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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMEN VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY LE THI NGAN BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ECO TOURISM IN CAT BA NATIONAL PARK - HAI PHONG MAJOR: FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CODE No: 9620211 SUMMARY OF PhD DISSERTATION HANOI, 2021 This scientific work has been accomplished at Vietnam National University of Forestry Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Pham Ngoc Linh Assoc Prof Dr Dong Thanh Hai Reviewer 1: ………………………………………… Reviewer 2: ………………………………………… Reviewer 3: ………………………………………… This Doctoral dissertation will be defended in front of the University Doctoral Committee at Vietnam National University of Forestry, Hanoi, Vietnam at …… This dissertation can be found at: - National Library of Viet Nam - Library of Vietnam National University of Forestry DANH MỤC CƠNG TRÌNH ĐÃ CƠNG BỐ NHỮNG CƠNG TRÌNH LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN LUẬN ÁN Lê Thị Ngân, Đồng Thanh Hải (2020) Đánh giá tiềm đa dạng sinh học đề xuất số giải pháp phát triển du lịch sinh thái Vườn quốc gia Cát Bà Tạp chí nơng nghiệp phát triển nông thôn, kỳ 2, tháng 1/2021, tr 131-140 Lê Thị Ngân, Đồng Thanh Hải (2021) Nghiên cứu nhận thức thái độ cộng đồng địa phương đến phát triển du lịch sinh thái Vườn quốc gia Cát Bà Tạp chí khoa học cơng nghệ Lâm nghiệp, 4/2021, tr 96-106 INTRODUCTION Research importance Cat Ba National Park plays an important role in biodiversity conservation, nature conservation, and ecotourism Implementing guidelines and policies for ecotourism development, Cat Ba National Park is one of seven national parks that are conducting joint ventures and organizing ecotourism activities Revenue from organizing ecotourism activities initially contributed to the development of the park However, like other national parks and protected areas in Vietnam, the implementation of ecotourism activities here is still facing many obstacles in terms of policy mechanisms, master plans, and stakeholders Up to now, Cat Ba National Park has not yet had an approved ecotourism development project To develop eco-tourism sustainably, the National Park needs a specific project and an overall solution One of the solutions is to develop ecotourism associated with biodiversity conservation The scientific basis for the development of ecotourism in association with biodiversity conservation is to first clarify what is the potential for biodiversity for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park? According to previous studies (Hoang Van Cau, 2017; Hoang Van Phuc, 2016), ecotourism routes and sites in Cat Ba National Park have only exploited the biodiversity potential in the areas surrounding the National Park Center Moreover, the typical eco-tourism types and tourist attractions of the National Park such as watching wildlife (Cat Ba Langur, Chamois, Cat Ba Leopard Gecko - Goniurosaurus catbaensis ) have not been exploited yet The second question is to determine what are the potential areas for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park? The current number of sites being exploited in the park does not seem to be commensurate with its potential Therefore, it is necessary to have an overall assessment based on the criteria of natural, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the adaptive areas, thereby functioning as a scientific basis for planning tourist areas ecology of the Cat Ba National Park The third question is how to attract the participation of local communities in ecotourism activities of Cat Ba National Park Until now, the participation of the local community and their activities is only spontaneous, there is no mechanism for participation, so the participation of the local community is still finite Research on the status of participation, factors promoting and hindering participation, as well as attitudes and awareness of the community towards ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation are essential for proposing policies to engage the community Once it is clear about the biodiversity potential for ecotourism development, potential areas and the factors promoting and hindering community participation as well as their awareness and attitudes towards development ecotourism will be the scientific basis for the National Park and planners to develop policies and plans for sustainable ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park Research objectives Overall objective: Provide the scientific and practical basis for the orientation of ecotourism development associated with biodiversity conservation for sustainable development of Cat Ba National Park, Hai Phong Detail objective: - Assessing the current status of ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park; - Identifying potential ecotourism areas in Cat Ba National Park; - Assessing the level of participation, attitude and awareness of the community towards ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park; - Proposing solutions to develop eco-tourism associated with biodiversity conservation Thesis structure The thesis is constructed on 160 pages with 22 tables; 53 figures, including 03 diagrams and 14 maps; 07 appendices In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion, the main content of the thesis includes 04 chapters: Introduction Chapter 1: Research overview Chapter 2: Characteristics of the research areas Chapter 3: Research contents and methods Chapter 4: Research results Conclusions Chapter 1: RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1.1 Theoretical basis of ecotourism 1.1.1 The concept of ecotourism According to Article 3, Law 09/2017/QH14 on tourism defines: “ Eco-tourism” means a form of tourism that is based on nature, connected with the local cultural identity and participated by local communities in combination with environmental education.” (National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 2017) The research will use this definition to approach the research content of the thesis topic 1.1.2 Types of ecotourism Currently, the types of ecotourism are often divided as follows: - Eco-tourism in the mountains and at the sea; - Nature sightseeing tourism; - Eco-tourism research (nature, flora and fauna); - Adventure tourism; Moreover, one can be more specific than the above types such as: ecotourism with village scenery; ecotourism studies marine flora and fauna; ecotourism studies the flora and fauna (of the conservation area, region, region) 1.1.3 Features of ecotourism Summarizing the