The NEF Bio-ecological Nature Conservation Project inMountainous Region of North Vietnam

POLICY BRIEF 3
Bio-ecological Nature Conservation in Mountainous
Region of North Vietnam: From Policy to Practice(Case study of Phia Oac-Phia Den National Park)

Vo Thanh Son, Le Thi Van Hue, Hoang Van Thang

Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies,
Vietnam National University (VNU-CRES)

Ha Noi, 3 / 2022

Executive Summary
The limestone ecosystem in the Northern mountainous region of Vietnam has great
conservation value, but due to the lack of research in a synchronous manner, conservation andsustainable development policies have not really brought practical effects.
Therefore, an interdisciplinary research project with 10 groups including mammals, birds,amphibians/reptiles, fish, insects, plants, soil invertebrate, macroinvertebrate, GIS/Remotesensing and social group has been conducted in 4 protected areas, representing the study area.
This report focuses on the results of research in Phia Oac-Phia Den National Park, Cao Bangprovince.
Main research results show that 889 animal species, 822 species of vascular plants areidentified in the park, among which there are 35 species in the Vietnam Red Book and 29
species on the IUCN Red List; Forest cover is declined for about 3 % during 1988-2009 andthen increased for 6.4 % during 2009-2019 and value of ecosystem services is increased from
126.22 million USD in 1988 to 129.37 million USD in 2019; The income of local people in
Ban Tong village, Thanh Cong commune in Phia Oac-Phia Den National Park for the Dao
ethnic minority group is low (720,000 VND/month/person) and they are rather dependent on
the forest products.
From this result, policy recommendations include: 1). Conduct research on the impact ofpollution on biodiversity; 2). Study diversity, distribution and human impact on species; 3).
Promote a community-based approach to biodiversity conservation; 4). Promote cooperation
between scientists and policy makers; 5). Carry out capacity building for management staff ofprotected areas.
Challenges in the conservation of limestone karst ecosystems in the North of Vietnam
The limestone karst ecosystem in the Mountainous Region of North Vietnam in generaland in Phia Oac-Phia Den in particular plays an important role in biodiversity conservation.
The population of animal species, especially rare and threatened species is small, so they arealmost not found even in forests and in surrounding areas. Forest vegetation cover has declinedin the past 30 years due to the impact of human production activities and socio-economic
development and, although secondary forests have also been increased.
Conservation and development policies although have been certain positive impacts but
they have not yet made a breakthrough in biodiversity conservation, forest protection and local
livelihood development. Furthermore, the lack of systematic studies on the area's karstecosystems, species biodiversity and threats to biodiversity may limit the application ofconservation and development policies and develop in effective manner.
Therefore, this report is an attempt to synthesize the results obtained within theframework of the research project to suggest policy recommendations for the study area.

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Policy for biodiversity conservation and forest development
National policies, including Law on Biodiversity (2008), Strategy for Biodiversity
Conservation (2013), Master Biodiversity Planning (2014), Strategy for Management ofSpecial-use Forests and Protected Areas (2014) and other reforestation policies have createdan important legal framework for the provinces of the Northern Vietnam, including Cao Bangprovince. Most of these policies issued in the last 10-15 years can explain the achievements inbiodiversity conservation and forest development in the locality.
On the basis of the national legal framework, Cao Bang province has developed a systemof conservation policies, the most important of which are the Provincial Biodiversity
Conservation Planning (2014) with the completion of existing protected areas and proposing
new ones and biodiversity corridors and Forest protection and development planning in Cao
Bang province in the period of 2013-2020 (2015) in order to preserve forest ecosystems
associated with local socio-economic development. The Cao Bang Biodiversity Conservation
Action Plan to 2020 (2017) localizes the national conservation targets in the province'sconditions. In particular, the decision to establish Phia Oac - Phia Den National Park, Nguyen
Binh district, Cao Bang province by upgrading the Reserve (2018) is a recognition ofbiodiversity value and is the basis for conservation work associated with local socio-economic
development in a sustainable way.
The research realized by NEF Project "Bio-ecological Nature Conservation in
Mountainous Region of North Vietnam" in the Phia Oac - Phia Den National Park has identified
889 animal species, of which 3.8 % mammals, 15.9 % birds, 3.9% amphibians, 4.2 % reptiles,
1.9 % fish, 34.4% insects, 19.9 % soil invertebrate and 16.0 % macroinvertebrate. If only
accounting for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, 247 species are identified (in 2020),
compared with 496 species previously investigated (in 2016).
822 species of vascular plants have been identified compared to 1287 species listed in
the Conservation and Sustainable Development Planning of Phia Oac - Phia Den National Park(2016). In particular, among them, there are 40.75 % of species used as medicine, 29,08 % ofspecies used for construction and household appliances, 11,8% of species used as eatable
vegetables, 10.95 % of species used as ornamental plants and 6.45% of species used as fruit,and 1.95% of species used as fiber.
The total number of plant and animal species identified in the Vietnam Red Book is 35species, of which plants account for 94.3% and amphibians for 5.7%; and on the IUCN Red
List there are 29 species, of which mammals account for 34.5%, birds for 13.8%, amphibians
and reptiles for 20.7%, fish for 10.3% and plants accounted for 20.7 %.
Forest cover, especially evergreen broadleaved tropical forest (close forest) has declined
slightly, from 60.4 % in 1988 to 57.4 % in 2009, i.e. about 3% in this period, then increased up
to 63.8% in 2019. The largest decrease in forest area occurs at the edge of the national park,
mainly in the altitude belt of 200-1000 m high, where people carry out agricultural and forestry
activities. Moreover, the tree species typical for limestone karst ecosystems are usuallyconcentrated in the altitude belt from 300-900m.

