environmental effects of socioeconomic development activities

Table of Contents 5.1. Research methods and techniques 1 5.1.1. Secondary data 1 5.1.2. Survey 1 5.1.3. Interview 2 5.1.4. Observation 3 5.2. Environmental impacts of Mining 4 5.2.1. Introduction 4 5.2.2. Potential environmental impacts of mining 5 5.2.2.1. Effects on land 5 5.2.2.2. Effect on water 7 5.2.2.3. Impacts on atmosphere including noise pollution 10 5.2.3. Environmental impacts of miningquarrying at Ba Vi 13 5.2.4. Case study 1: Stone mining at Chẹ 14 5.2.4.1. Background 14 5.2.4.2. Environmental effects of stone mining activities at Chẹ 16 5.2.5. Case study 2: Pyrite mining at Minh Quang 18 5.2.5.2. Environmental effects of stone mining activities at Pyrite Minh Quang 21 5.3. Environmental impacts of forest resources exploitation 23 5.3.1. Background 23 5.3.2. Potential effects of forest resources exploitation in Ba Vi 25 5.4. Tourism and environmental impacts in Ba Vi District 26 5.4.1. Some concepts 26 5.4.1.1. Tourism 26 5.4.1.2. Types of tourism 27 5.4.1.3. Tourism resource 27 5.4.1.4. Tourism territory system 28 5.4.1.5. Sustainable tourism 29 5.4.2. Tourism and environmental impacts 30 5.4.2.1. Impacts to nature 30 5.3.2.2. Impacts to social environment 33 5.4.3. Tourism routes and areas in Ba Vi District, Hanoi 35 5.4.3.1. Ba Vi National Park 35 5.4.3.2. Thien Son Suoi Nga Tourism Area 37 5.4.3.3. Khoang Xanh Suoi Tien Tourism Area 37 5.4.3.4. Ao Vua Tourism Area 38 5.4.3.5 Thac Da Tourism Area 39 5.4.3.6. Long Viet Tourism Area 40 5.4.3.7. Other tourism spots 40 5.5. Environmental impacts of urbanization and industrialization 45 5.5.1. Introduction 45 5.5.1.1. Urbanization 45 5.5.1.2. Industrialization 45 5.5.2. Field site: International Dairy JSC (IDP) 46 5.5.2.1. Introduction about the International Dairy JSC (IDP) 46 5.5.2.2. Production technology at the International Dairy JSC (IDP) 49 5.5.2.3. Environmental Status of Internation Dairy JSC (IDP) 52 5.5.2.4. Research questions 56 5.5.3. Field site: Xuân Sơn waste disposal complex 57 5.5.3.1. Project: 1st phase of waste disposal area in Sơn Tây and vicinity (JSC, 2011) 57 5.5.3.2. Project: 2nd phase of waste disposal area in Sơn Tây and vicinity 59 5.5.3.3. Line No. 2 Sơn Tây Waste Treatment Plant 61 5.5.3.4. Research questions 64 5.5.4. Field site: The Dao ethnic minority community in Ba Vì 64 5.5.4.1. The unique culture of the Daos 64 5.5.4.2. Traditional medicinal profession of the Daos in Ba Vì 69 5.5.4.3. Research questions 71 References ……………………………………………………………………………………72

THEME 5 ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Table of Contents

List of Table

List of Figure

5.1 Research methods and techniques

Some important methods and techniques for field research are introduced in this section.Within each general research approach, one or many data collection techniques may be used.Typically, a researcher will decide for one or more data collection techniques whileconsidering its overall appropriateness to the research, along with other practical factors, suchas: expected quality of the collected data, estimated costs, predicted non-response rates,expected level of measure errors, and length of the data collection period Data collection can

be done by secondary data sources, surveys and interview

5.1.1 Secondary data

Students can make use of secondary data before going to fieldwork This type of dataincludes previous researches and studies had been carried out in Ba Vi Secondary dataanalysis saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting data and, particularly in the case

of quantitative data, provides larger and higher-quality databases that would be unfeasible forstudents to collect on their own In addition, secondary data is also very important in case ofcomparison of environmental and social changes in the research areas from one period of time

to another Furthermore, secondary data can also be helpful in the design of primary researchand can provide a baseline with which the collected primary data results can be compared to.The validity and reliability of secondary data must be checked carefully before using in theresearch It is recommended that only high-quality secondary data which had been examined,approved and published can be used It is necessary to have a review of secondary data on thefollowing issues in the research areas:

- Environmental changes by different time periods

- Social and economic changes

- Mineral exploration activities

- Production activities

- Tourism activities

Limitation of secondary data:

- No proper procedure is adopted to collect the data

- Influenced by the prejudice of the investigator sometimes

- Lacks standard of accuracy sometimes

5.1.2 Survey

Survey studies the sampling of individual units from a population and the associated surveydata collection techniques, such as questionnaire construction and methods for improving thenumber and accuracy of responses to surveys

Statistical surveys are undertaken with a view towards making statistical inferences about thepopulation being studied, and this is depends strongly on the survey questions used Surveys

provide important information for all kinds of public information and research fields.Since survey research is almost always based on a sample of the population, the success of theresearch is dependent on the representativeness of the sample with respect to a targetpopulation of interest to the researcher That target population can range from the generalpopulation to specific groups of people.

To identify the environmental impacts of production, mineral exploration and tourism in theresearch areas, surveys designed for different groups of people are highly recommended.There are certain skills that need to be acquired for making a good survey

Those skills involve the following activities:

- Identify and select potential sample members

- Contact sampled individuals and collect data from those who are hard to reach (orreluctant to respond)

- Evaluate and test questions

- Select the mode for posing questions and collecting responses

- Check data files for accuracy and internal consistency

- Adjust survey estimates to correct for identified errors

5.1.3 Interview

Interviewing is a technique used to understand the experiences of others.Interviewing differsfrom other methods of data collection in that it is often more exploratory in nature, and allowsfor more flexibility The most important skills to make a proper are summarized below:

- Listening: This is both the hardest as well as the most important skill in

interviewing The listening skill in interview requires more focus and attention todetail than what is typical in normal conversation Thus, it is often helpful to takenotes or to tape-record the interviews

- Ask questions (to follow up and to clarify): Although interviews are often prepared

with set of questions, it is important that the interviewers also ask follow-upquestions throughout the process Such questions might encourage a participant toelaborate upon something poignant that they’ve shared and are important inacquiring a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter Additionally, it

is important that an interviewer ask clarifying questions when they are confused

- Be respectful of boundaries: It is essential that while the participant is being

interviewed they are being encouraged to explore their experiences in a manner that

is sensitive and respectful They should not be “probed” in such a way that makesthem feel uncomfortable Thus, it is the interviewer’s job to strike a balance betweenambiguity and specificity in their question asking

- Asking open-ended questions instead of leading questions: Leading questions are

questions which suggest or imply an answer While they are often asked innocently

they run the risk of altering the validity of the responses obtained as they discourageparticipants from using their own language to express their sentiments Thus it ispreferable that interviewers ask open-ended questions instead For example, instead

of asking “Was the stream at the mineral exploration site polluted?” - which isleading in nature - it would be better to ask “How do you think of the stream waterquality at the mineral exploration site? - as this suggests no expectation