studies of Honey (2008), Drunm (2000), Pham Trung Luong et al (2002), ecotourism is a specific type of tourism associated with natural tourism resources and cultural factors, local history The authors have summarized the basic characteristics of ecotourism below: - Based on attractive natural sites and indigenous cultural elements - Ensure ecological sustainability, support conservation - Have environmental education - Encourage local communities to participate and enjoy tourism benefits - Provide high-quality travel experiences to visitors 1.1.4 The role of ecotourism development According to the World Ecotourism Association (TIES), ecotourism has many meanings, including some of the following roles: economic, social, environmental and other roles 1.1.5 Issues related to sustainable eco-tourism development Sustainable development always includes factors that are interrelated with each other, including economic factors, social factors, security and safety factors, cultural factors, and ecological factors The model of principles and values of sustainable ecotourism has been developed by Wight (1997), in which 03 groups of economic, social and environmental objectives are considered to be of equal importance and must be solved in a balanced way to achieve sustainable development 1.2 Developing ecotourism in association with biodiversity conservation 1.2.1 The concept of biodiversity Nowadays, many definitions of biodiversity exist (WWF, 1989; CBD, 1992) Although definitions have different expressions of biodiversity, it includes three levels: genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity In this study, biodiversity is understood as the richness of genes, species of organisms and ecosystems in nature (National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 2008) 1.1.2 Conservation of biodiversity Conservation of biodiversity is the process of managing the interactions between people and genes, species and ecosystems in order to provide the greatest benefit to the present generation while maintaining the potential to meet the needs of them to future generations 1.2.3 The connection between ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation There is a reciprocal relationship between tourism development and biodiversity conservation, whereby biodiversity is a potential resource for ecotourism development In the opposite direction, tourism development always has both positive and negative impacts on biodiversity conservation Accordingly, if tourism development is following the principles of sustainable development, it will contribute positively to generating revenue for tourism activities conservation activities, raising tourists' understanding of the meaning of biodiversity conservation, thereby limiting the impacts from visitors to Biodiversity However, besides the optimistic impacts, tourism development will also have pessimistic impacts on biodiversity conservation arising from the concentration of tourists exceeding the limit of ecological capacity at the destination; from hunting and exploiting rare and precious species to serve the needs of tourists 1.3 Applying GIS and AHP in identifying potential ecotourism areas The application of GIS and AHP techniques to map ecotourism potentials has been applied by different scholars in different regions of the world because of the ability to collect, store, retrieve, manage, display spatial data visualization and analysis (Ghamgosar 2011; Kumari et al 2010; Chandio et al 2013; Saaty 1980; Satty and Vargas 2001; Bunruamkaew and Murayama, 2011) The authors used indexes to identify potential ecotourism sites such as wildlife distribution index, ecological value index, ecotourism attractiveness index, environmental resilience index and index ecotourism diversity, landscape, wildlife, topography, accessibility and community characteristics to assess the suitability of a site for ecotourism The study area, Cat Ba National Park, is considered a suitable area for ecotourism development due to its diversity in nature and culture Previously, there were no studies to evaluate the ecotourism potential of the area using GIS remote sensing and the hierarchical AHP method 1.4 Community participation in ecotourism development 1.4.1 Community involvement After popularizing community development projects and community participation in the development process between the 1960s and early 1980s (Arnstein, 1969; Burke, 1968; De Kadt, 1982; EverSley, 1973; Fagence, 1977; Inglehart, 1971; Pateman, 1970; Sewell & Coppock, 1977; Smith, 1981; Verba 1967), more and more tourism research has focused on arguments for community participation in tourism development The authors believe that community participation in ecotourism activities has positive effects such as employment opportunities, improved living standards, improved economic quality, increased investment in jobs and profits of the local businesses increased (Keovilay, 2012; Brohman, 1996; Gilbert & Clark, 1997; McCool & Martin, 1994) 1.4.2 Community attitudes and perceptions Attitudes and awareness of the community play an important role in ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation However, the successful management of ecotourism and the success of conservation in protected areas often requires the support of local people for conservation to be affected by the perception of conservation impacts that local communities must have undergone (Sekhar, 2003) 1.4.3 Factors affecting community participation * Factors motivating the community to participate in ecotourism: According to Attaallah and Al-ehewate (2016) and Jurowski, Gursoy (2004) pointed out the main factors motivating the community to participate in tourism activities include community awareness of tourism resources and activities, the benefit of economic Conditions on mechanisms and policies and resources of households In addition, the support from NGOs and tour operators in terms of tourist resources, finance and tourism development experience are also important factors promoting community participation in tourism tourism activities * Factors that prevent the community from participating in ecotourism: According to Tosun (2000), barriers affecting community participation are divided into three types: restrictions at the executive level, structural constraints, and cultural and cognitive constraints On a theoretical level, such barriers/restrictions are not mutually exclusive This is also the cause of limitations for communities to participate in tourism activities 1.5 Ecotourism development in the National Parks 1.5.1 Factors affecting the development of