Forest Protection and Sustainable Livelihoods of People in the Buffer Zone of Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam Case study
Village 4, Ta Lai Commune, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province
Mr. Tran Duc Luan, Nong Lam University - Ho Chi Minh City (NLU), Vietnam
Master Thesis No 33
Master Thesis in Rural Development with Specialization in Livelihood and Natural Resource Management
Department of Urban and Rural Development Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
m as te r th es is in ru ra l d ev el o pm en t
issn 1403-7998
Forest Protection and Sustainable
Livelihoods of People in the Buffer Zone of Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam
C a s e s t u d y
V i l l a g e 4 , T a L a i C o m m u n e , T a n P h u D i s t r i c t , D o n g N a i P r o v i n c e
Mr. Tran Duc Luan, Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City (NLU), Vietnam
Master Thesis in Rural Development with Specialization in Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management
Master Thesis No 33 | Hue City, Vietnam | September 2006 | ISSN: 1403 7998
Department of Urban and Rural Development | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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ABSTRACT
This study aims to understand the current situation of forest protection in Cat Tien National Park and the livelihoods of the people in village 4, Ta Lai commune, Tan Phu district, Dong Nai province. To achieve this objective, methods were drawn from Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), in-depth interview, and observation to collect data. This was complemented with a household survey covering a sample size of 150 households (50: Kinh; 50: Stieng; 50: Chau Ma) with the objective of identifying the relationship between Cat Tien National Park and the livelihoods of the people. Besides, discussions with stakeholders involved with the park were conducted to elicit their views and concerns on forest protection and conservation.
The results of the study show that forest protection and conservation of Cat Tien National Park is indeed a difficult issue because of the poverty of people in the buffer zone. The balancing conservation and livelihoods remains an ardent process. It was found that there are major differences between people groups in the study site related to ethnicity. The indigenous people (Chau Ma and Stieng) were found to enter the park more often than the Kinh people as livelihood still largely depends on the natural resources of the park. The education level of indigenous people remains low, so the training on production technology to develop the agricultural sector is not effective. In addition, subsidies to indigenous people have created the psychological effect of “heavy reliance to others” behaviour, and this should be viewed as a big barrier for poverty reduction.
This study also found that to maintain the value of biodiversity in Cat Tien National Park requires the co-operation of stakeholders, especially the co-operation between local people and staff of the park at all stages in the management process. In addition, the integrated conservation and development project aimed to improve local people’s livelihoods in the buffer zone is considered the way to share benefits and reduce the conflict of interests between stakeholders.
Interestingly, local people would like to get involved in sustainable use of forest products in the park. Lastly, it was found that initially local communities need some external support to develop the internal factors, but later, that must be translated into strengths for them to find the best way out of poverty and to achieve sustainable livelihoods in the near future.
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TÓM TǍT
(Abstract in Vietnamese Language)
Đề tài này tìm hiểu về thực trạng bảo vệ rừng ở vườn quốc gia Cát Tiên và sinh kế của người dân tại ấp 4, xã Tà Lài, huyện Tân Phú, tỉnh Đồng Nai. Để đạt được mục tiêu trên, các phương pháp nghiên cứu được áp dụng để thu thập dữ liệu như: đánh giá nông thôn có sự tham gia (PRA), phỏng vấn sâu và quan sát thực địa. Dữ liệu còn được bổ sung bởi một cuộc điều tra nông hộ với số mẫu là 150, (bao gồm 50 hộ người Kinh; 50 hộ người Stiêng; 50 hộ người Châu Mạ), tập trung vào việc xác định mối quan hệ giữa vườn quốc gia Cát Tiên và sinh kế của người dân. Bên cạnh đó, những buổi thảo luận với các tổ chức/nhóm liên quan với vườn quốc gia được thực hiện nhằm gợi ra những quan điểm và mối quan tâm của họ về vấn đề bảo tồn và bảo vệ rừng.
Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy, công tác bảo tồn và bảo vệ rừng của Vườn quốc gia Cát Tiên thật sự là một vấn đề khó khăn do sự nghèo đói của người dân vùng đệm. Sự cân bằng về bảo tồn và sinh kế vẫn đang là một vấn đề nóng bỏng. Liên quan đến vấn đề dân tộc, đề tài đã phát hiện những khác biệt quan trọng giữa các nhóm người trên địa bàn nghiên cứu. Người dân tộc bản địa (Châu Mạ và Stiêng) vào rừng thường xuyên hơn so với người Kinh vì sinh kế của họ phụ thuộc nhiều vào tài nguyên thiên nhiên trong vườn. Trình độ giáo dục của những gười dân bản địa còn thấp nên việc chuyển giao kỹ thuật sản xuất để phát triển khu vực nông nghiệp không đạt được hiệu quả. Ngoài ra, các khoản trợ cấp và hỗ trợ cho đồng bào bản địa đã tạo cho họ tâm lý trông chờ vào sự giúp đỡ, và điều này được xem như là rào cản lớn cho việc giảm nghèo.
Nghiên cứu cũng đã nhận ra rằng, để duy trì giá trị đa dạng sinh học trong vườn quốc gia Cát Tiên, thì cần phải có sự hợp tác giữa các bên có liên quan, đặc biệt là sự phối hợp giữa người dân địa phương và nhân viên của vườn ở tất cả các khâu hay giai đoạn trong quá trình quản lý. Thêm vào đó, sự gắn kết giữa hoạt động bảo tồn và các dự án phát triển nhằm nâng cao sinh kế của người dân địa phương ở vùng đệm được xem như là phương cách chia sẽ lợi ích và giảm bớt mâu thuẫn về lợi ích giữa các bên liên quan. Điều lý thú của nghiên cứu này là việc người dân địa phương muốn sử dụng một cách bền vững các lâm sản từ vườn quốc gia. Cuối cùng, nghiên cứu nhận thấy, ở thời điểm ban đầu, cộng đồng địa phương cần sự hỗ trợ từ bên ngoài để phát triển các yếu tố nội lực, nhưng sau đó, những yếu tố cần phải được chuyển thành sức mạnh để giúp cho họ tìm ra con đường thoát khỏi sự nghèo khổ và tiến đến sinh kế bền vững trong tương lai.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to acknowledge Dr. Neil Powell (SLU) and Dr. Tran Dac Dan (NLU) for their valuable comments and useful recommendations in shaping the structure of this study. Thank you very much!
Further gratitude is extended to Dr. Britta Ogle (SLU), Asso. Prof. Le Duc Ngoan (HUAF), Ms Huynh Anh Phuong (HUAF), Dr. Pham Thanh Binh (NLU), and Dr. Le Quang Thong (NLU) for helping me complete the Master Course on Rural development in Hue City, Vietnam.
Special mention is accorded to Dr Tran Thi Ut (The former dean of the department of rural development-NLU) for her encouragement to study in Hue City and whose mentoring efforts made research work possible for me.
For the fieldwork activities, I acknowledge the efforts of Mr. Nguyen Huynh Thuat (Cat Tien National Park Staff), Ms. Pham Thi Nhien (NLU), Ms. Do Minh Hoang, (NLU), Mr.
