Dicussion Paper, 37). World Bank. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/771101468160190062/pdf/418930NWP0Land1sionPaper3701PUBLIC1.pdf

Caldas

Zhang

Kockelman

Persad

Halabi

Kincaid

(2011). Development of best practices for right-of-way valuations and negotiations in transportation projects. Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, 50(3), 23–42. https://doi.org/10.5399/osu/jtrf.50.3.4115

Cotula

Toulmin

Hesse

(2004). Land tenure and administration in Africa: Lessons of experience and emerging issues. International Institute for Environment and Development.

FAO. (2013). Vietnam country programming framework 2012–2016. http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/faoweb/vietnam/docs/CPF2012_2016.pdf

10.

FAO. (2016). Formulation and operationalization of national action plan for poverty alleviation and rural development through agriculture (NAPA) (Working Paper 10). Land Tenure and Administration.

11.

Giulia

Donato

Raffaella

Renzo

David

Matteo

(2020). The influence of land abandonment on forest disturbance regimes: A global review. Landscape Ecology, 35, 2723–2744.

12.

GTZ. (2016). Land in German development cooperation: Guiding principles, challenges and prospects for the future. Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. https://www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2016_eng_Land_in_German_Development_Cooperation.pdf

13.

Ha. (2011). Nhiều địa phương thu hồi các dự án đầu tư chậm tiến độ [Many localities revoke investment projects behind schedule]. http://baochinhphu.vn/Utilities/PrintView.aspx?distributionid=104530

14.

Homolac

Karel

(2016). Historical development of land ownership in the Czech Republic since the foundation of the Czechoslovakia until present. Agricultural Economics, 62(11), 528–536. https://doi.org/10.17221/250/2015-AGRICECON

15.

Huang

Zhao

Liu

(2017). How do differences in land ownership types in china affect land development? A case from Beijing. Sustainability, 9, 123.

16.

Humenyuk

Komarynets

Seniv

(2020). Valuation of alternative investments in agricultural land (On example of Ukraine). Revista Espacios, 41(24): 1015.

17.

Ilana

(2015). Land tenure security in Brazil. Land Tenure Security in Selected Countries: Global Report, UN-Habitat.

18.

Jerzy

(2011). Changes in agricultural land ownership in Poland in the period of the market economy. Agricultural Economics, 57(2), 93–101.

19.

Johan

F. M. S.

(2002). Political reforms, rural crises, and land tenure in western Europe. Food Policy, 27(4), 371–394. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-9192(02)00045-3

20.

Jorge

(2015). Land tenure security in Chile. Land Tenure Security in Selected Countries: Global Report, UN-Habitat.

21.

Keith

McAuslan

Knight

Lindsay

Munro-Faure

Palmer

(2008). Compulsory acquisition of land and compensation. FAO Land Tenure Series.

22.

Kim

Y-J.

Park

H. J.

(2020). The evolving roles of the public and private sectors in Korea’s public rental housing supply. Architectural Research, 22(3), 85–95.

23.

Lerman

Sedik

(2009). Agricultural recovery and individual land tenure: Lessions from Central Asia (Policy Studies on Rural Transition No. 2009-3). FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.

24.

Lukas

Budi

Abidin

Yusuf

(2010). The impact of land acquisition delay in toll road development. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1653775

25.

Marcus

Sophie

Jonas

M. T.

Chan

Indrisaswati

Mark

A. R.

Juan

(2013). Agribusiness large-scale land acquisitions and human rights in southeast Asia. Updated from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Burma, Forest Peoples Programme.

26.

Michael

(2017). Land and forest tenure in Laos: Baseline overview 2016 with options for community participation in forest management. UN-REDD Programme.

27.

Mwangi

(2006). Land rights for African development: From knowledge to action. CAPRi Policy Briefs.

28.

Nguyen

T. T.

(2021). Conversion of land use and household livelihoods in Vietnam: A study in Nghe An. Open Agriculture, 6, 82–92. https://doi.org/10.1515/opag-2021-0010

29.