ecotourism in the National Park There are many ways to divide the factors affecting ecotourism However, from an economic and business perspective, the development of ecotourism in the National Park is influenced by the following groups of factors: (1) Grouping of resource elements; (2) Group of factors related to the management and organization of ecotourism; (3) Factors related to visitors; (4) Some other factors Chapter FEATURES OF NATURAL, ECONOMIC - SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE RESEARCH AREA 2.1 Natural features Cat Ba National Park belongs to Cat Hai District, about 45 km from Hai Phong city to the Southeast, 25 km from Ha Long city South In terms of topography, Cat Ba National Park is located in the limestone archipelago with 366 large and small islands There are many types of terrain that create attraction for tourists such as limestone terrain, shale hill topography, and topography, Mid-mountain valley, Limestone valley topography, Coastal accretionary landforms In terms of climate characteristics, Cat Ba National Park is influenced by the tropical monsoon climate regime and is directly influenced by the oceanic climate, so it is less harsh than regions with the same latitude inland (Introford, 2021) Regarding hydrological characteristics, Cat Ba is a limestone archipelago, almost the system of rivers and streams on the island is not developed Temporary flows appear only during the rain and stop immediately after the rain The stream system includes: Suoi Thuong Luong (Tran Chau commune), Suoi Trung Trang, Suoi Treo Com (Meadow area), Water source of Frog Pond In general, due to the structure of the topography of the limestone mountains, most of the streams in this area are located in this area like no stream has water all year round A fairly deep groundwater source exists in the form of Karste wells and marine rivers (Introford, 2021) 2.2 Subsistence and the Social Economy 2.2.1 Population, ethnicity and labor resources According to 2019 statistics, the total population in the region is 18,140 people belonging to 5,200 households In the area, most of the Kinh people live; the Labor rate in communes and towns accounts for over 64% of the population This is potential for labor, but one problem that needs to be solved is jobs and jobs for households Male employees accounted for 50.1%, female employees accounted for 49.9%, there was no phenomenon of inequality in labor by gender The average population growth rate of the whole region is 5% The population does is distributed mainly in Cat Ba town area (about 360 people/km2), communes like Gia Luan, Viet Hai have low population density (about 5-10 people/km2) 2.2.2 Economy In terms of agricultural production, the main economic activities in Cat Ba Island include farming However, due to the majority of the terrain being limestone mountains, the area of agricultural production land in the area only accounts for about 0.6 percent % (approximately 200 ha) Breeding is mainly lean pigs and industrial chickens to serve the needs of the people on the island and improve the living standards of the people here In addition, honey beekeeping brings significant profits to the people Regarding forestry production, Cat Hai district has 9,622.45 hectares of forested land, of which special-use forests are 5,984.25 hectares, of which the forestland area managed by Cat Ba National Park is 6,085.46 hectares Forest land is mainly natural forest; Plantation forests account for a very small percentage, mainly planted with tree species such as resinous pine, which is widely distributed in Hien Hao commune, Regarding fishing and aquaculture, all communes reached 100% and exceeded the target In addition, shrimp and tilapia monocultures have also been applied in the direction of extensive, improved and development However, aquaculture and fishing activities are still focused to serve the needs of local people and tourists Regarding industrial and handicraft production, small mechanical activities, ship repair, stone production, mineral water, production of building materials, electricity, water have developed rapidly to promptly serve production and create jobs for thousands of workers In terms of income and lifestyle According to the statistics in 2017, the whole area of communes and towns on Cat Ba island had 58 poor households, but by 2019 there were only 38 poor households, a reduction of 20, the poverty rate on average 0.73% of households in the whole region The average income per capita in the year reached an average of 57.84 million VND/year Regarding education and training, According to the 2019 survey data, all communes have had access to lower secondary education About health care, According to statistics, health work is implemented effectively in all communes as shown by the fact that all communes have medical facilities standards and doctors to take care of people's health Food hygiene and safety, environmental sanitation and disease prevention are ensured In terms of culture, the Cat Ba area has many cultural, historical and archaeological relics such as Cai Beo site, Hien Hao temple, Quan Y cave, Committee cave, Huyen Commi cave, Duc Tien cave, Traditional cultural life and festivals bring many unique identities, typical of coastal residents with farming and fishing Along with games, with the water procession to the communal house, people race boats under the sea Sacrifices like Long Hai Dai Vuong; Dragon boat race at sea In addition, the attractive local cuisine in this place also creates a very unique culture for this island The research area is mostly Kinh people and indigenous people, a few immigrants come from all over the country The beliefs of Kinh people are mainly Buddhism, a small number of Christians The Kinh people in this area have a simple cultural life, following the festivals generally prescribed by the State such as Lunar New Year, Vietnam National Day, but there is an additional festival on President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to the fishing village (April 1st of the solar calendar) and the festival "Den Ba" in Hien Hao commune This is also one of the major festivals of the local people Besides that, there are also many other festivals showing the cultural identity of the people here Chapter SUBJECTS, CONTENTS AND RESEARCH METHODS 3.1 Research objective The object of the research is the natural, social conditions and factors affecting ecotourism activities in the Cat Ba National Park; Animals and plants in Cat Ba National Park 3.2 Research scope Collects data from 2016 to 2020 at Cat Ba National Park, Cat Hai District, Hai