Assessment of status of exploitation and use of tam dao salamander (paramesotriton deloustali bourret, 1934) in tay thien, tam dao national park

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM FORESTRY UNIVERSITY STUDENT THESIS Title ASSESSMENT OF STATUS OF EXPLOITATION AND TRADE OF TAM DAO SALAMANDER (Paramesotriton deloustali Bourret, 1934 ) IN TAY THIEN, TAM DAO NATIONAL PARK Major: Natural Resources Management Code: D850101 Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management Student: Nguyen Thi Ha Student ID:115 309 1138 Class: K56 Natural Resources Management Course: 2011 - 2015 Advanced Education Program Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA Supervisor: Dr Dong Thanh Hai Ha Noi, 10/2015 Abstract Tam Dao salamander (Paramesotriton deloustali), also known as Tam Dao newt, an endemic amphibian to the mountains of Vietnam It is listed as vulnerable (IUCN, 2015), in group IIB of species that is restricted to exploitation and trade under commercial purposes in Decree No 32/2006/ND-CP of Vietnam government The status of exploitation and trade on this species is increasing as a profound matter due to the fast growth of eco-tourism in Tay Thien area in recent years Besides that high profit from illegal trade, lack of knowledge, ineffective policy implementation and enforcement are additional drivers of this trend The aims of this study are 1) investigate the status of P.deloustali population and its main threats, 2) investigate how this species are being exploitation and trade, and 3) determine factors that drive the participation of locals in trade and harvest this animal in recent years Results show that the status of Tam Dao newt population declined significantly in the period of 10 years up to now The top ranked threats that led to this trends were waste from tourism activities, construction, and illegal harvest and trade The status of harvest and trade of this endemic species had taken place in this area for a long time ago with very sophisticated trading flow and form of hiding to avoid the discoverable of authorities The period after establishment of Tam Dao national park (1996-2010) was reported as the hottest time of exploiting and trading The primary motivation for hunt this species was for sale instead of for subsistence use as mentioned in some literatures 10 sale points with totally 31 individual of Tam Dao salamander was observed during the study, even in a short period of time and in low tourism season Thus, the study concludes that the status of exploitation and trade of P.deloustali is popular in Tay Thien area In addition, there are four factors are proven to influence in the participation of people in hunting and trading of this species are: sex, educational level, markets, and livelihoods Among these factors sex and markets provide strongest effect in process of making decision Acknowledgements This report is submitted for the Advanced Education Program Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA, faculty of Forest Resources and Environmental Management, Vietnam Forestry University This study would not have been possible without the kindness help of many individuals and institutions Most importantly, I am very grateful to my supervisor Dr Dong Thanh Hai for his guidance, instruction, and encouragement at every step of my study and for sharing his knowledge and ideas with me I specially thank to Professor Lee MacDonald for his taking time in advising in writing and correcting my thesis proposal I would also like to acknowledge Mr Tran Van Dung for his kindly assisting me in mapping I would like to thank the Tam Dao National Park (NP), Dai Dinh Committee, and Dai Dinh Ranger Station for their permission and support to undertake this study In particularly, for Head of Science, Technology and International Cooperation Department Mr Le Thanh Cuong, Mr Vu Van Quyet, Mr Nguyen Duc Toan for their provided documents and human resources support I would like to show my gratitude to the villagers who were patient and kindly answered my questions during the field survey I express deep gratitude to my parents, my brothers, and my sisters who encouraged and inspired throughout the study, without their support this report would have not been possible Table of contents Abstract Acknowledgements Abbreviations List of Photos List of Figures List of Tables CHAPTER INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 11 LISTERATURE REVIEW AND THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK 11 2.1 Listerature review 11 2.1.1 Trade patterns 11 2.1.2 Conservation Status 12 2.2 Theoretical Framework 13 2.2.1 Key definitions and terminology used in this report 13 2.2.2 What are the socio-economic drivers the exploitation and trade of wildlife? 