Tran Tuyen

University of Social Sciences and Humanities 

Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

e-mail: tuyentran@hcmussh.edu.vn

JEL Classification: Q1, Q56, Q58                                                                                                                  https://doi.org/10.65176/IJLM.V2I1.19

Abstract

This study examines how community-based initiatives in Vietnam advance environmental sustainability through what we define as caring earth practices, a framework informed by the Eastern philosophy of harmony between Heaven, Earth, and humans. While global policies often emphasise top-down governance, the Vietnamese cases illustrate how local communities develop bottom-up models of ecological stewardship that intertwine cultural values, scientific knowledge and livelihood needs. Five contexts were analysed: sea turtle conservation and ecotourism in Con Dao Island, coral reef protection at Yen Islet, community-based tourism for riverbank stabilisation at Ho Islet, mangrove-friendly aquaculture in Ca Mau, and the “No plastic bag” campaign in Cham Islands Biosphere Reserve. Collectively, these cases demonstrate that communities function not only as beneficiaries but also as ethical stewards who align natural cycles, landscape values, and social norms with sustainable livelihoods. The findings identify three core principles underpinning caring for the earth practices: community centrality, knowledge hybridity, and conservation–livelihood balance, reinterpreted through the Eastern notion of Heaven (natural order), Earth (ecological landscapes), and Human (collective responsibility). By situating Vietnam as a living laboratory, this study reconceptualises community-based natural resource management with an Asian orientation and offers practical implications for policy design, sustainable tourism, and ecological governance in rapidly transforming environments.

Keywords: Caring Earth, community-based conservation, environmental sustainability, Indigenous knowledge. 

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