People Resources and Conservation Foundation (PRCF)

The South Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area was established in 2004. It is a 1,788 hectare  reserve that links Ba Be National Park to Na Hang Nature Reserve in Tuyen Quang Province. Holding some of the last remaining high-quality limestone forests in the region, the reserve is of high conservation value and is the habitat of global critically endangered species.

Limited law enforcement activities, coupled with the protected area being considered by local communities as an open access resource, have resulted in highly unsustainable and deleterious forest usage practices. The PRCF currently implements two programs at South Xuan Lac.

Collaborative Community Natural Resource Management Program

Activities involved in this program promote the involvement of local people in reserve governance and the sustainable use of natural resources. Community Conservation Teams supported and resourced by PRCF from four buffer zone villages patrol inside the reserve and monitor illegal activities.

The South Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area was established in 2004 in Cho Don District of Bac Kan Province, and spans 1,788 hectares of limestone karst mountains and evergreen forest between Na Hang Nature Reserve and Ba Be National Park. Its creation sought to extend and conserve the habitat of a number of threatened flora and fauna species. Biodiversity 34 mammal species (including eight bat species), 156 bird species, 19 reptile species, 14 amphibian species, and 150 butterfly species have been recorded at the site, including 12 globally threatened species. Xuan Lac also serves as an important watershed for rivers and streams that flow into Cho Don and Ba Be Districts. Globally Threatened Species at Xuan Lac (IUCN Red List 2009) See table below.

Human Impacts

Currently, an estimated 2700 people live in 11 villages in Xuan Lac Commune, with the majority being of H’mong or Tay ethnicity and the remainder being Nung, Dzao, and Kinh. As the local economy is heavily dependent upon rice agriculture, increasing demand for arable land places further pressure upon protected forests. Furthermore, there is intensified use of forest products in periods of free time following harvests, including gathering timber for house construction, fuel wood for cooking, and medicinal plants and wildlife for sale and consumption. In addition, mines for non-ferrous metals, mainly zinc, tin, nickel and lead, located along the eastern and southern borders of the South Xuan Lac further impact the ecological integrity of the protected area, as mining staff collect timber for fuel wood and mining activities, harvest non-timber forest products, and hunt wildlife for consumption and sale.

Protected area management

Despite these challenges South Xuan Lac has been pioneering methods of protected area governance in Vietnam. Xuan Lac is the only protected area in Vietnam that holds local people within its management structure. Furthermore, villagers from the buffer zone have joined to form Community Conservation Action Teams (CCATs) working alongside Forest Protection Department rangers in protecting local forests. The PRCF actively supports these CCATs in the continued development of management responsibilities.

A Community Action Plan was set in place in 2004 to encourage villagers to adhere to new regulations that banned all agriculture and hunting and gathering activities within the protected area. This area between the strictly protected area and the buffer zone was designated for the development of agroforestry activities in order to create a forested border. Unfortunately, in recent years locals have reported continued pressure from illegal timber harvesting and hunting within South Xuan Lac.

PRCF’s activities

Within the short to medium term, PRCF is developing an integrated landscape conservation approach at Xuan Lac, complemented with stronger initiatives for collaborative conservation management and activities to address the following conservation management issues:

• Baseline surveys and development of conservation action plans for key threatened and listed species such as orchids, small carnivores, and primates (Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey, Francois’ Langur and Slow Loris).
• Non-timber forest product surveys, market analysis, and related in-situ (e.g. enrichment planting) and ex-situ forest livelihood activities in protection forest and household gardens respectively.
• Vested interests by local communities to support CCATs in protection of natural resources within the protected area, including investigating benefit-sharing mechanisms that support conservation management and improved local livelihoods.
• Integrated community-led biodiversity conservation and livelihood development activities, including animal husbandry, household forest gardens, mushroom cultivation, and other similar activities.
• Development and strengthening of community-based organizations to improve local management of resources inside the protected area and sustainable use of harvestable resources within the greater landscape.
• Environmental awareness raising and education on biodiversity management and conservation, including awareness of forest protection laws and regulations and ways to help uphold these.
• Improvement of the capability of the CCATs to enforce protected area laws and regulations and to conduct environmental awareness activities within the greater protected area landscape.