Phong City 3.3 Research content - Research the current situation of ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park; - Research the current status and potential of biodiversity for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park; - Research to identify potential areas for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park; - Research on community participation in ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park; - Proposing solutions to develop ecotourism in association with biodiversity conservation in Cat Ba National Park 3.4 Research Methods 3.4.1 Methodology From the perspective of ecotourism as a branch of sustainable tourism towards 03 main goals including social justice, economic development and environmental integrity (TIES, 2015) Eco-tourism development, biodiversity conservation and people's participation are interrelated This study approaches the following research contents through inheritance and systems approach from the perspective that potential adaptive areas for ecotourism development are natural systems and agents that interact with each other The participatory approach in this topic is demonstrated through interviews with local people in Cat Ba 3.4.2 Methods of assessing the current state of eco-tourism In this content, the study uses the linear survey method and the interview method to assess the current status of eco-tourism in Cat Ba National Park 3.4.2 Biodiversity investigation methods and identification of potential species for ecotourism development In this content, the study uses the method of inheriting data from thematic reports on forest fauna and flora investigation and combining additional investigation to animals, plants, insects and direct field investigations Inheriting data include Pham Van Dien and Vu Quang Nam (2015); Introford and Cat Ba National Park (2021) 3.4.3 Survey method by questionnaire The study has interviewed 220 people by questionnaire to collect data related to the research content on the current situation of ecotourism development and assess the community's participation in the development of ecotourism as well as their awareness and attitude towards ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation 3.4.4 Expert method The study has consulted 12 experts, of which 03 experts in the field of ecotourism, 04 experts in the field of biodiversity conservation, 02 experts in the field of GIS, 02 experts in the field of biodiversity conservation silviculture and social forestry 3.4.5 Method of assessing potential areas for ecotourism development To study the content of evaluating potential areas for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park, the topic used the GIS method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process method (AHP) In this study, the topic uses the author's approach (Sahani, 2019) to implement this content The specific steps are shown in Figure 3.1, detailed below: Figure 3.1 Flowchart of steps to determine the appropriate area for ecotourism development 3.4.6 Method of assessing the level of community participation In the analysis of this study, the topic uses the division ladder of Pretty (1995) because it is easy to use and suitable for research practice 3.4.7 Methods of data analysis The data collected in the field were synthesized and analyzed with the support of SPSS 19.0 software, ArcGIS 10 4.2 Status and potential for ecotourism development 4.2.1 Forest ecosystem diversity The biodiversity or forest type here depends on the point of view of division Specifically, if the forest is divided according to the origin of formation, the natural forest area of the Park is divided into main forest types: The primary forest, evergreen broad-leaved rocky mountain (1,014.07 ha) accounting for nearly 17% and the secondary forest evergreen broadleaf (4,877.62 ha) accounts for more than 80% of the total natural forest area Thus, Cat Ba National Park possesses many different types of ecosystems, creating a diversity of habitats and species of flora and fauna This is a great potential for ecotourism development associated with biodiversity in Cat Ba National Park 4.2.2 Diversity of animal species composition Statistical results on the diversity of species composition of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians are presented in Table 4.3 Table Forest fauna species composition recorded in Cat Ba Archipelago Biosphere Reserve Class Number No Family No Species Mammal 19 72 Birds 17 51 216 Reptiles 14 53 Frogs 33 Total 27 91 374 Source: Do Quang Huy (2011), Introford and Cat Ba National Park (2020) 4.2.3 Biodiversity conservation value Cat Ba National Park's flora is rich and diverse, with high scientific and economic value The results of the investigation of flora in Cat Ba National Park recorded 1,595 species of higher plants, belonging to 853 genera, 188 families, and phyla of higher vascular plants This is the typical flora for Vietnam's limestone ecosystem (Introford, 2020) 4.2.4 Biodiversity conservation value 4.2.4.1 Rare and endangered animal species According to statistics, there are 16 species of mammals, 26 species of birds, 13 species of reptiles and 03 species of amphibians that are nationally and globally threatened, recorded in Cat Ba National Park These are species with great potential for eco-tourism development such as Cat Ba Langur, Chamois, Cat Ba Leopard Gecko - Goniurosaurus catbaensis 4.2.4.2 Endangered and rare plant species Out of a total of 1,595 plant species recorded in Cat Ba National Park, there are 70 endangered plant species protected by Vietnamese and international laws (accounting for 4.2% of the total number of plant species in Cat Ba National Park) Thus, from the data on the diversity of ecosystems, the diversity of flora and fauna, as well as the biodiversity conservation value of rare and precious flora and fauna, it can be confirmed that Cat Ba National Park possesses unique and unique biodiversity, the potential for ecotourism development 4.2.5 Description of some potential animal species for ecotourism development The research results have selected some potential animals for ecotourism development to describe such as Langur (Trachypithecus policephalus), Chamois (Capricornis 11 milneedwardsii), Golden monkey (Macaca mulatta), Red hornbill (Buceros bicornis), Dotted phoenix butterfly (Troides helena), Sand mother(geckoGoniurosaurus catbaensis), Northern lumpy tree frog (Theloderma corticale) 4.3 Identifying potential areas for ecotourism development 4.3.1 The results of building a map system to evaluate the areas suitable for ecotourism development 