14 CHAPTER 19 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 19 3.1 Goals 19 3.2 Specific objectives 19 3.3 Research questions 19 3.4 Research hypothesis 20 CHAPTER METHODS 22 3.1 Selection of study site 22 3.2 Overview of study site 23 3.3 Methods 24 3.3.1 Secondary data 24 3.3.2 Line transects 25 3.3.3 Interview 26 3.3.4 Map the hot spots of exploiting and trading of P deloustali in Tay Thien 27 3.3.5 Data analysis 28 CHAPTER RESULTS 30 5.1 Population status of P.deloustali in Tay Thien 30 5.2 Status of exploitation and use of P.deloustali Tay Thien 32 5.2.1 Evidences and traces of P.deloustali being harvested, and traded in Tay Thien area 32 5.2.2 Seasonal presence and selling seasons 35 5.2.3 Hunting techniques 36 5.2.4 Responsible person for hunt 36 5.2.5 Purposes of exploiting P.deloustali 37 5.2.6 Form of hidding, and evading P.deloustali from paltrol and control of authorities 38 5.3 The trade of Tam Dao salamander in Tay Thien 38 5.3.1 Market, price, and form of selling over each periods: 38 5.3.2 Market and trading flow of P.deloustali 40 5.3 Map hotspots of P.deloustali being sold in Tay Thien area 45 5.4 Drivers of the exploitation and trade of P.deloustali in Tay Thien 46 5.4.1 Factors that had determined the harvesting and selling of P.deloustali in Tay Thien area in the past 46 5.4.2 Drivers of the participation of exploitation and trade of P.deloustali in present time? 50 5.5 Key threats to P.deloustali populations in Tay Thien 51 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION 55 6.1 Livelihoods 55 6.2 Markets and prices 56 6.3 Legislation and regulations 57 6.4 Conservation awareness 58 6.5 Resource management practices 58 6.6 Sex 58 6.7 Age 59 6.8 Educational level 59 6.9 Occupation 60 6.10 Average monthly income per capital 60 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS 62 REFERENCES 66 APPENDICES 72 Abbreviations CITES The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature NP National Park NTFPs Non-timber Forest Products P.deloustali Paramesotriton deloustali List of figures Figure 2.1 Assumptions of factors that drive the participation in P.deloustali exploitation and trade (TRAFFIC 2008, modified) 18 Figure 4.1: Map of study site Dai Dinh commune, Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province 23 Figure 5.1 shows the comparision of assessment of the interviewees on the status of Tam Dao salamander population in 2005 and 2010 with the current time of the study (2015) 32 Figure 5.2 Distribution of P.deloustali in Tay Thien area 31 Table 5.1.Represent the results of 10 sale points where P.deloustali were sold in Tay Thien 33 Figure 5.3.Compare the percentage of participation of local people in harvesting and exploiting P.deloustali in past and current time 35 Figure 5.4 Compare the differences between seasonal appearance and trading season of P.deloustali in Tay Thien area 36 Figure 5.5 Show the motivation of hunting for P.deloustali through responses 37 Figure5.6 Show the trading flow diagram of P.deloustali in Tay Thien area from 2000-2010 Figure5.7.Show the sale points of P.deloustali observed during study in Tay Thien area 45 List of Table Table 4.1 Species composition of Tam Dao NP 24 Table 4.2 Summary table of transects line at Tay Thien area, Tam Dao National Park 25 Table 4.3.Distribution of interview object 26 Table 4.6 Basis to define poor and near-poor household in rural areas in Vietnam in period 2011-2015 26 Table 4.7 Basis to define moderate and rich households in Dai Dinh commune 27 Table 4.8 Basis criteria to assess the degree of illegal exploitation and trade of wildlife 27 Table 4.9 Description of assumption variables which influence the participation in exploiting and using of P deloustali 28 Table 4.10 Criteria to assess the level of conservation awareness of respondents 29 Table 5.2 Show the results of binary logistic regression model test on independents factors that were assumed to have influence on the participation in exploitation and trade of local people in study area 48 Table 5.3.Summary results of assessment of threats to P.deloustali populations in Tay Thien 51 List of photos Photo 5.1 Shows the P.deloustali was sold in plastic bottles in Tay Thien area 34 Photo 5.2 Waste from tourism activities in Tay Thien 52 Photo 5.3 Local people collected NTFPs near Co temple 53 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Wildlife trade is becoming a big business, in Vietnam and other Asian countries Illegal trafficking in wildlife in Asia is almost beyond control Wild animals are hunted, killed and captivity on a large scale, in order to satisfy the huge demand for bush meat, fur, traditional medicines derived from wildlife, livestock and pet needs (Nguyen Van Sang et al., 2003) Some animals are at risk of near extinction, others are becoming increasingly rare Therefore, it is raising the need for research to sustainable conservation management Tam Dao salamander (Paramesotriton deloustali), also known as Tam Dao newt, is an endemic