Duong Xuan Dung (Former Student of NLU), and 16 students of NLU who helped me carry out the field study. Additional gratitude and sincere appreciation goes to the Cat Tien National Park Management Board, the authorities of Ta Lai commune, and the village 4, for the support of my data collection.
Endless gratitude is accorded to my ever-supportive father Tran Van Lich, my loving mother Huynh Thi Hai, and my equally gentle young brother - for their love and encouragement all throughout the struggles I went through to complete the MSc program in Rural Development and this thesis study, most specially.
Finally, I am very grateful to all my classmates in the MSc course who generously shared their knowledge and experience with me in my study and stay in Hue City, a cultural heritage city in the world.
Tran Duc Luan Vietnam, 2006
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LIST OF CONTENT
ABSTRACT TÓM TẮT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ...8
1.1 Why research...8
1.2 Structure of the study...8
1.3 Scope and limitation of the study...8
2 BACKGROUND ...10
2.1 Country background information...10
2.2 Buffer zones approach vs. Co-management approach ...10
2.3 Overview national parks in the world...13
2.4 Overview on National Parks in Vietnam...14
2.4.1 Political background ...14
2.4.2 The profile of National Parks...14
2.4.3 People in the buffer zone ...15
2.5 Problem statement...15
2.6 Objective and Research Questions ...16
2.6.1 Objectives...16
2.6.2 Research questions...16
3 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE...17
3.1 Basic Concepts and Theories...17
3.1.1 Livelihood and sustainable livelihood...17
3.1.2 Vulnerability...17
3.1.3 Protected areas ...17
3.2 Conservation vs. economic development...18
3.3 Protected area management approaches in the world ...18
3.4 Forest and poverty in Vietnam...20
3.5 Livelihoods of people in buffer zones of national parks in Vietnam ...20
4 METHODOLOGY... 22
4.1 Methodological approach ...22
4.2 Conceptual Framework...22
4.3 Site selection ...23
4.4 Data collection method ...23
4.4.1 Secondary data ...24
4.4.2 Primary data...24
4.4.3 Household survey ...24
4.4.4 In-depth interviewing...25
4.5 Data analysis method ...25
5 EVIDENCE AND INTERPRETATION ... 27
5.1 Cat Tien National Park...27
5.1.1 History of Cat Tien National Park...27
5.1.2 Characteristic of Cat Tien National Park ...27
5.1.3 Forest protection activities in Cat Tien National Park...28
5.1.4 The trend of forest law violation in Cat Tien National Park ...28
5.1.5 Advantages and disadvantages of forest protection and conservation management29 5.2 Study site ...30
5.2.1 Natural context...30
5.2.2 Socio-economic aspect...31
5.3 The people in the buffer zone...32
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5.3.1 History of people groups...32
5.3.2 General information of surveyed household ...33
5.3.3 Five assets of households...34
5.3.4 People’s livelihood activities ...36
5.3.5 Relationship between households and Cat Tien National Park...40
5.3.6 Household’s view about forest protection activities in Cat Tien National Park. ...47
5.3.7 Advantages and disadvantages of people’s livelihoods...50
5.4 Stakeholders of Cat Tien National Park...51
5.5 Solutions for forest protection...54
6 GENERAL DISCUSSION ... 56
6.1 Sustainable livelihoods...56
6.2 Forest protection, conservation and people’s livelihoods ...56
7 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION... 59
7.1 Summary of findings...59
7.2 Lessons learnt when conducting the study...60
7.3 Further research ...60
8 REFERENCES ...61
9 APPENDICES... 65
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LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND BOXES
TABLES
Table 1: Forest law violation in Cat Tien National Park from 2000 to 2005 ... 29
Table 2: General Information of households in 2005... 33
Table 3: Asset value and cultivated area of surveyed households ... 35
Table 4: Occupation of surveyed households ... 37
Table 5: Income per capita per month of the surveyed household in 2005... 39
Table 6: Forest law violation of people in village 4 from 1999 to 2004 ... 40
Table 7. The proportion of surveyed households collected and used forest products ... 45
Table 8. Perception of households on Cat Tien National Park forest protection activity ... 48
FIGURES Figure 1: Scenarios of protected areas (Source: Martino, 2001)... 11
Figure 2: Stakeholder categories and co-management (Source: The World Bank, 1999) ... 12
Figure 3: Location of study site ... 23
Figure 4: Data analysis framework... 25
Figure 5: Resource Map in Village 4, Ta Lai commune ... 31
Figure 6: The proportion of surveyed households entering to the park for forest product collection... 41
Figure 7: Relationship between households and forest products before 2000 ... 43
Figure 8: Relationship between households and forest products in 2005 ... 43
Figure 9: Relationship between household’s income and forest product categories in 2005 by three groups ... 45
Figure 10: Depiction of the conservation activities in Cat Tien National Park ... 52
BOXES Box 1. Why do Kinh people not enter the park for forest product collection? ... 38
Box 2: Why do Stieng and Chau Ma people still enter the park? ... 44
Box 3: A simple estimate on human pressure of the buffer zone upon the Park... 46
Box 4: How can forest guards manage the park well? ... 49
Box 5: The solutions for forest protection by key informants ... 54
Box 6. The failure of national park management in Uganda ... 57
Box 7. The success of protected area management in Sarawak... 58
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Why research
Vietnam has about two-third of total natural areas as upland and mountains where there exists rich biodiversity in the remaining forests but natural resource degradation and poverty are still two main problems for rural development, especially in communities that depended on forest resources (Vo Quy & Le Thac Can, 1994). Forest, land, and water resources have been degrading and natural resources face threats from human pressure. A question is raised whether the poor are agents or victims of natural resource degradation. Kumar and Hotchkiss (1998) asserted that the degradation of natural resources can decrease agricultural productivity and affect human health. Even those people who are recorded to be in a healthy state, their labour productivity has remained low because they take much time to find fuel-wood in the degraded forest. Meanwhile, Duraiappah (1996) believes that poverty leads to environment and natural resource degradation hence the poor seems to be both agents and victims of natural resource degradation because of the interactive influence between people and the environment.
The primary goal of protected areas is to conserve biological diversity and provide ecosystem services, and, currently the linkages between the protected area management and poverty issues have become a necessity (Sherl et al., 2004). Although the inter- dependence of human welfare and the conservation of natural resources are highlighted on the Millennium Development Goals (Roe, No date), protected areas are continually denying local people’s access to natural resources (Vo Quy, 2002; Ghimire & Pimbert, 1997). Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam is one of them. This is the main reason why this research should be conducted in order to study how Cat Tien national park can contribute to local people’s livelihoods and achieve poverty reduction. At the same time building an understanding how local people in the buffer zone can support or influence Cat Tien national park in their conservation activities. These concerns will be discussed in this research.