- Make the participant feel comfortable: For the participants to be more open and

express their true experiences, it is helpful to create a friendly and informalatmosphere when the interviews are taken place

There are different type of interviews which can be chosen depends on the situation

- Informal, conversational interview - no predetermined questions are asked, in order

to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee’s nature and priorities;during the interview the interviewer “goes with the flow”

- General interview guide approach - intended to ensure that the same general areas ofinformation are collected from each interviewee; this provides more focus than theconversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability ingetting the information from the interviewee

- Standardized, open-ended interview - the same open-ended questions are asked to allinterviewees; this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be more easilyanalyzed and compared

- Closed, fixed-response interview - all interviewees are asked the same questions andasked to choose answers from among the same set of alternatives This format isuseful for those not practiced in interviewing

Groups selected to be interviewed during fieldwork can varied from local communities, localauthorities, factory managers, tourists and experts in different fields The greatest advantage

of interviewing is the depth of detail from the interviewees It also has a unique advantage inits specific form Researchers can tailor the questions they ask to the respondent in order toget the information they need

The disadvantages of interviewing are complications with the planning of the interview Notonly is recruiting people for interviews hard, due to the typically personal nature of theinterview, planning where to meet them and when can be difficult Participants can cancel orchange the meeting place at the last minute

5.1.4 Observation

Direct Observation

Data is gathered primarily through close visual inspection of a natural setting Rather thanactively engaging members of a setting in conversations or interviews, the direct observerstrives to be unobtrusive and detached from the setting

• Advantage of direct observation: It offers contextual data on settings, interactions orindividuals

• Disadvantage of direct observation: Behaviors observed during direct observationmay be unusual or atypical.

• Forms of data gathered from direct observation: The principle form of directobservation is field notes, which detail behaviors, conversations, or settingcharacteristics as recorded by the researcher

Direct observation as a research method is most appropriate to open, public settings whereanyone has a right to be or congregate

Participant Observation

A field research method whereby the researcher develops an understanding of thecomposition of a particular setting or society by taking part in the everyday routines andrituals alongside its members

• Advantage of participant observation: The researcher develops a rich, "thick"understanding of a setting and of the members within a society

• Disadvantages of participant observation: The researcher must devote a large amount

of time (and money) to develop this complex understanding

• The practice of participant observation, with its emphasis on developing relationshipswith members, often leads to informal, conversational interviews and more formal,in-depth interviews

5.2 Environmental effects of Mining

5.2.1 Introduction

Mining is ranked as the fifth largest industry in the world and it is a major economic activity

in many developing countries (Corpuz, 1997) Operations, whether small or large scale, areinherently disruptive to the environment (Kitula, 2006), producing enormous quantities ofwaste that can have deleterious impacts for decades The environmental deterioration caused

by mining occurs mainly as a result of inappropriate and wasteful working practices andrehabilitation measures Mining has a number of common stages or activities, each of whichhas potentially adverse impacts on the natural environment, society and cultural heritage, thehealth and safety of mine workers, and communities based in close proximity to operations

As a resource- intensive and environmentally sensitive industry, it can help to accelerate theeconomic development of once country at the beginning of industrialization (Changhai, et al.,2012) Humans can either improve the environment and then benefit from it or do damage tothe environment that will endanger their own development and existence An increasingnumber of people have come to realize the importance of studies on populations, resources,the environment and disasters (Qing-hua and Zong-jin, 2010)

Rainforests are the biggest source of oxygen, wood and medicines on this earth Amazonrainforest is known for alluvial gold deposits Gold is found both in river channels and at thebanks of the river after floods (floodplains) Hydraulic mining techniques are used for mininggold The method involves blasting at the banks of the river This has caused irreversibledamage to trees, birds and animals While separating the sediment and mercury from the gold-

yielding gravel deposits, small-scale miners who are less equipped than industrial miners,may ignore release of some mercury into the river This mercury enters the food chainthrough aquatic animals and their predators Highly poisonous compound 'cyanide' is alsoused to separate gold from sediment and rock In spite of all precautionary measures, itsometimes escapes into the surrounding environment Those who eat fish are at greater risk ofingesting such toxins In 1978, American Council on Environmental Quality introduced theconcept of cumulative effect: when environmental effect of an activity combines with otherprevious, present, and future effects, the effect will be enhanced and lead to cumulative effect(American council on environmental quality regulation 40CFR1508) In 1997, the cumulativeeffect is further explained as that accumulated through time and space by the effect of other orprevious activity on the region which has not totally recovered from previous anthropogenicdisturbing activity (USCEQ, 1997) According to cumulative process, cumulative effectshould include space congestion, time congestion, time delay, space crowed, cross boundaryeffect, synergy effects, and so on (Cooper, 2004)

Based on the principle of the cumulative effect, environmental cumulative impact wasdefined Cumulative effect, therefore, was suggested to be used for evaluation of project andregional environmental impact

5.2.2 Potential environmental impacts of mining

The impact of the mining industry on the environment has been a public concern, withgrowing appreciation of the natural environment and increasing awareness of the possibleharmful effects that the industry's activities can cause The industry and government haveresponded with a number of initiatives and regulations to protect and manage theenvironmental effects of mining activities Mining of minerals, being an environmentallyunfriendly activity, has attracted attention from the stand point of environmental impacts andtheir mitigation Another fact about mining is that it is a site specific activity and is only anintermediate use of the land because mining is done at the sites where the minerals exist andthe land is of no use to the mining companies in the pre and post mining times Mining affectsall the components of environment and the impacts are permanent/temporary,beneficial/harmful, repairable/irreparable, and reversible/ irreversible

5.2.2.1 Effects on land

Land is one of the most important resource for the human beings as this is needed for all theactivities Mining activities both by underground as well as by opencast methods affect theland in various ways These impacts are briefly outlined hereunder

Impacts of opencast mining

• Topography and land scenario changes due to digging of open pitsand dumping of overburden rock mass in the form of the heaps

• The land-use pattern undergoes a change due to the use of the landfor mining, dumping, and other mining and associated activities

• The land-use in the surrounding areas may get affected due to theimpacts of mining on water regime

• Leachets from overburden dumps and other rock masses andpolluted water from the pits affect the characteristics of the top-soil affecting theland-use.

• In the mines having mineral concentration/preparation it is required

to make tailing dams to store the tailings form the concentration/preparation plants.These dams need land and may cause pollution of nearby underground and surfacewater sources

• The drainage pattern on the surface undergoes a change due to thealterations in the surface topography due to mining and associated activities

Impacts of underground mining

• Changes in land use due to constructions and infrastructuredevelopment

• Changes in topography and drainage pattern due to subsidence

• Disturbances in the effective land-use due to damage to the surface,sub-surface and underground water bodies

• Discharge of polluted water from the underground mines affects thetop-soil on the surface

• The rock mass having carbonaceous shales may develop mine firesand when these fires become surface fires they tend to damage the land over andadjacent to them due to subsidence and heat

• In the con-coal mining sector there are chances of sudden collapse

of underground workings causing a marked depression on the surface This wasobserved at Zawar and Khetri

Impacts of mineral handling and preparation

• Changes in the land use due to the construction of mineral handlingand preparation plants

• Impacts on top-soil due to effluent discharge from the plants

• Pollution of underground water bodies (water table) due to effluentdischarge and leachets

Impacts of other activities

• Urbanisation, development of infrastructure and expansion ofcolonies and villages cause changes in the land use

• Impacts on the top soil due to solid and liquid wastes dischargedfrom the colonies, etc

• Changes in the overall land scenario.