amphibian to the mountains of Vietnam According to IUCN Red List of Threatened species, Tam Dao salamander is listed as VU It is also listed in group IIB of Decree No 32/2006/ND-CP of Vietnam government of species that is restricted to exploitation and trade under commercial purposes Since 1992, Tam Dao newt has listed in Vietnam Red data book (Ministry of Science and Technology 1992) that only can be found in Vietnam, and it is in level B (near extinction) Tay Thien is a famous historical, scenic tourist attraction of Tam Dao NP, because it meets all three factors: culture, religion, and beautiful natural landscape Therefore, it not only attracts tourists in high season, but all year around In recent years, the tourism boom has brought many benefits to the local economy, but partly destroyed the natural beauty, caused environmental pollution and lost biodiversity of Tam Dao NP, and the surrounding area According to the herpetological survey report (Nguyen Quang Truong et al., 2004) the population of Tam Dao salamander are mostly detected in Dai Dinh commune in Tay Thien area Therefore, tourism activities might lead to various impacts on Paramesotriton deloustali (P deloustali) population in either its habitat or population size and richness The Global Amphibian Assessment (IUCN, 2015) reported that P deloustali was used at subsistence level for food (human), at subsistence level and nationally for medicine (human and veterinary) and nationally and internationally for pets/display animals They estimated that 0-25% of specimens in commercial trade were wild-sourced The trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years was reported to be increasing (IUCN, 2015) Nguyen Van Sang et al., (2003) reported that in northern Viet Nam, P deloustali was sold at local markets and in villages for pets; that the dryform was used as a traditional medicine to cure diseases such as asthma and rickets; and that the species was rarely eaten by local people, apparently because of its bad smell and strange body form The local pet trade was thought to be the main reason for the decreasing population at Tam Dao National Park (Nguyen Van Sang et al., 2003) Therefore “Assessment of status of exploitation and trade of Tam Dao salamander (Paramesotriton deloustali Bourret, 1934) in Tay Thien; Tam Dao National Park‟‟ is vital important The aims of this research are to: 1) investigate the status of P.deloustali population and its main threats, 2) investigate how this species are being exploitation and trade, and 3) determine factors that drive the participation of locals in trade and harvest this animal in recent years Thus, this study will play a role as a basic for proposing better management measures, and effective biodiversity conservation of P deloustali in Tam Dao NP, as well as its buffer zone 10 Spring (from Jan to Mar) Autumn (from July to Sep) Summer (from Apr to June) Winter (from Oct to Dec) Which month you see it most?………………………………………………………………… Question 6: Where you often see the appearance/ distribution of TDS? In forest Near/ in brook, and stream In cave Others…………………… Please give detail information about your answer What is the forest name? How far is it from your home? How long does it take to get there? ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… What is the name of brook/ stream? How far is it from your home? How long does it take to get there? Describe the status of the brook/stream when you see the TDS on it ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………… Name of the cave How far is it from your home? How long does it take to get there? ………………………………………………………………………………………… …… Others………………………………………………………………………………… …… …………………………………………………………………………………… ………… Question 7: Do you know which manner is often used to hunt for TDS? (Select all answers that apply) By net By trap By hand By electricity 73 By fishing rod Others…………………………… Please describe in detail ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………… Question 8: What is the motivation of hunting TDS? For subsistence food To make medicine For sale To raise as pet Others………… :………………………………………………… ……………… Question 9: What time in the day often see or go for hunt TDS? Why? Morning time (from… too… ) Afternoon time (from… too… ) Noon time (from… too… ) Evening time (from… too… ) Because………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………… Question 10: What ages/ genders are primarily responsible for harvesting the product? (Select all answers that apply) Adult men Children Adult women Question 11: In what case TDS is often be hunted? (Select all answers that apply) Hunters, experienced person of forest plan to harvest product Local people is harvesting of product opportunistic Children after class hour Tourist is opportunistic catch TDS while playing on the brook/stream People from outside go for hunt in plan Others……………………………………………………………………… 