Diversity of NonTimber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the Hoang Lien Van Ban Nature Reserve (Lao Cai, Vietnam): Implications for Local Livelihood Improvement and Biodiversity Conservation45228

Diversity of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve (Lao Cai, Vietnam): Implications for Local Livelihood Improvement and Biodiversity Conservation Nguyen Thi Phuong(1)*, Nguyen An Thinh(2) (1) VNU School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Hanoi, Vietnam National University, Vietnam VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam * Correspondence: phuongtnmclc@gmail.com (2) Abstract: Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play an important role in rural livelihoods Local people living in and around the protected forests depend on a variety of non-timber forest products to make a living and generate income This paper gives an overview of the diversity of NTFPs in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve, focusing on medicinal plants and food We collect data on NTFPs using through ethnobotanical inventory with semi-structural, free listing, and household socio-economic interviews With the voucher collection, the interviews are supplemented with the voucher collection It is hypothesized that there is no significant difference between the number of bamboo shoots and their contribution to household income between the studied villages A rapid vulnerability assessment (RVA) was conducted to identify vulnerable and threatened species Through study a total of 256 species of medicinal plants have been discovered in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve Among them, 193 species have identified scientific names to species, 59 species have been identified to genera and species have been identified to their families to be used as NTFPs of local people The results show that there is a significant difference in NTFP collection and sale affecting household income between villages However, the contribution from NTFP collection to per capita income is very low, and they are mainly used in households Vulnerability assessment shows that most drug species are moderately vulnerable and most foods species have less vulnerable position Sustainable harvesting and management strategies should be in place to be implemented to prevent overexploitation of these species Keywords: Biodiversity; Non-timber forest products (NTFPs); medicinal plants; livelihood; Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve; Lao Cai Introduction Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are becoming a topic of international interest and concern such as poverty reduction, participatory development, conservation and food security (Ros-Tonen 2000) It is argued that the contribution of NTFPs to the livelihoods of local people and that their exploitation is ecologically less destructive than timber harvest or other land-use changes for agricultural production NTFPs can increase the value of forests, increasing the incentives to retain forests (Arnold and Perez 2001; Hall and Bawa 1993) Local people not value all the locally used plant species equally; some species groups, genera and families are more important than others (Bennett and Husby 2008) Identifying crop groups and the reasons for their use can help identify and implement priorities for conservation and sustainable management of strategies (Vodouhê et al 2009) Local people inhabiting in the Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve (NR) use large quantities of forest products in their daily lives These products can be classified as pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, firewood, and construction materials The edible NTFPs can be divided into vegetables, mushrooms and bamboo shoots They recognized that bamboo shoots and mushrooms are the main non-timber forest products used for income generation Vegetables are collected mainly for self-consumption The market for dried bamboo shoots has also grown, leading to an increase in the exploitation of natural resources The hypothesis that the amount of collection and the contribution of bamboo shoots as a representative for commercially traded NTFP species is not significantly different between villages Bamboo shoots were chosen as a representative NTFP because it can gather reliable data on harvested and commercial quantities As there is no assessment of sustainable NTFP exploitation practices in the region, we also identified the most vulnerable NTFPs based on rapid vulnerability assessment (RVA) analysis to make recommendations for collection Plan species and sustainably preserve these species Methodology 2.1 Study area Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve has a total natural area of 25,093 ha, located on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, 40 km southeast of Fansipan mountain top, in the boundary of communes Nam Xé, and Nam Xay and part of LiemPhu commune, Van Ban district, Lao Cai province Before 2002, a number of domestic and international organizations conducted a survey of Hoang Lien mountainous area of Van Ban district (Vietnam Program FFI, BirdLife International, etc.) The results of these surveys have recorded a number of globally threatened animal and plant species in and around the Nature Reserve About the animals with the Black crested gibbon, Zebra civet (Swan 2002), black-backed climbing bird, and toadfish, which is a species currently only be recorded in Northern Vietnam (Tordoff et al 2002) Regarding to plants, Fokienia hodginsii and Taiwania cryptomerioides, now has only one population in Van Ban with more than 100 individuals On the other hand, Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve has been recognized as one of 63 important bird areas of Vietnam (Tordoff 2002) With these values, in 2013 Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve was approved by the People's Committee of Lao Cai Province to approve the Planning for Conservation and Sustainable Development of Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve, period 2013 - 2020 according to Decision No 972 / QD-UBND dated April 25, 2013 Since then, Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve has had a positive impact on biodiversity conservation Rice cultivation and shifting cultivation are the main livelihood activities of Lao Cai ethnic minorities In addition, raising cattle, poultry, aquaculture and handicrafts is considered an important source of cash for households However, production is also selfsufficient, there is no typical examples of commodity production The province has a large forest area, especially Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve where ethnic groups live in forest planting and management is still an important livelihood activity of the people here Currently, the project of reforestation for shifting cultivation in Lao Cai province was approved by the Provincial People's Committee in 2009, creating conditions for 11,356 households with shifting cultivation areas on forestry land with an area of nearly 21,000ha This is an opportunity for local ethnic minorities to participate in afforestation, change traditional and inefficient farming practices to new production methods for higher economic efficiency, creating favorable conditions for the local people to work in forest planting to stabilize and develop economy for ethnic minority people in remote areas The livelihoods of afforestation and forest management have played an important role in the lives of the people in Lao Cai, such as providing firewood, bamboo shoots and forest products The ethnic minorities here still practice the forest hunting, harvesting, medicinal plants, slash and burn cultivation, affecting the forest biodiversity Due to the habit of settling and farming on sloping land, there are many potential risks due to floods, flash floods and landslides The objects most affected are highland, poor areas and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities When affected by natural disasters, some households can quickly recover their livelihoods and rebuild their assets, but many others will take longer to recover Especially for poor households in the ethnic minority areas in Lao Cai in general and Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve in particular go to the forest to hunt, harvest timber, NTFPs, etc to increase income and ensure livelihoods of local people 2.2 Data collection Data on NTFPs was collected through the planning report of Hoang Lien - Van Ban NR Semi-structured, free listing, and household interviews were conducted from December 2018 to March 2019 Information was randomly selected for free listing and semi-structured interviews ; Key information was determined by the snowball method (Berlin and Berlin 2005; Quinlan 2005; Stepp 2005) Similar questions were asked of all interviewed The household interviews were conducted in Ban Nam Si Tan and Ta Nang village in Nam Xé commune (Table 1) due to two direct impacts on the NR Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve is located in the administrative area of 03 communes of Van Ban district, namely Nam Xay, Nam Xé and LiemPhu 24 households (Ban Nam Si Tan is in Nam Xé commune) This is the object that needs investment to support production development, encourage people to participate in the protection and sustainable development of forests Table Details of rural selection of NTFPs collection interview Villages Ethnic minorities Nam Si Tay, Kinh, H’Mông and Tan Dao Ta Nang Tay, Kinh, H’Mong and Number of Number of NTFP harvesting households interviews 24 15 50 20 Dao Interviews were also conducted with NTFP traders For the medicinal plant survey, the study area was conducted by linear survey method and collected information in the field, with important informants (KIP) KIP are knowledgeable about medicinal plants in Ta Nang village community, through field surveys to observe, interview and collect sample samples The objective of the survey is to determine the species composition and usage of medicinal plants in the area Steps to follow include: (1) Determining survey routes: Determining based on the actual status of vegetation, topography or distribution of medicinal plants in the area In order to ensure the objectivity in the investigation process, the survey line is designed according to different terrains and vegetation (high mountain route, primary forest, secondary forest, roadside, plantation forest, etc.) A total of 11 survey routes were implemented in the study area Figure Map of survey routes in the Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve (2) Collection of information in the field: Interview any tree encountered on the road or stop