5552 PNKB project study on PFES clean draft

Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park November 2012 Prepared for The Technical Cooperation Project “Nature Conservation and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Region” Prepared by Ms Dang Thuy Nga and Ms Annika Korte With inputs from Ms Pham Thi Lien Hoa Published by : Published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Nature Conservation and Sustainable Management of the Natural Resources in the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park Region Address 09 Quang Trung Street Dong Hoi City Quang Binh Province Viet Nam E-mail office.pn-kb@giz.de Web www.giz.de www.pnkb-quangbinh.org.vn Responsible Jens Kallabinski Image by Harald Schütz @GIZ, November 2012 STRUCTURE STRUCTURE I LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES .II I INTRODUCTION 1 II Background of Project Purpose of Study Expected Output Methodology INTRODUCTION INTO PFES III National Regulations on PFES and Tourism in PA Differences between PFES and Concessions PHONG NHA KE BANG NATIONAL PARK IV General Information Management Structure of the Park Tourism Activities and Development 10 ACTIVITIES ON PFES IN VIETNAM 13 V Current PFES Projects in Vietnam 13 Scoping Study on PFES from Tourism in the Ba Be National Park 13 Recent Efforts Regarding PFES in the Quang Binh province 14 Stakeholder Kick-Off Meeting 14 THE POTENTIAL FOR PFES FROM TOURISM IN THE PNKB NP 16 Identification of Stakeholders 16 1.1 Potential Mediators 16 a) Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park Management Board 16 1.2 Provincial Departments 16 1.3 Potential Payers 17 a) The Tourism Center and Paradise Cave 17 b) Hotels 17 c) Tour Operators 18 d) Souvenir Vendors and Boat Operators 18 1.4 Potential Providers 19 a) The Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park 19 b) Local People 19 Current Payment Arrangements of the National Park with the Tourism Sector 19 2.1 Long-term Contract with Truong Thinh Company 19 2.2 Payment for Tourism the Core Zone of the NP 20 Estimation of Payment Amounts in a PFES Scheme 20 3.1 Scenario 1: PFES based on estimated turnover 20 3.2 Scenario 2: PFES charged from visitors 22 Potential Payment Schemes 25 Potential Option for Payment Distribution and Monitoring: Participation of Local People in Forest Protection 26 VI VII CONCLUSION 31 RECOMMENDATIONS 32 Recommendations at national level 32 Recommendation at provincial level 32 Recommendations at park level 33 Recommendations at project level 33 VIII BIBLIOGRAPHY 35 ANNEX SAMPLE VISITOR QUESTIONNAIRE 36 ANNEX DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT VISITOR SURVEY 38 ANNEX INTERVIEWS OF THE PFES SCOPING STUDY 40 ANNEX CALCULATIONS OF POTENTIAL PAYER’S REVENUES 47 ANNEX REFERENCE DOCUMENT FOR KFW PARK PROTECTION FUND 49 Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park i LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure – Summary of Decree 99 …………………………………………………………………… Table – PFES vs Concession ………………………………………………… …………………… Table – Land area of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park Region ………………………………….9 Figure – Map of the PNKB NP Region ……………………………………………………………….9 Figure – Number of Visitors …………………………………………………………………………10 Figure – Tourist Motivation to Visit PNKB NP ……………………………………………….……11 Figure – Amount of Payments for FES ………………………………………………………… 21 Figure – Visitor’s Willingness to Pay ……………………………………………………………….23 Figure – Visitor’s Payments for FES ……………………………………………………………… 23 Table – Comparison of two mechanisms ………………………… ………………………… 26 Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park ii I INTRODUCTION Background of Project The Project “Nature Conservation and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Region” (in brief: PNKB Region Project) is a Vietnamese-German Development Cooperation, initiated by the Vietnamese Government in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) The project is a joint cooperation between the PPC of Quang Binh from the Vietnamese side and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the KfW Development Bank from the German side In this context, the PPC is the executing agency; GIZ and KfW support the project by means of financial and technical cooperation The project duration is years, starting from 2007 until 2015 for the technical cooperation component (GIZ), and from 2008 to 2016 for the financial cooperation (KfW) The project’s overall goal is “Contribution to the conservation of the Northern Annamite Region, its biodiversity and ecological services in close relation with a sustainable socioeconomic development” and the specific goal is “reduction of the pressure on the Phong NhaKe Bang National Park and amelioration of the legal income of the target groups living the park region” This shall be achieved by rearranging the sources of income and by familiarizing local households in the Buffer Zone with alternative livelihood activities as well as the improvement of law enforcement The main intervention areas of the project are giving assistance to:    the management of the national park (KfW has the lead during planning and implementation) the development of the buffer zone (GIZ has the lead during the planning and KfW supports the implementation) the tourism development in the PNKB NP region (GIZ has the lead during the planning and KfW supports the implementation); This list shows that tourism is one of the main focuses of