Local communities take greater part in biodiversity conservation in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park
Wednesday, June 21, 2023, 11:40 GMT+7
A newly launched multi-stakeholder committee has been introduced to involve buffer zone communities in biodiversity conservation activities in Cat Tien National Park, located in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam.
The pilot initiative was launched on June 16 by the Biodiversity Conservation component, implemented by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), as part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation project.
The initiative, called the Collaborative Management Mechanism (CBM), is in the form of a multi-stakeholder committee, which includes representatives from the Cat Tien National Park management board, buffer zone communities, and the Women's Union.
The CBM is considered a pioneer as it is one of a few similar pilot initiatives, supported by the USAID Biodiversity Conservation, in seven of the project's 21 protected areas in Vietnam.
They are aimed at showcasing different approaches to engaging local communities in how protected areas are managed, including finding solutions to common problems.
The committee will facilitate dialogue events, engaging a wide range of stakeholders to address specific challenges such as the conflict of interest between livelihoods and conservation priority or the issues related to forest environmental service payment policies.
Although the committee is only a pilot, it is expected that the model could be used for the whole country if successful.
"The creation of a formal mechanism for community involvement will increase the potential for enhancing biodiversity as well as understanding and respecting the social benefits of the globally important Cat Tien National Park," said Nick Cox, chief of party for the USAID Biodiversity Conservation.
He emphasized that most successful conservation models around the world all involve local communities.
In those models, local communities have opportunities to share their concerns and be part of finding solutions and ways to ensure benefits for the communities.
Pham Xuan Thinh, director of Cat Tien National Park, also said that people's participation is extremely important.
"Forests without doors, natural resources are common. But there are not many resources left. Forest protection is a common issue, and not only the forest rangers' duty," Thinh said.
According to Thinh, fostering cooperation and shared responsibility will help with safeguarding the unique ecosystems of Cat Tien National Park and securing the livelihoods and well-being of the communities that depend on them.
He said that people's awareness is higher but it is necessary to get them to participate in environmental protection more professionally.
It is also necessary to convey the legal message in more simple ways for the people to understand and implement.
The USAID Biodiversity Conservation, being implemented from July 2020 to June 2025, aims to maintain and increase forest quality as well as protect and stabilize wildlife populations in high conservation value provinces.
It also targets 14 special-use forests and seven protection forests, linking forest management units across the landscape to maintain forest coverage and connectivity of habitats vital for the protection of Vietnam’s threatened and endemic species.
The USAID Biodiversity Conservation is being implemented by the WWF-U.S. in collaboration with the project’s partners including the WWF-Vietnam, Helvetas, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife, Re:wild (formerly Global Wildlife Conservation, GWC), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Education for Nature Vietnam, and the Fauna & Flora International.
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