3The main causes of biodiversity degradation and loss in Northeastern Region can begrouped into the following: i). Landuse and landcover change; ii). Forest fires; iii). Illegal
poaching and hunting; iv). Illegal wood logging and nontimber forest product harvesting; v).
Pollution from agricultural production, mining, industrial activities and residential wastes; vi).
Other causes.
Policies for livelihood development policy and sustainable development
National policies, including Vietnam's Strategic Orientation for SustainableDevelopment (Agenda 21) (2004), Sustainable Development Strategy 2011-2020 (2012),Strategy Socio-economic development 2011-2020, Green Growth Strategy (2021), Forestry
Strategy (2021), Tourism Development Strategy (2011), Sustainable Agriculture and Rural
Development Strategy (2022) and National Action Plan to Implement Agenda 2030 with 17Goals SDG Sustainable Development (2017) has created an important legal framework for theprovinces of the Northern Mountainous Region, including Cao Bang province. Most of thepolicies issued in the last 10 to 15 years can explain the achievements in poverty alleviationand significant improvement in living standards of local people in the northern mountainous
region, especially minority ethnics.
On the basis of the national legal framework, Cao Bang province has developed a policy
system for socio-economic development towards sustainability, the most important of which is
the Action Plan to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2018) with 17
Sustainable Development Goals and 115 targets and the Master Planning for Socio- Economic
Development of Cao Bang province to 2020, with orientation to 2025 (2016). Some provincial
policies localizing national sustainable development are programs on poverty alleviation policy(135, 30A) to support especially difficult districts and communes, policy of payment for forest
environmental services and New rural program.
For Phia Oac - Phia Den National Park, the total value of ecosystem services(provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting) for its communes is estimated to increase
from 126.22 million USD in 1988 to 129.37 million USD in 2019, respectively USD 6,292/haand USD 6,449/ha.
Thanks to synchronous policies and efforts of local authorities, the multidimensional
poverty rate of the Northern mountainous region has decreased from 23.0% in 2016 to 16.4%in 2019, meanwhile the poverty rate in Cao Bang province is 53.1% in 2010. In fact, thispoverty rate is very high, in comparison with other economic regions in Vietnam.
According to a case study in Ban Tong village, Thanh Cong commune in Phia Oac-Phia
Den National Park for the Dao ethnic minority group, the average total income of a household
is about 41.1 million VND/year (about 3.4 million VND/month/household or 720,000
VND/month/person). In fact, 80 % of households in this village are insufficient in food for amonth and more and the situation is even worse for households headed by a woman.

4The special thing is that the average income from exploiting forest products is quite high,accounting for 24.5 % of the total income and this demonstrates the high dependence of local
people on the forest.
The Report on the Detailed Planning to upgrade the Phia Oac-Phia Den Nature Reserve
into a National Park (2017) has emphasized the purpose of promoting the conservation of forest
ecosystems and wildlife species, associated with forestry development and ecotourism, thereby
improving people's livelihoods and reducing pressure on forests. However, since then, tourism
activities have not been implemented, and people have not received any income from theseactivities.
The conservation and development policies implemented in protected areas are often
applied in a unified approach to localities across the country. Therefore, socio-economic
characteristics, poverty rates, ethnic minorities and gender issues have not been properly
considered, leading to low implementation efficiency, and unsatisfactory expected outcomes.
Studies have also pointed out that challenges for the conservation of karst forest ecosystems
and their species diversity are deforestation, unsustainable exploitation and use, land usechange, and hunting, grazing, mining, environmental pollution and invasion of invasive alien
species, especially for aquatic ecosystems. Thus, in order to achieve conservation anddevelopment purposes at the same time, multiple synchronous solutions need to beimplemented.
Policy Recommendations(1). To develop and carry out research programs on environmental/ pollution impact on
biodiversity/ species in order to develop appropriate policies for species and habitat
conservation and management;(2). As many species are under declining and less understood of their status, it is therefore
essential to conduct an in-depth study to better understand diversity, distribution, andanthropogenic threats to the taxa using robust scientific methods to better protect the species
from further decline;(3). To apply a community-based conservation approach in the study area, involving local
villagers into various forest protection and biodiversity conservation activities; increase thelivelihood of local residents through various income-raising approaches to mitigate theirdependence on forest products and lands;(4). To enhance collaboration between provincial/district authorities and theirenforcement forces (forest rangers) for regular information exchange, sharing experience on
forest management and collaborative actions on combating transborder illegal logging andharvesting non-timber forest products;(5). To carry out capacity building for staffs of protected areas in term of scientificknowledge, technical skills and research equipment for conservation and development works.

5Box: Brief information about the project; Implementing agency; Research methodology
This study was carried out within the framework of the project " Bio-ecological Nature
Conservation in Mountainous Region of North Vietnam", funded by the Nagao Natural
Environment Fund and coordinated by the Central Institute for Natural Resources andEnvironmental Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Biodiversity survey methods
on Mammals, Birds, Amphibians/Reptiles, Fish, Land fauna, Aquatic fauna and Plants werecarried out seasonally (2 field studies each site) during the period of 2019 -2020; Remotesensing method and GIS method using remote sensing images for the period 1988-2019 toassess land use changes and combine with value transfer method to estimate the value ofecosystem services; Social survey method (Semi-structured interview/20 people, Groupdiscussion/2 groups of 18 people, Farm household survey/50 households) was carried out in
Ban Tong village, Thanh Cong commune in Phia Oac-Phia Den National Park in the period
2019-2020 to assess the poverty situation and the dependence of livelihood and income onforest resources of local communities.

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