Assessment of ecotourism development potential based on biodiversity and landscapes in cat ba national park

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY STUDENT THESIS ASSESSMENT OF ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL BASED ON BIODIVERSITY AND LANDSCAPES IN CAT BA NATIONAL PARK Major: Natural Resources Management Code: D850101 Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management Student: Nguyen Khanh Toan Student ID: 1253101526 Class: K57 Natural Resources Management Course: 2012 - 2016 Advanced Education Program Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA Supervisor: Dr Dong Thanh Hai Ha Noi, 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my very great appreciation to Dr Dong Thanh Hai from Vietnam National University of Forestry, my research supervisor, for their enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research work Without his thoughtful, patient guidance through every step of my research, this thesis could not have been realized I would like to express my gratitude to Prof Lee MacDonald for finding out the time to check and give advises to my proposal I would like to express the deepest appreciation to the heads, officers of Cat Ba National park, local people there for providing me useful information and kind consideration and help Many other people have contributed to the success of this thesis but I would like to particularly thank my family and classmates from K57 Natural Resources ManagementAdvanced program for their support Last but not least this thesis could have never been complete without the support of Faculty of Forest Resources and Environmental Management always encouraged me during the entire process of studying and doing research Despite spending the best efforts in the thesis conducting process, this research still has many shortcomings due to the limitations of time, finance and my ability I am looking forward to receiving comments from teachers, friends to a better thesis completion Thank you! ABSTRACT This research is based on a survey carried out on tourists about ecotourism The main objective was to assess the ecotourism development potential and current situation of ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park based on biodiversity and landscapes, from which to propose solutions to sustainable development of ecotourism The methods that were used for collecting data are interview, line transect and using SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats to ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park The study showed that Cat Ba National Park had high value about landscape, biodiversity to develop ecotourism, also satisfying levels of tourists to the ecotourism services here The study also show the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats to ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park The findings also revealed that there is need to create more awareness by providing information regarding ecotourism potentials in the location and its benefits so as to encourage the local leaders and community people to conserve natural tourism resources and hence improve the economy of the locals Key word: ecotourism, biodiversity, landscape ABBREVIATIONS NP: National Park IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES CHAPTER INTRODUCTION CHAPTER GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 2.1 Goals 2.2 Objectives CHAPTER STUDY SITE 3.1 Geographic location 3.2 Climate and hydrology 3.3 Topography 3.4 Geologic characteristics and soil 3.5 Fauna and Flora 3.5.1 Flora 3.5.2 Fauna 3.6 Economy – society 3.6.1 Population and employ 3.6.2 Livelihood 10 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 12 4.1 Secondary document review 12 4.2 Collecting data methods 13 4.2.1 Preparation 13 4.2.2 Interview 13 4.2.3 Line transect survey 14 4.3 Assess the potential and advantages to develop ecotourism in Cat Ba NP 14 4.4 Data analysis 15 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 16 5.1 Biodiversity and landscapes potentials for ecotourism in Cat Ba NP 16 5.1.1 Ecological resource potential and landscape value at Cat Ba NP 16 5.1.2 The infrastructure, the tourist spots and potential routes for ecotourism 23 5.1.3 Operational mechanism and management model of the Cat Ba NP 30 5.2 Assess status of ecotourism in Cat Ba NP 32 5.2.1 Ecotourism development status of Cat Ba NP 32 5.2.2 The views of local communities about tourist activities and ecotourism 34 5.3 Assessment of advantages and disadvantages, opportunities, challenges on ecotourism development in Cat Ba NP 37 5.4 Proposing some solutions to develop sustainable ecotourism associated with the conservation of biodiversity in Cat Ba NP 39 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 44 6.1 Conclusion 44 6.1.1 Biodiversity and