1.2 Structure of the study
This thesis is organized in six chapters. Chapter one explains the motivation of the research, the scope and limitation of the study. Chapter two highlights the country information background, the profile of national parks, the problem statement, the research objectives and research questions. Chapter three reviews the basic concepts includes a literature review. Chapter four presents the methodology of the study. Chapter five focuses on the evidence and interpretation in a results and discussion section. Chapter six sum up the general discussion. Finally, chapter seven marks the conclusions with the summary of findings, the lessons learnt in the conduct of the study, and the identification of areas for further studies.
1.3 Scope and limitation of the study
At the onset, the researcher wanted to choose one village inside Cat Tien National Park and one village outside the park (buffer zone) to have a rich picture of local people’s
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livelihoods and conservation activities. However, due to time constraints the research was conducted at only one village in the buffer zone, namely village 4, Ta Lai commune, Tan Phu district, and Dong Nai province. Another limitation relates to the background of the researcher who is an agricultural economist, thus the technical aspects such as forestry, biology and ecosystem will not be analyzed by the study.
Some indigenous people can not speak Vietnamese language, especially old people, so it is difficult for the researcher to directly discuss with them. Besides, the issue of “illegal behaviour” related to forest product collection was found sensitive therefore data on income generated from Cat Tien national park forest product collection activities can not be gathered.
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2 BACKGROUND
2.1 Country background information
Vietnam is a relatively narrow strip running North-South along the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula. The total land area of Vietnam is about 332,000 square km.
Mountain ranges extend along Vietnam’s border with the People’s Republic of China in the north, and along the borders with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Kingdom of Cambodia in the west. The total population in Vietnam (July 2005) is about 84 million with a unified nation comprising 54 ethnic communities in which the majority Vietnamese (the Kinh), making up 87 percent of the population, live mainly in the lowlands while 53 other minority groups commonly referred to as ethnic communities, live mainly in the mountainous areas and highlands. The ethnic communities often cohabit and there is no separate geographical area for any ethnic group. Vietnam is a densely populated country, 251 people per square kilometre on average, with a population growth rate of 1.35 percent per year. The rural population density is highest in the irrigated lowlands, especially the deltas of the Red River and the Mekong River. This pattern of distribution has had important implications for Protected Areas, especially national parks in Vietnam.
After the American war, Vietnam was one of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world. In 1988, through “Doimoi” (Renovation) policies, the government ended collectivized agriculture and distributed farmland to individual households (Irvin, 1995).
The reforms increased the relative prices of rice and other agricultural products and provided strong incentives for rural producers with land and agricultural knowledge. The success in the early period can be explained by the distribution of land to agriculture households and the creation of economic incentives for increased farm production.
Moreover, the achievement can be also explained by increased employment in the private sector and increased integration of agriculture into the market economy. The poverty alleviation is commendable but much remains to be done. The forest area in Vietnam was estimated to be 55 percent of the total land area in the late 1960s and 17 percent of total in the late 1980s, (Collins et al., 1991; De Koninck, 1999). From the 1990s until today, the Vietnamese government has attempted to reforest with increasing success. In terms of biodiversity of protected areas, Viet Nam has some 1,534 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Viet Nam is home to at least 10,500 species of vascular plants, of which 12 percent are endemic, 3.4 percent of Viet Nam is protected under IUCN categories. Most of the species exist and are conserved in forests, especially national parks.
2.2 Buffer zones approach vs. Co-management approach
First of all, the research will explain the term “National parks” and “Buffer zone” in order to make clear the meaning of those. According to the wikipedia website, a national park is defined as a reserve of land, usually owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution. National parks are as a protected area of International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). In the Vietnam context, the term of national parks was defined through Decision No.62 -2005/QD-BNN (Ministry of agriculture and rural development), promulgating the regulation on criteria
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for classification of special-use forests. The definition is “National parks are a natural area on the mainland or on the mainland with some submerged-lands, or sea areas. They are large enough for the conservation of one or more typical or representative ecosystems. It shall not be affected or be affected to the conservation of endemic or endangered species of present and future generations. National parks serve as a basis for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreation and eco-tourist activities which are controlled and have less negative impacts”. On the other hand, the definition of “Buffer zone” in the wikipedia website is: “A buffer zone is any area that serves the purpose of keeping two or more other areas distant from one another, for whatever reason”. However, related to national parks, this definition is unclear. According to Gilmour and Nguyen Van San (1999), a buffer zone is an area identified by a clear boundary and it is located outside the boundaries of the protected area. Decision No. 09/2001/QD-BNN-TCCB of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development of Vietnam found that a buffer zone is a forest area, land area, or wetland area located close/nearby to national parks or natural protected zone.
Related to buffer zones, Martino (2001) had used a wide range of literature with fifty- three articles to study. He found that there is no agreement among conservationists regarding to the definitions of buffer zones. Although the objective of buffer zones is to protect the biodiversity of the park, this protection has to be harmonized with the creation of benefits to local people.
Figure 1: Scenarios of protected areas (Source: Martino, 2001)
Martino (2001) made three scenarios for a buffer zone approach. Scenario A represents the original protected area which requires the establishment of a buffer zone (Figure 1). So the solution proposed is to establish the buffer zone as scenario B shows. But if only the biological or ecological elements were considered, would not scenario C be the preferable scenario? It is evident that having an extended protected area will accomplish the biological goals set for the buffer zone. So why have buffer zones at all? Martino (2001) concluded that there has to be a difference between the management and goals of the buffer zone and the management of the protected area, if not, there would be no logical reason for buffer zones to exist.
The reasoning behind the establishment of buffer zones is generally a need to protect the park from encroachment from local population and from the destructive activities that
Protected Area
Protected Area Protected
Area (Core zone)
A B C
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take place outside the park but that affect conservation inside. However, there is recognition of the legitimate needs of the local population. Martino (2001) revealed that many authors of these articles believe providing benefits in the buffer zone will create an incentive for local people and provide for their needs, and the result will be that local people will not extract resources from the park anymore. In addition, Rustagi and Garcia (2005) asserted that creation of the buffer zone around protected areas assists in the optimization of the ecological, economic and socio-cultural values of protected area, through extension and social buffering of the protected area. Martino (2001) argued the inclusion of local people in development projects that take place either in the buffer zones or near the protected areas is aimed to protect those areas from local peoples' discontent rather than to integrate local peoples' need to access the protected area for resources. This is a crucial point that comes from the very definitions of buffer zones and that has many scientists convinced that buffer zones are failing and many others wondering what should be the role of buffer zones. This research will not discuss further on the definition of
“national parks” and “buffer zone”, but its definition for the purpose of this research as reflected above.
Beside a buffer zone approach, the co-management arrangements have also been considered due to the complicated interest of stakeholders on natural resource use. The World Bank (1999) has defined co-management as “The sharing of responsibilities, rights and duties between the primary stakeholders, in particular, local communities and the nation state; a decentralized approach to decision-making that involves the local users in the decision-making process as equals with the nation-state”.
