Son La is a rubber plantation in Vietnam that threatens to displace 100,000 people. EarthRights supports efforts by ethnic Dai communities in this area to determine their own future, as they fight for access to information and remedies where their rights have been violated and work to prevent future violations. EarthRights promotes the communities’ rights to access information and to receive compensation for relocation.

Project Impact

Many of the communities that may be resettled by the Son La project have voiced concerns about unjust compensation and relocation practices. These communities struggle to get proper documentation for their land, making it difficult to secure monetary compensation or replacement land. Those who have been relocated often find their replacement land to be unsuited for agriculture and lack official titles for this new land as well.

Our Solution

EarthRights works with affected communities to file complaints in cases of abuse, helping them to design their own models for this process and to engage with developers and the government. These efforts work within a framework that advocates call a “community-driven law-implementation mechanism.” As existing environmental laws are strong in Vietnam, this pressure for proper implementation is a vital tactic to support these communities in fighting for their rights and seeking remedies for violations. EarthRights works with international institutions to encourage them to endorse and push such community-driven corporate accountability frameworks.