the project; being an allencompassing topic for the project and the park Developing tourism in a sustainable manner is imperative for the protection of the park’s resources but also for development of the Buffer Zone With the project support via the GIZ component, a Sustainable Tourism Development Plan (STDP) for the PNKB region for the period 2010 - 2020 has been developed and approved by the PPC of Quang Binh (Decision No 2822/QD-UBND dated 01/11/2010) The STDP lays out the strategy for sustainable tourism development for PNKB region for 10 years in the context of consideration of the importance to the nature conservation, notably biodiversity conservation The STDP provides guidelines and activities for involving communities in poverty reduction and livelihood improvement as well as environmental protection Furthermore, it requests the development of innovative financial mechanisms Purpose of Study The continuous growth in tourism, the lasting threats of illegal logging and poaching to the National Park combined with low level of livelihood in the Buffer Zone suggest a high necessity for the consideration of a sustainable finance mechanism A sustainable finance mechanism, such as a PFES mechanism, would allow re-investments in biodiversity conser- Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park -1- vation of the park as well as benefit sharing with local people This could enable more sustainable tourism development as well as to preserve the park’s World Heritage Status in the long run In the context of tourism, a PFES scheme aims at identifying and connecting those that profit from an environmental service (i.e tourism businesses) and those that provide the environmental service (i.e those who protect the park) In November 2011, a feasibility study on PFES from Tourism was conducted in the Ba Be National Park This study was supported by the GIZ Project ‘Preservation of biodiversity in forest ecosystems in Vietnam’ in Hanoi The study found that the potential payments for ecosystem services generated in Ba Be National Park are not sufficient for a sustainable PFES scheme solely based on tourism Major challenges were the identification of potential payers and providers, due to a large diversity of small scale stakeholders It was found that considerable PFES payments could be generated through direct visitor payments in a form of an additional entrance fee ticket Facing the continuous growth of tourism in the PNKB NP region and encouraged by the feasibility study in Ba Be National Park, the potential for PFES from Tourism was to be assessed in the PNKB NP region The PNKB NP has considerably more income from Tourism than the Ba Be National Park, due to much higher visitor numbers; consequently, higher amounts of PFES are likely to be generated However, since the PNKB NP does also comprise many small scale stakeholders, which could make the identification of potential payers difficult, the possibility of a visitor payment was assessed as well To explore opportunities for innovative financing mechanisms in the PNKB Region, the project conducted this study to scope out the potential for PFES from Tourism This relates to ways in which payments made by the tourism sector can be used to support biodiversity conservation in the PNKB NP region This includes the identification of potential payers and providers of environmental services An additional reason for the study was to give feedback from the local level of implementation to the national level of policy formulation The study in the Ba Be National Park showed that Decree No 99/2010/ND-CP (in the further course of the study called Decree 99) is a young regulation with many limitations in regards to tourism and still open to revision A further study in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park is perceived as being helpful for further recommendation on the formulation of Decree 99 regarding PFES from Tourism In conclusion, three main reasons gave motivation to the feasibility study on PFES from Tourism in the PNKB NP region:    To assess PFES as an instrument for sustainable planning and financing of tourism, livelihood improvement, and conservation in the PNKB NP region To underpin and further develop the findings of the Study in Ba Be NP To give recommendation for policy formulation on national level Expected Output The overall objective of the study is to find out how tourism development can contribute to the improvement of the park’s conservation via PFES According to the Terms of Reference, the objectives of the study are:     To assess how PFES is perceived and appreciated by different stakeholders in PNKB To estimate potential PFES payment To identify appropriate ways of payment delivery & coordination mechanisms To recommend possible options for a PFES Scheme Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park -2-  To identify suitable PFES mechanism from tourism for PNKB NP The assessment of stakeholder’s perception of PFES includes the analysis of the Quang Binh PPC’s plans and abilities to introduce PFES from Tourism and to enable revenuesharing among the PNKB Management Board and local communities As well, the ability of the PNKB NP Management Board to reinvest the revenues generated from tourism PFES in biodiversity conservation and associated activities should be assessed, including the benefitsharing with local people Moreover, the willingness of potential PFES payers (tour operators, hotels, souvenir