at each location where there is a change in vegetation and conduct interviews Information to collect includes: Names of local dialects, parts used, uses, usage Collecting samples and taking photos of medicinal plants Investigation by standard plots: Establishing standard plots with size of 100 m2 (10mx10m), determined by stratification method - randomly based on the reality of vegetation and topography, Total of 100 standard plots have been located in the research area Use a GPS to mark the coordinates of selected cells on the map Investigative activities include: (1) Establishment of plots: Determine plot boundaries with tape measure, piling and stretching of colored nylon rope (2) Collecting information: Using the questionnaire set to collect information Each study cell is a sample, consisting of parts: (1) information about environmental conditions: coordinates, altitude, slope, exposure direction, vegetation type, cover exposed rocks, boulder cover, macadam cover, surface water regime, canopy cover, coverage of fresh carpets, main trees, the number of woody trunks with a diameter at breast height of 10cm or more, height soaring; (2) information on medicinal plants: names of medicinal plants appear in the box Collecting samples and taking photos of medicinal plants (3) Information processing and analysis: List of species and species variables, including: all medicinal plants and timber; science name; plant family; nameplate; Common name; variables of the species, including: (i) life forms (trees, shrubs, vines, parasites, etc.), (ii) use Survey plot data, including: Ecological / environment / vegetation information (plot variables) including: (i) "direct" variables: field measurements, no treatment physics, calculation; (ii) "indirect" variables, which are determined through the calculation of direct variables: the number of tree species, number of medicinal plants, frequency of medicinal plants, basal area of woody plants, etc Information Regarding species of umbrella, including name of medicinal plants and timber (scientific name) Figure Principle of line-based survey combined with standard plot survey Results 3.1 Forest products Based on our ethnobotanical inventory in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve, a total of 256 medicinal plant species have been discovered at the reserve Among them, 193 species have scientific names to species, 59 species to genera and species to their families The medicinal plants were identified in plant branches namely Lycopodiophyta, Polypodiophyta, Gnetophyta and Magnoliophyta, 94 families and 189 different genera Among plants, Magnoliophyta has the largest number of families, branches and species, respectively 90 families, 183 genera and 250 species, accounting for 97.7% of the total number of species The remaining species of plant branches account for only 2.3% Of the 91 families in the study area, none of them have a number of genera and species account for 10% The family with the most genera and species (Orchidaceae) has only 7.25% and 7.81% In the taxon, only 18 families (19.78%) have (1.55%) or more, while up to 55 families (60.44%) have only one genus In taxon species, there are 15 families (16.48%) with the number of species from (1.95%) or more, but up to 44 families (48.35%) have only one medicinal plant species The total number of species of 15 families (with or more medicinal plants) is 121, accounting for 47.27% of the total species in the study area Of the 89 genera of medicinal plants in the study area, 17 genera (19.1%) have species of or more species The total number of species of these 17 genera is 56, accounting for 21.88% of the total number of medicinal plants surveyed in this area There are additional species to the Vietnamese flora 01 species may be new to Vietnam's flora There are 19 species in the Vietnam Red Book (7.4% of the medicinal plants in the area, accounting for 4.24% of the total number of species in the Vietnam Red Book) In the study area, 20 species of orchids were discovered This is a valuable resource for making ornamental and ornamental plants, which is at high risk of being affected by medicinal collection and planting / selling activities Among them, there are species included in the Vietnam Red Book 2007: Anoectochilus setaceus Blume, Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook, and Nerviliafordii (Hance) Schltr.) Medicinal plants in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve belong to different life forms: saprophytic, semi-parasitic, parasitic, epiphyte, wood, dust, vines, grass The life forms with a lot of medicinal plants are vines (76 species, accounting for 29.69%), grass (86 species, accounting for 33.59%) In general, compared with other areas, there are a number of medicinal plants that are vines and epiphytes in the forests of Hoang Lien - Van Ban reserve Although weeds and exotic species include a small percentage of the utilized species, some of them are regularly used by the villagers (sometimes daily) and contribute greatly to their diet Table Fast criteria for assessment of injury levels Criteria Degree of vulnerability Low vulnerability = High vulnerability = High abundance Low abundance Fast growth Slow growth Breed fast Breed slowly Sexual and vegetative Ecological reproduction Sexual reproduction Habitat is not specific Unique living environment High