Microsoft Word Pu Luong OMP CNA EN doc THANH HOA PROVINCIAL FOREST PROTECTION DEPARTMENT PU LUONG NATURE RESERVE Operational Management Plan Pu Luong Nature Reserve 2005 2010 THANH HOA, SEPTEMBER 2004[.]
THANH HOA PROVINCIAL FOREST PROTECTION DEPARTMENT PU LUONG NATURE RESERVE Operational Management Plan Pu Luong Nature Reserve 2005-2010 THANH HOA, SEPTEMBER 2004 Table of Contents Background Issues and threats 2.1 Over-exploitation of forest (plant) resources 2.2 Hunting, trapping and fishing 2.3 Forest fire 2.4 Unsustainable land use 2.5 Stone exploitation and mineral 2.6 Unregulated tourism Management aims and objectives 3.1 Management aims 3.2 Management objectives 3.3 Management zoning Management actions 4.1 Control forest resource (plant) exploitation 4.2 Control hunting, trapping and fishing 4.3 Control forest fires 4.4 Promote sustainable land use inside the core-zone 4.5 Control stone and mineral exploitation 4.6 Promote development of sustainable ecotourism 4.7 Establish research and monitoring programmes 4.8 Implement education and awareness-raising programmes 4.9 Promote community involvement in conservation initiatives 4.10 Strengthen co-ordination with other management agencies 4.11 Develop capacity of nature reserve staff Implementation plan Monitoring and evaluation Budget 7.1 Summary Budget 7.2 Detailed Budget References Conservation needs assessment of Pu Luong Nature Reserve – Thanh Hoa Tracking tool data sheet Assessment tool table Related data table Background This operational management plan was prepared by the Pu Luong Nature Reserve Management Board, in consultation with professors of Pu Luong – Cuc Phuong Limestone Landscape Conservation Project, and supporting of local authorities and communities living in bufferzone areas of the nature reserve Pu Luong Nature Reserve (20˚21’- 20˚34’N, 105˚02’- 105˚20’E) is belonged to Quan Hoa and Ba Thuoc districts, in the north-west corner of Thanh Hoa province, north-central Vietnam The nature reserve includes parts of five communes within Quan Hoa district: Phu Le, Phu Xuan, Thanh Xuan, Hoi Xuan, Phu Nghiem and four communes of Ba Thuoc district: Thanh Son, Thanh Lam, Co Lung and Lung Cao To the north-east the nature reserve is bordered by Hoa Binh province, and to the southwest is bordered by remaining land of communes belongs to the nature reseve Elevations within the nature reserve range from approximately 60m to 1,650 m.a.s.l (above sea level) In 1998, Thanh Hoa Forest Inventory and Planning Institute co-operated with the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI) to invest and set up investment project of Pu Luong Nature Reserve Following the submission of an official proposal to include Pu Luong on the national list of protected areas, this project was approved in 1999 by Thanh Hoa Provincial Peoples Committee, after which a nature reserve management board was established in accordance with Decision No 742/QD-UB on 24th April 1999 The Pu Luong nature reserve covers an area of 17,662 ha, of which natural forest area is 14,934 ha, occupied 84% of nature reserve area Pu Luong includes a strict protected zone of 13,320 ha, an ecological rehabilitation zone of 4,342 and an administration and services area of The strict protection zone of the nature reserve comprises two areas and ecological rehabilitation zone comprises three areas Currently, the management board employs 24 staff, including 10 permanent staff and 14 staff on long-term contracts, to maintain forest guard stations in important posts of the nature reserve Pu Luong Nature Reserve plays an important position in north-west of the Pu Luong-Cuc Phuong limestone range, an global important sample of limestone karst ecology and the last lowland limestone forests and limestone habitat forest in the northen of Vietnam This interzone creates the shared border areas of the Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces The limestone range is thought likely to encompass much of the remaining limestone associated species-richness in northern Vietnam and is recognised as a priority landscape for biodiversity conservation within the lower Mekong eco-region (Batzev, 2001) The terrain of the nature reserve includes two parallel mountain ranges towards south west – north east, which are seperated from each other by a valley The main forest habitat in the nature reserve includes karst limestone in the north-east and basaltic rocks in the south-west The natural vegetation cover which is found in Pu Luong is forests on limestones and basaltic rocks However, the primary forests here were remarkably reduced due to overexploitation of forest resources Currently most of the primary forests are the vegetatition cover of secondary forests with five basic levels of hylaea and subtropical forest Basic biological surveys were carried out at the site by the Forest inventory and Planning Institute in 1998 and form the basis of original investment plan for the nature reserve Further studies were later carried out by scientists belonging to the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources, the mineral and geological institute, the forestry university from researches programmes of Pu Luong – Cuc Phuong limestone karst landscape conservation nature Taken together, these indicate that the nature reserve supports at least 1.109 vascular vegetation species arranged in 447 pterygia, 152 families, including 42 endemic species of Vietnam