vendors, etc.) to make payments is evaluated The estimation of potential payments includes the identification of roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders and the suggestion of possible levels of payments Following that, the identification of payment delivery & coordination mechanisms includes the suggestion of different ways in which PFES can be charged and collected This includes proposals on the management and use of revenues from tourism PFES, together with their administration and distribution between different forest owners and Quang Binh PPC, as well as their retention and management by PNKB NP Management Board On the basis of these findings, possible options for a PFES Scheme and suitable PFES mechanism from tourism for PNKB NP shall be identified The models should include rough cost-benefit analyses which indicate the likely payments generated, their distribution (payment receivers), and the costs of PFES administration and co-ordination Finally, specific recommendations for relevant issues, notably concrete options for further support by the project and a roadmap for implementing the most recommended option shall be given Methodology The scoping study was conducted between 6th and 18th of June 2012, concluding with a debrief session on the final day of the study From 6th to 11th of June, desk study and meetings in Dong Hoi have been organized After that further interviews and meetings took place in Phong Nha Village from the 12th until the 15th of June The days of 16th and 17th of June were used for assembling the gathered data and preparing the debrief session on 18th of June The applied methods to gather information for the study included the analysis of secondary data, meetings with representatives of political agencies at provincial level and semistructured interviews with relevant stakeholders In regards to the analysis of secondary data, this report took information from different sources into consideration, such as information from the Sustainable Tourism Development Plan (STDP), the report on a stakeholder analysis in the PNKB NP region, the baseline survey on tourism development in Phong Nha and data from the tax offices in Dong Hoi and Bo Trach District The meetings with political representatives included consultations with the Director of the Department of Forestry (DoF), with the Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports (DoTSC), with the Vice Director of the National Park’s Tourism Center and with the Vice Director of the National Park Furthermore, a meeting with experts from the Cologne & Frankfurt Zoo Society based in Phong Nha Village has been organized In these meetings, issues such as possible ways to apply PFES from tourism in the region and the potential of a ‘PFES ticket’ for visitors, already existing payment agreements with the National Park and the state of forest protection were discussed The stakeholder interviews have been conducted with six hotels in Phong Nha Village, with Chay Lap Homestay (the only Homestay in the PNKB region), and Phong Nha Farm- Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park -3- stay, a hotel owned by an Australian Vietnamese couple and a popular destination for international visitors of the region Moreover, three boat operators were interviewed, including the head of the local boat group, and six souvenir vendors located at the boat landing to Phong Nha Cave In addition to that, two local tour operators, Oxalis and Phong Nha Discovery, were interviewed Unfortunately, the survey of more stakeholders was not possible due to time restraints In preparation of the scoping study, a visitor’s survey was conducted from 23rd to 26th of May 2012 During the visitor survey, 167 visitors of the national park have been asked about their willingness to pay for conservation, their motivation to visit the region and their travel practices, including the number of overnight stays and means of transportation This information was helpful to observe how PFES payments can be gathered and who the potential payers are during the scoping study on PFES (see Annex for the Questionnaire) Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park -4- II INTRODUCTION INTO PFES National Regulations on PFES and Tourism in PA In 2010, the government prepared Decree 99 as the national policy for PFES The PFES term is used in Vietnam only and is defined in Decree 99 (2010, Art 3(3)) as follows: “Payment for forest environmental services (PFES) is a supply and payment relationship in which the users of forest environmental services pay to the suppliers of forest environmental services” The decree contains specific information about the providers and users of ecosystem services, the management of these very services, the rights and obligation of providers and suppliers in order to enable fair payments schemes, as well as the responsibilities of state agencies In this study, the important regulations regarding PFES from Tourism shall be reviewed only As proposed by Decree 99 (2010, Art 4), the types of ecosystem services relating to tourism are “protection of natural landscape” and “conservation of biodiversity” of forest ecosystems Therefore, “Organizations and individuals doing tourism services that benefit from forest environmental services have to pay for services for protection of natural landscape and conservation of biodiversity of forest ecosystems serving tourism purposes” (Decree 99/2010, Art 7(4)) The naming of payers and