distribution range Low Use in life, harvesting and management methods High distribution range distribution range Response to harvest: rapid Response to harvest: rapid regeneration regeneration Herbs, plants Plants, shrubs and epiphytes Leaves, flowers, bark and stems Roots, rhizomes and tubers Choose according to specific size Do not choose by specific size / age of harvested product / age of harvested product Harvest seasonally Unlimited time Apply traditional conservation Do not apply traditional methods conservation methods Pressure on habitat - no Pressure on habitat-yes Mainly used in daily / less Economic commercialized use Main products for sale Demand (number of harvests + Demand (number of harvest + frequency) is low frequency) is high Alternative species - yes Alternative species -no Accessing resources is not easy Access to resources is easy Law enforcement capacity - yes Law enforcement capacity - no Figure Families representing a high number of medicinal and food plants in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve 3.2 Wood products Most households are involved in a number of NTFP collection activities NTFPs collected for cash generation can be grouped into bamboo shoots, mushrooms and medicinal plants In higher elevations or economically poorer villages, the health system is based more on traditional medicine and medicinal plants Wild food plants, including vegetables, fruits, bamboo shoots and mushrooms are harvested for self-consumption Mushrooms and bamboo shoots, however, are also marketed, mostly at Minh Luong commune market or transferred to the central market of Van Ban district Species such as spinach, bamboo shoots, betel shoots, cork shoots, bitter vegetables, and others are the most frequently used food plants in the region Some of the more economically important wild food plants are listed in Table Table Important wild food and medicinal plants traded in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve (name of plants are ordered based on use frequency) Number Local name Family Harvested Harvest Frequency products time of use Mua Melastomataceae Fruit Yearly Sometimes Sa nhân Zingiberaceae Roots Yearly Sometimes Thảo Zingiberaceae Fruit Sep-Nov Sometimes Sâm cau Hypoxidaceae Roots Yearly Sometimes Dứa rừng Pandanaceae Fruit Yearly Sometimes Bã trầu Araceae Roots and leaves Yearly Regularly Hoàng Đằng Menispermaceae Stems, roots Yearly Regularly Gắm Gnetaceae Stems, roots Yearly Regularly Giảo cổ lam Cucurbitaceae Every part Yearly Regularly 10 Rau dớn Athyriaceae Leaves Yearly Regularly 11 Lá dong Marantaceae Leaves Yearly Regularly 12 Hoàng Liên gai Berberidaceae Roots and leaves Yearly Regularly 13 Lan kim tuyến Orchidaceae Roots Yearly Sometimes 14 Kim điệp Orchidaceae Roots and leaves Yearly Regularly 15 Thanh thiên Orchidaceae Roots and leaves Yearly Regularly Poaceae Roots Yearly Regularly quỳ 16 Măng 17 Nấm Fungi Roots Yearly Regularly 18 Mần Tang Lauraceae Leaves Yearly Regularly All of these villages have easy access to the forest and are all located at an altitude of over 1,400 m, the income of the villagers mainly from raising cattle and other short-term agricultural crops Collective forests have been under less pressure from land use changes and villages have reforested some of their collective land over the last decade The area around the nature reserve is practiced by free grazing of cattle, burning and deforestation for cultivation, leading to deforestation around the villages Part of the collection comes from NTFPs in the NR's forests despite the prohibition However, the father survey shows that NTFPs contribute to a very low average household income mainly from livestock production and other livelihood activities Some medicinal plants are exploited and transported to the district market for sale such as betel leaf 30,000-40,000 VND / kg, Hoang Dang 18,000-20,000 VND / kg, Thao Qua 140,000 VND / kg, Guam 100,000 VND / kg, Dao co lam, Hoa Tien, Hoang Lien thorn, Dang ginseng, some kinds of bamboo shoots and medicinal plants of Red Dao bath such as Com Chay tree, Parachute Pagoda, Mang Tang, Ong Lao flowers, Lien Dang Hoa small, etc for home use but not for sale The medicinal plants in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve are mostly discovered by indigenous people who still have access to the forest An obvious interesting fact in Table is that some of the medicinal plants are traded with very small frequency of use In fact, some plants, such as Jiaozhi and Dang ginseng, are not commonly used in villagers' herbal medicines; Indeed, most villagers are unaware of the uses and medicinal properties of these species This means that these species are collected primarily for commercial purposes and those species are on demand and through collectors who have bought them from local people to bring to the central market for sale or Flocking to other places 3.3 Forestry and sustainable development Some medicinal plants are falling into very vulnerable categories However, in the assessment, data for three ecological criteria are not available for these species Most of the criteria not have enough data in the RVA to be ecological, emphasizing the lack of ecological studies on most exploited species The less vulnerable species are mainly the food species used by local people very often Due to the abundance and distribution throughout