It is evident from the above stated impacts of the mining and associated activities on the landthat in the mining complexes the land use and surface drainage pattern undergoes a majorchange These changes can be minimized by carefully planning the surface layout of themining areas and optimizing the land requirement for the various uses Therefore, beforeplanning the mining activities it is necessary to make a comprehensive study of the land useand drainage pattern of the area

Another important aspect of land management is the design of land reclamation anddevelopment of the post mining land use, which is a requirement for the efficient management

of the land as well as the overall environmental scenario

The development of post mining land use plan along with the land reclamation takes care ofthe dumps outside the mine area as the overburden rocks are invariably required for filling thepits The land developed after reclamation can be brought into various uses as per therequirement of the area in the post mining times With these in view the practice of planningdecommissioning the mines has been recently introduced in the country

Deforestation

Mining requires large areas of land to be cleared so that the earth could be dug into by theminers For this reason, large-scale deforestation is required to be carried out in the areaswhere mining has to be done Besides clearing the mining area, vegetation in the adjoiningareas also needs to be cut in order to construct roads and residential facilities for the mineworkers The human population brings along with it other activities that harm theenvironment For example, various activities at coal mines release dust and gas into the air.Thus, mining is one of the major causes of deforestation and pollution

Loss of Biodiversity

The forests that are cleared for mining purposes are home to a large number of organisms.Indiscriminate clearing of the forests leads to loss of habitat of a large number of animals.This puts the survival of a large number of animal species at stake The cutting down of trees

in itself is a big threat to a number of plants, trees, birds and animals growing in the forests

Pollution

Despite measures being taken to release the chemical waste into the nearby rivers throughpipes, a large amount of chemicals still leak out onto the land This changes the chemicalcomposition of the land Besides this, since the chemicals are poisonous, they make the soilunsuitable for plants to grow Also, the organisms that live in the soil find the pollutedenvironment hostile for their survival

5.2.2.2 Effect on water

Mining and associated activities have quantitative as well as qualitative impacts on the waterregime in and around the complexes These are briefly outlined hereunder

Impacts of opencast mining

• All the surface water bodies have to be removed from the areadesignated for opencast mining and associated activities

• All the aquifers, including the water-table aquifer, above themineral deposit to be extracted are damaged because for exposing the mineral forextraction the overburden rocks are removed

• If there are high pressure aquifers below the mineral deposit itbecomes necessary to pump out water from these aquifers to reduce water pressure tofacilitate mining

• Water in the nearby water bodies gets polluted due to leaching fromoverburden dumps, discharge of pumped out mine water, and other activities in the

vicinity of the water bodies.

• In the areas having pyrites and sulfides in the rock mass the minewater as well as the leachets may be acidic and their discharge in the surface waterbodies may enhance heavy metal pollution potential

• In the reclaimed open pits the filled out areas may accumulate water

in rock's interspaces This may in the long run serve the purpose of a water body

• During rainy seasons the run-off water from the areas surroundingthe mines may carry with it a large doze of suspended solids into the nearby waterbodies

Impacts of underground mining

Like opencast mining underground mining of minerals also affects the water regime.However, if necessary, the surface water bodies can be protected by controlling thesubsidence movements The impacts depend on the magnitude of the subsidence movements.The impacts are invariably more severe when underground extraction is done with caving.The impacts are briefly outlined hereunder

• If the subsidence movements on the surface are more than the safelimits for the surface water bodies it becomes necessary to remove/drain them

• Due to underground mining the overlying underground waterbodies are disturbed and water from them finds way to the underground workingsfrom where it is pumped out The disturbances to the underground water bodiesreduce the availability of water not only in the mining area but also in theneighboring areas

• With the development of the cracks up to the surface water from thesurface specially during rains finds way to the underground workings through thecracks This water may carry with it various pollutants from the surface

• The underground mine workings not in use may becomewaterlogged The caved and stowed goaves also store a sizable quantity of water.These water bodies are sometimes very useful.

• The polluted underground water when pumped out and discharged

on the surface may pollute the surface water bodies

Impacts of mineral preparation

• The effluents from the mineral preparation plants when dischargedinto the surface water bodies, pollute their water

• The effluents when discharged on the surface pollute the top soiland sub soils and also the water table

Impacts of other activities

• Domestic, agricultural and industrial effluents when discharged intothe surface water bodies cause water pollution

• The effluents when discharged on the surface pollute the soils andthe water table water

• Decaying of domestic and industrial solid wastes and use of openspaces for natural calls by the human beings also cause pollution of water in thesurface water bodies and water table

It is evident from the above that the mining and associated activities not only pollute the water

in the surface and sub-surface water bodies but also tend to reduce the availability of waterfrom the various sources in the complexes Therefore it is necessary to plan the mining andassociated activities in such a manner that their impacts on the water regime are minimumpossible In order to do such a planning comprehensive knowledge of the water regime isessential

In case of the opencast mining damage to the sub-surface and underground water bodies isunavoidable as there are cut across during mining However, removal of surface water bodiescan be minimized by suitably planning the layout of the mining activities It is also necessary

to plan the layout for the minimum possible alterations in the surface drainage pattern Such aplanning is possible with the help of three dimensional modeling

Damage to the underground and sub-surface water bodies is also unavoidable in undergroundmining specially with caving However, with proper planning of the underground workingsthe impacts on the surface water bodies and also on the surface drainage pattern can beminimized

In both the underground and opencast mining the water management needs development ofsuitable water bodies so that in the post mining times the availability of water can be ensuredfor various purposes In the opencast mining surface as well as underground water bodies can

be planned with reclamation, while in the underground mining areas underground waterbodies can be developed at the time of decommissioning and closure of the mines

Chemicals like mercury, cyanide, sulfuric acid, arsenic and methyl mercury are used invarious stages of mining Most of the chemicals are released into nearby water bodies, and areresponsible for water pollution In spite of tailings (pipes) being used to dispose thesechemicals into the water bodies, possibilities of leakage are always there When the leakedchemicals slowly percolate through the layers of the earth, they reach the groundwater andpollute it Surface run-off of just soil and rock debris, although non-toxic, can be harmful forvegetation of the surrounding areas

Loss of Aquatic Life

Release of toxic chemicals into the water is obviously harmful for the flora and fauna of thewater bodies Besides the pollution, mining processes require water from nearby watersources For example, water is used to wash impurities from the coal The result is that thewater content of the river or lake from which water is being used gets reduced Organisms inthese water bodies do not have enough water for their survival

River dredging is a method adopted in case of gold mining In this method, gravel and mud issuctioned from a particular area of the river After the gold fragments are filtered out, theremaining mud and gravel is released back into the river, although, at a location different fromwhere they had been taken This disrupts the natural flow of the river that may cause fish andother organisms to die

Previously buried metal sulfides are exposed during mining activities When they come incontact with the atmospheric oxygen, they get converted into strong sulfuric acid and metaloxides Such compounds get mixed up in the local waterways and contaminate local riverswith heavy metals

Spread of diseases

Sometimes the liquid waste that is generated after the metals or minerals have been extracted

is disposed in a mining pit As the pit gets filled up by the mine tailings, they become astagnant pool of water This becomes the breeding ground for water-borne diseases causinginsects and organisms like mosquitoes to flourish

5.2.2.3 Impacts on atmosphere including noise pollution

The mining and associated activities in the mining complexes not only pollute the air but alsocause noise pollution

Impacts of opencast mining

• Removal of vegetation from the area designated for mining andother purposes produces dust which when air-borne causes an increase in theconcentration of SPM in the surrounding air

• Removal, handling, transportation and storage of soils also causes

an increase in the concentration of SPM in the atmosphere The use of dieselequipment in these activities causes an increase in the level of NOx

• Drilling and blasting of overburden and the mineral contribute SPMand explosive fumes into the atmosphere.

