This is the question—and the concern—of everyone who cares about safeguarding and expanding forest resources. In Lâm Đồng Province, in the southern Central Highlands of Vietnam, people have long become “accustomed” to a troubling pattern: whenever coffee prices rise, more forestland is lost.
Coffee Expands, Forest Retreats
For decades, Lâm Đồng has successfully leveraged its comparative advantages to build one of Vietnam’s leading coffee-growing regions. This strategy has boosted the province’s economy and social development.
But the downside is serious: as coffee cultivation expands rapidly and often spontaneously—beyond the control of local authorities—forests and forestland have been heavily encroached upon. Thousands of cases of illegal logging to seize land for coffee have been recorded over the years, a clear sign of the darker side of coffee’s success.
Across key coffee zones such as Di Linh, Lâm Hà, and Bảo Lâm, one can easily see coffee plots planted deep inside forested areas. In hot spots like Lán Tranh (Lâm Hà) a few years ago, or Đạ Sar and Đạ Nhim (Lạc Dương) today, the goal is always the same: clearing forest to plant coffee. Coffee trees now rise among felled pine trunks, their bases ring-cut and blackened, or amid the charred stumps of once-lush hillsides. In Lâm Đồng, wherever coffee “advances,” the forest inevitably “retreats.”
Although Lâm Đồng is Vietnam’s second-largest coffee producer (after Đắk Lắk) and has long had an official coffee-land plan, the powerful lure of high coffee prices and spontaneous expansion constantly threatens to derail those plans. The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development admits it cannot precisely measure actual coffee acreage, as it changes constantly and includes a significant share of coffee grown on former forestland—figures that are “impossible to pin down.”
Searching for Solutions
In recent years, provincial leaders have acted vigorously to protect forest resources. Beyond the efforts of local government and forestry agencies, a special task force led by the Deputy Party Secretary was set up to address urgent forest-protection issues. While these efforts have brought some results, the outcomes remain short of expectations.
Experience shows that to prevent severe forest loss during each “coffee price boom,” Lâm Đồng needs long-term, practical measures. Alongside stronger public awareness campaigns and tighter patrols, five key steps must be implemented consistently:
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Tighten discipline and accountability in forest protection—assigning clear responsibilities to local officials and enforcing strict penalties and rewards. Where local leaders and rangers take their duties seriously, forests remain intact despite coffee’s pressure.
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Draw a clear line between legitimate farming and illegal forest encroachment. Past leniency—legalizing long-standing coffee plots grown illegally on forestland—has undermined the law and unintentionally encouraged further encroachment.
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Enforce decisive land reclamation. The provincial government’s recent order to “confiscate forestland regardless of who has encroached” is the right approach and should be applied province-wide to end decades of lax enforcement.
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Target the real culprits. Most forest grabbers are not poor farmers lacking land. Many have already been allocated farmland or even sold their land when prices were high. In reality, forest clearing is often driven by speculators and “bosses” who hire locals to seize forestland for resale or expansion. These behind-the-scenes actors and illegal land dealers must be identified and punished.
Only by applying these tough, coordinated measures can Lâm Đồng protect its forests from being sacrificed whenever coffee prices surge.