Integrated nature conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Project description

Title: Integrated nature conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Lead executing agency: Provincial People’s Committee of Quang Binh (PPC)
Overall term: 2007 to 2015

Context

Viet Nam. Village assemblies as part of Green Village Development Planning (Green VDP). Photo: Li Migura; © GIZ

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is located in the western part of Quang Binh province in central Viet Nam. Due to its unique limestone karst formations and caves, UNESCO declared the National Park a World Heritage Site. The park has a particularly rich biodiversity (species diversity) with a large number of endangered species that are at great risk from the illegal use of the park's natural resources.

Quang Binh Province counts among Viet Nam’s poorest regions. Approximately 65,000 people live in the buffer zone of the national park in 13 communes. They depend heavily on the natural resources of their environment, and sources of income outside of agriculture are very limited. In addition, they have few opportunities for improving their agricultural production as legal access to agricultural resources is very limited. The pressure on park resources is increasing, particularly as the activities of the park authorities to protect the park have not been very efficient to date. Rapid and so far uncontrolled development of the tourism sector poses an additional threat to the fragile ecosystem.

Up to now there have been no coordinated development concepts for the national park and its buffer zone which link nature conservation objectives with the population's development needs.

Objective

An integrated development strategy in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park region combines nature conservation with development objectives and alleviates the pressure on the park's natural resources.

Approach

The project involves a cooperation arrangement between the Provincial People’s Committee of Quang Binh, GIZ and KfW. It has three main objectives:

  1. Protection of the national park
    The project components funded by KfW promote the development and implementation of a management plan for the national park. The project fosters management skills and supports law enforcement, the protection of the forest and the sustainability of the park's biodiversity and ecosystems.
  2. Sustainable development of the buffer zone
    A range of activities support the local population in the park's buffer zone. These include measures ranging from socio-economic development planning and the creation of alternative sources of income to land use planning. The drafting of a master plan for the development of a buffer zone links conservation of natural resources with the development needs of the local population.
  3. Sustainable tourism
    The project promotes the development of sustainable tourism in the park region. The measures of support include the elaboration of a plan for sustainable tourism development, assessing innovative financial instruments for park conservation, such as payments for ecosystem services, and direct support for local tourism and gastronomic development.

Results achieved so far

Project activities have delivered tangible results from the outset (2007), for instance:

  • There has been improvement to the management of the park's caves. Tour guides have received training and the Nuoc Mooc Eco-Trail, a circular trail through a forested area, has been established. It is the top eco-tourism attraction in the region.
  • A plan for sustainable tourism in the park region was drawn up in a collaboration between different actors so that eco-tourism also involves the local population.
  • Green VDP (Green Village Development Planning) was introduced as an innovative approach in order to bring together nature conservation measures and villages' development planning. Together with the park administration, the local people can now analyse the effects that their income-generating activities and lifestyles have on the conservation of the national park.
  • Land use plans have been drawn up in 10 of the 13 communes in the buffer zone, using a participatory process and taking the long-term land use rights of the local population into consideration.
  • A socio-economic development plan has been drawn up, based on a conservation-oriented approach. It includes cross-cutting issues such as climate change, gender, poverty and ethnicity.
  • More than 70 households have received assistance in developing alternative sources of income.

Further information

Contact


Jens Kallabinski
Email: jens.kallabinski@giz.de