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Request for FY2001 Financial Assistance Awards to the East Asia and Pacific Environment Initiative (EAPEI) for the proposed project Community Participation for Conservation Success – Promoting communi[.]

Request for FY2001 Financial Assistance Awards

to the East Asia and Pacific Environment Initiative

(EAPEI) for the proposed project:

Community Participation for Conservation Success –

Promoting community participation towards effective conservation of Vietnam’s natural heritage through Community-Based Environmental

In Vietnam: Mike Matarasso, Environmental Education Coordinator,

WWF Indochina Program, PO BOX 151, 53 Tran Phu, Hanoi, Vietnam

In USA: Jenny Springer, Director, Asia-Pacific, WWFUS, 1250 24th Street,

Washington DC 20037

A Project Summary

The rapid and profound economic and social changes presently occurring in Vietnam are threatening the integrity of this country’s globally important biodiversity,

particularly the unique and rare forest biodiversity of the Greater Annamites

ecoregion As much of the country’s economic development is currently based on unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, development is often accompanied

by severe environmental degradation

In recognition of these issues, the Government of Vietnam (GOV) is supporting

innovative initiatives that seek to balance development with the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources Two such programs are the Five Million HectareReforestation Program (5MHRP) and an ecoregional conservation initiative in the Greater Annamites Ecoregion The GOV recognizes that community participation in these initiatives is crucial for their success

This project has been designed to increase the effectiveness of conservation

programs in Vietnam by promoting community participation through Based Environmental Education (CBEE) The project will work to promote the long-term institutional capacity of the GOV to foster community participation in

Community-conservation management, as well as contribute to immediate Community-conservation action inpriority protected areas

Community participation is an essential component of conservation and sustainable use strategies because local people are important and direct managers and users of the resources to be conserved As new initiatives for forest conservation and

sustainable use are implemented in Vietnam, it will be critical for local communities

to develop the knowledge, skills and commitment they will need to participate in these programs Community-based environmental education (CBEE) is an approach designed to build this knowledge and capacity at the local level, so that people can play an active role in conservation

At present, there are few institutional mechanisms for training government forest resource managers in the skills necessary to foster local participation, and no core capacity to train staff in CBEE as a tool for promoting participation Therefore, one key objective of this project is to build this capacity by developing a training program

at Xuan Mai University (Vietnam’s premier forest university) for pre-service and service students who work in forest protected area management At the same time, the project will contribute to concrete conservation results by integrating CBEE activities into priority field implementation sites under major GoV conservation initiatives

in-To summarize, the overarching goal of this project is: in-To enhance the effectiveness of

conservation action in Vietnam by promoting community participation through

Community-Based Environmental Education The project’s two main objectives are:

1 To increase the immediate and long-term capacity of government protectedarea managers to foster community participation in conservation andsustainable development initiatives by incorporating CBEE training intomainstream training institutions

2 To contribute directly to successful conservation action in two priority sites inthe Central Annamites by integrating community-based EE activities into theimplementation of protected area conservation projects

WWF, Xuan Mai Forestry University and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Development will work in collaboration to accomplish these objectives by developing curricula for pre-service and in-service training in Community-Based Environmental Education at Xuan Mai Forestry University, training a team of University trainers and piloting the EE training courses The second objective will be accomplished by

developing and implementing innovative EE projects in cooperation with two

Protected Areas (PAs) in the Central Annamites as part of the wider conservation strategy for the Central Annamites

Outputs of the project will include:

 Collaboratively designed and tested CBEE curricula established within service and in-service training programs for PA managers at Xian Mai Forest University

pre- Handbook on CBEE produced that can be used by PA managers in forest PA’s throughout Vietnam and adapted for use in other countries

 A core group of University staff trained as trainers in CBEE and providing going training to all PA staff

on- Twenty staff members within MARD with practical training in all stages of developing EE as a critical tool for achieving effective conservation results

 All new protected area managers graduating from Xian Mai receiving CBEE as part of their regular training

 CBEE activities developed and implemented at two key sites, and

demonstrated to have increased the effectiveness of conservation initiatives

This project represents the first major step in Vietnam towards institutional support for community-based participation in forest management and biodiversity

conservation Direct results of the project and the various conservation actions that itwill support will have a significant cumulative effect throughout Vietnam immediatelyand in the long-term future