the forest area and the fact that they are not restricted to any particular habitat, these food plants are less affected by collection activities In fact, these species are weeds or very common species that grow in human-influenced habitats In addition, because the collected parts of most of these species are leaves and stems / shoots, such as "abundant" vegetables, the actual harvesting does not affect the plant's ability to grow Most interviewed villagers mentioned the decline in the abundance of NTFP resources in the past ten years due to habitat destruction and over-harvesting, especially medicinal species This can be attested to by the fact that for many medicinal plants traded in the area, underground parts such as rhizomes, tubers and roots can be exploited for use This harvesting technique affects the ability of plants to grow and negatively affects the regeneration potential of the population According to the 2017 Law on Forestry, the use of non-timber forest products must be permitted by the authorities, banning NTFP exploitation activities in biosphere reserves, nature reserves, and national parks However, these regulations have not been enforced Villagers' compliance is low, especially in regards to the exploitation of trees for medicinal purposes This regulation has not been implemented so far, and villagers almost never follow these rules Many villagers even complain about intruders from other villages who exploit resources from the organization's forests, but there is no mechanism to prosecute these infringements Conclusions and discussion Local people in Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve use a quarter of the available flora as food and medicinal plants to meet their daily needs and generate additional income Although only a few of the products directly contribute to household cash income, many make indirect contributions to the villagers Their livelihood is through subsistence needs Some NTFPs areas that directly contribute to very low per capita income are mostly shifting to agriculture and livestock production However, in some villages, medicinal plants account for a high proportion of household income A more detailed study is needed to quantify household consumption of bamboo shoots and other NTFPs such as wild vegetables to show the true role of NTFPs in the livelihoods of villagers In my study the scope was general, covering a large number of NTFP species, but if the focus was narrowed to some economically important species, more detailed information would be collected about harvesting and income contribution in cash On the other hand, NTFPs are one of the ecosystem services that can contribute to encouraging forest conservation from other land use transitions NTFPs are important with a large contribution to cash income of households including medicinal plants and food crops, including mainly bamboo shoots and edible mushrooms Although NTFP collection has lost importance in some villages, it is still important in other areas in the buffer zone of Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve For example, in some central villages, vegetables and bamboo shoots have lost importance in the daily lives of villagers because they earn extra income from livestock and other agricultural activities and can buy vegetables from the market Another reason to abandon NTFP collection may also be due to reduced resources due to conversion of forests to other purposes Because households' villages have begun to be interested in changing their livelihoods to more modern lifestyles, folk medicine, plant and wildlife food collection activities on the table seem to have been lose their allure Modern medicine and the consumption of processed foods and other goods are more attractive, especially for the younger generation Based on the RVA analysis, most important NTFPs are at risk of being overexploited Sustainable harvesting and management strategies should be implemented to prevent overfishing, which can lead to localized extinction of important and vulnerable NTFP species In order to develop a sustainable NTFP harvesting system, it is important to know the ecosystem of parameters relevant to the target species However, in order to develop sustainable management strategies that can be applied by local people, it is important to consider local indigenous knowledge and social and economic conditions More data on ecological and population matrices and the impact of main NTFP harvesting on wild populations are needed to indicate a sustainable harvest threshold Considering the increasing demand for medicinal plants used in traditional medicine and limited natural resources, planting medicinal plants in the region could reduce the pressure on plants and also diversify local livelihood strategies by generating additional income for households Acknowledgments This research is supported by a scholarship from McGill University, Canada We would like to express our special thanks to the Management Board of Hoang Lien - Van Ban Nature Reserve for facilitating the research team Also we are grateful to all the villagers, plant collectors and traders for sharing their knowledge with us References Arnold, M.J.E., Perez, M.R (2001) Can non-timber forest products match tropical forest conservation and development objectives? 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