landscapes potential 44 6.1.2 Status of ecotourism 44 6.1.3 Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats to ecotourism in Cat Ba NP 44 6.1.4 Proposing solutions 45 6.2 Constrains 45 6.3 Recommendation 45 REFERENCES APPENDIX LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Geographic map Cat Ba NP Figure 5.1 Ngu Lam Peak- Evergreen forest 18 Figure 5.2 Lan Ha Bay- Marine ecosystems on the limestone ecosystem 18 Figure 5.3 Mangrove forest- coastal mangrove 18 Figure 5.4 Frog Pond- alpine ecosystem 18 Figure 5.5 Cat Co Beach 20 Figure 5.6 Trung Trang Stream 22 Figure 5.7 Ecotourism routes in Cat Ba NP 29 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: The population situation of the commune, town in Cat Ba Island 10 Table 5.1 The units under the Cat Ba NP 31 Table 5.2 Officials and employees' decree of Cat Ba NP 31 Table 5.3 Statistics of tourists to Cat Ba (2011-2015) 33 Table 5.4 Statistics of current situation of visitors to Cat Ba NP (2011-2015) 33 Table 5.5 The purpose visits the park 34 Table 5.6 Information sources to know about NP 35 Table 5.7 Perception of tourists after travel 35 Table 5.8 Reviews on people about the benefits of ecotourism 36 Table 5.9 The views of local people about tourists 36 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Nowadays, the economic system does not stop growing, science and technology help been supporting people very much but along with it is the working pressure On the other hand, industrial development causes serious environmental pollution, dust and garbage everywhere So, people need to find new ways to relax to dismiss stress and fatigue at work Recently, people tend to choose to relax in wild places, away from crowded areas, which is ecotourism In recent years, tourism activities have developed remarkably In particular, ecotourism has been increasingly well known The formation and development of this type have undergone a long time to be like today Ecotourism has begun being talked about since the early 80s in the world The first researchers of this field is Hector Ceballos-Lascurain, Elizabeth Boo, and numerous theoretical, practical studies of ecological tourism of scientists who were interested in this field such as : Linberg, Hawkins, Cocchrane, The World Conservation Union‟s (IUCN) Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas defines ecotourism as „„environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations (Ceballos-Lascurain, 1996) Ecotourism has just been formed in recent years but has rapidly growing, drawing attention from many countries and it is also the strategic growth objective of Vietnam‟s tourism industry Furthermore, this type of tourism contributes to nature conservation, biodiversity and community cultural protection, while improving the living condition of local people and developing the social-economic system Ecotourism in Vietnam emerged around the middle of the 1990s In 1999, within the framework of a seminar on building national strategy for the development of ecotourism, this definition was offered: "Ecotourism is a form of nature tourism that has a high level of education in ecology and environment and make positive impacts on environmental and cultural protection, ensures bringing of financial benefits to the local community and contributes to the conservation efforts” ( The Seminar about ecotourism, 1999) To understand more about ecotourism, we need to know about the characteristics of ecotourism and the basic principles of ecotourism a Characteristics of ecotourism According to Dowling, the difference between ecotourism and other types of tourism was listed in the following five characteristics (Stephen J Page & Dowling, 2002): - Ecotourism develops based on abundant geographical and cultural elements of indigenous: the objects of ecotourism are attractive areas of nature, including the distinctive indigenous cultural features -Ensuring Ecological sustainability and supporting conservation: Due to ecotourism development on the abundant environment in nature, formation and extent of use for tourism activities should be maintained and managed for the sustainability of the ecosystem and the tourism sector - Environmental Education: characteristic of environmental education in ecotourism is a fundamental element, is effective in changing attitudes of consumer the community and the tourism industry This can be considered as one of the effective tools for the natural area - Encouraging the local community to participate in and earn the benefits from tourism: Ecotourism enhances the income for local community on the basis of providing the knowledge and practical experience for the majority of people who have ability to participate in management, operation of ecotourism services That is the way people can become active conservationists Most