Sustainable Poverty Reduction Governance in A Mountainous Ethnic Minority Commune in Vietnam: Integrating Livelihoods, Social Inclusion, And Environmental Sustainability

Sustainable poverty reduction remains a governance challenge in mountainous communities where livelihoods depend heavily on small-scale agriculture and forestry and where access to markets, public services, and productive resources may be constrained. This study examines poverty reduction governance in Thien Long commune, Lang Son province, Vietnam, through an integrated framework combining multidimensional poverty, sustainable livelihoods, and sustainable development. The case study draws on descriptive survey information from 80 households, semi-structured interviews with 10 local officials and community representatives, and administrative figures reported in the underlying research project. The analysis focuses on local policy coordination, livelihood support, access to social services, environmental sustainability, and digital administration. The administrative data report 1,235 households in 2025, including 60 poor households and 405 near-poor households. Survey ratings show comparatively positive assessments of locally appropriate production models (mean = 3.85) and education-related interventions (mean = 3.84), while market linkages (mean = 3.35), social resource mobilization (mean = 3.34), and digital infrastructure (mean = 3.24) received lower ratings among the selected items. These results should be interpreted as perceptions of feasibility rather than evidence of programme impact. The study argues that sustainable poverty reduction requires governance arrangements that connect productive support with market access, social inclusion, environmental management, and administrative capacity. It offers a context-sensitive framework for analysing how local institutions can coordinate these dimensions in resource-constrained mountainous communities