Figure 2: Stakeholder categories and co-management (Source: The World Bank, 1999)
In essence this is the same definition as the one adopted by the World Conservation Congress: “A partnership in which government agencies, local communities and resource users, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders negotiate, as appropriate to
Central Government
Local Government
Private Sector;
Other stakeholders
Local Communities
Co-management
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each context, the authority and responsibility for the management of a specific area or set of resources” (IUCN, 1996). Based on these definitions, this research will investigate the co-management among stakeholders to reflect on the evidence in the study site.
2.3 Overview national parks in the world
Globally, there are many national parks protecting tropical forests. Tropical forests provide a haven for flora and fauna. The biodiversity also increases from the two poles of earth towards the equator. It is clear that, flora and fauna can be found everywhere but biodiversity is not equally distributed. For example, biodiversity diminishes with increasing altitude. The same pattern also applies to decreasing rainfall. Further, the intense sunlight in tropical regions makes ecosystems in equatorial more productive. The tropical forests make up more than a half of the species in the world even if the area of tropical forests is only seven percent of earth surface area. For instance, the tropical and semi-waterless areas in Africa have about 30,000 species of flora; and similar to Madagascar (8,200 species), Asia tropical region including New Guinea and Australia (45,000 species).
The world’s first national park, Yellowstone, was created by an act of Congress in 1872 and signed by the President of United State namely Ulysses Grant”. Yellowstone National Park had about 2.2 million acres of wilderness was "set apart as a public park or are the area reserved for the benefit and enjoyment of people". This national park is now very famous for ecotourism activities. In Tanzania, numerous national parks form the core of a much larger protected ecosystem, and have been set aside to preserve the country’s rich natural heritage, and to provide secure breeding grounds where its fauna and flora can thrive, safe from the conflicting interest of a growing human population. The existing park system protects a number of internationally recognized bastions of biodiversity and world heritage sites, thereby redressing the balance for those areas of the country affected by deforestation, agriculture and urbanization. In South Africa, most national parks are maintained by the government while the parks in KwaZulu-Natal are managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (an amalgamation of the former Natal Parks Board and KwaZulu Directorate of Nature Conservation). A number of national parks have become Peace parks and changed their names. Private Parks are starting to have a huge impact on the conservation scene. In Southeast Asia, four countries including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam have established among the largest protected area systems in the world as proportions of national territory. Many are national parks or national protected areas as they are called in Lao PDR, and nature and wildlife reserves in which no exploitative uses are permitted. These restrictive national policies are coming under increasing strain faced with growing populations, especially the needs of poor communities living in and around protected areas (ICEM, 2003).
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2.4 Overview on National Parks in Vietnam
2.4.1 Political background
In Vietnam, forestland is divided into three categories, namely production, protection and special-use forests. Production forests are earmarked for exploitation in compliance with approved management plans while protection forests are designated to protect land and water sources in critical areas (Nguyen Van San et al., 1999) and their exploitation is restricted to mainly non-timber forest products in natural forests. Special-use forests are designated based on their importance for the conservation of Vietnam’s biodiversity, science, tourism or cultural and historical heritage. In January 2001, Decision No.
08/QD-TTg, classified special-use forests into the following categories: (1) National parks;
(2) Nature reserves, this was further divided into two sub-categories: nature reserves and habitat/species management areas; and (3) Cultural, Historical and Environmental sites (Landscape conservation areas).
The history of national parks in Vietnam is summarized as follows: In 1960, President Ho Chi Minh announced Ordinance No. 18/LCT: ‘Law on Organization of the Government Council of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam’. This ordinance included a proposal to establish the General Department of Forestry. Vietnam government had carried out the first actions to preserve natural resources through promulgating degree on forest protection. In 1962, Cuc Phuong Protected Forest established the first protected area, and up to year 1966, it became the first national park in Vietnam. In 1986, decision No. 194/CT decreed the establishment of a further 73 Special-use Forests nationwide.
These Special-use Forests comprised two national parks, 46 nature reserves, and 25 cultural and historical sites. In 1994, the biodiversity action plan for Vietnam recommends the strengthening of the national parks and the protected areas system. In 1992, Prime Minister announced Decision No. 08/CT the establishment Cat Tien National Park. Up to now, there are 26 national parks extending in Vietnam.
2.4.2 The profile of National Parks
In Vietnam, the natural conservation zones and national parks were established at the area where the natural resources were not much devastated (Vo Quy, 2002). The average size of a national park in Vietnam is about 34,832 ha; Yok Don national park has a largest area with 115,545 ha; and Xuan Thuy is a smallest park with 7,100 ha. The average size of national parks in the south is higher than the north approximately 9,200 ha; and the standard deviation in size of 26 national parks in Vietnam is about 29,467 ha. In general, the purpose of national parks in Viet Nam is the same. These are to conserve valuable and rare genes of flora and fauna; to protect the representative ecosystem of tropical forest; to maintain the protective forests; to provide a platform for environmental education and scientific research; to develop the ecotourism activities; and to create the jobs for people around the parks. Further, the national parks fall under a master plan to combine ecotourism and historical tourism in order to attract domestic and foreign tourists. In Vietnam, national parks also have the support from the donors and Non Government Organizations such as IUCN (The World Conservation Union), WWF (World Wildlife Fund), GEF (Global Environment Agency) and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) on natural resources management and conservation.
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2.4.3 People in the buffer zone
According to Vo Quy (2002), many people live in the buffer zones of the natural conservation zones and national parks. Most people are poor and low education. Their subsistence depends on forest products or the related ecosystem. They are generally indigenous peoples or resettled people. About 90 percent of cases hunting and collecting forest products are carried out by people in the buffer zone. Farming practices also tend to employ a low level of technology, have low agricultural productivity, and a high poverty rate (Nguyen Ba Thu, 2002).
2.5 Problem statement
In global context, forests are the most important terrestrial reservoir of biological diversity, containing as much as two-thirds of all plant and animal species, and represent ecological, economic, cultural, spiritual and recreational values (WWF, 2002). However, the Millennium Development Goal Report of the United Nations in 2005 shows that plant and animal species are disappearing at record rate. One of the underlying causes of this problem is poverty. The poor are most immediately affected and their livelihoods more often depend on the natural resources of forests around them (UN, 2005). The conservation of natural and gene resources for the next generation is recognized as instruction of ethic and reality and it needs to find the way to implement this instruction (FAO, 1994).