4.3.1.1 Vision map The results of the vision analysis are presented in table 4.4 and figure 4.37 Table Statistics vision area No Adapted level Vision Area (ha) Percentage (%) Very appropriate Clear view 49.87 0.29 Suitable Moderate view 191.4 1.10 At the appropriate View restrictions 1368.71 7.88 Not suitable Can not see 15752.97 90.73 Figure Map view of tourist attractions in Cat Ba National Park 4.3.1.2 Status map forest The results of the classification of the suitability of the forest status for ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park are presented in Table 4.5 and Figure 4.38 Table Area statistics by forest status Percenta Area No Relevance Level Forest status ge (ha) (%) Very suitable Rich forest (TXDG1) 1010.9 5.82 Suitable Forest average 0.00 Poor forest, impoverished forest Less suitable 4642.34 26.74 (TXDN, TXN) Plantation forest, unforested land, Inappropriate 11709.72 67.44 forest reserves 12 Figure Map of assessing the suitability of the forest status in Cat Ba National Park 4.3.1.3 Protection level The results of the analysis and mapping of ecotourism adaptation based on the protection level in Cat Ba National Park are presented in table 4.6 and figure 4.39 Table 4 Statistics of area by the degree of biodiversity conservation Area Percentage No Relevance Conservation level (ha) (%) Very suitable Strictly guarded subdivision Agricultural protection29 5.110.64 43 Suitable Ecological restoration 69.96 subdivision 12146.42 Less appropriate Administrative Services 0.61 subdivision 105.90 Inappropriate Buffer Figure Map of the level of protection in Cat Ba National Park 13 4.3.1.4 The species diversity The species diversity factor is used to classify suitable areas for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park The results are presented in Table 4.7 and Figure 4.40 Table Area statistics according to the diversity of precious and rare species Area Percentage No Relevance Level functional subdivision (ha) (%) Agricultural protection (46 rare and Highly suitable precious species) 17,257, 07 99.39 Ecological restoration (57 rare Highly suitable species) Inappropriate Administrative services (1 species) 105.9 0.61 Figure 4.8 Map of the diverse range of rare endangered species 4.3.1.5 Slope The area and percentage of the slope calculated by levels are shown in table 4.8 and figure 4.41 Table Slope area statistics No Relevancy Slope Area Rate (%) Very suitable 0-5 9,084.35 52.32 Suitable 5-25 1,524.9 8.78 Less suitable 25-35 1000.07 5.76 Inappropriate >35 33.14 5753.63 14 Figure 4.9 Map of the appropriate degree of slope development 4.3.1.6 Elevation Results The results of analyzing the suitability of elevations for ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park according to levels are presented in Table 4.9 and Figure 4.42 Table Statistics of the area by elevation Percenta No Relevance Elevation (m) Area (ha) ge (%) Very suitable 0-150 15,579.92 89.73 Suitable 150- 250 1,638 9.43 Less suitable Not suitable 250-300 >300 118.52 0.68 0.4 0.00 Figure 10 Suitable elevation map for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park 15 4.3.1.7 Traffic network accessibility map The results of the evaluation of the appropriate area according to levels in terms of proximity to the transport network are presented in Table 4.10 and Figure 4.43 Table Area statistics by road accessibility Appropriate Percenta No Road accessibility Area (ha) ness ge (%) Very suitable Suitable Less suitable Inappropriate Within 1,000 m to two roadside Within 1,000 m to 2,000 m from traffic Within 2,000 m to 3,000 m from traffic Within 3,000 m to 4,000 m from roads 3,484.06 20.07 3,287.41 18.93 3,306.79 19.05 7,284.71 41.96 Figure 11 Map of road accessibility in Cat Ba National Park 4.3.1.8 Map of cultural site accessibility The results of assessing the proximity to cultural sites of Cat Ba National Park are presented in Table 4.11 and Figure 4.44 Table Area statistics by accessibility to cultural sites Level of cultural sites (from the headquarters of the People's Area Rate No Relevancy Committees of Cat Ba communes and (ha) ) (%) other cultural sites) Very suitable Distance up to 1,000 m 1,300.24 7.49 Suitable Distance from 1,000 m to 2,000 m 2,772.94 15.97 Less suitable Distance from 2,000 to 3,000 m 3,478 ,50 20.03 Not suitable The distance greater than 3,000 m 9,811.29 56.51 16 Figure 12 Map of accessibility to cultural sites 4.3.1.9 Map of accessibility to surface water Analysis results The appropriate level based on accessibility to surface water in Cat Ba National Park is presented in Table 4.12 and Figure 4.45 Table 10 Area statistics by accessibility to surface water Area Percenta No Relevancy Level surface water (ha) ge (%) Very appropriate Proximity distance to 500 m 13,208 ,17 76.07 Distance from 500 m to Suitable 2,387.88 13.75 1,500 m Distance from 1,500 m to Less suitable 1,388,1 7.99 2,500 m Not suitable More than 2,500 m 378, 81 2.18 Figure 13 Map of accessibility to surface water in Cat Ba National Park 17 4.3.2 Determine the weight of each evaluation criterion using AHP From the paired comparison data, the project calculates the parameters include consistency index (CI), random index (RI) and consistency ratio (CR) The results are presented in Table 4.13 Table 11 Indicator Parameters Parameter Value Consistency Index (CI) 0.12 Random Index (RI) 1.45 Consistency Ratio (CR) 0.08 Results from Table 4.13 show that the CR consistency ratio of 0.08 is less than 0.1 so it is acceptable 4.3.3 Developing Ecotourism potential map The map of ecotourism potential areas in Cat Ba National Park is built based on GIS application and weights of thematic classes The results of the very suitable, suitable and less suitable areas are presented in Table 4.14 and Figure 4.46 Table 12 Results of the assessment of ecotourism potential in Cat Ba National Park Value of Classification Area (ha) Rate (%) assessment results Not suitable 0-1 0.0 Suitable at least 1-2 7,242.90 41.7 Moderately suitable 2-3 9,676.04 55.7 Highly suitable 3-4 444.02 2.6 Total 17,362.96 100 The results from table 4.14 and figure 4.46 show that the topic has been confirmed identified potential areas for ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park The highly suitable area occupies about 444.02 (2.6%), the total area of the National Park More than half of the 9676.04 (55.7%) of the Cat Ba National Park is suitable The less suitable area is 7,242.90 (41.7%) 4.4 Community awareness and attitudes towards ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation 4.4.1 Demographic characteristics The results of the survey on demographic