providers is the task of each Provincial Peoples Committee (PPC)1; the level of payment is calculated on the basis of the payer’s revenue and may range between 1-2% (Decree 99 2010, Art 11 (4)) Actors entitled to receive payments for ecosystem services are forest owners or actors contracted by the forest owners, which can be organizations, households or village communities (Decree 99 2010, Art 8) Decree 99 issues regulations on how funds collected through a PFES scheme should be administered; either through direct or indirect payment The method of direct payment proposes the direct exchange of payments between buyers and providers of environmental services The method of direct payment can be based on voluntary negotiations between payers and providers, and the amount of payment must not be lower than 1%-2% of the revenues (Decree 99 2010, Art 6(1)) Contrarily, the method of indirect payment asks for the inclusion of an intermediary fund and is obligatory for every beneficiary named by the responsible authority This fund should be established either at national, provincial, or district level – depending on the needs of the regarding payment scheme If a fund is being established, up to 10% of the PFES revenues can be used for administrative purposes Upon the decision of the PPC, other agencies or organizations may act in place of an intermediary fund (Decree 99 2010, Art 11-18) The main state agency responsible for implementing Decree 99 at provincial level is the PPC The PPC in turn directs the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) as the lead agency (Decree 99 2010, Art 22) Figure gives an overview of the main points included in Decree 99 Vietnam’s administrative structure is separated in 58 provinces Each of the provinces is administered by a Provincial Peoples Committee (PPC) The PPC is the main governmental committee heading several sub-divisions, called Departments These departments are, for example, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) or the Department of Planning and Investment (DPI) Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park -5- Payers: Providers: Organizations and individuals doing tourism services (as identified by PPC); 1-2% of revenues (in case of indirect payment: more than 1-2% possible) Forest owners or actors contracted by forest owners that can be: organizations, households, or village communities Ecosystem Services: "protection of natural landscape” + “conservation of biodiversity Allocation of Funds: Responsibility for Implementation: Direct Payment or Indirect Payment through an intermediary PPC assigns DARD Figure - Summary of Decree 99 In addition to Decree 99, the government has issued different legal documents guiding for setting up payment schemes Those documents include (Source: Dang 2012):  Decree 99/2010 (24/9/2010) about payment for forest environmental services - Decision 119/QD-TCLN-BNNPTNT (21/3/2012): temporary guidance of procedures for registry, list, and signing entrusted contracts of PFES - Circular 20/TT-BNNPTNT (7/5/2012): guiding on procedures of checking and approving forest protection and disbursement of PFES - Circular 80/TT-BNNPTNT (23/11/2011): guiding on methodology applied to identify payment for forest environmental services  Decree 117/2010 (24/12/2010) about management, organization special used forest system - Circular 78/2011/BNNPTN (11/11/2011) about detail regulations for implementation Decree 117/2020 about management, organization special used forest system - Decree 05/2008 (14/1/2008) about forest protection and development fund - Circular 85/2012/BTC (25/5/2012): guidance of financial management for forest protection and development fund  Decision 24/2012/TTg (1/6/2012) about investment and development policy for special use forests in period of 2011-2020  Decision 07/2012/QD-TTg (8/2/2012) promulgation of some policies to enhance forest protection Differences between PFES and Concessions A tourism concession would be an official authorisation to operate a commercial tourism activity in PNKB NP It should be seen as a co-operative agreement between two beneficiaries – the management and regulatory authority and the tourism operator and investor The tourism concession may be in the form of a lease, licence, permit or easement Tourism concessions would be required for all commercial tourism activities and developments in PNKB NP – from accommodation development to tourism activities to tourism infrastructure The following table illustrates the differences between PFES and Concessions: Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park -6- Annex Detailed Information about Visitor Survey Visitor’s Willingness to Pay Number of Answers (n) Total Willingness to Pay 35 5.000 10.000 57 20.000 29 40.000 50.000 18 60.000 100.000 120.000 150.000 200.000 157 Average Willingness to Pay: 31.800 Missing n 10 n 167 Reason for no Willingness to Pay: Government should pay for it I cannot effort to pay 12 No reason 11 Unsure if the money is really used for protection No detailed information about the purpose of the fee Other: We had to pay a ticket for our year old son We don't see why we should pay more There is no need for conservation, the park is already nice Money wouldn't be sufficient, the area is too large I don't want to pay extra charges Overnight Stay of Visitor Phong Nha Village 11 (12%) Overnight Stay 93 (62%) Dong Hoi 69 (74%) No Overnight Stay 58 (38%) Other* 13 (14%) Total 151 93 *Other: Farmstay (5), Da Nhay Beach (2), not decided yet where to stay (3), visit family (2), live in Dong Hoi (1) Missing n n 16 167 Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 38 - Means of Transport used to go to PNKB NP Tour Operator n Group Bus 47 Private Car 58 Other 44 Total Missing n Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park 154 13 167 - 39 - Annex Interviews of the PFES Scoping Study Meeting with Department of Forestry Venue: Meeting Room of the Department of Forestry Date: June 7th, 2012 Time: 8:00 – 9:30 Participants: Nguyen Van Long, Director of DoF Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Truong Si Hong Chau, GIZ Project Staff Questions: What is the potential of PFES in Quang Binh Province? Do you plan to set up a Forest Protection and Development Fund (FPDF)? Who are the Forest Service Providers in the PNKB region? Do you have information about the allocation of forest to local households (red book)? If PFES is implemented, which payment shall be paid? 1% or 2%? Should hotels in Dong Hoi pay for PFES? Do you know other decisions regarding PFES? What is about potential providers of PFES? Could local households be included? How should they be rewarded? Meeting with Phong Nha Discovery Venue: Sells Office of Phong Nha Discovery Date: June 7th, 2012 Time: 10:00 -11:30 Participants: Vu Trong Hung, Executive Director of PN Discovery Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Truong Si Hong Chau, GIZ Project Staff Questions: Who are tour operators in PNKB? What tours you offer? What fees you pay to the park? How many tours you offer a year? How many customers you have? Which sights in PNKB have an entrance fee? How much tax you pay? Have you heard of PFES before? Would you be willing to pay? How would you prefer to pay? Share of revenue or fixed amount? Meeting with Tourism Association Venue: Office of Nguyen Van Thanh Date: June 7th, 2012 Time: 14:00 -15:30 Participants: Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of Tourism Association Quang Binh Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 40 - Questions: How many businesses are member of your association? Work of the Association What you think of an entrance fee to the National Park? Did you hear of PFES before? Do you know what it is? Shall hotels pay PFES? How would you charge hotels in Phong Nha? Would you charge 1% or 2%? How would you calculate the payments from the hotels? Who are the main beneficiaries of PFES in PNKB region? Do tour operators have to pay a fee to the park? How can PFES payments best be organized? How is tourism expected to develop in the next years? Meeting with Department of Tourism Venue: Office of the Deputy Director of the Department Date: June 11th, 2012 Time: 14:00 -15:30 Participants: Nguyen Van Ky, Deputy Director of the Department Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Nguyen Minh Duc, GIZ Project Staff (Interpreter) Questions: What you know about PFES? Who are potential PFES payers in PNKB? Should we charge the businesses or is it better to charge visitors directly? What you think about charging a fixed rate from the tourism businesses instead? We also consider the possibility of an additional PFES-ticket for the visitors Do you think that would be a possible alternative? There is a gap between tourism numbers from the DoSTC and the National Park Do you know why that is? What you think about the idea to privatize the tourism center? Will the province apply for piloting the privatization in Vietnam? How are the prices set for visiting the caves? What tour operators pay for tours in the park? Meeting with Oxalis Venue: Sells Office of Oxalis Date: June 12th, 2012 Time: 10:00am -11:30am Participants: Dzung Le, Operation Manager of Oxalis Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Nguyen Minh Duc, GIZ Project Staff (Interpreter) Questions: What you know about PFES? Have you heard about it before? Do you know what this environmental service fee is used for? Is the environmental fee announced to your costumers? How many tours in the core zone of the park you offer? If you would pay PFES, how much would you be willing to pay? Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 41 - What kind of taxes you pay? We consider introducing a PFEs ticket for visitors What you think about that? How many customers you have? Meeting with Chay Lap Homestay Venue: House of the Head of Commune (at same time Head of Chay Lap Homestay) Date: June 7th, 2012 Time: 10:30am -11:30am Participants: Mr Thai, Head of Chay Lap Commune Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Nguyen Minh Duc, GIZ Project Staff (Interpreter) Questions: Can you tell us a little bit about Chay Lap Commune and Chay Lap Homestay? How much are the room prices? Do you have any profit? What you think of PFES? Who should pay for landscape beauty? Meeting with Cologne and Frankfurt Zoo Society Venue: Dung Hue Restaurant Date: June 12th, 2012 Time: 10:00am -11:30am Participants: Dirk, Frankfurt Zoo Society Jana, Cologne Zoo Thomas, Volunteer from the German Program ‘Weltwärts’ Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff What you think about the National Park? How you support the park in their task of forest protection? What are the salaries of the forest rangers? What you know about illegal logging and poaching activities? What people earn with illegal logging/poaching? Do you think the park is involved in corruption? What you think, what are reasons for the