In Vietnam, Cat Tien National Park is part of a lowland rainforest complex, which is one of the last remaining in southern Vietnam. The Park has considerable biological value because it is one of the last refuges for a number of significant species and because of its rich biological diversity. The diversity of the Park has been recognized by its inclusion in both terrestrial and freshwater Global 200 Eco-regions selected by WWF for outstanding biodiversity of global significance (Cat Tien National Park, 2002:8). Nevertheless, after establishing it in 1992, the government has a policy to assign the management of national parks to state-run organizations. Strict protection has resulted in limited access for local people to forest products and limited opportunities for income generation. Thus, the Park has led to a loss of income source from forest, especially the poor (Ton Tu Anh, 2002:253). Furthermore, poverty and rapid population growth in the buffer zones threaten the objectives of conservation zones (Vo Quy, 2002:45). Conservationists believe that investment in the buffer zones to enhance people’s living condition and awareness will decrease the pressure in protected areas and help conservation activities be more effective (Nguyen Ba Thu, 2002:51). In practice, Vietnam has integration projects and conservation as support for people in the buffer zone with the initial results, but the complexity of buffer zones requires a flexible approach that can be adapted to specific contexts (Vo Quy, 2002:46). It is clear that conservation management is a great problem for all national parks in Vietnam and Cat Tien National Park is not an exception. Moreover, it is very important for conservationists and policy makers responsible for conservation to understand the needs and perceptions of the people’s buffer zones in order to achieve a sustainable conservation process (Vo Quy, 2002:48). However, there is lack of studies on forest protection approaches and insufficient understanding of people’s livelihood activities and the perceptions of people in buffer zones. The author considers this to pose a serious constraint to the Cat Tien National Park Management Board in achieving its conservation goals.
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2.6 Objective and Research Questions
2.6.1 Objectives
This study looks into the social economic aspects of forest protection, in particular to learn about people’s livelihood activities in the buffer zone and their relations to the Park. This study also examines the relevance of alternative forest protection approaches in Cat Tien, which may better meet the needs of people livelihoods and at the same time ensure the park maintains its high conservation status.
2.6.2 Research questions
The main question: Has the forest protection/conservation approach in Cat Tien National Park led to more sustainable livelihoods?
The following sub questions emerge from this:
(a) What are the contextual characteristics of Cat Tien National Park?
1. Who are the stakeholders in Cat Tien National Park?
2. How is the forest in Cat Tien National Park presently protected?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of forest protection?
(b) What constitutes people’s livelihoods in the buffer zone of Cat Tien National Park?
1. What are people’s livelihoods in study site?
2. What do the projects/programs for local people implement in study site?
3. How do people’s activities relate to the use of forest resources?
(c) What is the people’s perception of protection Cat Tien National Park?
1. What are people’s views of forest protection activities in Cat Tien National Park?
2. In relation to the forest, are there different perceptions between indigenous ethnic and migrant people groups? Why are their perceptions different? And how do they differ?
3. What are local inhabitant’s suggestions to protect sustainably the park?
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3 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this section, the study reviews basic concepts and related studies revolving around natural resource management (e.g. forest inside national park or protected areas) and sustainable livelihoods of people whom dependent on these resources. Comparing related studies, the research will clarify knowledge and ideas that have been established as well as the associated strengths and weaknesses found in each study.
3.1 Basic Concepts and Theories
3.1.1 Livelihood and sustainable livelihood
There are many definitions of livelihood used for poverty and rural development research in which a popular definition is provided by Chambers and Conway (1992): livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses, and shocks, maintain or enhance its capacities and assets, while not undermining the natural resource base. The livelihood definition points at the links between assets and the options people possess in practice to pursue alternative activities that can generate the income level required for survival. According to Ellis (2000:7), several researchers such as Carswell (1997), Hussein and Nelson (1998), and Scoones (1998) have utilized this concept. Some case studies make use of the livelihoods approach which integrates natural resource management into a framework for analyzing how people use natural resources to make a living (Ashby, 2003)
3.1.2 Vulnerability
The concept of poverty is often defined in economic terms, against indicators such as income or consumption. Poverty is identified as the following problems: (1) Lack of assets and income; (2) Lack of opportunities to engage in productive activities that can sustain livelihoods; (3) Lack of voice and empowerment; (4) Lack of capacity to promote and defend community interests; and (5) Vulnerability. Vulnerability as defined by DFID (1999), stems from the negative external environment in which people exist such as shocks (e.g. floods, droughts, storms), trends (e.g. population, economic, resources), and seasonal shifts (e.g. employment opportunities, prices, and production). This research operationalises vulnerability as a concept because it is considered to have a direct influence in poor people, and because poor people are often on the forest frontier where they come into conflict with biodiversity objectives (Scherl et al., 2004).
3.1.3 Protected areas
IUCN defines protected areas as an area of land or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and management through legal or other effective means. According to Chape et al. (2003), protected areas include the six categories: (1) Strict Nature Reserve or Wilderness Area; (2) National Park managed mainly for ecosystem conservation and recreation; (3) Natural Monument managed mainly for conservation of specific features; (4) Habitat/Species Management Area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention; (5)
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Protected Landscape or Seascape managed mainly for landscape or seascape conservation and recreation; and (6) Managed Resource Protected Area managed mainly for sustainable use of natural ecosystems.
3.2 Conservation vs. economic development
Since the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the human environment, the importance of biodiversity conservation and its linkage to global development issues has been recognized.
At that time, many developing countries expressed their concerns about increasing environmental degradation as a possible constraint to their economic growth. However, the result of the Stockholm Conference revealed that natural resources are essential assets on which economic growth must be based, and conservation and development are inseparable (Holdgate, 1999). The fifth International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Congress in 2003 affirmed that biological diversity should be conserved for not only national values but also global values. Conservation has contributed to human well-being by maintaining ecosystems but it has also contributed to local poverty by denying the poor people control over and access to the natural resources that underpin their livelihoods (Fisher, 2005).
In terms of conservation and development issues, Cole and Neumayer (2005) also contributed their argument on the perception of “Economic development first”, whereby poverty alleviation should come first and then the environment or conservation should be addressed later. They think it seems a reasonable way for short-term but in long-term, the
“Economic development first” is likely to be serious because it can not be achieved in isolation from achieving environmental stability and meeting social development goals.
Moreover, the results of the first regional workshop of Protected Areas and Development (PAD) in the four countries of the Lower Mekong River Region including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (2002) emphasized that conservation of protected areas should be ensured as the first priority. In addition, it needs to have the link between conservation and economic benefits, especially intangible benefits should be recognized, for example, educational and cultural values more than only monetary value. Based on these results of studies and reports, this research suggests that although the objectives of conservation and economic development are still under discussion, the linkages between conservation and economic development should be interested. Fisher (2005) asserts the necessity of the integrated approaches to conservation and development and that approaches should be highlighted as significant conservation strategies in protected area.
Related to the Vietnam context, this research corresponds with the perspective of Fisher (2005): poverty reduction and conservation should go hand in hand because there really is no other choice, neither ethically nor practically.
3.3 Protected area management approaches in the world
In general, natural resources management takes place in a complex human context. The decisions of natural resource management can affect a number of different stakeholders and may affect them differently, especially where resources are scarce or of high value.
