Changing forestry discourses in Vietnam in the past 20Â years

► The emergence of the forestry socialization and sustainable forest management discourses in the early 1990s points to significant changes in the framing of forestry issues in Vietnam. ► However, significant changes in views about the involvement of non-state sector in forestry have partly been institutionalized and the strong advocacy for protected areas has ensured state control over Vietnam's forestlands. ► The study shows that the nature and degree of these changes have been determined by the structuration and institutionalization of these two discourses in Vietnam.