• In-pit crushing, loading and transportation of the mineral and theoverburden rock mass and making the dumps contribute SPM and NOx

• Minerals and rock mass having sulfur and its compounds maycontribute SO2

• Making of the overburden dumps and the use of diesel equipmentfor this purpose contribute SPM and NOx

• Some of the sedimentary rocks may have CH4 and when mined theymay contribute this gas to the surrounding air

• Fires in opencast mines contribute heat, SPM, SO2, CO2 and CO

• Use of petrol vehicles in the mines contributes hydrocarbons andlead

• The equipment used in the opencast mines for various purposesincluding the transport of the overburden and mineral generate continuous noise,while blasting produces impulsive noise All the noise generated in the mine doesnot become ambient nose as the noise generated from the different sources getsreflected and refracted and ultimately the resultant of all the noises after reflectionand refraction reaches the surface to become the ambient noise

Impacts of underground mining

• The exhaust air from the underground mines contributes SPM, CO2,

CH4, NOx, SO2, and other pollutants

• The surface activities in the underground mining areas, e.g., dieselgenerating stations, boilers, etc contribute SPM, NOx, and CO2

• The machines and equipment installed at the shafts, inclines,compressor houses, workshops, etc generate noise, which tends to become ambientnoise as it is generated on the surface

Impacts of mineral preparation activities

• Mineral handling, mineral preparation and associated activitiesmainly contribute SPM to the atmosphere In the mineral preparation plants havingchemical processes producing gases the atmosphere may get polluted due to emission

• Domestic burning of coal and other fuels, and open burning of coalproduce SPM and CO2 and contribute them to the atmosphere.

• The transport network using diesel and petrol vehicles andgeneration of power by DG sets, and other activities in the mining complexescontribute SPM, NOx, CO2, CO and other atmospheric pollutants

• Smoking contributes SPM and CO2

• Industrial activities depending upon their processes, inputs andoutputs contribute various air pollutants

• Paddy cultivation contributes CH4

• Use of pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals for spraying and

in agricultural and horticultural activities may contribute air borne chemicals

• The constructional activities contribute SPM to the atmosphere

• Domestic activities, playing of music and loud speakers, plying ofvehicles on the roads, DG sets, etc produce noise which becomes ambient noise

It is noted from the above mentioned impacts of the different activities on the atmosphere thatthe mining and associated activities not only contribute to the ambient air pollution but also tothe ambient noise situation Atmospheric pollution due to the mining and associated activitiescan be minimized by planning the activities in such a manner that the generation of thepollutants is minimum possible In addition provisions may be made for arresting the dust bymaking suitable green belts

• Generation of dust in the removal of the vegetation and soils can beminimized by maintaining adequate moisture in the soil This can also be expected

to improve the efficiency of these operations as in dusty atmosphere the efficiencydecreases

• Use of dust extractors with the drill machines can be expected tominimize air pollution due to drilling

• By optimizing the blast design the generation of dust due toblasting can be reduced

• Proper maintenance of the haul roads can minimize the generation

of air borne dust due to movement of dumpers on them

• Water spraying at the transfer points tends to reduce air pollution

• Enclosing the mineral handling and preparation units tend to reducethe contribution of SPM to the atmosphere

• Proper maintenance of the equipment and machines in the minesand other places in the complexes helps not only in minimizing the contributions tothe air pollution but also the noise generation.

• In the residential locations playing of the loud speakers speciallyafter 9.00 pm should be avoided to minimize the noise levels

• The locations of the residential locations should be planned suchthat they are on the up wind side of the mines and plants so that for most of times theatmospheric pollutants are taken away rather than being brought towards theselocations

• Green belts of adequate widths, say 25 -50 m, may be plannedbetween the residential areas and the mines not only to attenuate noise but also toarrest dust

5.2.3 Environmental impacts of mining/quarrying at Ba Vi

As points of view from scientists, mineral resources of Ba Vi are diversified but low capacityand it is not enough for exploitation at industrial scale (Can, et al., 2000) Despite that fact,exploitation at small scale is occurring continuously in Ba Vi and its surrounding areas.(Uyen, 2011)

There are plenty of minerals as gold, copper, asbestos, limestone, kaolin, pyrite, etc but theyare not concentrated in a large ore but scattered Hence, small scale exploitation happen innational park and its surrounding is from unorganized activities of local people (Can, et al.,2000) Multi-metal sulphide copper ores are found at code 260 of Ba Vi National Park Non-metallic minerals, mainly asbestos, is distributed in Quyt village, next to mount Da De.Asbestos mine in the Quyt village of Yen Bai commune has been mined from 3-4 years ago

It was completely exploited and it left back a mess of deep holes with waste soil mixed upwith dispose of asbestos particles District Department of Natural Resources and Environmentsaid that management responsibility is of Committee of Yen Bai commune There was noenvironmental restoration action from the exploiting enterprise while asbestos is a bannedmineral material (Hoe, et al., 2011) At Minh Quang, Yen Bai communes, pyrite and asbestosmines are indiscriminate exploited, carved deep into the earth, the land fell into the state ofabandoned in decade without environmental restoration Wastewater is contaminated withiron and sulfuric acid and may contain heavy metals arsenic (carcinogens) turns red as blood

It follows the stream into the river, and leaches into groundwater Minh Quang pyrite minewas abandoned nearly a dozen years and soils, waste ore still lying exposed on the surfacetopography Water drips from the mine have very low pH (2-3) and can contain the element ofarsenic in the iron lattice of pyrite (Can, et al., 2000, Hoe, et al., 2011) In the old mine areas,

no trees can grow and it creates a serious impact on the landscape and directly affects thehealth of local people

Fig 5.1: Pictures of abandon mine points: asbestos in Quyt village (left) and pyrite Minh

Quang (right)

Photo courtesy of N.V Duc on Apr 2013

Facing this problem, the scientists expressed concern about the "disregard" for environmentalprotection measures for the National Park By far, there is no plan to reduce pollution as well

as restore the environment in post-mining period proposed by local authorities Meanwhile,mining activity has continued to occur in these areas, accompanied by loss of land and loss offorest and soil deposition due to waste soil and stone Since there is not statistics data,however it is obvious that lots of gardening land of households in Quyt village was due to thisasbestos exploitation and land in stream branches was lost caused of pyrite exploitation (Lien,2012) In addition, a number of projects under construction around the park also seriouslyeffect the environment of the region such as the Middle Temple restoration project, VienPagoda (situated right on the zoning code of 350 in ecological restoration of the core Ba ViNational Park) and the motor vehicle road to the temple which was approved by HanoiPeople's Committee in May 9, 2011 As far, Tan Vien temple and car park was completed, theroad was also broken through and bridges, drainage and erosion control works are beingcompleted According to scientists, the construction works are located on the western slopes

of Mount Ba Vi, geodynamics on a slope along an active fault upon This is a landslide hazardzones with very high energy The frequent reinforcement of the road will make the area moreextended, artificial landscape on the road diverges from the natural landscape of the park