interviewed visitors felt satisfied about this tour to the national park while about 14% of interviewed visitors felt normal and no one was disappointed about this area This indicates that this is an opportunity for the development of ecotourism in Cat Ba NP, enhancing economic, environment's quality Table 5.8 Reviews on people about the benefits of ecotourism Benefits of ecotourism Number of votes Percentage (%) Create jobs 12 30 Enhace knowledge 23 58 Increase income 12 Other 0 Ecotourism brought many benefits to the local community According to the interview results, 58% of the local population said that ecotourism helped them to improve understanding of the importance of forest the ecosystem and the need for conservation the flora and fauna Some people participate in forest protection activities or be local guides Some have the motel, hotel and restaurant business to increase their income Table 5.9 The views of local people about tourists View about tourists Number of votes Percentage Friendly 10 25 Normal 24 60 Unconscious 0 Disinterest 15 Other 0 36 According to the table, there are 24 opinions (60%) feel normal for tourists and reviews (15%) are not interested in them This indicates local people not have tight link with tourists The link between local people with tourists is a key factor in the development of sustainable ecotourism Therefore, these activities need to mount local people with tourists 5.3 Assessment of advantages and disadvantages, opportunities, challenges on ecotourism development in Cat Ba NP Through the research results at the 5.1 and 5.2 show that Cat Ba NP has great potential for eco-tourism development, besides, difficulties and challenges are nor small This is through a SWOT analysis as follows: 37 Strengths Weaknesses - Diverse, unique, distinctive ecosystem -Abundant natural resources with - Travel management staff are lacking in both high quantity and professional skill biodiversity There are many rare, endemic - Management policies are loose, not tight species only in a few places in the world like the - Facilities, technical service of the tourists Cat Ba Langur, Goniurosaurus catbaensis, are not enough Capricornis milneedwardsii maritimus, Buceros - Awareness of the local population is not bicornis high - There are the organizational structures in charge - The majority of tourism resources is in the of ecotourism activities, information channels form of potential only - Tourist routes has been created in the park - Although diverse the ecosystems are very -Facilities (hotels, motels, roads) are diverse but sensitive under the change of increasingly being improved and upgraded environment -Local culture with interesting characteristics, ethnic identity with many festivals such as boating, palanquin procession, -The investment, tourism development policies have been implemented by the Government and the People's Committee of Hai Phong city Opportunities Threats - Ecotourism strategy is to prioritize the -Awareness development of Vietnam's tourism sector of the natural landscape protection is weak, it is difficult to manage - There are training opportunities, raising the - Lack of funds for worker training, level of services infrastructure investment - Many domestic and foreign investors are - Pressure from tourism activities: waste, interested in the development of tourism projects leftover food source, the construction of in the park infrastructure for tourism, to current - There is an opportunity to improve income, ecosystems in Cat Ba NP local budget - Need to develop rational management - NP has many spots and routes can be exploited policies to develop ecotourism model and livelihood of -Need to raise the awareness of local people citizens and increase funds for biodiversity and tourists conservation - Competition in attracting investment and tourism development increasingly fierce 38 has become Through analyzing we found that, with all the enormous potential of nature, society, together with favorable geographic location, cool climate, convenient transportation, associated with community life with its own identity, hospitality of local people and determination to implement the development strategy of the city's tourism sector, will be an opportunity for ecotourism in Cat Ba NP to flourish, overcome difficulties and challenges which are being faced 5.4 Proposing some solutions to develop sustainable ecotourism associated with the conservation of biodiversity in Cat Ba NP As mentioned above, up to now, Cat Ba NP has enough potential to develop ecotourism as literally However, in fact the potential to develop ecotourism at the NP has not been fully evaluated and not associate with biodiversity conservation In detail, that is not exploited all the strength of the NP: landscape, suitable type of tourism Besides, there is