Introduction

Tuyen Hoa district in Quang Binh province, located in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, boasts exceptional natural and cultural wealth. The region’s evergreen tropical forests are home to unique animal and plant species. This includes the endangered Ha Tinh langur (Trachypithecus hatinhensis), and threatened tree species such as the Critically Endangered ebony Diospyros mun and the Endangered legume Pterocarpus macrocarpus.

Illegal cutting of valuable timbers, wildlife hunting, in particular of the Ha Tinh langur, agricultural expansion, and indiscriminate collection of non-timber forest products, have been key drivers of biodiversity loss in Tuyen Hoa district. Quang Binh province therefore has approved the establishment of over 500 hectares of special-use forest (SUF) in Tuyen Hoa district. The establishment of SUF presents important biodiversity conservation opportunities. It also directly impacts livelihoods security of 2770 households, whose lives depend on wild forest resources, farming and raising livestock in the SUF area, as legal restrictions apply to agricultural activities and collection of forest products area.

The "People, Primates, Plants: Co-managing Biodiversity and Improving Livelihoods in Vietnam" project aims to address the conservation-livelihood nexus by:

• strengthening livelihood security local ethnic groups through sustainable agroforestry models
• developing practical SUF co-management models that involve and recognise the voluntary community groups as a key mechanism to protect native forest resources
• enhancing technical capacity on ecological restoration and sustainable agroforestry (including awareness on human-langur interaction and transmission of zoonotic diseases)
• promoting policy recommendations on best-practice models for SUF community co-management, sustainable agroforestry and forest ecological restoration.

The target groups of the project are the Kinh and other local ethnic groups in Tuyen Hoa district – Quang Binh province, Viet Nam.

Project sites:

Objectives:

Viet Nam’s evergreen tropical forests, home to unique species such as the Ha Tinh langur, enjoy community-managed protection incentivised by enhanced knowledge and novel agroforestry practices that support improved health and livelihoods.

Project Theory of change:

With effective participation of stakeholders, particularly, the target groups, the project will address the challenges for livelihood security of around 2,770 households living near or inside the 500 hectares of SUF in Tuyen Hoa district recently approved by Quang Binh provincial authority for biodiversity conservation.

Sustainable agroforestry models will be piloted to strengthen livelihood security. SUF co-management models that involve and recognize voluntary community groups will be promoted as key mechanism to protect native forest resources. Technical capacity enhancement on ecological restoration and sustainable agroforestry will be provided for reducing the lack of knowledge and practical knowhow among local communities about the links between langur conservation and the restoration needs of the wider habitat. Lessons and experiences on SUF community co-management, sustainable agroforestry and forest ecological restoration will be recommended for policy promotion, dialogue and integration in ongoing and future policy frameworks and strategies for sustainable forest co-management

Approach:

The project partners capitalise on a wide range of experiences in designing and managing community-based projects linking biodiversity conservation and improvement of human livelihoods. This project will also draw on experiences in livelihood improvement and biodiversity conservation made in neighbouring Ha Tinh province implemented by ICRAF, where agroforestry and ecological restoration as alternatives to tree plantations and crop monocultures have been trialled. CEGORN and ICRAF have extensive experience in policy support and advocacy in Vietnam, particularly in community-based natural resource management and nature-based solutions. Working with representatives from local communities and authorities facilitates linkages to relevant governmental departments and ministries, to feed experiences into the provincial and national policy processes. BGCI’s regional and global conservation networks, in particular the Southeast Asia Botanic Gardens Network, will be used as major conduits to share and promote best-practice in community-based conservation from this project and other countries.

Expected outputs:

Output 1: The socio-economic status, income sources and market situation of households in Tuyen Hoa district are assessed and market-based agroforestry practices are established.

Output 2: The SUF community co-management plan is jointly developed and implemented with community members and local authorities.

Output 3: Knowledge of and capacities and capabilities of local communities in Tuyen Hoa district in forest restoration, sustainable and income generating agroforestry, small-scale farm businesses, and prevention of zoonotic diseases from close animal-human interaction, are increased.

Output 4: Best-practice of development and implementation of community-based management of SUF, including forest ecological restoration and sustainable agroforestry models, is promoted for integration in national and sub-national policies by the end of the project (2025).