5.2.4 Case study 1: Stone mining at Chẹ

5.2.4.1 Background

Mount Da Che, also known as Hon Che, located at the border between Khanh Thuongcommune, Ba Vi district (Hanoi) and a commune of Hoa Binh province Mount Da Che is abeautiful landscape of the country The mount vertically scans down the Da River, in theregion bordering 3 provinces - in Hanoi, Hoa Binh and Phu Tho A Vietnam Muong CulturalSpace and deep spiritual domain here has become famous It is also an indispensable part toprevent floodwater that "revenge five years, ever jealous" for Ba Vi mountain ranges andlarge residential areas As “honored” by a variety of books, ancient legends of peoples fromthe story of Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh, that Son Tinh was standing on Mount Ba Vi and threw outmount Che to Da river center to kill all monster species, to block water for civilians rescuing,and to protect Princess Ngoc Hoa Deadly Da river has creates a lot of deaths in itssurrounding areas, but when it meets mount Che, water flow is changed and the entiredownstream area is protected

Fig 5.2: The legend of Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh fight

Source: Extracted from http://www.kingsislandgolf.com

In ancient Muong language of Vietnam, "Che" means "Stop" The high mountains attractmany birds, mountain goats, monkeys climbing to the apes It is also covered by large trees.Underground cave across the mount to Da river The government has had plan to reserve andpromote the heritage values of the geology, geomorphology, cultural and spiritual of the sitesince last century However, until now it is covered by quarrying labors and put in a miserablestatus

Fig 5.3: Mount Che with a view point from Khanh Thuong commune People’s Committee

Photo courtesy of N.V Duc on 03 Apr 2013

As a big mountain facing the river, there are so many interesting natural phenomenons in thismount Monkeys can go from mount to mount through trunk as they go footbridges Wild

mountain goat stand crowd on the gray stone The mount is also a famous for starling birdsplayers Especially the shrimp cave, shrimp lake The underground river connects to Da river

so when river water level rises, lakes are full of shrimp even at the dry season Da Giangshrimp abound drag on, because of warm water of limestone with many burrows So theynamed the residential areas at mount Che bottom is shrimp village In the 1980s, the foothillsresidents still have to battle with wild monkeys breaking crops

Mount Che is also well known by many elegant cause of its famous Ham Rong (Dragon)Mount Dragon is the mascot entered the Vietnamese thinking in every region and everygeneration, so we can have Ham Rong in many places Ba Vi mountain with a height of justover 1,200 meters over sea level, the mountain is not high, but it has the residence of TanVien Son holy reign so it is considered as the original mount of the entire Southern sky HamRong of mount Che was prepared by the Government proposal dossier recognized as nationallandscape

When the water level goes down, the stone looks like a dragon jaw with dragon forehead andalso dragon teeth Da river flow comes here, butting to Ham Rong, rushing rapids roll Onlyvery strong rowers dare to pass People always have to bow hello to Ham Rong bridge whiletravelling through the flow to ask for peace

After the war - in 1956 – a quarrying enterprise was established in mount Che to get stone forconstruction of irrigation channels, railroads, motor roads in many places At its peak time,thousands of people came for quarrying A few decades later, the mount is standing stilltemples are still sanctuary, apes and monkeys are still dancing, shrimp lake are still blue.Because the mountain is too large, human works is such as sand in the sea Mount Che loversbegan to worry seeing white pieces in the sky where people blasting day and night Then theyhire a professional to photograph to capture the picture of their home landscape to hang intheir houses for remembering

Fig 5.4: Temple established for people who died of destroying the spiritual site of mount Che

Source: Extracted from http://laodong.com.vn/Phong-su/Hon-Che-lan-vao-bi-dat/55442.bld

5.2.4.2 Environmental effects of stone mining activities at Chẹ

After nearly four decades of operation, mining enterprise of mount Che dissolved in around

1990 and the mount was remained standing still at that time The reason is that as before, itwas only craft exploited to serve the urgent needs of the country works Later, more complex,cooperatives, companies, large units sought "torn" mountain tea with incredible speed Theybuy all kinds of fuse and explosive material and freely down the mountain, despite theknowledge and mountain blasting process Accidents happened in a row, many people dietragically At its peak, there are 4 quarrying enterprises in mount Che area, including Song DaCement Joint Stock Company, Ba Vi Quarrying company, Binh Minh Construction andTourism company, and Tien Phong quarrying Cooperatives Limestone mining began here in12/1994 Previously, mount Che is the home for many rare animals and plants but since themine exploded, they had to find shelter elsewhere, natural landscapes are seriously violated.Currently, rocky mountain ranges have been exploited to exhaustion which created a wrathfor local people The concerned problem for authorities and community is the speed of freeextraction forces takes place very quickly with rudimentary technology, labor safetyextremely low In the last few years, the mountain was exploited with “production” equals to

by other firms over several decades Local people benefit almost nothing while they have tobear all the consequences of landmine explosions, dust, smoke, crack houses, and brokenroads Environmental fee is still a question that a number of managers and communities arewondering

One of the most popular products to be exploited in mount Che is limestone Limestone,composed mostly of calcium carbonate, is used primarily to produce Portland cement for thebuilding industry Other products that use limestone include breakfast cereal, paint, calciumsupplements, antacid tablets, paper and white roofing materials Limestone is a karst-formingrock, which produce landforms that are formed by dissolution, and represents about 10percent of the world's land surface But limestone cannot be mined without impacting theenvironment Potential environmental effects could be listed:

Groundwater

Groundwater quality can be affected by quarrying limestone by increasing sediment andaccidental spills directly into the aquifers These contaminants can also include material likeoil and gas from mining equipment Because contaminants in ground water move fasterthrough limestone than other types of rocks, quarries in karst areas must be especially careful.Quarrying also removes the entire subcutaneous zone, an important ground-water storagearea Pumping water out of underground mines changes the direction and the amount ofgroundwater flow When the operation of a quarry or mine ends, the direct impacts ongroundwater quality may decreased but the long-term contamination can persist

Subsidence

Limestone is often mined from a quarry However, underground limestone mines can befound in the ground surface near mining area In humid climates, limestone dissolves quicklyand is carried away by water This creates caves which can become weak and collapse.Underground mining of limestone can cause a cascading environmental impact Mining in thekarst can lower the water table, which removes the support of rock that overlies water-filledcaverns, which can create sinkholes

Dust is one of the most visible impacts associated with limestone quarrying due to thedrilling, crushing and screening of the rock The mine site conditions can affect the impact ofdust generated during extraction, including rock properties, moisture, ambient air currents andprevailing winds, and the proximity to population centers Fugitive dust can escape fromtrucks traveling on excavation haul roads and from blasting This airborne dust can travel longdistances from a mining site and affect urban and rural residential areas downwind