characteristics are presented in detail in Table 4.15 Figure 14 Potential map of ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park Source: Le Thi Ngan, 2021 18 Table 13 Sociological profile of interviewees Characteristics Number of people Percentage of Sex (n= 155) Male 96 62 Female 59 38 Age (n=155) 15 – 25 5.16 25 – 35 35 22.58 35 – 45 41 26.45 45 – 55 43 27.4 55 – 65 19 12.26 >65 5.81 Ethnicity (n= 155) Economics 155 100 Other 0 Occupation (n = 155) Tourist activities 32 20.65 Agriculture 26 16.77 State 33 21.9 Homemaker 3:23 Hired 11 7.1 Freedom 38 24.52 Retired 3:23 Other 3:23 Qualifications education (n=155) Under high school 20 13 12/12 80 52 College, university 55 35 4.4.2 Level of community participation in ecotourism activities 4.4.2.1 Level of community participation in local ecotourism development The results of data processing on the level of community participation in ecotourism development in the locality are presented in (Figure 4.47) Level Level Level Level Level Level Level 9.3% 9.3% 12.5% 12.5% 15.6% 12.5% 28.1% Figure 15 Level of community participation in ecotourism development local 19 In general, the community in Cat Ba National Park is largely participating with a passive level, not an active one 4.4.2.2 Activities providing tourism services The participation of people in foodservice activities is quite high, accounting for 37% Right after that is the motel business with 28% Next are some other types of services, accounting for 14% The type of tour guide is still quite low with only 12% of people participating Finally, the lowest is the type of souvenir sales, accounting for only 9% Figure 16 Graphic of the community's tourism service provision activities community 4.4.3 Perception of the benefits of ecotourism The results of the assessment of the community's perception of the benefits brought from ecotourism are presented in the table (table 4.16) Table 14 Community perception of the benefits of ecotourism Number of Percent No Benefits answers age Income 148 20.36 Job creation 145 19.94 Improvement and environmental protection 56 7.70 Raise awareness and protection of BD 67 9.22 Improve health and education services 54 7.43 Improve transport infrastructure 63 8.67 Enhance local cultural exchanges with tourists 94 12.93 Enhancement opportunities knowledge and skills 94 12.93 Others 0.83 Total 727 100 In summary, most sociological factors have a great influence on the perception of the benefits of ecotourism Only the occupational factor does not affect ecotourism, the main reason is that local people participate in occupations that are quite similar in terms of human resources and qualifications, leading to awareness of benefits from ecotourism The ecotourism of this factor is the same 4.4.4 Factors affecting community participation The factors promoting community participation are shown as follows: - The central government has the policy to develop Cat Ba National Park into a national tourist destination - Cat Ba National Park is likely to be recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage - People have the opportunity to associate with domestic and foreign enterprises in ecotourism development activities - Create a market for consuming agricultural products, seafood, handicrafts, etc for the people 20 - Create job opportunities, contribute to increasing income for households and improve people's living standards Generate income and improve the living standards of the park staff - Tourism service activities contribute significantly to budget revenue and stimulate local economic development - National Park staff have the opportunity to improve their professional skills - People have the opportunity to learn knowledge and skills to participate in ecotourism, the opportunity to interact and exchange between different cultures - Through ecotourism activities, remind people of all walks of life and tourists coming to Cat Ba National Park to have a responsibility to protect the natural environment, conserve natural resources and preserve invaluable natural resources for future generations 4.4.5 Barriers to community participation The results of interviews on barriers for people to participate in ecotourism are presented in the following figure 4.49: Figure 17 Barriers to people participating in ecotourism 4.4.6 Get Community awareness about the benefits of ecotourism development The results of the assessment of the community's perception of the benefits brought from ecotourism are presented in the table (4.17) The benefit factors desired by the people include employment, increased income, environmental protection and biodiversity, improved health and education services, opportunities to be exposed, broadened knowledge, and opportunities improving knowledge and skills as well as improving roads/power supply/public works, Table 15 Community awareness of ecotourism No Benefits Income Create job opportunities Restoration and Environmental Protection Awareness raising and protection of Improvement of education and health services Improvement of transport infrastructure Strengthening local cultural exchanges with tourists Opportunities to improve knowledge and skills Others Agree Proportion Number (%) 148 20.36 145 19.94 Disagree Percentage Number (%) 4.52 10 6.45 Mean SD 0,208 0,258 1.05 1.07 1.64 0.482 56 7.70 99 63.87 1.57 BD0.4 97 67 9.22 88 56.77 1.65 0.478 54 7.43 101 65.16 1.59 0.493 63 8.67 92 59.35 1.39 0.490 94 12.93 61 39.35 1.39 0.490 94 12.93 61 39.35 1.96 0.194 0.83 149 96.13 21 4.4.7 Community attitudes g for ecotourism development According to the results of research on local communities' attitudes about the impacts of ecotourism on social life, biodiversity and the environment is very clear The vast majority of people have a positive attitude towards the development of ecotourism and are the basis for biodiversity conservation and environmental protection The problem for managers is how to both ensure the goal of ecotourism development to improve the quality of life for the community and ensure biodiversity conservation and environmental protection in Cat Ba National Park 4.4.8 Differences in Attitudes Based on Demographic Characteristics Assess differences in attitudes based on demographic characteristics of the interviewees, including Age; Sex; Academic level; Job The results are as follows: - People with higher education will support ecotourism development more than those with lower education levels - Compare awareness and support for ecotourism development among people of different ages - Gender (male and female) has differences in favor of ecotourism development - Comparing awareness and support for ecotourism development between people with stable jobs and those without stable jobs 4.4.9 Community's attitude towards BD conservation The research results also show that there is a change in the use of natural resources people's use of natural resources after participating in ecotourism (Figure 4.50) Specifically, the vast majority (85%) of the respondents said that they have used less natural resources after participating in ecotourism activities in the Cat Ba National Park Thus, the research data shows that the majority of people when participating in ecotourism activities have a positive attitude towards the protection of natural resources and biodiversity Figure 18 Chart of changes in the level of natural resource use of people after participating in ecotourism activities in Cat Ba National Park 4.5 Proposing solutions to promote ecotourism activities in Cat Ba National Park 4.5.1 Proposing solutions Master 4.5.1.1 Plan on potential areas for ecotourism development Currently, the ecotourism sites being exploited in Cat Ba National Park have only been exploited for one year a potential part of ecotourism of the Park Moreover, the national park does not have a master plan on potential regions/areas for the development of ecotourism activities Therefore, the National Park should have a master plan, specify the zoning for ecotourism, develop a map of the places where ecotourism activities are conducted In order to have a good plan, it is necessary to research and investigate the natural resources and human resources of Cat Ba National Park, which requires the coordination of many levels, sectors and stakeholders 22 4.5.1.2 Development of specific tourism products Although Cat Ba National Park has implemented 16 ecotourism sites, the potential specific ecotourism products of the National Park have not yet been exploited such as sites to see animals, birds and reptiles, frogs during the day and at night These are typical ecotourism products that are almost absent in most of the National Park in Vietnam Therefore, in order to have diverse and unique tourism products of Cat Ba National Park, the National Park should build more wildlife viewing spots based on survey information on biodiversity and the distribution of wild animals, rare animals and plants 4.5.1.3 Attract the participation of local communities in ecotourism activities * Raise awareness about ecotourism for the community: - Create opportunities and favorable conditions for people to participate and play a role in tourism development Develop tourism planning with the participation of the community from the beginning Forming service provision subdivisions, sightseeing routes with local cultural products in which the people are the most important factor - Organize education for local communities to raise awareness of environmental protection by means of mass media, documents and leaflets - Combine tourism development with the development of local industries such as aquatic products, seafood, agricultural production, traditional handicrafts, cultural identities, customs and traditions, festivals and improvement of qualifications intellectual, cultural tourism for the local community - Develop mechanisms and policies to develop tourism by practical conditions, and policies based on local specificities to create favorable conditions for people to participate in tourism development - To encourage and create conditions for the development of unique and characteristic products and services of Cat Ba, aiming to take advantage of the inherent conditions in tourism development - To adopt policies to support and encourage investment capital, and guide the development of tourism in the places where they live, both to attract investment sources and create jobs and increase incomes * Develop a clear coordination mechanism between the National Park - Enterprises - People: - Regularly exchange and share tourism experiences, bringing new and effective tourism business models to the people Stick to the tourism development process of the people so that they can promptly support when needed - Building tourism development orientations for people, authorities and businesses always act as a guideline in ecotourism development for the community, as a fulcrum for people - Mechanism of benefit-sharing among actors involved in tourism activities: Effective exploitation of tourism development resources should pay attention to sharing benefits with local communities, ensuring sustainable development If tourism development just only focuses on satisfying the needs of tourists and making profits for businesses without paying attention and sharing benefits to the community, it will easily increase conflicts, leading to conflicts to a conflict of interest between the parties * Training to improve tourism knowledge and skills: - The majority of people participating in ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park just stop at a small scale of individuals, households, and small and spontaneous business models Experience in managing large and modern models is still weak Business methods are still based on many traditions, some are outdated, science and technology applications have not been widely applied For this reason, the National Park needs to take measures to improve the knowledge and skills of tourism for the community, such as: 23 - Focus on reviewing and understanding the needs and conditions of the people to develop training courses for each specific audience, mainly equipped with additional knowledge of foreign languages, skills of doing tourism services, knowledge of biology and local culture - It is very necessary to equip the skills and knowledge about tourism and service work, especially for the homestay model Thereby helping people gain experience, skills and better exploit the local's potential and advantages for tourism; At the same time, each citizen will be self-aware of preserving, building and promoting the image and local cultural identity, improving the quality of tourist services, generating stable income, and eradicating poverty - Strengthen communication activities through forms such as documents and leaflets to people in sharing tourism skills Send highly qualified individuals to study tourism methods outside, expand local tourism types - Encourage the sharing between the community and between the government and the people in the tourism experience Need to pay more attention to people, ready to support when they need 4.5.1.4 Strengthen tourism promotion and advertising - Propaganda and education to raise awareness about the