This project directly supports EAP-EI’s objectives in promoting rational use of forest resources in the Asia-Pacific region, increasing the capacity of both government and resource-dependent communities to manage their natural resource base now and in the future, and sharing conservation experience across the Asia-Pacific region

B Project Rationale

The biodiversity importance of the Greater Annamites

Vietnam is a beautiful country with rich cultural and ecological diversity Vietnam’s considerable range in latitude and altitude, high rainfall, and wide variety of

landforms have created a great diversity of habitats such as rainforest, deltaic

mangroves, sandy coast, and high sub-alpine scrub These habitats support a rich

diversity of species, of which a disproportionately high number are unique and

threatened

The most significant area for biodiversity in Vietnam is the Greater Annamites

ecoregion, comprising the biogeographical phenomena of the Annamite Mountains which run almost the entire length of central Vietnam The Annamites have been recognized as a G200 ecoregion, based on WWF’s global assessment of areas of highest biodiversity importance Rare and endangered species found in the Greater Annamites include three large endemic mammal species, which were until recently

unknown to science: the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), the Giant Muntjac

(Megamuntiacus vuquangensis) and the Truong Son Muntjac (Muntiacus

truongsonenis) These species were described in 1992, 1994 and 1997 respectively

Additionally, seven pheasant species have been recorded recently including the

endemic Edwards Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) which was thought to be extinct, and the Crested Argus (Rheinardia ocellata) which is also endemic to the region The

ecoregion is also remarkable in supporting at least six endemic primates such as two

species of gibbon (Hylobates sp.) and three species of Douc Langur (Pygathrix sp.)

Also, numerous other highly threatened fauna are present in Vietnam and the Greater

Annamites including wild cattle such as Gaur (Bos gaurus), Tiger (Panthera tigris), Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus), Loris (Nycticebus spp.) and Asian Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus) The forests also host rare and

important botanical families such as Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae, Sapindaceae, Meliaceae and Burseraceae

migration into higher elevations in the Annamites where natural resources are

relatively abundant These trends have decreased the sustainability of traditional resource use practices in the highlands and contributed to pressures on the

environment In general, over-exploitation of Vietnam’s heritage of natural wealth is leading to an increase in environmental problems such as soil erosion, catastrophic flooding and the loss of the country’s rich and unique biodiversity

In response to these urgent issues, the Government of Vietnam (GOV) is presently embarked on a number of ambitious initiatives to ensure that the natural resources ofthe country are sustainably managed and its rich biodiversity is conserved over the long term Among these are initiatives intended to provide legal, policy and

institutional frameworks, as well as economic incentives, for reforestation, creation ofnew protected areas and other major changes in the management of forest

resources It is becoming increasingly apparent, however, that a key missing piece ofthese conservation efforts is capacity-building for protected area managers in

practical tools for engaging local communities, as well as educational work with communities to help them to acquire the necessary knowledge, motivation and skills

to participate in conservation

Community participation is an essential component of conservation and sustainable use strategies because local people are important and direct managers and users of the resources to be conserved In the Greater Annamites, communities living in and around high-biodiversity sites such as protected areas depend for their livelihoods

primarily on use of natural resources As new initiatives for forest conservation and sustainable use are implemented in these areas, it will be critical to ensure that local communities have the knowledge and skills they need both to influence the

implementation of these programs and to successfully undertake

conservation-oriented changes However, community participation in conservation management is

a relatively new concept in Vietnam In particular, there is very limited capacity among government forest resource managers to design and carry out community-based environmental education (CBEE) activities which would enable them to

facilitate understanding of conservation dynamics, exchange of perspectives and decision-making regarding conservation action with local communities