Fig 5.5: Picture of abandon post – mining landscape in mount Che

Photo courtesy of N.V Duc on Apr 2013

All of the interviewees, including local authorities, labors, and local people, have pointed outthat mining in mount Che left many adverse consequences The number of deaths due toaccidents and mysterious reasons kept increasing In decades, the enterprise had to climb, roll,carrying each rock into the boat or truck very hard, and they did not dare to break a "gravesite" sacred But then, because of their profit and “quixotry”, To Hong Thong and NguyenThong Nhat in Tom village used mine to destroy Ham Rong tip They simply thought it isnear and they can easily have a few stone lighters After the "hit" with abortion Ham Rong, healso went to the mountain temple of god to apologize local brothel However, shortly after hewas crushed by a large stone with incomplete death found It is very strange that the personwho is responsible for his death was Nguyen Thong Nhat who accompanied with him in theHam Rong destroy Yet, shortly after, also in that area, Nhat also picked up the cliff falls fromheights, imperfection is found dead People started talking a lot about that unimaginable story.After that, in the neighboring village, sudden death happened to many youths as well as manyother accident related to quarrying activities

Questions

1 Investigate environmental problems happening in limestone exploitation point inmount Che

2 Who is responsible for environmental problems in limestone exploitation point inmount Che?

3 What is the cause for mount Che conflict between Ha Noi and Hoa Binh at the timebeing?

4 Investigate natural resources tax and environmental fee related to limestonequaryying activities in mount Che

5.2.5 Case study 2: Pyrite mining at Minh Quang

5.2.5.1 Background

Minh Quang pyrite mine has 7 parts in which the I, II parts are more valuable The main partdevelops steadily with a length of 1,000m and wide of 2-3 m but the components are unstable.The mine body is in the form of Vien Nam volcanic rock formations 800-2600 m long, 40-70

m wide, and 9.3 m thick sometimes The mine has narrow pyrite ore, in addition to sphalerite,galena, chalcopyrite Reserves of the mine is estimated at 400,000 tons per year andexploitation production of around 20,000 tons (Can, et al., 2000, Tri, et al., 2000)

Fig 5.6: Minh Quang pyrite mine

Photo courtesy of N.V Duc on Apr 2013

Most pyrite grains architecture itself due to its large crystalline form with particle size from0.5 to several centimeters, but the crystals are often cracked and filled with later mineralformations Relatively large pyrite could be seen by naked eyes Pyrite includes manydifferent generations:

- Generation 1: Pyrite grains are usually small, high self-image, scattered in the ore

and are mainly distributed in propylitize regions This generation is formed by pyritehydrothermal alteration before the main mineralization stage, located on thebackground of chalcopyrite and bornit (Lung Cua)

- Generation 2: Includes free set of large crystals, crushed to broken up, often be filled

by the later stages minerals

- Generation 3: Characterized by microcrystalline pyrite particles, normally be

corroded by such minerals like sphalerite, galena or corrode

According to results of microsond analysis, the chemical composition of pyrite in the MinhQuang mine is: Fe = 46.54%, S = 53.27% (total 99.81%) (Nhan and ha, 2005)

Table 5.1: Lists the activities in mining/quarrying and the impact of it to the environment

IMPACT

MEASURABLE PARAMETERS

NEGATIVE IMPACTS

MEASURABLE PARAMETERS

Clearance of

the overburden

- creation of employment

- provide raw materials for the

construction industries

- encourage cottage industries

- generate income

- earn revenue for the government

- people in employment

- products in running feet or tons

- amount of money earned

- improvement

of Lifestyles

- destruction of vegetation

- destruction of fauna habitats

Drilling - creation of

Employment

- number of people employed

- generation of dust

- generation of noise

- percentage of particulates in the air

- noise levels, hearing protection is requiredBlasting - creation of

employment

- number of people employed

- ground vibrationsflyrock

- generation ofdust

- generation ofnoise

- amplitude andfrequency usingseismographs

- number ofdamaged structures

- number of

- surface landdisruption

- explosive

- fumes (gases)

structural cracksdeveloped

- number of pieces

of stones thrownoutarea in km2

- percentage ofparticulates in the air

- noise levels,hearing protection

is requiredSplitting - creation of

employment

- number of people employed

- flying stonespieces

- number of people and structuresdamaged

- percentage ofparticulates in the air

- noise levels, hearing protection

is requiredStone

Dressing

- creation of employment

- number of people employed

- generation of dust

- percentage ofparticulates in the air

- noise levels,hearing protection

is requiredTable 5.2: Mining/quarrying processes and their impact on the environment

Destruction of fauna habitats Major Provision of animal

diversity that will contribute

to a stable and compatible ecosystem

explosives or use of proper designs

explosives

Generation of dust Moderate Provide workers with filter

masks and respirators and use proper blasts designsLoss of scenery ( abandoned

excavation) Major Creation of landforms whichare compatible with the

adjacent landscape

5.2.5.2 Environmental effects of quarrying activities at Minh Quang pyrite mine

Even Minh Quang pyrite mine is stop to exploit, pyrite layers could still be found on minewalls The crystalline pyrite cubes with white gold scattered on the stone There are thickcoats of yellow sulfur on the cliffs Stream water turns red-brown when passing through theore layer In fact, right next to the park Ba Vi, Minh Quang pyrite mine was abandoned nearly

a dozen years but soils and waste ore are still lying exposed on the surface topography Asinvestigated by scientists, this wastewater has color of blood red due to its rich of iron andsulfuric acid Water drips from the mine have very low pH (about 2-3) (Can, et al., 2000, Tri,

et al., 2000, Ngoc, 2011) and may contain arsenic which is the form element with iron in thenetwork crystals of pyrite No trees could grow in the old mine areas, except for somescattered trees which are very flammable during the dry season Mine wastewater flow intothe river stream, and seep into the groundwater basin

The mining, milling and metallur gical proce sses for the pro duction of copper, iron andsulphuric acid from sulphide ore deposits generate large hills of sulphide bearing waste rocks(also known as red mud) with signi ficant concentra tions of heavy metals Natural weathering

of sulphides containing heavy metals causes the release to the environment of a small fraction

of these metals (Zhi, et al., 2002) The mobilisation of heavy metals present in redmud isunfortunately improved by acid mine drainage (AMD) that is typical of this kind of miningsites AMD is a chemical phenomenon due to the sulphur o idation of metl-sulphide minerals(such as pyrite) by atmospheric oxygen and due to the following oxidation and precipitation

of iron according to the global reaction (Lowson, 1982):

FeS2 + 15/4 O2 + 7/2 H2O ⇔ 5 Fe(OH)3 + 2 SO4 2- + 4 H+

The release of H+ and SO42- ions into soil solution generates a powerful leaching agent causingthe secondary release of heavy metals generally present in tailings