74 Question 12: Is there any difficulties of hunting for TDS? There is no difficulty at all Rare, and difficult to find and catch Go deeply into forest Being forbidden by rangers II Information about trading of TDS Question 13: Is demand for wildlife product: (Select all answers that apply) Seasonal Depend on special needs/ order/ demand (medicine, ritual, etc) Relatively constant throughout the years If your answer is 1, so which season? Question 14: How TDS is sold? (Select all answers that apply) Keep in bag Keep in bottle of water, fishing tank Hide indoor, just sale when someone ask 4.Others………………………… Question 15: What is status of TDS being sold and at which price? (Select all answers that apply) Alive (fresh)………………………………………….VND/individual Death (just dead)………………………………… VND/individual Dried-form……………………………………… VND/individual A body part………………………………………VND/…… Question 16: What is the common number of TDS being sold? 1-15 30-50 16-30 >50 Question 17: Who is the customer or buyer of TDS? The harvester hunt and sell directly for visitors/ user The shops along Tay Thien collection / acquisition and resale to travelers / traders Middleman purchases in bulk (to door for ordering, collecting) Others………………… 75 If the answer is 2,3 who are they? Where are they from?……………………………………… At which quantity? ………………………………………………………… What is their purpose?…………………………………………………………… How to contact with them and vice versa ………………………………………………………………………………… Compare the price of selling TDS between middleman and tourist ………………………………………………………………………………………………… …… Question 18: How important is the wildlife trade (in this products) as a livelihood activitiy to harvester, in comparison to other livelihoods options available? The most important-almost no other activates Very important-one of only a few activities Somewhat important-one of many activities Relatively unimportant-an occasional activity Others……………………………………… Question 19: Have you ever seen people from other region brought to sell TDS in Tay Thien? Often Occasion Sometimes Never If yes, where are they from?………………………………………………………………… Question 20: Is there any difficulties in trading of TDS? There is no difficulty at all Rare, and difficult to buy Being forbidden by rangers Others…………………………… Question 21: Until now, have you ever witnessed anyone being arrested/fines for poaching and illegal trading in TDS? Often Heart from someone 76 Sometimes If Never yes, What was the penalties? III Assess the main threats to Tam Dao salamander in recent years Question 22: Can you assess the level of human impacts on Tam Dao salamander population through the following actions by circling the most appropriate number In what extent you agree or disagree with the level of human impacts on Tam Dao salamander population through the following actions by circling the most appropriate number Not affected Somewhat Moderately Bad affected Very bad affected affected Hunt for wildlife affected Logging Collect NTFPs Deforestation, and conversion of forest land to agricultural 5 5 Waste, noise, untreated wastewater from tourism activities in Habitat lost and fragmentation land Construction activities: make roads, build house, hotels, and shops Riding cattle Enviromental pollution Increase population Tay Thien IV Conservation awareness Question 23: Circle the answer that you concur with the idea about Tam Dao salamander True False Do not know 77 1.Tam Dao salamander (TDS) is an endemic and rare species and listed TDS only has/distributes in Tam Dao NP 3 Also, TDS distributes in some protected areas in Lao Cai, Bac Kan, TDS distribute all over the country TDS has in many countries in the world TDS is allowed to raise as a pet TDS is allowed to hunt for food TDS is allowed to hunt for sale TDS is allowed to hunt for medicine 10 Exlpoitation and use of TDS is a violation of law 11 State government, local authorities, managers, rangers and local 3 13 –Hunt for raising at home 14 –If seeing TDS in the wild, catch and give back them to ranger 15 –No hunt, use, and sell TDS in any case 16 - No destructive and polluting their habitat 17 - Communicate for tourists, families and friends of the rare and 3 in Vietnam Red Databook Lang Son, etc communities are duty and responsibility to conserve TDS 12 Only state government, local authorities, managers, rangers are duty and responsibility to conserve TDS, not local communities What should we to conserve TDS? endangered them 18 –Notify rangers and relevant authorities upon seeing who hunts and sells TDS Question 24: How you know the information about Tam Dao salamander (Select all answer that apply) From posters, flyers, leaflet that are distributed From a training, workshop, or meeting From TV, internet, and news From rangers, managers, or someone told you 78 V Resources management & conservation Question 25: How often the rangers patrol the park, and strict management of the exploitation of forest resources? Very often Sometimes Vary on each period of time, seasonal Never Câu 26: How often the local authority and Tam Dao NP organize meetings, conduct training, and disseminate knowledge about rare and endangered fauna and flora; introduce current policies of forest resources management? Very often Sometimes Vary on each period of time, seasonal Never If yes, when was the last activity conducted?