The GoV, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as the lead agency in forest conservation and management, is highly supportive of CBEE

as a tool for community participation in conservation The government also

recognizes that capacity to foster local participation through environmental education

is presently lacking and is concerned that major conservation initiatives will be less effective and may even fail without this critical component At present, there is little

if any capacity in existing institutions to carry out CBEE training for government staff

or activities with local communities While EE activities have been initiated in

association with some local protected area projects, these activities have always relied on external funding and support In order to ensure that the skills and capacity

to undertake EE are accessible over the long term, the Ministry and Forest Protection Department are strongly supportive of developing capacity within existing institutions

to integrate EE into basic conservation training

Integration with other Conservation Strategies

This project has been specifically designed to complement and contribute to a

number of wider GoV biodiversity conservation strategies The project is a vital component of each of these strategies and therefore is likely to have a significant cumulative impact Current GoV several initiatives aimed at establishing strong legal, policy and institutional frameworks, as well as economic incentives for forest conservation and sustainable use, include:

 a major initiative involving a partnership of government institutions, NGOs and international donors to establish Five Million Hectares of additional forest land both under strict protection and for production (The Five Million Hectare Program, Decree 661)

 a review of the protected area system involving the design of a

representative network of protected areas and the establishment of the institutional mechanisms necessary to effectively manage these protected areas

 an initiative to promote forest certification as the mechanism for sustainable forestry practices throughout Vietnam

Each of these programs has identified environmental education as a fundamental toolfor enhancing participation and achieving conservation success The case of the 5MHRP provides a particularly striking example This program (issued as decree 661

in 1998) seeks to reforest and rehabilitate 5 million hectares of forestland such that

by 2010 total forest cover will reach 14.3 million hectares (equivalent to 43% of total land area) The program will guide forest policy in Vietnam over the next decade and

is intended to contribute to environmental security, reduce natural calamities,

increase water resources capacity and protect biodiversity Decree 661 clearly statesthat local people will be allocated land and paid both to protect existing primary forest and to plant trees in degraded areas

The identification of key areas for nature reserves as well as for forest protection and enrichment planting contracts will be more accurate, acceptable and – ultimately – effective if local knowledge of forest use can be integrated into the land use planningprocess A participatory approach will have the greatest potential for improving the management and protection of natural resources, while giving local people better access to resources and economic opportunities Indeed, a key to the failings of an earlier reforestation program was an ineffective land allocation process that did not involve local people It is the declared intention of Vietnam’s current policy to

improve forest management and protection through a sense of ownership and

responsibility, in order to benefit local farmers and the state

In addition to these programs, the government is supporting a conservation initiative for the Greater Annamites ecoregion (part of the Forests of the Lower Mekong), managed by WWF and funded in part by USAID’s Global Bureau At present, this program is focusing on developing a comprehensive conservation strategy for one priority area in the ecoregion – the Central Annamites – including setting

conservation priorities, identifying key opportunities and constraints and developing critical partnerships This pilot program has only recently been launched but is

receiving a great deal of support and attention from all levels of government During the planning meetings for the Central Annamite Conservation initiative it was

recognized that an important aim of the initiative should be to help realize the goals

of the 5MHRP in key high-biodiversity sites identified through the strategy The critical importance of community-based EE for achieving conservation goals in

Vietnam has also been highlighted during the on-going planning process, and this project would be implemented as a component of the Greater Annamites ecoregional program

C Activity Description

Goal: To enhance the effectiveness of conservation action in Vietnam by promoting community participation through Community-Based

Environmental Education

This project is based on the principle that conservation programs will only be

successful with the active participation of people who understand the purpose of conservation-oriented actions, appreciate their importance and feel competent to undertake them successfully These understandings, values and capacities can all beenhanced through education Education cannot achieve conservation goals on its own: conservation results also depend upon effective legislation, sound policy and a well-designed and functional infrastructure However education, and the

participation it fosters, remains critical for effective conservation and is too often neglected This project is therefore designed to ensure that conservation programs inVietnam are well supported by effective community-based EE initiatives through the development of long-term training facilities and by direct support to EE activities in priority field sites in the Central Annamites

Community-based environmental education (CBEE) is the term used here to describe the approach of building knowledge and capacity at the local level, so that people can play an active role in conservation Training in CBEE for protected area managers

is designed to increase their awareness and commitment to the importance of

community participation, while imparting practical tools to strengthen their work withcommunities Environmental education work with communities is intended to

contribute to concrete, on-the-ground conservation results by increasing the

understanding, commitment and skills of people who are directly affecting resources

