Socialist-neoliberal Conservation: Hopeful Resilience within the Hoàng Liên National Park, Vietnam

Abstract This article tackles some resilient discourses and strategies engaged by Hmong and Mien people living in Hoàng Liên National Park, a prominent conservation area of the northern Vietnamese highlands located in Sa Pa district, Lao Cai province, Vietnam. Facing the neoliberal transition of socialist institutions, economy, and ecology, communities living in and out of this mountain range must adopt enduring mindsets and demeanours to sustain their environmental imaginaries and ensure some future for their hard-earned livelihoods. Looking at this situation through everyday politics, we argue that resilience theory—when used duly—can help fill the gap between blatant opposition and straight acceptance and reveal the inconspicuous strategies of continuity and adaptations adopted by subordinated groups and individuals. Inside Hoàng Liên’s socialist-neoliberal conservation system, administrators apply principles of responsibilisation and co-management through private financing and development initiatives, and in the process, dumping much of the burden on highlanders’ shoulders. On the other hand, they hope to pursue their way of life, making the most of local opportunities. Such cohabitation causes undue pressures, which Mien and Hmong communities deal with by creatively engaging with, adjusting to, and evading the national park’s rationale while rangers keep a close eye.