Viet Nam has a multitude of laws and regulations that regulate natural resource exploitation. Efforts to improve environmental governance include the Viet Nam National Forest Strategy, which was approved in 2007, and the Law on Biodiversity, developed with assistance from IUCN and approved in 2008. However, it is important to bridge national-level policy making and local-level implementation. Livelihoods of the rural poor are closely linked natural resource use. Well-intended policies and plans for sustainable natural resource use that support poverty reduction need adequate field testing. The experience thus gained then needs to be reviewed in the context of policy development. Public participation in governance must be strengthened, access to information improved, and channels of redress for violators of pollution and other laws developed and enhanced.