Environmental education in Vietnam is in an early stage of development Attitudes, however, are changing positively from an EE approach focused on information

dissemination to one that is interactive Accompanying this change in attitude is a growing appreciation and recognition among government agencies and NGO’s of environmental education as an essential tool for furthering conservation goals

through public participation Opportunities for community participation in

conservation and natural resource management are presently severely constrained

by the lack of training mechanisms Very fundamental steps are necessary to

establish these mechanisms This project, as the first project to develop institutional capacity within Vietnam for community-based environmental education, would

constitute a significant step forward for conservation in Vietnam

Objective 1: To increase the immediate and long-term capacity of

government protected area managers to foster community participation in conservation though CBEE

Result 1.1: Participatory approach to CBEE institutionalized within Vietnam’s premiertraining facility for forest and protected area managers

 Collaboratively designed and tested CBEE curricula established within service and in-service training programs for PA managers at Xian Mai Forest University

pre- Handbook on CBEE produced that can be used by PA managers in forest PA’s throughout Vietnam and adapted for use in other countries

 A core group of University staff trained as trainers in CBEE and providing going training to all PA staff

on-The project will institutionalize a permanent CBEE program within Xuan Mai Forestry University, Vietnam’s principle training facility for Forest Protection Department staff directly responsible for managing Vietnam’s protected areas. Xuan Mai has been selected as the key partner both because its graduates take prominent positions in MARD, and will have the deepest impact on future action, and because WWF has a long history of successful cooperation with the University

Xuan Mai currently offers pre-service training leading to a degree in silviculture or forest resource management and protection (a degree in social forestry is being developed) At present, the coursework for these degrees does not include training

in Community-Based Environmental Education, though the University has expressed

a strong interest in developing such curricula

Therefore, the first activity of this project will be to develop curricula in based environmental education that can be integrated into the pre-service training for all protected area managerial staff, as well as into an annual intensive in-service training for government staff who will be charged specifically with developing and implementing CBEE programs for protected areas

community-In order for CBEE to be fully integrated into the pre-service training, and for the specialist in-service training course to be a permanent service offered by the

University, permanent University staff will be trained to run the EE course These trainees will be responsible for running the training courses after their initial training and evaluation

Specific activities will include:

 Establish a curriculum development working group comprising staff of Xuan Mai (particularly those staff who will be future CBEE Trainers) WWF EE Unit staff and the Curriculum Specialist

 Conduct a training needs assessment and review of existing CBEE materials in Vietnam and internationally

 Develop course materials including a training manual for use in the courses and handbook for future reference in the field

 Develop comprehensive curricula for pre-service and in-service trainings

 Identify trainers from among the staff of Xian Mai University and develop ToR for

EE responsibilities

 Design and conduct three-week training course for Trainers

 Undertake evaluation of training program

The University will participate by dedicating staff for the development of the curriculaand a handbook, and for conducting the course (once they themselves have been trained) The project will provide the technical assistance necessary to develop the course and CBEE handbook as well as the funds necessary to pilot and evaluate the training course

 Course materials and field handbook completed

 A comprehensive intensive curriculum developed with associated materials for service training for future staff dedicated to CBEE

 A curriculum developed, based on the content and materials developed for the service training, to integrate CBEE modules into existing pre-service training courses at Xuan Mai for all future protected management staff

in- On-going review of the curricula development and the handbook developed as part of the detailed performance measuring plan

 Staff of Xian Mai with full TOR dedicated to CBEE training (full-time and part-time)assigned by the University

 Active participation in three-week training course for the Trainers and training highly rated in follow-up evaluation

 Curricula and training material revised following evaluation of the training

 Initiatives for promoting continued practice of CBEE by trainees developed

Result 1.2: Core group of CBEE professionals established and increasing

 Approximately twenty staff members within MARD with intensive and practicaltraining all stages of developing EE as a critical tool for achieving effective conservation results

 All new protected area managers graduating from Xian Mai receiving CBEE as part of their regular training

Materials developed in the first phase will be used to run two curricula A two-month in-service training course will be run for staff dedicated to undertake the role as Environmental Educators in protected areas Approximately twenty trainees will undertake this course, selected using carefully defined criteria to encourage trainees from a wide variety of sources and backgrounds This course will be completed when

an intensive evaluation of the course and the materials has been conducted The

results of this evaluation will be used to refine the course and the materials used Following the in-service training, each trainee will be appointed a supervisor from theXuan Mai Trainers for one year to support, motivate and advise the implementation ofCBEE in the field.