tourism economy in all levels, sectors - Create and enhance the image of Cat Ba tourism in Vietnam, the region and the whole world, thereby attracting tourists and investment capital in tourism in Cat Ba National Park - Building a system of centers for guiding and providing information about tourism, potentials and human culture of Cat Ba for tourists at important traffic hubs, towards the development of an open culture travel agencies in key markets - Strengthen the application of modern information technology, coordinate with mass media agencies, social networks, internal and external information forces to improve efficiency in the tourism business - Implement information and propaganda programs about annual events in the district such as exhibitions, traditional festivals, culture and sports Organize promotional campaigns, publicity, market launch by topic Organizing and participating in tourism fairs, exhibitions, conferences and seminars to widely introduce the tourism potential of the locality, stimulate domestic and international tourism demand to Cat Ba - Identify key tourism markets, study the psychology, tastes, habits and consumption habits of the target audience, thereby offering tourism products suitable to the market and conditions of the customers local, especially marine products 4.5.1.5 Training of human resources Currently, the staff in Cat Ba National Park is full in functional departments, but the force is still quite thin, the quality of staff is still weak, most of them not have professional understanding enough in tourism, therefore, the leader of Cat Ba National Park needs to: - Strengthen the training of human resources for the development of eco-to meet the criteria of both quantity and quality assurance - Officers need to have in-depth expertise in environmental, natural and biological characteristics, where they work Therefore, it is necessary to have adequate solutions and policies for coordination to train professional staff from sectors such as seafood, forest rangers, and agriculture to supplement a team of highly qualified professionals for ecotourism, especially professional staff and tour guides - To intensify the search for investment sources to build infrastructure to serve diverse types of tourism and entertainment in order to serve all different types of guests, especially high-class guests 4.5.2 Determining the priority hierarchy of solutions Based on the method of hierarchical analysis, the topic has also identified groups of priority solutions 24 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS * Conclusion Regarding the current situation of ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park, the research results show that ecotourism activities in Cat Ba National Park have been organized quite methodically and the ecotourism potential of the National Park has been partly realized exploit Ecotourism sites in Cat Ba National Park have attracted a large number of domestic and international tourists The average growth rate from 2010 to 2018 reached 32.6% Regarding the status of biodiversity, the research results confirm that Cat Ba National Park has great incentives for biodiversity resources and many species are potential for the development of ecotourism activities In particular, the National Park owns rare and unique species of flora and fauna of the island such as Cat Ba Langur, Cat Ba Whale, Son Duong, White-bellied Cao Cao and many species of waterbirds in the mangrove area These are potential factors for ecotourism development that the National Park has not yet exploited Regarding the assessment of potential areas for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park, based on the integration of GIS tools and AHP hierarchical analysis, the topic has determined that most of the 9676.04 (55.7%) area of the National Park is suitable for ecotourism development Next are the less suitable areas accounting for 7,242.90 (41.7%) The very suitable area accounts for only 444.02 (2.6%) About the level of community participation in ecotourism activities as well as their attitudes and awareness towards ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation Research results show that the majority of community participation in ecotourism activities is mainly passive participation The new participation is at the level of participation in the implementation of activities but not in the decision-making process The community has a positive attitude towards ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park Regarding the proposed solutions to develop eco-tourism associated with biodiversity conservation, the results of determining the priority solutions based on the AHP Analytic Hierarchy Process method show that Cat Ba National Park is in a total of groups of solutions * Existence - The assessment of biodiversity potential for ecotourism development just stops at the recognition of species diversity and potential species for ecotourism development - Because for the first time, the application of integrated GIS tools and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate ecotourism potential areas is limited, so the applicable criteria are limited The consultation of experts in the content of scoring on the importance of the indicators has not been extensive - Mechanisms for sharing benefits obtained from ecotourism activities associated with biodiversity conservation have not been evaluated * Recommendations - Determine in more detail in assessing the impact of ecotourism activities on rare species as well as develop a code of conduct for tourists for this activity - Research additional factors on natural and socio-economic conditions that are related to the potential for ecotourism development such as land, population density, income - Research to find out the mechanism by which people can actively participate in ecotourism activities through determining the benefit-sharing mechanism gained from ecotourism activities in Cat Ba National Park ... DANH MỤC CƠNG TRÌNH ĐÃ CƠNG BỐ NHỮNG CƠNG TRÌNH LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN LUẬN ÁN Lê Thị Ngân, Đồng Thanh Hải (2020) Đánh giá tiềm đa dạng sinh học đề xuất số giải pháp phát triển du lịch sinh thái Vườn quốc. .. quốc gia Cát Bà Tạp chí nơng nghiệp phát triển nơng thơn, kỳ 2, tháng 1/2021, tr 131-140 Lê Thị Ngân, Đồng Thanh Hải (2021) Nghiên cứu nhận thức thái độ cộng đồng địa phương đến phát triển du lịch. .. độ cộng đồng địa phương đến phát triển du lịch sinh thái Vườn quốc gia Cát Bà Tạp chí khoa học công nghệ Lâm nghiệp, 4/2021, tr 96-106 1 INTRODUCTION Research importance Cat Ba National Park