MOSAIC project: Capacity-building

Collaborating with local people and the provincial government

There is much discussion among the villagers but little disagreement. Only when it comes to the boundary of the nature reserve is there some contention. Laid down on the model by the reserve's staff the previous day, the boundary line, represented by coloured string, is resolutely moved by the villagers so that the flat rich soil that has long been cultivated on a rotational basis by farmers is excluded from the reserve.
There is great satisfaction when the reserve's vice director later agrees to resolve the dispute and work out a solution.

A stimulating, constructive tool
As it was intended to do, the 3D model also provoked discussions between the villagers and the authorities about other touchy issues, such as illegal gold mining, the zoning of forests for use by the villagers and access routes used by hunters and loggers from outside the commune.

So successful was the exercise that forest officials have asked that the construction of 3D models be repeated in other villages and communes in addition to the three strategically important forest areas for which the project intends to develop sound management practices.

They recognize that the 3D model can be an effective way to work with local people as they dismantle state forest enterprises and implement the province's policy to reallocate forest land to the country's many ethnic minority people.

"The involvement of local people is essential, says Thai Truyen, vice director of the Provincial Forest Protection Department of Quang Nam. In Quang Nam we have 795,000 hectares of forest. With only 296 staff in 16 districts, this means each of our staff has to look after about 2,700 hectares of forest and forest land. Even if we had lots of staff, we would still be short of manpower. The main thing, therefore, is the involvement of local, mostly ethnic minority people living near or in the forests who depend on the forests for its natural resources."

"Without the participation of local people, we cannot carry out our activities effectively. However, local people are poor and depend on the forest, so it means in Vietnam we cannot strictly protect the forest without being concerned about the livelihoods of local people."

"Much of the value of biodiversity is linked to its value as a resource for human use"
On the other hand, the province's participation is equally vital. "This push by the
province to decentralize is an extremely important opportunity for conservation," stresses Mr. Hardcastle, "because it involves communities in managing their own forests and their involvement is essential. Strictly protected areas that prohibit people from using the forest don’t work in Vietnam. Much of the value of biodiversity is linked to its value as a resource for human use."

This collaboration with local people and the provincial government follows the long-term strategy for the Central Truong Son Initiative of which the MOSAIC is an important component. One of the basic tenets of the Central Annamites Initiative is to engage stakeholders at all levels, across a multitude of administrative and institutional boundaries in conservation, while recognizing that rural communities are the key custodians of their local resources.

Without the participation of local people, we cannot carry out our activities effectively.

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