CBEE modules will also be incorporated into the basic pre-service training curricula inorder that all protected area managers will graduate with a basic understanding of the role of EE in promoting community participation in conservation and

methodologies for implementing CBEE

Performance Indicators:

 Twenty staff selected for the intensive in-service training course of which at least six will be selected specifically to undertake CBEE in the Central Annamites

 Selection criteria developed for the in-service training participants

 A two-month intensive in-service training course in CBEE completed and

Result 2.1: Enhanced conservation action through local participation at two priority field sites

 CBEE activities developed and implemented at key sites, and demonstrated tohave increased the effectiveness of conservation initiatives at those sites

 EE demonstrated as a critical component of Protected Area management toinfluence government budgetary priorities

Six graduates of the in-service course will assisted by the project to develop and implement innovative CBEE projects in cooperation with two Protected Areas (PAs) in the Central Annamites as part of the wider conservation strategy developed for that area These activities will be targeted to support the implementation of Five Million Hectare Forest Restoration Program goals of improved management of existing forests and replanting on degraded forest lands The two most likely implementation sites are Song Thanh Nature Reserve and Dakrong Nature Reserve (proposed) Otherpotential sites are Bach Ma National Park, Saola Nature Reserve (proposed), and NgocLinh Nature Reserve A team of three trainees will work in each site

Critical issues to be addressed in Song Thanh reserve are development and

implementation of a management plan for the reserve forests and protection of endangered species such as elephants, tigers and endemic primates In Dakrong Nature Reserve, considerable work with the local communities will be required to ensure that the creation of a new reserve is accepted and encouraged by the local people and that local people are able to participate in the demarcation of the reserve and in its management (However, the specific location of the CBEE field initiatives will be determined as part of the conservation strategy for the Central Annamites over the next several months.)

The recently graduated technical EE officers, together with the technical staff of the Pas and with direct support from the project, will refine the selection of urgent

conservation issues that require community participation for success such as sustainable forestry practices in the buffer zone, anti-poaching enforcement and biodiversity monitoring The teams within the PA’s will then design and implement a comprehensive community based field program that supports direct action to

mitigate an urgent conservation issue The criteria for selecting the projects will be based on practical and effective actions that will achieve tangible results within the lifetime of the project

While specific strategies will be determined by the EE trainees, activities may

stewardship of nature and relating these to current conservation issues

 meetings to introduce and build relationships between forest guards/other

reserve staff and communities in order to cultivate the personal relationships necessary for trust and cooperation in conservation

 development and distribution of public awareness materials – including posters, calendars, a brochure on the reserve, etc., explaining forest and wildlife

regulations, how they would affect local activities and how people can become involved in developing regulations for the reserve

 school-based activities regarding nature reserve and its purposes – for example,

“forestry knowledge” contests among the students led by reserve staff andteachers

 Performances of theatre, puppet shows, and stories illustrating how peopleanalyze and adopt conservation-oriented changes in behavior

Effort would also be devoted to encouraging wider attention to the initiative – for example through media coverage – in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of CBEEspecifically and participation in general, and to magnify the results

 Performance Indicators:

 Six trainees identified to undertake the CBEE activities in the Central Annamites

 Identification of two protected areas and two issues related to community

participation and the effective implementation of the 5MHFP

 Two CBEE projects identified and designed by the two trainee teams with the technical staff of the PA under the supervision of the project staff and the Xuan Mai Trainers to promote community participation in the management of the selected protected areas

 Two CBEE projects designed with clearly indicated objectives and activities

 Baseline data on conservation issue documented and evaluation methodology designed

 Two examples of innovative, high profile CBEE activities undertaken

 Two written reports and presentations on the design, implementation and impact evaluation produced from the two CBEE activities produced

 Local press and television coverage of the activities conducted in the two

protected areas within the Central Annamites

 On-going evaluation of EE projects and final evaluation of the conservation impact

of the CBEE activities in the Central Annamites