Therefore, to move from theory to practice, Ashby (2003) suggests that the trade-offs between different groups or stakeholders have to be taken into account, and the conflict resolution or agreement about the use of natural resources must be democratized by
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involving a broad set of stakeholders. This view is contrary the how the first national park in the world, Yellowstone, as established. Crow and Shoshone people were forced through coercion and violence to relocate their ancestral land. This pattern has been repeated in the establishment of many national parks. Previous inhabitants of these areas are prohibited from entering and accessing natural resources inside these parks. The consequence is the creation of a conflict of interest. Local communities in particular have their livelihoods undermined and the biodiversity management is threatening (Vo Quy, 1995). Other lesson learnt from the experiences with the population displacement strategy, Cernea and Schmidt-Soltau (No date) argue that this strategy has compromised the very cause of biodiversity and park conservation by inflicting aggravated poverty on countless people. In addition, they found that displacements should not and might not be counted upon any longer as a general and mainstream solution. However, the study of Barreto et al.
(2006) emphasized that human pressure in protected areas is much smaller than un- protected areas. Therefore, since the 1980s, conservation organizations have been implementing approaches that aim to build support among local communities by sharing social and economic benefits from protected areas (Nguyen Ngoc Hoi, 2002). The goals of these initiatives include compensating local people for lack of access to protected areas and providing alternative income sources that would allow people to benefit economically from conservation while refraining from environmentally destructive practices.
The study of Scherl et al. (2004) has summarized the poverty reduction approaches in protected areas, which has been implementing in the world. These approaches are namely:
(1) Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs); (2) Inclusive Management Approaches; and (3) Community Conservation Areas. Sherl et al. (2004) explains that an ICDP approach aims at building support among local communities by sharing social and economic benefits from protected areas. The goals of these initiatives include compensating local people for lack of access to protected areas and providing alternative income sources that would allow people to benefit economically from conservation while refraining from environmentally destructive practices. Sherl et al.
(2004) argued that, in practice, experience has shown that the equitable distribution of financial and social benefits from protected areas can be problematic, for instance, it is often not enough to assume that community leaders will assure that benefits will accrue to the neediest people. However, in Africa, ICDPs has shown a success that accountability is improved if whole communities, including women, are involved in decision-making (Sherl et al., 2004).
Related to ICDPs, McShane and Wells (2004) have summarized the main shortcomings of ICDPs leading to lack of success in which there are the failure to identify, negotiate, and implement trade-offs between the interests and claims of multiple stakeholders; focus on activities of social programs and income creation through alternative livelihoods rather than impacts on biodiversity; and addressing local symptoms while ignoring underlying policy constraints or conversely dealing with macro-level issues while ignoring local realities. Tisen and Bennett (2000) cited in Sherl et al. (2004) explain
“Inclusive Management Approaches” as a form of collaborative management between local communities and technical advisors to ensure that local communities have a major stake in decision-making and receive a major share of the benefits from protected areas.
Luckett et al. (2003) cited in Sherl et al. (2004) suggests that the increased empowerments, skills and trust between local communities and technical advisors in Kwazula Natal of South Africa to prove the success of the approach but lack of evidence for the failure.
Sherl et al. (2004) suggest that community conserved areas are managed by indigenous and local communities through customary laws or other effective means. Wishitemi (2000) and Okello et al. (2003) cited in Sherl et al. (2004) found that in Kenya and Tanzania, local
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communities can gain benefits and participate at all levels of management in a range of conservation and ecotourism enterprises. However, McShane and Wells (2004) cited in Sherl et al. (2004) assert that community conservation initiatives can only work when they are supported by national policy and a legislative environment that enable devolution of meaningful authority and responsibility for natural resources. Sherl et al. (2004) note critically in terms of the above approaches that: they may contribute towards reducing poverty through social empowerment and provision of financial benefits to communities in and around protected areas, but they are rarely enough to achieve significant poverty reduction.
3.4 Forest and poverty in Vietnam
The study of Sunderlin and Huynh Thu Ba (2005) has drawn a rich picture on forests and poverty in Vietnam through secondary literature. They found that there is a high incidence of poverty in the remaining stands of natural forest, and forest resources still have played an important role for millions of people in assisting the process of poverty alleviation. They believe that forest resources’ can continue to serve a useful role in poverty alleviation in the future. However, they lack evidence to explain how forest resources can contribute to income of these millions of people. Besides, Sunderlin and Huynh Thu Ba (2005) show that forest protection contracts have a degree of success in some places but have failed in many others, and they also have no evidence to explain this difference. The research on forestry, poverty reduction and rural livelihoods in Vietnam of Dinh Duc Thuan (2005) had similar results as Sunderlin and Huynh Thu Ba (2005) of high poverty rate of local communities who depended on forests. However, the research findings of Dinh Duc Thuan (2005) asserted it has a conflict between forest protection and biodiversity conservation and people’s living improvement. In his research, this finding based on ranking and drawing on 76 group discussions but it does not show details what conflicts emerged.
3.5 Livelihoods of people in buffer zones of national parks in Vietnam
Buffer zones are designed to filter out negative external influences upon core zones of protected areas. Buffer zones can help isolate the core zones from surrounding agriculture, diseases, and noise, air, and soil pollution (IUCN, 2003). The complexity associated with buffer zones was a main motivation for hosting the international conference on the buffer zones of protected areas in Vietnam. The summary record of the conference (published in 2002) is considered as literature for arguments. On that summary record, Vo Quy (2002) overviewed the problems of buffer zone management including the human complex, poverty, low education, and the dependence of people on forest. He also argued local people must participate in the projects which are implemented in the buffer zones. Pham Binh Quyen et al. (2002) found that to achieve the objectives of national parks and natural reservation zones, managers should not create the conflicts between conservation and local communities. In addition, Neefies et al. (2002) revealed that the poor lead to natural resource degradation and believed that projects and programs support for people’s living condition will reduce the human pressure to protected areas.
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The study in the buffer zone of Tam Dao National park of Do Thi Ha (2003) found that the establishment and subsequent extension the parks caused a loss of productive land for the local people. Local people living nearby can not access the parks to collect forest products for household consumption. People also lost their grazing lands, and in some cases they were forced to illegally exploit timber for construction, firewood and for coffins.
They did not have any legal sources to satisfy their basic needs. The research in Bach Ma National Park of Le Van Lan et al. (2002) found that forest products play an important role for supporting the livelihoods of marginal and poor households. The majority of local people appreciate the benefits of biodiversity conservation in terms of water storage, erosion control and, to a lower extent, also biodiversity conservation. However, it seems that Le Van Lan et al. (2002) have not enough evidence to prove the park has opportunities to shift from the protective conservation policy towards encouraging sustainable systems for production of livelihoods benefits for the local population. The study also lacks an analysis of the needs of on multi-stakeholders in relation to the conservation objectives.
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4 METHODOLOGY
4.1 Methodological approach
This research used the sustainable livelihoods approach of Department for International Development (DFID) to find out the relationship between people in the buffer zone and Cat Tien National Park. The core sustainable livelihood principles adopted by DFID are:
people centred; responsive and participatory; multi-level; conducted in partnership;
sustainable and dynamic (DFID, 1999). This approach helps to show the rationale to dealing with the problems of poor people. In particular, it tends to focus on the issues identified by poor people and the multiple factors that impinge on their lives. For the purposes of this research, livelihoods are seen as sustainable when they are resilient in the face of external shocks and stresses; are not dependent upon external support; maintain the long-term productivity of natural resources; and do not undermine the livelihoods of others. This research will examine the gap between the real situation of livelihoods in the study site and the theory of sustainable livelihoods. In fact, the scope and methods of livelihood analysis are varied thus after local people have identified the livelihood issues, this research will try to help them explore the links between livelihood activities and natural resources of the park.