and species listed in the world red data book (IUCN, 2003) It includes 160 species of orchids and some threaten conifers Fauna has been confirmed and recorded so far to have 599 species of 130 families, 31 orders including 162 bird species, 55 fish species, 28 reptile species, 13 amphibian species, 24 bat species, 63 mamal species, 158 insect species, 96 snail species There are 51 rare and valuable and endemic species listed in the Vietnam Red Book (2000) and the World Red Book (2003), of which there are 26 mamal species, bat species, bird species, freshwater fish species, reptile species It is noticable to affirm the certain existing of big animals such as: clouded leopard Pardofelis nebulosa, asean golden cat Catopuma temminckii, owston palm civet Hemigalus owstoni, serow Naemohedus sumatraensis, aseantic bear Ursus thibetanus, malayan porcupine Hystrix brachyura (Neil Furey, 2003) Pu Luong Nature Reserve is perhaps most renowned for remaining populations of the special used primate of Delacour’s Langur Trachypithecus delacouri, which is the second biggest of Vietnam, after Pu Luong Nature Reserve Their lives are critically threatened and whose numbers have declined to roughly 300 individuals in the wild in nationwide An estimated total 45 to 53 individuals of the primate are believed to occur in four separate subpopulations at the nature reserve (Tilo Nadler, 2004) Features of the limestone kast ecosystem in the nature reserve with its difficult terrain, many mountain slopes and severally divided surface have given facilities for fast forming isolated species, especially in classifying species, such as species of orchids, freshwater fish and terestrial snails Furthermore, it is characterized by many kinds of habitats and endemic species, special used species and highly rangerestricted species, is the destination of archaeologies, cultures and special natural landscapes The landscape of the nature reserve is remaining apparently primary, including Forests and cultural characters, of which the features are clearly identified by beatiful traditional villages with terraced rice fields falling down like a waterfall on a forest background covered by the limestone ranges and cliffs The forest cover is still high and it is a primary forest Situated as it is in a heavily settled area and surrounded on all sides by areas of intensive agriculture, Pu Luong is subject to a number of pressures from surrounding communities Among 4,945 households, there are 23,677 households live in the buffer-zone area of the nature reserve, and 430 households, 1,967 people live in villages located inside the core-zone, all of whom belong to the Thai and Muong minority Besides there are approximately 1,502 househods, 7,280 people in Hoa Binh province live contiguous to the north-east of reserve (Truong Nho Tu, 2003) Agriculture remains the dominant economic activity in the immediate surrounding area and core zone and remains close to subsistence levels due to low productivity and short of land for cultivation Prior to establishment of the nature reserve, forest exploitation in the area was both intensive and widespread and activities such as wildlife hunting and rock mining commonplace While these practices have declined significantly with the initiation of forest protection activities at the site, certain activities evidently still continue Issues and threats 2.1 Over-exploitation of forest (plant) resources Prior to establishment of the nature reserve, overexploitation of timber and fuel wood has led to extensive forest loss At present, the primary vegetation communities only ocuppy less than 15% of the area of the nature reserve Almost the remaining area is of secondary light forests, which indicates the serious degeneration of the primary forests in the nature reserve Howerver, types of the primary vegetational covers remaining in the nature reserve are a form of the typical status of primary forests which were wiped out almost everywhere or seriously destroyed (including Cuc Phuong National Park) It is very important to preserve them in order to protect the last areas of typically primary tropical plants with high biodiversity in Vietnam These vegetation communities are good living places for many of creature populations with very high biodiversity, of which many plants are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam and the World Red Book (Leonid V Averyanov, 2003) Although over half of special used forest allocated contigous populated area under forest protection contracts to local households has been completed by management board of nature reserve (10,600 in 2004, Truong Nho Tu), ongoing wood exploitation for using and trade aims continues to occur in this area, cause bad effects on natural habitat at the site The orchids and medicinal plants collection have been also more apparently declined than before, but still continues to take place and partly causes degradation, besides difficulties in controlling forest fires and free animal grazing in the special used forest Timber is also one of the dominant sources of energy which is used as a main fuel for the whole community in the core-zone and bufferzone are of the nature reserve with the result that illegal extraction of fuel wood represents a recurrent problem at forests of buffer-zone This situation requires effective management of natural resource exploitation, which is an important factor of biodiversity