Fig 5.7: Leaching wastewater from Minh Quang pyrite mine

Photo courtesy of N.V Duc on Apr 2013

1 What are environmental problems in Minh Quang pyrite mine sites?

2 Who is responsible for environmental problems in Minh Quang pyrite mine sites?

3 What is the procedure of mining licensing in this area?

4 Investigate the status of natural resource tax and environmental fee for miningactivities in the province

5.3 Environmental impacts of forest resources exploitation

5.3.1 Background

Ba Vi is always well known as a location of the famous Ba Vi National Park Ba Vi NationalPark is located on the pristine forests of Ba Vi mountain range, 60km from Hanoi on thesouthwest Ba Vi National Park was established on 18 Dec 1991 On 12 May 2003, Ba ViNational Park was expanded, bringing the total area up to 11,372 ha consists of threefunctional zones: preserved zone of 2,752 ha, ecological restoration zone of 8279.5 ha; andlocal administrative zone of 48 ha (Hai, 2007) Ba Vi National Park covers two main areas:the forbidden national park and buffer zone (Can, et al., 2000)

Vegetation layers of Ba Vi are relatively diversify, including primary forest and regeneratedforest on the high peaks, mainly in the area of Ba Vi National Park territory In the previoussection, we have showed the diversity of the geological structure and minerals This led to thediversity of the land and create conditions for significant diversity of plants and animals of theregion Ba Vi are entitled to preserve many species of rare plants and animals of from thewarm to cool cloudy climate conditions Endemic plant species in Ba Vi are bluebottle,begonia, fishbone, forest palm, thin bamboo, seagrass, and “luoi vang lang co” Medicinalplants in Ba Vi National Park are 503 species, including many valuable species as fairyflowers, “huyet dang”, “bat giac lien”, tiger beard, etc Currently at the 400m altitude code of

Ba Vi National Park, there are birds, medicinal herb garden, sprawled sample trees toconserve genetic resources of 117 bamboo species, 70 palm species, 1,200 species of cartusand many other unique plants Ba Vi National Park fauna system have had statistic of 45species of mammals, 139 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles, 24 species of amphibiansincluding many rare species such as northern stripe civet, Leopard civet, Asiatic black bear,fire leopard, silver cheek fox, antelope, white pheasant, geckos, flower lizards, and cobras

The forest can deliver the functions of protection or conservation expected from it only if it iseither in its natural state and under good natural ecological conditions or, when in use, it ismanaged in a sustainable manner Under such conditions, health and vitality are veryimportant It is the vitality of forests that allows them to grow with sufficient strength andvigour in a way that will counter physical forces affecting soils through water erosion It isthis same vigour that allows a well-structured architecture and rich foliage that can counter

wind erosion The health of forests is fundamental to many of their environmental functions.However, forests are often affected by insects and other pests They may be affected by anumber of physiological alterations depending on climate changes, especially droughts Withhealth, vitality and a proper state of conservation, management and development secured theforest intervenes especially in the following major environmental and protective functions.

Protection of water resources: Through their foliage craggy bark and abundant litter, trees

and forests decrease the speed of water dispersion and favour slow but total infiltration ofrainwater; particularly in dry areas, the capacity of trees to retain other precipitations such asmist that then can be collected and stored for use is also important

Soil protection: The forest canopy slows down the wind while its dense network of roots

holds the soil in place; added to the buffering function of the water flow, these characteristicsprotect against wind and water erosion, land movement (mass slides and falling rocks) and,under cold climates, the risk of avalanches With the combination of slower water dispersionand percolation to phreatic and intermediary water tables, the forest exerts an importantbuffering effect that protects against flooding or severe river bank erosion

Influence on the local climate and reduction of gas emission impacts: Through the control of

wind velocity and air flows, the forest influences local air circulation and may thus retainsolid suspensions and gaseous elements; it can filter air masses and retain contaminants Theforest exerts a definite protective effect on neighbouring human settlements and crops inparticular This capacity is useful in the protection of inhabited areas that adjoin industrialzones and in urban forestry in general

Conservation of the natural habitat and biological diversity: The forest offers a habitat to

flora and fauna and, depending on its health, vitality and ultimately the way it is managed orprotected, secures its own perpetuation through the functioning of the forest ecologicalprocesses In Europe, almost half of the ferns and flowering plants grow in the forest Owing

to its size and structural diversity, more animal species are found in the forest than in anyother ecosystem

Recreational and other social functions of forests: Apart from direct physical and biological

protective functions, forests in general have gained increasingly important recreationalfunctions during the past five decades In the vicinity of cities, tourism and health resorts haveflourished, benefiting from the forest environment; in the forested areas of developed anddeveloping countries alike, secondary residences are getting people back closer to the forests

Protecting the cultural dimension of forests: While urban communities, particularly in the

industrialized countries, are striving to be closer to nature, at the same time the evolution ofthe global and local forest economies may threaten other protective functions of naturalforests in the developing world where forests have still maintained their cultural and religiousfunctions It is a challenge to twenty-first century forestry to cater also for these needs andmaintain the cultural dimension of the protective functions of the forests A number ofinnovative management options and many social and community forestry initiatives haveaddressed these needs

Mountain ecosystems, likely Ba Vi National Park, are among the fragile ecosystems targeted

by UNCED Agenda 21; they are dealt with in Chapter 13, "Sustainable mountaindevelopment" The many activities developed intensively during the last five years since theEarth Summit have heightened awareness of the many functions of mountains They are arepository of rare and rich plant and animal biological diversity They contain unique generesources underpinning agriculture and animal husbandry in the particular circumstances andfarming systems prevailing in high valleys and plateaus They provide a steady flow of waterresources with related renewable energy potential They are host to and protectors of adiversity of races and cultures

In high mountains the forests protect settlements and communications systems againstavalanches, falling rocks and landslides In the European Alps, parts of the protection forestshave been subjected to long-established management practices that have tended to maintain acorrect mix of evergreen and broad-leaved species But trends are strongly pushing towardsunsatisfactory changes Mixed stands are giving way to monospecific forests and manyprotection forests have been weakened and have become overaged They grow more and moresparsely In many cases the presence of game prevents natural regeneration through browsingand increases the degradation of the forest ecosystem and reduces its protective capacity.Measures to counter this negative trend or to restore the forest ecosystem include biologicalmeasures such as reforestation, engineering work and active silvicultural practices thatpromote and assist natural regeneration

In other parts of the world the same decline may be observed but most of the degradationoccurs as the result of the attempts of the rural poor to eke out a living, especially in marginalareas In North Africa, in the African plateaus, in the Andes and in the Himalayas, the searchfor fuelwood, the grazing of animals, particularly well-adapted, ever-coping goats andmarginal agriculture have been mentioned as being among the major factors of mountainforest fragmentation, degradation and loss In many parts of the world mining also disruptsmountain ecology and leads to the degradation or destruction of unique biological diversity, insome cases affecting endemic species and the processes in which they are involved.Inappropriate mining in watershed areas may also often be the sources of contamination ofmajor water courses (Fernandez, 1997)

Many ecological groups have highlighted the possible negative influences of communicationlines and roads as their establishment entails the deforestation of large stretches which affectthe habitat of species of high biological significance However, the most potent root causesare highlighted by Fernandez ( 1997) in Latin America as being: i) the state of inherent

fragility of young mountains; ii) the extreme poverty of the population and the loss of stamina and resolve in the face of drastically poor and yet rapidly degrading social conditions; iii) the

segmented approach to development, the lack of institutional cohesion and coherence and thelack of suitable and participatory extension.

