A new research paper questions whether local communities should be excluded from managing conservation areas.
The people of Khe Tran used cards and buttons rank the importance of different areas of forest. This information can be used to develop conservation policies tailored to local community needs. Photo by Douglas Sheil
For the 100 or so residents of the Vietnamese village of Khe Tran, the forest was central to their livelihoods. Under the canopy they practiced shifting cultivation, hunted small game, cut timber and grazed livestock. They also collected non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for food and handicrafts. These NTFPs sometimes included the rusty metal leftovers from the war, such as shrapnel and the occasional unexploded bomb or landmine.
This changed in 1992 when nearly all traditional activities sustaining livelihoods were banned by the central government. The community was then re-located a few kilometres away, on the fringe of the forest. With small loans, seeds and land titles, the villagers were encouraged by the authorities to become small-scale farmers.
This was part of the national government’s efforts to halt the rapid degradation of the country’s woodlands. Overall, the results have been positive. Forest coverage has increased.
But a recent research paper “Can engaging local people’s interests reduce forest degradation in Central Vietnam?” published in Biodiversity and Conservation, shows that this transition has not been without its challenges. The paper cites several studies that suggest the government’s initiatives have often led to conflict. One of the authors, Manuel Boissière of CIFOR and CIRAD, says that with the right diagnostic methods, policies can be developed that not only allow local groups to live in and properly manage protected areas, but also make conservation more effective and easier to implement.
‘Unlike putting the shutters up on a supermarket, it is impossible to completely close down a forest,’ says Boissière. ‘Local people, such as those in Khe Tran and countless other villages around the world, can and will continue to make use of the forest.’ The researchers found that in Khe Tran some 25 percent of households still depend in forest products. Purely protectionist policies are never fully workable, says Boissière. They can have serious impacts on centuries-old cultures and traditions, and lead to otherwise law obedient people breaking the law and undermining the government’s conservation aims.
Better options exist, say the researchers, which will allow people to combine traditional forest lives with successful management of the protection forests. Forest dependent communities should be properly consulted before new management policies are implemented.
The set of method the researchers used to better understand the villagers’ perceptions is referred to as Multi-disciplinary Landscape Assessment (MLA). It uses a well-defined set of procedures developed from a combination of biophysical and social sciences.
In Khe Tran, the approach began by establishing a dialogue with the community and using appropriate communication techniques to gather data on the important land types and forest resources. For example, villagers used buttons and picture cards to rank the importance to their livelihoods of various land and forest types.
Researchers also recorded the kinds of herbs, fruits and flowers that villagers collected. After the data was assembled, meetings were held to discuss local perceptions of forest degradation and biodiversity conservation.
This approach not only informs the researchers, it can also be adopted by policy makers to avoid conflicts with communities. In addition it helps the villagers consolidate their own vision of the forest.
The researchers admit that the success of the approach is not fully guaranteed, but that it is worth trying. Villagers could negotiate access for limited NTFP collection inside the protected area in exchange for their participation in conservation activities such as patrolling. This approach could also offer employment opportunities for villagers in conservation related jobs.
Reference:
Boissière, M.; Sheil, D.; Basuki, I.; Wan, M.; Le, H. 2009. Can engaging local people’s interests reduce forest degradation in Central Vietnam?. Biodiversity and Conservation.
Link: http://www.springerlink.com/content/m2h084x06w5407n7/