protection in the area 2.5 Hunting, trapping and fishing Local reports indicate that levels of hunting and trapping of wildlife at Pu Luong were intensive during the 1980-1990s, with the result that populations of wildlife, and in particular big animals, the Delacour’s Langur, declined markedly at the site prior to the its establishment as a protected area During last years, with the initiation of forest protection activities, levels of hunting and trapping are reported to have reduced However, several mammals are now almost certainly already extinct at the site e.g Tiger, and other species such as Clouded Leopard, Asian Golden Cat, Aseantic Bear, Serow and primates In recent years, the local communites have had consciousness in protection for wild animals, however, there are groups of hunters in each village who still go surrepstitiously into the special used forest for hunting and trapping Besides that, the risk also takes place from the areas contiguous to the nature reserve in Hoa Binh province The fact that using hunting guns are still continuous and there is no coordination in cotrolling hunting guns among fuctional authorities The result of an inventory in 2000 by the management board of the nature reserve in the households living in and around the buffer zone of the nature reserve showed that there were at least 700 kinds of hunting guns, except a number of traps The situation that wildlife meat is traded in numerous restaurants in Quan Hoa, Canh Nang, Dong Tam (Ba Thuoc) towns, still takes place Trading wild animals is out of control, which is caused by lack of interdisciplinary co-ordination There is, therefore, a need for constant vigilance and efforts to safeguard the local flora and fauna, and in particular, Clouded Leopard and Asean Golden Cat and Delacour's Langur population The fact that the local people still freely go into the special used forest for fishing species of fish, snails which also make this resources more and more exhausted Until such time as changes to legal framework for permitting use and manage hunting gun are made, measures to foster inter-agency collaborations at the local level should therefore be considered a vital prerequisite to addressing these issues 2.3 Forest fire While the incidence of fires at Pu Luong Nature Reserve has declined in recent years due to intensive efforts on the part of the management board and local authorities, fire continues to pose a major threat to the natural environment and biodiversity of the nature reserve Besides, fires are a common hazard in limestone karst ecosystems in northern Vietnam due to the desiccated nature of the karst environment and periodic droughts which characterise the region’s climate As limestone karst represents the dominant terrestrial habitat at nature reserve and the surrounding area, a significant proportion of the nature reserve is extremely fire prone With the difficult terrain, large area of the nature reserve, it is difficult to extinguish fire if forest fire happens It also means that the remaining biodiversity value here is seriously threatened At present, the major causes of fire at the site are due to the spread of fires initially started to: i) clear land for agriculture in bordered area; ii) smoke hives for honey collection; iii) habit of using fire in forests while collecting orchids, medicinal plants, hunting, trapping Although forest fire rarely take place in recent years, it is very difficult to control these above activities Consciousness of careless fire using of the people itself is unforeseen potential risks 2.4 Unsustainable land use Pu Luong is located in a heavily settled area and subject to a variety of pressures from communities living in the buffer-zone of the nature reserve Currently, 430 household and 1,967 people of villages are located inside the core-zone of the nature reserve: Son, Ba, Muoi, Kit, Pon, Thanh Cong villages (Lung Cao commune), Khuyn, Hieu villages (Co Lung commune), Ba Thuoc district Together, these villages cultivate approximately 950 of land within the core-zone At present, the cultivative land of Son, Ba, Muoi villages are concretely shared for the community with 500 of variety of used land, the remaining villages are still in the special used forest which are not clearly seperated Agriculture constitutes the main economic activity and remains at subsistence levels due to low productivity and insufficient land The permanency of infrastructure at these villages is coupled with the lack of capital, underdevelopment and traffic problem is a big obstacle The movement of these villages in other areas is very approriate to the desires and hopes of the local authorities and communities here However, the lack of capital for the movement indicates that resettlement of these communities is difficult to carry out The only practical alternative in the short-term, therefore, is to strengthen measures and incentives to protect the local environment and promote sustainable resource use While the nature reserve management board have had some success in altering land use patterns and nature resources in areas surrounding these villages through a programme of encourage agriculture and forestry Although effectiveness of the program is high quality, it has been generally hampered by inadequate financial resources Cultivation of agricultural plants in forestry land of the buffer-zone continues at the site, but it has not management measures