no suitable investment on infrastructure as well as tourism activities Recently, the number of tourist has increased but the amount that visit the NP are not much If we don‟t have a suitable plan for exploiting and investing on Cat Ba NP, it will be a barrier to the sustainable development there So, proposing suitable solutions based on sustainable development criteria of ecotourism activities in Cat Ba NP is necessary to maximize strength and minimize the negative impact of tourism activities on biodiversity in Cat Ba NP : Sustainable development of forest resources and enhance skill of forest and biodiversity management in Cat Ba NP Restoring and developing forest and raising canopy cover Encourage activities of forest restoration that suitable with ecology and forest protected activities Combine the environment protection activities and tourism development to value for the world‟s biosphere, the requirements are keeping the landscape always clean, beautiful and fresh and rich in forest, sea resources 39 Building tourist spots and routes, to exploit the natural landscape of forests and sea of Cat Ba follow the rules:” No change the natural landscape, no negative impact on plant, animal resources which reduce biodiversity and cause environment pollution" Regularly set up education, professional training, raising awareness activities on environmental protection in local communities, tourists, production and business units in the area; incorporate education, encouragement and reward along with prevention, strict enforcement measures in order to better protect natural resources, cultural identity and ecological environment Establish sustainable development fund of world biosphere reserve in Cat Ba Island in general and in Cat Ba NP in particular Ecotourism development is also the most natural way to promote the value of Cat Ba It will not only bring benefits to the local, but also create hundreds or even thousands of jobs for the people in forest area which help them realize the value and benefits from forests in order to preserve, protect Development of human resources to serve ecotourism: Human resources for the park‟s ecotourism necessarily need to be trained In which, training and using of local human resources should be prioritized Raising awareness on ecological environment protection: Raising awareness on environmental protection to all stakeholders: Managers of nature reserve, investors, business, tourism company ,guides, relevant policy makers, local communities and tourists Infrastructure development: Natural resources of Cat Ba NP is an attractive potential to visitors to enjoy, however, if the infrastructure is not developed, the visitors not have good conditions to access natural resources' value Thus, the park's management board needs to develop and upgrade the accommodation facilities, construction of main roads to serve the needs of eco-resorts of foreign and domestic tourists 40 Formulation and planning of ecotourism development The scheme initially given an overall orientation to develop routes, ecotourism spots in the Park and buffer zone Due to the leading task is to preserve the park's natural values so the tourism activities should be specific partitioned accompanied with land use planning as a basis for building projects and calling for investment in infrastructure and tourism service facilities such as motels, hotels, restaurants, boats and other facilities for tourism Then it is necessary to coordinate with departments to build specific planning projects of biosphere reserve ecotourism development with programs of actions including conditions, ways, responsible authorities and funds for implementation Formulating the planning of development of Cat Ba tourism in a sustainable way, the development model, in which the local people have the opportunity to contribute more in natural resources, cultural heritages conservation and to benefit more from tourism activities, should be proritized The first solution is to have specific studies, surveys on ecotourism spots and implement pilot projects at several spots in the given time limit to learn from experience, maintain the achievements and overcome the problems and obstacles to gradually grow, replicate this model Product of the planning process is eco-tourism map This document is essential, used as a means of guiding tourists, a conservation tool for ensure visitors to go to the right place, in the right direction and giving visitors the concerned information Developing rational and strict management mechanism The authorities need to strengthen the control of tourist activities to maintain the quality, improve the efficiency and competitiveness People's Committee of city directs the setting up and issuing legal documents on the management of tourism (travel management regulations, regulations