……………………………………………… VI Personal information of respondents Name: Sex: ☐ >18 Age: Educational ☐ level Occupation ☐ Illiteracy ☐ ☐ 18-25 ☐ 1.☐ Male ☐ 25-35 Secondary school school ☐ >50 school ☐6 Post- College & graduate University ☐ ☐ ☐5 ☐6 Aquaculture Workers, Tourism- Others officials services Agriculture Forestry ☐ 35-50 ☐ High ☐5 Primary ☐ 2.☐Female Average monthly income per capital of your family ☐3triệu 02 INTERVIEW FORM FOR RANGER, STAFF OF TAM DAO NP AND MANAGERS OF TAY THIEN Name: Age: Gender Position: Investigator: date/ month/ year Question 1: Could you please provide information about population status, population size of Tam Dao salamander in Tay Thien in recent years? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 2: What is distribution of Tam Dao salamander in Tam Dao NP, especially in Tay Thien area? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 3: What are main threats that Tam Dao newts has faced or are facing? What you think about the impacts of tourism activities to Tam Dao salamander population and its conservation? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 4: What are the difficulties, and challenges in conserving, managing, and controlling Tam Dao salamander in Tay Thien area? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 5: When local people often go to catch, hunt, or trap Tam Dao salamander? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 6: Which techniques does the local often used to hunt for Tam Dao salamander? (Detail description) What is the number of individuals can be catch for each methods ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 80 Question 7: Who is primarily responsible for hunt and trade of P.deloustali? Do they plan or by opportunistic to catch this species? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 8: Who is the consumer of P.deloustali? Where they come from? At which prices, and which manners? Any information about trading network? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 9: Can you list out the laws, policies, degrees that were implemented to protect and conserve this species? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 10: Is there any program, projects, or fund for the conservation of this species in Tam Dao NP? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Name and address of some local hunters that they often hunt or had participated Tam Dao newt: Name of some restaurants, shops: Name of middlemen: 81 03 FIELD OBSERVATION FORM Observer:……………………………… .Date:………………… Weather:…………………… Transects:……………… Starting time:………………………………Ending time:…………… Catching/ hunting/ or trapping Untreated sewage Logging Noise Collecting NTFPs Wastes Cutting tree & burning for cultivation Mining Building houses, road, factory, etc 10 Others Raising cattle Time Activity GPS Coordinates 82 Location Remark 02 FIELD SURVEY FORM Observer:……………….Date:………………….Weather:…… T1: Thõng to Cậu Temple Location: Length of transects:………… T2: Cậu to Cô Temple Starting time:…………….Ending time:…………… T3: Cô to Thượng Temple Name of transects GPS coordinates Start A- Evergreen closed tropical rain forest Length End B- Bamboo forest C- Natural rehabilitated young forest after deforestation or burned or due to shifting cultivation 83 Quantity Description Evaluate the reliability of questionnaires using Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient In the questionnaire, there were three set of questions designed to assess the population status of P.deloustali in two periods of time, conservation awareness of respondents, and human impacts on P.deloustali using linker-type scale To test the reliability of these questions, the Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient was used Table shows the analytical results of Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient for some questions in the questionnaire (for more detail about Cronbach’s Alpha and data analysis, see appendix) Scale Value (α) Internal consistency 0.885 Good 0.675 Questionable 0.75 Acceptable Population of P.deloustali 2010 Population of P.deloustali in 2005 Conservation awareness Human impacts P.deloustali on From the table, it indicates that questions about assessing population status, conservation awareness, human impacts on P.deloustali population were designed consistency (except for multiple responses questions, and questions for acquiring general information) because of its Cronbach‟s Alpha all ranged from 0.6