in the area Encroachment also presents a concern in bordered areas of nature reserve as natural vegetation is cleared for the purposes of planting fruit trees With establishment of the nature reserve however, this practice is now thought to be largely under control 2.5 Exploitation of stone and mineral Pu Luong is a place with its big precious mineral reserves Previously, Pu Luong used to be a big gathering place of gold exploitation in the north-east of the nature rerserve The entegrity of limestone karst ecosystem in the nature reserve is influenced by out of control of gold exploitation Although so far the gold exploitation in the nature reserve is basically prevented, it remain an attractive place, so surreptitious exploitation still occurs In order to solve this matter, it is required the positive involvement co-ordination between all levels of authorities and appropriate agencies Currently, it also needs to consider to stop exploitation of stalactites in caves which is outbreaking and destroying the natural landscape in the area Stone expoitation in the buffer zone to construct roads, infrastructures is also a big problem that needs managing 2.6 Unregulated tourism The natural scenic beauty and cultural significance of the nature reserve coupled with its cultural characters make the site an increasingly popular tourist destination for many foreign visitors with terraced rice fields falling down like a waterfall on a forest background covered by the limestone ranges and cliffs The forest cover is still high and it is a primary forest The efforts of promoting ecotoursim activities of the management board of the nature reserve, local authorities and the communities are attracting more tourist travelling companies to take parts in surveying and establishing tours for international tourists It provides clear indication that the nature reserve's potential as a tourism destination is becoming ever more widely recognised Despite weak development of numbers of visitors and related tourism activites, it is neccesary to build a plan which manages potential effects of tourism which may take place, that is: waste pollution, erosion in walking paths, breaking stalactites in caves, water pollution, overexploitation of aquatic products, the plants are destroyed due to camping activities, burning, bring bad effects to plants on both sides of the path These impact on reproduction areas of fauna and threat wildlife animals Sometimes, the community may be more sensitive and with things brought back by tourists, they will be easy to change, which easily change the traditionally cultural characters of the locality Co-ordination among all level of government authorities in establishing policies for developing and programming ecotourism is the core matter of sustainable ecotourism development at the site Management aims and objectives 3.1 Aims The primary aim of Pu Luong Nature Reserve is to conserve main ecosystems at the site, i.e the areas of limestone karst and to maintain their biodiversity The second major aim of the nature reserve is to raise awareness and support for conservation and sustainable development among local communities 3.2 Management objectives i) ii) Maintain the entire ecological and cultural values of limestone ecosystems at the nature reserve; Conserve all globally threatened, endemic and range-restricted species of flora and fauna that occur at the site, with special emphasis on Delacour’s Langur (Trachypithecus delacouri); Grey langur (Trachypithecus crepusculus), Amentotaxus yunnanensis (Taxaceae), Pistachia cucphuongensis (Anacardiaceae), Goniothalamus macrocalyx iii) Raise awareness and livelihoods of local communities living inside and nearby the core-zone of the nature reserve, through promotion of their involvement in conservation initiatives; iv) Reduce negative impacts on the nature reserve as a result of illegal resource use and other human activities, forest fires, unsustainable land use, mineral exploitation, tourism and other activities of humanbeing; and v) Promote scientific and other research and monitoring at the site Realisation of the first two management objectives will ensure successful achievement of the nature reserves primary goal, which is to conserve the ecosystems, habitats and species present at the site This will require a range of activities aimed at stabilising and reversing current patterns of natural resource use towards overall sustainability as well as legal, administrative and direct enforcement measures to ensure effective conservation management Actions here will include measures to strengthen local law enforcement, improve coordination with other local authorities, targeted research, ecological monitoring of key habitats and species The third management objective relates to the need to generate support within local communities for the objectives of the nature reserve through promotion of their role in conservation initiatives and management of the site Necessary actions here will include awareness campaigns regarding the biodiversity importance and status of the nature reserve, promotion of local community involvement in management and protection activities and development of benefit-sharing mechanisms for tourism and other revenues generated locally, among other measures The focus of the fourth management objective is negative impacts caused by current human activities at the site Immediate threats include