4.2 Conceptual Framework
A conceptual framework (Appendix Figure 2) was applied for this study using the vulnerability context and the process of forest protection as the points of departure. The context of vulnerability comes from different issues, for example, shocks (internal and external factors), trends, seasonal and even the changed policies. The objects of vulnerability are mentioned in the research as people in the buffer zone and Cat Tien national park. It could even be expressed as the relationship between the forest protection policy and people’s livelihoods. The framework identifies five assets which can be used to sustain people’s livelihoods. Livelihood assets are tangible and intangible assets help people to meet their needs. In particular, these assets include: (1) Natural: farming land, forests in buffer zone, water resources; (2) Social: community, family, social organizations, organizational networks; (3) Financial: wage employment, savings, credit, investments; (4) Human: education, health, jobs, training; (5) Physical: roads, electricity, schools, markets, clinics, bridges.
Analyzing livelihood strategies involves understanding how people use and combine their resources to meet short- and longer-term needs. It also involves understanding how people cope in times of stress and shocks. It is important to note that the livelihood priorities between indigenous ethnic minorities (Chau Ma and Stieng people) and Kinh people will differ given existing cultural norms and differing access to and control over livelihood capitals and resources. An understanding of the livelihood strategies of every people group allows planners/policy makers identify activities of program to improve livelihoods by increasing alternatives and options, and reducing risks. Strategies can include combinations of activities, including market-oriented activities and subsistence production activities. People adapt their livelihood strategies over time and from one season to another in order to adapt to changing needs and capital status.
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4.3 Site selection
The research was undertaken in one of the 36 communes and towns located in the buffer zone of Cat Tien National Park. The commune was selected based in the following criteria: (1) Must be a buffer zone commune of Cat Tien National Park; (2) Must be considered as a poor commune on the basis of the poverty criteria setup by the Vietnam Government; (3) Must be a commune of indigenous ethnics and new-comers; and (4) Must be a commune with the pressure of population to the Park. With these criteria, Ta Lai commune was chosen as the case. Ta Lai commune falls under Tan Phu district, Dong Nai province with seven villages. Among these villages, village 4 also satisfies the four criteria thus it was chosen as study site of this research.
Figure 3: Location of study site
4.4 Data collection method
The data used for this study were collected during the fieldwork. The primary data were gathered in four steps. The first step, general information gained by way of key informants and group discussions with Management Board of the Park and Ta Lai commune People’s committee. In this step, the available documents in study site were also useful in reference to the history of the area and pathing the way for the next step. In the second step three
Vietnam Ta Lai Commune
Village 4
Cat Tien National Park
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groups, Kinh, Stieng and Chau Ma, were invited to work with Participatory Rural Appraisal Methods (PRA). Related to PRA exercise, each group had eight to twelve respondents (70%: male; 30%: female). Thereafter, household interviews by questionnaire undertaken in the third step. Finally, the fourth step was an in-depth interview which used a reference checklist.
4.4.1 Secondary data
The secondary data was elicited from the different authorities, Cat Tien National Park Management Board as well as other sources of literature.
4.4.2 Primary data
Mapping: A map was used to identify the comparative location and importance of different resources within an area. It provided a framework for the invited local people to discuss and highlight resources of importance; and to analyze the current status or condition of a location. Moreover, this map was useful to identify the strengths or weaknesses of specific areas in the study site such as rich soil, poor soil or waterless field. The comparative location among Cat Tien National Park, the fields and people’s house was also mentioned on the map.
Time line: A time line tool was used to record changes over time of the historical development of Cat Tien national park and the history of local community. It was used with group of key informants and older members of the community.
Seasonal calendar: Livelihood related activities such as employment, production, health, cost, and calamity. This tool focused on people’s activities involving to the forest and cultivation.
SWOT: it served as a planning exercise to help the respondents become accustomed to thinking about the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in their commune and village. The participants were guided to brainstorm and wrote down their ideas on the strengths/weakness of the internal factors and the opportunities/threats of the external factors. Thereafter, all participants decided and voted on important issues. Finally, the researcher facilitated a process enabling the respondents to combine these issues of SWOT to identify their own solutions.
4.4.3 Household survey
To conduct household survey, the 16 interviewers were trained at Nong Lam University (NLU). All interviewers were final-year students of Department of Rural Development of NLU. Their performance and skills were also reviewed in the field site. Before collecting data, one meeting between local leaders and interviewers was organized to help all participants share general information relating to research objectives.
In village 4, the population is 1,467 persons in 330 households that including eight people groups. Kinh, Stieng and Chau Ma are the main groups of the village. Therefore, the selected sample size was 150 households by random sampling from these main groups.
A sample of 50 households was equally divided for every group. Data were collected through the questionnaire, primarily designed in Ho Chi Minh City and modified after pre-testing in the field. The questionnaire included questions about the general information of households (household size, education, age and job); and explored the five
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capitals of livelihoods. The questionnaire contained both open-ended and closed questions in order to understand the respondents’ views and behaviour related to forest protection.
4.4.4 In-depth interviewing
After the PRA exercise and household survey, the research identified the main issues needed to be studied in more depth. This tool used the checklist focusing on forest protection activities of the park, and the contract between indigenous households and Cat Tien national park management board. The respondents were Cat Tien National Park Management Board, Staff of Ta Lai Forest Station and the households having a contract with the park.
4.5 Data analysis method
The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the collected data.
The results were presented by tables, figures and boxes. Descriptive statistics and correspondence analysis were applied in this research to study relationship between household character, people’s livelihood, and the conservation of Cat Tien National Park.
The process of data analysis was guided by Figure 2. The researcher crosschecked and combined information from group discussion, household survey, and in-depth interviews to find evidence relating to forest protection and people’s livelihoods in study site.
Moreover, the study integrated the evidence in the study site with the lessons learnt from other literature in Vietnam and the world to have an overall analysis.
Figure 4: Data analysis framework Source: Tran Duc Luan, 2006.
Final results and findings Analyzing data from household
survey Analyzing data
from in-depth interviews
Analyzing data from group discussion &
PRA exercise
Overall analysis
+
Lessons learnt from other countries on forest protection and livelihoods
Lessons learnt from previous studies in Vietnam
Lessons learnt from Cat Tien National Park Management Board
Lessons learnt from local people’s view in study site
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Besides, CATWOE, a soft systems stakeholder analysis tool that was developed by Peter Checkland for the purpose to trace problems and its associated issues, was used to identify the problem situation and who were the stakeholders of forest protection. Applied to conservation activities in Cat Tien national park, it resulted in the identification of six components as follows: (1) Clients are the stakeholders considered to be victims or beneficiaries of conservation activities; (2) Actors are the stakeholders who implemented the conservation activities; (3) Transformation refers to the nature of the conservation activities that have been carried out. The activities and objectives of conservation are highlighted in the discussion; (4) Worldview is the view that makes the conservation activities meaningful in Cat Tien National Park context; (5) Owners are those stakeholders who could stop the conservation activities; and (6) Environment is the broader constraints and limits on conservation activities.