Nguyen

T. T.

Hegedus

Nguyen

T. L.

(2019). Effect of land acquisition and compensation on the livelihoods of people in Quang Ning District, Quang Binh Province: Labor and income. Land, 8(6), 91. https://doi.org/10.3390/land8060091

30.

Paul

Tommy

(1999, October 24–27). Land tenure and land aministration for social and economic development in (Western) Europe [Conference session]. UN-FIG Conference on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures for Sustainable Development, Melbourne, Australia.

31.

Phuong

Hoc

(2019). Những cánh đồng bị bỏ. https://nhandan.com.vn/doi-song-xa-hoi/nhung-canh-dong-bi-bo-hoang-370015/

32.

Renee

David

(2001). Land reform in Eastern Europe: Western CIS, Transcaucuses, Balkans, and EU Accession Countries. FAO.

33.

Robert

(2009). Land ownership in the United Kingdom: Trends, preferences and future challenges. Land Use Policy, 26, S103–S108.

34.

Roger

(2009). The right of property and freedom of enterprise in French Constitutional Law. Institute of Law and Public Policy—XII International Forum on Constitutional Review. http://www.rogererrera.fr/publications/textes/9.pdf

35.

Samuel

Lawrence

Joseph

(2019). Assessment of the challenges and effects of delays in compulsory land acquisition on the performance of road construction projects in Uganda. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 10(9), 1409–1426.

36.

Santonso

Soeng

(2016). Analyzing delays of road construction projects in Cambodia: Causes and effects. Journal of Management in Engineering, 32(6), 05016020. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000467

37.

Solomon

Adeniyi

Awodele

(2017). Investigation into the causes of delay in land acquisition for PPP projects in developing countries. Journal of Engineering Design and Technology, 15(2), 552–570. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-05-2016-0029

38.

Soni

Kumar

V. K.

(2018). Delay in projects due to disputes in land acquisition. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 5(7), 1349–1353.

39.

The Management Board of Hoa Lac Industrial Park. (2017). Dự án đầu tư tại Khu công nghệ cao Hoà Lạc sẽ được ưu đãi thuế tốt nhất [Investment projects in Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park will receive the best tax incentives]. https://hhpd.vn/bai-viet/du-an-dau-tu-tai-khu-cong-nghe-cao-hoa-lac-se-duoc-uu-dai-thue-tot-nhat/

40.

Thien

(2020). Giải pháp nào để tránh lãng phí đất nông nghiệp [What solution to avoid wasting agricultural land]. https://thoibaonganhang.vn/giai-phap-nao-de-tranh-lang-phi-dat-nong-nghiep-103754.html

41.

Tuan

N. T.

(2021). The consequences of expropriation of agricultural land and loss of livelihoods on those households who lost land in Da Nang, Vietnam. Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, 9(2), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.2478/environ-2021-0008

42.

USAID. (2007). Land tenure and property rights regional report: Volume 2.8.

43.

Vicent

C. H.

Hanson

Bermejo

(2020). Federal land ownership: Overview and data. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf

44.

Washim

Danilo

Mekonnen

B. A.

Uchendu

Lyn

D. R.

Rui

Namikat

D. N.

Jorge

Wambui

K. J.

Samuel

Taufique

Anthony

Eri

… Zhang

(2014). Land tenure security in selected countries: Systhesis report. UN-Habitat. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/download-manager-files/Land%20Tenure%20Security%20in%20Selected%20Countries_English_2014.pdf

45.

Wehrmann

(2010). Governance of land tenure in eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) (Land Tenure Working Paper 16). Land Tenure.

46.

World Bank. (2011). Compulsory land acquisition and voluntary land conversion in Vietnam: The conceptual approach, land valuation and grievance redress mechanisms.

47.

World Bank. (2016). Transforming Vietnamese agriculture: Gaining more from less (Vietnam Development Report 2016). Hong Duc Publishing House.

48.

World Bank. (2020a). Improving agricultural interventions under the new national target programs in Vietnam.

49.

World Bank. (2020b). Vietnam overview. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam/overview

50.

Yanakieva

(2007). The agricultural land problems in Bulgaria and implementation of the common agricultural policy. Agricultural Economics, 53(4), 189–193.