forest fires, illegal logging, non-timber forest product collection and hunting and trapping to meet subsistence needs and for commercial sale Continued growth in tourism and related infrastructure at the nature reserve also poses a potentially severe threat due to lack of safeguards or frameworks for coordination and management of tourism Addressing these issues will require an integrated approach to law enforcement that actively seeks to promote community involvement, as well as consultative processes to develop mechanisms for collaborative management of tourism at the site The final objective relates to the need for management-orientated information to provide a basis for conservation management of key habitats and species at the site Priorities should include status assessments and ecological studies of Delacour’s Langur populations, big animals, socio-economic studies concerning patterns of natural resource use at the site 3.3 Management zoning In common with many Vietnamese protected areas, Pu Luong Nature Reserve comprises two major zones: i) strict protection zone; and, ii) ecological rehabilitation zone In addition to these areas, there is a services and administration zone The following sections describe these areas in detail and outline their management regimes for each zone Strict protection zones The strict protection zone of the nature reserve, which comprises areas of limestone karst and basaltic rock covering a total of 13,320 ha, equivalent to 75 per cent of total area of the nature reserve, and is divided into two areas (zones I and II), is the area with the most high concentration of the diversity of forest types, structures of forest layers, flora and fauna species, particularly endemic, valuable species which are in danger of distinction: Clouded Leopard, Asean Golden Cat, Serow, Owston Palm Civet, conifers, other economically valuable woods Zone I covers 4,598 ha, distributed on Pu Luong mountain with strong terrain separation, which is the river head of Ma river at the North-West of nature reserve Zone II comprises a series of karst outcrops known locally named as Thung Hang, Thung Ba Hia, Pa He, Pha Hang mountains that covers an area of 8,722 and forms the north-east of nature reserve The locations and boundaries of two strict protection zones are depicted in Appendix The primary management objective of the strict protection zones is to conserve the limestone karst ecosystems in their entirety, with special emphasis on globally threatened, endemic and range-restricted species To this end, all extractive activities including but not limited to timber logging, none-timber forest production collection, rock mining, hunting, trapping and all other forms of natural resource exploitation such as honey collection and making fires casually in the forests are strictly prohibited Management of the strict protection zones will therefore concentrate on measures to conserve all elements of the natural environment in-situ, with special emphasis on protecting remaining populations of Delacour’s Langur, big animals and their associated habitat Additionally, management will pursue the rehabilitation of areas of degraded habitat within the strict protection zones through replanting and natural regeneration, as appropriate Table gives further details regarding the management regime for the strict protection zones Rehabilitation zones Locating in Pu Luong Nature Reserve, the strict protection zone covers an area of 4,342 ha, making up 25 per cent of the area of the nature reserve The ecosystem and the fauna and flora area are being destroyed seriously which gradually lose the diversity of tropial forests which inherently have very plentiful attributes This area situated on a slope mountain with a high degree of seperation, includes the whole zone locating in the core-zone of the nature reserve with the exception of the strict protection zones mentioned above, several residential areas and approximately 500 of residential and cultivated land of Son, Ba, Muoi villages (Lung Cao commune) (see appendix 1) As with the strict protection zones, the primary management goal for the rehabilitation zones is to protect the natural environment in-situ and rehabilitate all areas of degraded habitat through natural regeneration or assisted restoration as appropriate The third major function of the rehabilitation zone is to promote ecotourism development As the rehabilitation zone includes several villages, long-term management will also aim to stabilise local population growth, promote sustainable resource use and encourage outward migration These villages will also form the focus of efforts to promote local community involvement in site management and protection activities Table contains further details regarding the management regime for rehabilitation zones at Pu Luong 10 ... assessment of Pu Luong Nature Reserve – Thanh Hoa Tracking tool data sheet Assessment tool table Related data table Background This operational management plan was prepared by the Pu Luong Nature... professors of Pu Luong – Cuc Phuong Limestone Landscape Conservation Project, and supporting of local authorities and communities living in bufferzone areas of the nature reserve Pu Luong Nature... Institute (FIPI) to invest and set up investment project of Pu Luong Nature Reserve Following the submission of an official proposal to include Pu Luong on the national list of protected areas, this