on construction works for tourism ) in order to manage seamless and uniformly at all levels 41 Solutions to promote the image of Cat Ba NP Cat Ba NP should widely promote their tourism activities on the internet and leaflets, and simultaneously contact with domestic and international travel agents, strengthen the relationships with the management agencies, research centers to develop ecotourism potential of Cat Ba NP Responsibility of Cat Ba NP: Cat Ba NP is responsibility for strict management every activities in the area which was assigned for NP to manage, protect based on forest protection and development laws, environmental protection and current regulations, specifically: Strictly managing the protected zones, the negative activities to forest ecosystem should not be happened in the subdivision Continuing coordinating with the specialized agencies to survey, comprehensive assess the nature and environment in ecological restoration zones Creating opportunities for businesses to lease, be allocated forest environment for the development of ecotourism, when companies have schemes are approved by the competent authorities Appointing technical staff, helping enterprises in the management of forest protection, afforestation and implementing silvicultural measures Supervising the construction processes in the leased, allocated forest areas to comply with the State's regulations and principles of NP Development investment to create all favorable conditions for tourism service center and environmental education effectively to increase revenues, contributing to develop the park and improve the lives Park's officials and employees Rational, effective using the funds from renting, allocating forests to invest in forest management, protection, regeneration, infrastructure construction and contributing developing socioeconomic of buffer zone 42 Closed contact with district people's committee, government of communes, which ecotourism spots located, in management, directing, propaganda, mobilizing people to have awareness of forest, environment protection, developing jobs and goods, products to serve the tourists Responsibility of enterprise owners: Organizing tourism services must follow the State's regulation, principles of local government and Cat Ba NP Being responsible for conserving, embellishing landscapes, environment, maintaining traditional cultural values of the nation, conducting ecotourism activities in a sustainable development way Being responsible for the management and protection of the entire forest area and forest land that leased and allocated, organizing planting on non-forest land NP provides seeds and technical guidance, enterprises invest their own money into planting, caring and protecting planted forests 43 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 6.1 Conclusion 6.1.1 Biodiversity and landscapes potential Cat Ba NP contains high value about landscape, biodiversity; is the place has number of vegetation diversity in higher than special-use forest in Viet Nam Cat Ba NP is the place has Cat Ba langur populations- endemic primate species only in Cat Ba All this shows that the Cat Ba NP plays a very important role in the conservation of landscapes and biodiversity in Cat Ba town 6.1.2 Status of ecotourism - The construction investment of tourist is limited, satisfy one part of the needed tourists To attract more tourists, it is necessary the interest, investment, remodeling, expansion of infrastructure, provided more routes - The activities related to environmental education for tourists and local people have conducted in recent years However, there are still many outstanding issues need to solve In order to maximize the role of NP information the attitudes and responsibilities of tourists and local people to resources and tourism environmental -In recent years, the number of tourist increased significantly So it contributes to increase income and improve people‟s live from tourism activities, create stable livelihoods for local people 6.1.3 Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats to ecotourism in Cat Ba NP Through using SWOT analysis, this study identified the potential, opportunities, threats of ecotourism development in Cat Ba NP Through analyzing we found that, with all the enormous potential of nature, society, together with favorable geographic location, cool climate, convenient transportation, associated with community life with its own identity, 44 hospitality of local people and determination to implement the development strategy of the city's tourism sector, will be an opportunity for ecotourism in Cat Ba NP to flourish, overcome difficulties and challenges which are being faced 6.1.4 Proposing solutions The research recommended the solutions to overcome the drawbacks and promote strengths to develop