bad performance in forest protection of the national park? Do you think other people in the villages know who the illegal loggers/poacher are? Meeting with Farmstay Venue: Farmstay Hotel Date: June 12th, 2012 Time: 18:00 -20:00 Participants: Ben, Owner of Farmstay Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Anna Hübner, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 42 - Questions What you think about the idea of PFES? Would you be willing to pay? Would you prefer to pay directly to the park or rather to a provincial fund? How many rooms you have? What is your occupancy rate? What you think about the National Park? What you know about illegal logging and poaching activities? Do you think the park is involved in corruption? What you think, what are reasons for the bad performance in forest protection of the national park? Do you think other people in the villages know who the illegal loggers/poacher are? Meeting with Tourism Center of the National Park Venue: Office of the Vice Director of the Tourism Center Date: June 13th, 2012 Time: 8:00 -10:00 Participants: Mr Nguyen, Vice Director of the Tourism Center Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Nguyen Minh Duc, GIZ Project Staff (Interpreter) Questions: What you know about PFES? What are your activities on this topic? What the tour operators have to pay for these tours in the Core Zone of the park? What happens with the fees that you collect? We consider the option of a central PFES ticket for tourists What you think of that? What you think about Decree 24 and the request to privatize the tourism center? What are the sources of income of the Tourism Center? How could PFES be collected from Hotels and Restaurants? What you think about the potential of tourism in Phong Nha? Will it increase in future? Meeting with Boat Operators Venue: Tourism Center in Phong Nha Village Date: June 13th, 2012 Time: 10:30 -11:30 Boat Operator One Questions: How many rides to you offer per week/month? Do you pay taxes for your business? What you think about PFES? Would you increase the prices, if you had to pay PFES? Do you have other sources of income? Boat Operator Questions: How many rides to you offer per week/month? Do you have other sources of income? What you think of PFES? Boat Operator (also head of the local boat cooperative) Questions: How much you profit from your boat business? What is the total amount of boats in the cooperative? Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 43 - What you think about PFES? Interviews with Hotels Venue: Center of Phong Nha Village Date: June 13th, 2012 Time: 17:00 -19:00 Participants: Hotel Owner/Manager of the particular hotel Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Nguyen Minh Duc, GIZ Project Staff (Interpreter) The semi-structured interviews with the hotels have been on an informal basis In the evening of June 13th, Nga and I, with the support of Duc as interpreter, went to six hotels in Phong Nha Village to interview them about PFES For the interview, hotels have been chosen randomly by walking through the ‘center’ of Phong Nha Village, where most hotels are located Due to the evening hour and the circumstance that most hotels are familyrun, the owner of the hotel was commonly available for a short interview Every interview was around 10 -15 Minutes long No one of the hotels knew what PFES or Decree 99 is; hence we introduced them to the topic before starting the interview Hotel 1: Phuong Nam Hotel Questions: What you think about the idea of PFES? Would you be willing to pay? Would you prefer to pay a fixed rate or a share of your revenue? Would you prefer to pay directly to the park or rather to a provincial fund? How many rooms you have? What is you occupancy rate? Hotel 2: Hoang Vu Hotel Questions: What you think about the idea of PFES? Would you be willing to pay? Would you prefer to pay a fixed rate or a share of your revenue? Would you prefer to pay directly to the park or rather to a provincial fund? Would you increase the hotel rates if you had to pay PFES? How many rooms you have? What is your occupancy rate? Hotel 3: Hoan Linh Hotel Questions: What you think about the idea of PFES? Would you be willing to pay? Would you prefer to pay a fixed rate or a share of your revenue? Would you prefer to pay directly to the park or rather to a provincial fund? How many rooms you have? What is your occupancy rate? Hotel 4: Phong Nha Hotel Questions: What you think about the idea of PFES? Would you be willing to pay? Would you prefer to pay a fixed rate or a share of your revenue? How many rooms you have? What is you occupancy rate? Hotel 5: Song Son Hotel Questions: What you think about the idea of PFES? Would you be willing to pay? Would you prefer to pay a fixed rate or a share of your revenue? Would you prefer to pay directly to the park or rather to a provincial fund? Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 44 - Would you increase the hotel rates if you had to pay PFES? How many rooms you have? What is you occupancy rate? Hotel 5: Hotel Saigon Phong Nha Questions: What you think about the idea of PFES? Would you be willing to pay? Would you prefer to pay a fixed rate or a share of your revenue? Would you prefer to pay directly to the park or rather to a provincial fund? Would you increase the hotel rates if you had to pay PFES? How many rooms you have? What is you occupancy rate? Meeting with the National Park Venue: Meeting room at the National Park’s Headquarters in Bo Trach District Date: June 14th, 2012 Time: 16:00-17:30 Participants: Mr Huyen, Vice Director of the National Park Mr Tri, Director of Research Center of the National Park Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Nguyen Minh Duc, GIZ Project Staff (Interpreter) Questions: What are the tasks of the National Park? How many tourists did you receive in 2011? What can you tell us about the forest lease contract with Paradise Cave? Is there a roadmap on PFES in Quang Binh? What you think about Circular 24? What you think about introducing a central PFES ticket for visitors? Something like an entrance ticket? What you think about including the private sector more intensely into tourism in the National Park Core Zone? What is about trekking tours in the Core Zone? Do you think the Forest Protection Fund proposed by the KfW could be included in a PFES scheme? What information can you give us about the 661 program? And including local people in forest protection? What you think about contracting locals under Decree 99? Include them in Benefit Sharing? Meeting with Forest Protection Department Venue: Office of the FPD Director Date: June 15th, 2012 Time: 16:00-17:30 Participants: Pham Hong Thai, Director of FPD Dang Thuy Nga, Winrock International Consultant Pham Thi Lien Hoa, GIZ Project Staff Annika Korte, GIZ Project Staff Nguyen Minh Duc, GIZ Project Staff (Interpreter) Questions: What you know about PFES? What are you activities regarding PFES? What you think about contracting local people in forest protection? In recent interviewed it was estimated that locals earn about 200.000 VND a day with illegal logging What would you against that? Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 45 - What is the current state of the forest in the NP? Do you have figures? What you think about the Forest Protection Fund proposed by KfW? What you think about the state of law enforcement in PNKB? Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 46 - Calculations of Potential Payer’s Revenues Annex Calculations of Local Tour Operator's Revenues The local tour operator’s revenues have been very difficult to estimate There was not tax-information available yet Due to this we had to make estimations on the basis of information we found in the operator’s homepages and numbers stated during the interviews However, the following calculation is a rather vague estimation and needs to be reassessed if used in practice Tour Operator Tour Oxalis Hang En Tour Cave Tour* Phong Nha Discovery Number Of People that book a Tour*** Hang En Tour Cave Tour* 480 2.000 300 2.000 Price (VND)** Revenues (VND) PFES Payment (1%) 5.000.000 1.000.000 Sum: 2.400.000.000 2.000.000.000 4.400.000.000 44.000.000 5.000.000 1.000.000 Sum: 1.500.000.000 2.000.000.000 3.500.000.000 35.000.000 * A one day tour to Phong Nha Cave and Paradise Cave ** The prices have been estimated on the basis of data found at the homepage of one of the tour operators *** The number of customers was estimated on the basis of mentioned amounts during the interviews Calculations of Boat Operator's Revenues Boat to one cave Boat to two caves Fee paid to tourism center Revenues of Operators Price of Boat Ticket* 220.000 250.000 Number of sold Tickets* 22.661 8.249 3% - Total (VND) 4.985.420.000 2.062.250.000 211430100 6.836.239.900 * Information received from the ticket counter of the Tourism Center Calculations of Farmstay’s Revenues Farmstay Rooms Average price per room/bed Occupancy Rate Occupied Rooms per Year (365days) Annual Revenues (VND) Dormitory Beds 10 600.000 160.000 85% 85% 2792,25 3102,5 1.675.350.000 496.400.000 2.171.750.000 Calculations of Souvenir Vendor’s Revenues Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 47 - Average Revenue/Day/Stall* Seasonal Revenue 68.000 6.800.000 High Season (100 days) 22.000 5.830.000 Low Season (265 days) 12.630.000 Total Annual Revenue per Stall 25 No Of Stalls Total Revenues 315.750.000 * Estimations are based on internal project report written by Anna Hübner (2012, 19) Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 48 - Annex Reference Document for KfW Park Protection Fund Summary A Park Protection Fund for joint patrolling and ecological monitoring as well as legal prosecution will be established on condition that the fund amount will be gradually replaced and entirely operated by the partner’s own financial resources after year Relatively high contingencies (FC 20%, VC 13,8%) accommodate for proposed extension of the PNKB NP, regional NP integration and the participatory and flexible project approach required Excerpts: The activity is expected to start immediately with project launch A comprehensive and fully operational system should be in place after the first project year Estimated costs of Euro 873,000 comprise of the Park Protection Fund (Euro 623,274 over years or Euro 77,909 annually), and Euro 250,000 for operation of 50 village conservation groups or 5,000 Euro/group/year, plus related training costs The costs are specified based on projection of what FFI have done with just villages, assuming a focus on c 50 priority villages close to the park border The project will have to design suitable longer-term solutions for funding of law enforcement activities using non-project funds (ref to com 8) 5.3.7 Establish and monitor Park Protection Fund In view of currently insufficient operational funding, protection performance and rising tourist revenues the project