In afternoon of June 24, Executive Board of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme in Vietnam (GEF - SGP) organized the Indigenous Peoples Forum under the GEF to share experiences in supporting the Co Tu ethnic minority in Hoa Bac commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city) to develop eco-tourism in association with environmental protection.
Hoa Bac is a mountainous commune in the North West of Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city. It is a buffer zone between two nature-protected areas namely Bach Ma National Park and Ba Na - Nui Chua Nature Reserve. Therefore, Ha Bac commune plays an important role in the conservation of biodiversity in Vietnam. However, people living in the buffer zone are mainly Co Tu people with limited income from agriculture and unsustainable livelihoods, putting pressure on resource management and biodiversity conservation. Compared to 10 years ago, the number of animals in Ba Na - Nui Chua Nature Reserve has decreased to 16 species, in addition to the number of species to be protected increased to 5 species.
Based on the tradition and culture associated with the forest as well as protection of wild animals and plants of the Co Tu people, since 2016 GEF-SGP has developed the project "Conservation of cultural Co Tu ethnic minority associated with the development of ecological community tourism" in Hoa Bac commune (Hoa Vang district). The project is implemented in two villages of Ta Lang and Gian Bi (Hoa Bac commune) in the two years of 2017 and 2018, with the total budget of over 2 billion VND. The main objectives of the project are to protect the biodiversity of the buffer zone between Bach Ma National Park and Ba Na - Nui Chua Nature Reserve as well as to preserve the culture of Co Tu ethnic minority, towards the development of community ecotourism. Accordingly, the project aims to improve the capacity and awareness of biodiversity conservation and increase community participation in forest management and protection; preserving Co Tu community culture to maintain ecology towards community-based ecotourism development; improve the livelihood of the Co Tu ethnic group.
To date, the project has established two forest management groups with above 1,800 hectares of natural forest and the buffer zone of Bach Ma National Park and Ba Na - Nui Chua Nature Reserve; Establishment of knitting club, traditional food club and entertainment club; Supporting gongs, traditional costumes; Information on management and protection of forests and training on how to manage, classify, process and handle wastes in daily life to minimize pollution and improve public health.
Mr. Dinh Van Nhu - Head of Gian Bi village, Hoa Bac commune, Hoa Vang district, participated in the GEF-SGP project excitedly said: “The GEF-SGP project helped the Co Tu people better protect the forest and know how to do the community ecotourism”.
"Co Tu people know how to develop ecotourism in associated with forests and promote traditional food culture based on forests. They are very happy because the value of traditional culture is restored, the forest is protected and life is improved", Mr. Dinh Van Nhu said.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen - GEF National Coordinator said: "The project has made a positive impact on contributing to the protection of natural resources and local biodiversity conservation through awareness raising activities and support communities directly involved in forest management and protection and community natural resource management. In addition, the formulation of the Community Forest Protection Convention provides the assurance of community empowerment in the joint management of natural resources and the conservation of local biodiversity”.
"After completion, the project expects the community to be self-sustaining ecotourism management. On the other hand, the community can receive other sources of government funding in the areas of economic development, cultural identity maintenance, rural development and environmental protection", Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen said.
Small Grants Programme is a GEF-SGP programme implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to provide financial and technical support to communities and social organizations in order to meet the overall goal of "Global environmental benefits secured through community-based initiatives and actions". It was implemented in Vietnam in 1999 and by mid-2016 GEF-SGP has provided funding for 150 projects including biodiversity conservation, climate change prevention, etc. conducted in 40 provinces, cities across the country.
Lan Anh