ecotourism in Cat Ba NP Thereby it will contribute to reduce harmful impacts to environment, improve the management and livelihood of local people 6.2 Constrains Due to the limitations of time, investigation experience, wide study areas so this research has not investigated the whole area of Cat Ba NP and the study only reflects the most general view 6.3 Recommendation It is recommended to spend more time to collect data to propose solution in a detailed way Conducting survey in every transect to have effective assessment It is necessary to implement timely solution to enhance tourism, services quality in order to have sustainable ecotourism protection in particular, tourism environment in general 45 REFERENCES Pham Trung Luong (2002): Ecotourism, theoratical and practical development issues in Viet Nam Stephen J Page, Ross K Dowling (2002): Ecotourism (Themes in Tourism) Cochrane, J (1996): The sustainability of ecotourism in Indonesia Seminar:” building national strategy on ecotourism development in Viet Nam “(1999) The Politburo (2003), Construction and development of Hai Phong city in the period of industrialization and modernization, which specified the construction of Cat Ba tourism center worthy of national and international levels, Resolution No 32 / NQ-TW of the Politburo National Political Publishing House (2006): Tourism Law Agricultural Publishing House (2004): Law on Forest Protection and Development Ngo Thi Hang (2015), Master Thesis: Evaluate the management effectiveness of Cat Ba National Park tourism environment Héctor Ceballos Lascuráin (1996): Tourism, ecotourism, and protected areas 10 Natali Dologlou and Vicky Katsoni (2016): Ecotourism in Protected Areas, A Literature Review 11 Phan Nguyen Hong & et al (2002) : Ecotourism in Viet Nam: Potential and Reality 12 Havard Business School (2007-2008): Ecotourism 13 IUCN, 2000 Tordoff, A.W (ed.) et al., 2002: Directory of Important Bird Areas (IBA) in Vietnam Key Sites for Conservation Bird Life International in Indochina and IEBR 14 IUCN, 2000: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Gland and Cambridge 46 APPENDIX Appendix Questionnaire for local resident I Information about ecotourism What natural resource you think that can attract tourists in this region? Mountain (name, height, area) Cave (name, length, height, width, location) Waterfall (name, height, location) Stream (name, length, location) Is it any special weather condition in this region? What kind of special animals you think that live in this region? Species name Location Time of seeing What kind of special plants you think that this region has? Species name Location What kind of featured natural beauty you think that this region has? What kind of traditional festivals are there in this region? Is there any intangible cultural resource in this region? (traditional song, traditional instrument) Are there any cultural and historical site? II Opinions on ecotourism What you think about tourist? a) Friendly b) Normal c) Lack awareness d) Others… 47 10 Do you want more and more tourists to come here? Why? 11 What is the benefit o ecotourism according to you? a) Creating job opportunity b) Increasing understanding on the importance of the nature and the environment? c) Increasing income d) Others… 12 What is the impact of ecotourism according to you? a) Changing the youngsters‟ lifestyle b) Decreasing traditional culture c) Troublesome d) Others… 13 Do you want to participate in tourism activities? Why? Appendix Questionnaire for tourist Một số thông tin bạn/ Please give some information about you: Tên(Name):…………………………………………………………………………………… Nam/Nữ(Male/Female):……………………………………………………………………… Tuổi(Age):……………………………………………………………………………………… Nghề nghiệp(Occupation):………………………………………………………………… Bạn đến từ đâu/ Where are you from? Bạn đến cách nào/ How can you get there? Đi bộ/ Walk Xe đạp/ Bicycle Xe gắn máy/ Motorcycle Xe buýt/ Bus Khác/ Others… 48 Bạn biết đến vườn quốc gia Cát Bà nào? How did you hear about Cat Ba National Park? a) Du lịch trọn gói/ Package tour b) Bạn bè người thân/ Friends and Relative c) Quảng cáo/ Advertisement d) Khác/ Others… Bạn nghỉ đâu Vườn quốc gia Cát Bà? Where did you stay in Cat Ba National Park? a) Nhà khách/ Guesthouse b) Nhà dân/ Resident house c) Khách sạn/ Hotel d) Cắm trại/ Camping e) Khác/ Others… Điều hấp dẫn Vườn quốc gia Cát Bà? What is the most attractive in Cat Ba National Park? a) Phong cảnh/ Landscape b) Ẩm thực/ Food c) Quà lưu niệm truyền thống/ Traditional souvenirs d) Thái độ phục vụ/ Serving attitude e) Khác/ Others… Bạn có muốn mua quà lưu niệm? Nếu có gì? Do you want to buy souvenir? If yes, what you want to buy? Bạn có hài lịng với chuyến này? Are you satisfied with this trip? Bạn có muốn quay lại không? Are you willing to come back here again? 49 Some pictures in field work 50