will facilitate the implementation of a fund management system under the jurisdiction of the National Park by a) establishing a bank account and b) developing guidelines and regulations for a system of prioritizing interventions and respective disbursement of operational funds It is understood by the Authorities that this Park Protection Fund (see above) is established and operated under the conditionality of proper fund performance and proper maintenance of annual funding levels also after year (and project termination) to be provided by the PNKB National Park and/or PPC QB The National Park will prepare monthly financial and technical reports Performance will be monitored through independent quarterly evaluation and annual independent audits A special ‘Park Protection Fund’ will be established under condition of its continuation by the partner after the project The Fund will cover a wide range of basic operation in the national park such as running costs of equipment, patrol and law enforcement incentives, wildlife rescue and other items currently chronically under-funded An amount of up to 10,000 Euro can be monthly withdrawn against approval of PPMU/CTA Annual turnover of this fund is Euro 78,000 Initially this fund will be 100% under KfW funding, but over the lifetime of the project the PPC and NP together will design a top up mechanism drawing funds from tourism revenues so that after year this fund will be sustained in the required annual volume 100% under park management (partner contribution) (see under section 5.3.7) In view of the great need for financing of patrolling and legal follow-up and the current situation it is suggested by the FS team to establish a Park Protection fund also for special operations, which will be in the beginning once sourced by KfW, but after year handed over for full operation by the partner/Park management Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 49 - Draft Operation Concept (from the International Financial Consultant on February 2012) The PPF expenses shall be covered by two different financing mechanisms: A Park Protection Fund Account (PPFA) and Saving Accounts for Village Conservation Groups The German Financial Cooperation agrees to a financial contribution, on condition that the PPF amount will be gradually replaced and entirely operated by the partner’s own financial resources after the end of the Project Activities The following activities, which will be identified according to priority has been set up by PNKB NP and PNKB NP FPD, will be financed by the PPFA: Law Enforcement incentive system, including Interagency Cooperation and Border Police Tracking of cases by PNKB NP FPD, Interagency Cooperation Intelligence network for PNKB NP on case basis Interagency Cooperation extraordinary LEAP activities PNKB NP protection and Interagency Cooperation exchange program activities Consumables Forest Fire Control/ Prevention Equipment for Forest Fire Control Establish and operate Forest Fire Control Groups Disaster / Flood prevention Daily patrols along HCM highway and road 20 Patrol costs Prerequisites: Before withdrawals can be done, some prerequisites must have been achieved: Training of PNKB NP rangers and a review of the PNKB NP protection system, in line with the MoU between PNKB Region Project and the CBBC project of October 2009 (CBBC MoU), have been undertaken, and recommendations have been implemented Interagency Cooperation, the development of which will be supported through the guidance of the CBBC project, is operational Civil Society Monitoring is operational Annual budget Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 50 - An annual detailed budget and financing plan will be established by PNKB NP Management Board together with AHT CO, according to the initial budget and financing plan, upon which all parties agreed in the promulgated MoU, and not exceeding a monthly withdrawal of 10.000 Euros This annual budget shall clearly present the respective financial contribution of all parties: PNKB Region Project German Financial Contribution PNKB Region Project Vietnamese Contribution PPC Contribution Monitoring and Auditing The performance of PPFA will be be quarterly monitored through the Civil Society Monitoring system This system will be formulated in the PPF operational framework An audit of the proper management of PPFA will be annually performed by an independent auditing company Scoping Study for Payment of Forest Environmental Services (PFES) from tourism in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - 51 - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Nature Conservation and Sustainable Management of the Natural Resources in the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park Region Address 09 Quang Trung Street Dong Hoi City Quang Binh Province Viet Nam E-mail office.pn-kb@giz.de Web www.giz.de www.pnkb-quangbinh.com.vn ... Option for Payment Distribution and Monitoring: Participation of Local People in Forest Protection 26 VI VII CONCLUSION 31 RECOMMENDATIONS 32 Recommendations... ideally the concession holder like a tourism business operator have clear operating and conservation responsibilities Responsible tourism will contribute to conserving and protecting the National Park... the National Park To strengthen conservation awareness of the people in the Buffer Zone of the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park To cooperate with international and national institutions for