Finally, the software used for analyzing data including SPSS 13.0, Excel, and Minjet Mind Manager Pro 6.0.
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5 EVIDENCE AND INTERPRETATION
5.1 Cat Tien National Park
This part discusses the historical background of Cat Tien National Park with its salient events. The main characteristics and forest protection activities of Cat Tien National Park are described while the trends of forest law violation in the park are discussed. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of forest protection and conservation are explored through secondary data and information from in-depth interviews.
5.1.1 History of Cat Tien National Park
Historically, Cat Tien connects closely to the key decisions of Vietnamese Government in particular and the world in general. After Vietnam War, Cat Tien National Park had been managing in turn by different organisations such as Vietnamese Military, the three provincial people’s committee (Dong Nai, Lam Dong, and Binh Phuoc), and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to authorize a management board to manage. One interesting issue of the history is the park was gradually winning recognition as from the nature conservation, national park, to the 411th biosphere reserve, and even the 1499th Ramsar Site. Therefore, Cat Tien is considered as a valuable national park and recognized by not only Vietnam but also the world.
5.1.2 Characteristic of Cat Tien National Park
a. Location and topography: Cat Tien National Park is located in the south of Vietnam with the distance of 150 km to Ho Chi Minh City. The total area is about 73,878 ha and consists of three sectors of three provinces: Nam Cat Tien in Dong Nai province with an area of 38,100 ha; Tay Cat Tien in Binh Phuoc province with an area of 5,143 ha and Cat Loc in Lam Dong province with an area of 30,365 ha. Moreover, the area of buffer zone is approximately 138,479 ha (Cat Tien National Park, 2003:10). The topography of the park varies greatly. In particular, the topography is steep in Cat Loc, low and gentle hills in Nam Cat Tien and Tay Cat Tien. Thus, lots of flora and fauna in terms of biodiversity thrives in Cat Tien National Park.
b. Climate: Cat Tien falls under a tropical climate with two different seasons. The rainy season is from April to October with the humid air of the southwest monsoon carrying rain to the park. From November to March, the dry air of the northeast monsoon causes high temperature in this area. In general, it is an area of relatively high rainfall. The annual average rainfall is 2,894 mm, its maximum at 627 mm on August. Total number of rainy days is estimated to be about 224 days per year.
c. Biodiversity: About 1,610 plant species have been recorded in Cat Tien National Park, which is approximately 6 percent of the total species found in Vietnam where it has 34 plant species found in the IUCN red book (Cat Tien National Park, 2003:12).
Regarding fauna, as of 2003 a total of 76 mammals, 320 birds, 74 reptiles, 35 amphibians, 99 fresh water fish and 435 butterflies were recorded. The number of species in Cat Tien is estimated to be between 21 and 43 percent of the total found in Vietnam. About 40
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fauna species are IUCN red listed. The key species are: Asian elephant (Elephas Mamimus), Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros Sondaicus Annamiticus), and Black-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix Nigripes). Cat Tien is also a dwelling place for Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus Siamensis), which was extinct locally, but has been revived through the plan of Cat Tien national park.
d. Demographic Characteristics of the People: According to Tran Van Mui (2006), there are currently 170,000 people living in the buffer zone of Cat Tien national park. The buffer zone has 36 communes and towns of the four provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Lam Dong and Dak Lak. A total of 3,947 people live inside the core zone of the park. The reason for population increase was mainly due to free migration. The majority of the people who settled inside the park after the American war were immigrants from all over Vietnam (Cat Tien National Park, 2003). The Chau Ma and Stieng people are indigenous ethnic minorities who have lived in the region of the park for several centuries while some ethnic minorities of the north of Vietnam, in particular Tay, Nung, Dao people have been migrating to the park only in recent decades. The changes of human population and its associated human pressure affects the socio public order that are challenges to management, protection and conservation efforts of the natural resources in the park.
Inside the park, there are three groups of people: (1) Kinh people (lowland people); (2) Stieng and Chau Ma people (indigenous ethnic minority); (3) Tay, Nung, Hoa, HMong, Dao, (migrant ethnic minorities) who came from the northern provinces of Vietnam.
e. Historical and cultural value of the park: Other than bio-diversity value, Cat Tien national park still has the intangible benefit/value of its rich history and culture. In the past, the Vietnamese people waged a war of resistance against the French colonials, and in this time, the park was well-know for the Ta Lai prison. During the time of American war, the park was a military base of the Vietnamese and the leaders who guided directly the people to fight the enemy. In terms of culture, the park preserves the archaeological site of Oc Eo culture. This cultural heritage used to be a sophisticated country in the Mekong Valley of Vietnam, occupied sometime in 250 AD and was excavated by Louis Malleret. Oc Eo covered some 1,100 acres and has an extensive canal system and brick foundations. Thus, it is really a valuable cultural heritage in the park.
5.1.3 Forest protection activities in Cat Tien National Park
Among 175 members of staff, the park currently has 120 forest guards. The major protection activity implemented by forest protection department is patrolling and dealing with violators. Forest guards have a co-operation with some indigenous households to protect the park. Moreover, forest guards also maintain regular contact with the communities living within their area of protection and conservation education activities, and make monthly reports to forest protection department for the trends in violation as well as crosscheck against the other.
5.1.4 The trend of forest law violation in Cat Tien National Park
The human pressure mainly comes from the increasing population in the buffer zone and the overpopulation inside the park (Cat Tien National Park, 2003). According to Cat Tien national park management board, in recent years, the violations have been complex in spite of the decreased number of cases of violations. The main reasons for this problem are from human pressure and the demand for forest products. People entered the park to collect forest products for their daily needs such as food, fire wood, construction, and even
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trading to get cash income. In 2000 - 2005, nearly 39 percent of violators created these activities, and they often act all year round (Table 1).
Table 1: Forest law violation in Cat Tien National Park from 2000 to 2005 Years
Items
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Annual Average
Rate* (%)
1. Cases of law violation 486 498 519 367 351 254 413 100
+ Hunting 48 69 80 51 71 40 60 16
+ Fishing 124 126 79 67 58 29 81 11
+ Wood 27 20 49 15 23 10 24 4
+ Other forest products 119 148 171 127 106 97 128 38
+ Other forms of
violation 168 135 140 107 93 78 120 31
2. Number of violators 802 906 915 580 524 387 686 100
+ Hunting 65 111 127 68 72 46 82 12
+ Fishing 159 212 121 99 95 39 121 18
+ Logging 36 41 88 30 40 9 41 6
+ Other Forest Products 239 324 369 239 202 211 264 39
+ Other forms of
violation 303 218 210 144 115 82 179 26
Source: Calculation f