The protective functions of mountain forests and their relation to climate change requirespecial attention The way mountain forests may then provide buffering functions (Gottle andSène, 1997):

• higher temperatures will lead to a rise of the snow and ice line

resulting in more favourable conditions for vegetation but with higher "erodibility",the shifting of the permafrost line creating more instability in areas yet to becolonized by vegetation;

• frequent changes between thawing and freezing will release more

weathering material and increase the related risks of rock fall and landslides whilemaking the consolidation of vegetation more difficult;

• more water precipitation with the predominance of rains will lead

to water-saturated soils which will eventually reduce shear resistance and loss ofstability, and lead to conditions unfavourable to the establishment of vegetation.More surface runoff may also occur throughout the year leading to more erosion.Similar changes in intensity but not in the direction of change may be experienced morestrongly in mountain areas than on plains, meaning that more spectacular changes in mountainforest ecosystems, owing to the concentration on short horizontal distances of phenomena thatotherwise happen in a differentiated manner and over greater distances on flat land

5.3.2 Potential effects of forest resources exploitation in Ba Vi

According to management board of Ba Vi National Park, recently illegal cultivation ofprotected forest areas tend to increase (Uyen, 2011) Only since the beginning of the year, thepark rangers have coordinated with local government and the general public to prevent andhandle 37 cases of violation of the regulations on the management and protection of forests,

of which 12 illegal deforestation cases for cultivation and violations of regulations on loggingand other forest products or regulations on the prevention of forest fires; recovered more than

23 hectares of forest for the nation Raising awareness is a necessary move towards a balancebetween tourism development, biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development

To achieve the balance, the role of local communities is significant because if the localcommunity does not guarantee a life by their daily work, the exploitation of park resourcesforest is inevitable (Hai, 2007) If the authority implement education well, the community will

be security forces to remind visitors and monitor environment activities most effectively.Due to the distribution of a number of mines in the core (banned areas), such as Cu ore atcode 260 in the valley Hoc Cua, now is known as Ho Tien Sa (Can, et al., 2000); or some orehas been mined in the buffer zone as asbestos mine in Quyt village, Minh Quang pyrite mine,etc mining operation will affect forests, forest functions and lead to environmental problems.Exploitation of forests and forest resources in the region in general and Ba Vi National Park

in particular is the traditional economic activities of regional communities The biologicalresources of interest are wild animals, medicinal plants, log, wood, etc However, due to

increasing demand, unpredictable effects could occur if it is not managed well by localauthority Some scattered action is conducted by forest rangers to smuggle out partially due tothe number of rangers per unit of forest area is too small, lacking of equipment, weak andasynchronous.

Agriculture and forestry activities in the region are also taking place and causing adverseimpacts on the environment (Can, et al., 2000, Uyen, 2011) Burning for cultivation of ethnic,minority communities is one of the underlying cause of the fires and if not prevented, thereare likely to be catastrophic

5.4 Tourism and environmental impacts in Ba Vi District

5.4.1 Some concepts

5.4.1.1 Tourism

The term “tourism” was derived from the Greek word “tonos” which means going around acentral point or axis Its Latin form is “tornare” and in French, they call it “tour” The circlerepresents a starting point which goes back to the beginning Thus, like a circle, a tourrepresents a journey which is a round trip

Tourists are the people who take the “tour” According Robert Langquar (1980), this termfirst appeared in English in 1800 Since then, it has become very popular internationally andbeen used in many countries without translation (Thang, ?????) There is no universaldefinition for tourism despite the popular use of this term Depends on the context, there aredifferent approaches to define tourism However, it is commonly agreed that tourism isclosely linked with health restoration and transportation of people All transportationactivities inside their home countries or abroad except for political immigration, job lookingand invasion are tourist activities

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines tourism as “a social,cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries orplaces outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes Thesepeople are called visitors (which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourismexpenditure” (UNWTO, ****) Two main approaches to tourism definition are either tourism

is a social phenomenon or economic phenomenon

5.4.1.2 Types of tourism

There are many types of tourism based on different methods of classification The mostcommon classification method is based on purposes There are following types of tourismbased on purposes:

- Cultural tourism is for knowledge improvement in history, architecture, economy, religions, life styles and customs of the destination places

socio Eco-tourism satisfies people’s need to be with nature and raises the awareness inecological protection Places with well protected eco-systems and good environmentsuch as national parks and nature protected areas are very suitable for this type oftourism

- Recreational tourism is for the entertaining purpose An important requirement forrecreational tourism is the diversity of entertainment programs and places (i.e.Disneyland in Los Angeles, the U.S.A; Dam Sen and Suoi Tien in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam).

- Sport tourism meets the need for sport hobbies of people Some popular sports can benamed such as golf, rowing, skating and skiing It is necessary to have suitablenatural conditions and proper equipment for each type of sport

- Discovery tourism aims at increasing knowledge and understanding of the world.Places of destination often are rich in term of nature diversity and culture

- Relaxing tourism is for health rehabilitation With the growing pressure from modernlife, this type of tourism is in high demand Areas with beautiful landscape andpleasant weather are very good for relaxing tourism

- Tourism with combined purposes is the type that satisfies more than one of the mentioned purposes of tourists

above-Besides, types of tourism can be defined based on the scope of traveling areas (domestic andabroad), geographical characteristics of the destinations (sea, mountain, urban and ruralareas), duration of the journey (short and long), means of transportation (bike, car, airplane,train and ship) and number of tourists (individual, family and group) (Thang, ?????)

5.4.1.3 Tourism resource

Tourism resource includes the landscape, natural, cultural and historical heritage and thecreative works that are tourist attractive and essential factors for tourist areas, points, routesand cities [Article 4, Chapter 1, Law on Tourism of Vietnam 2005] There are natural andhumanity tourism resources

a Natural tourism resource includes topology, meteorology, water resource, flora and faunahelping people in refreshment and reproduction

- Topology: diverse topology makes interesting landscape Tourists love to visit places

that have different types of topology Mountainous areas are often tourist attractivebecause of its landscape

- Meteorology: has a considerable effect on health Places with good meteorology are

very suitable for sport, recreation and convalescence

- Water resource: is important in making a harmonious landscape It can be used for

swimming, fishing, rowing and skiing Hot mineral springs are good for relaxing andtherapy

- Bio-diversity: plays an important role in eco-tourism and researches

b Humanity tourism resource is made by people including historical and cultural heritage,festivals and other cultural places

II

- World historical and cultural heritage is one of important tourism resources It is notonly the tourist attractive characteristic of a place but also the invaluable treasure of anation and man kind

- Festivals are another tourism resource They are social events celebrated bycommunities in important historical anniversaries, religious events or just forentertaining purpose

- Culture of minority people also fascinates many tourists Different minority grouplives in a certain area with distinguish life styles and customs Their traditionaldishes and handicraft are often enjoyed by visitors

- Other cultural places such as scientific centers, universities, libraries and museums canattract a number of tourists

In order to promote tourism activities in a place, it is essential to have tourism resources.Tourism is highly resource oriented because tourism administration, structure andspecialization of an area are strongly affected by resources Scope of tourism activities aredetermined by the quantity of resource while type and quality of tourism resource make up theplace’s attractiveness (Uyen, 2011)

5.4.1.4 Tourism territory system

It is the system which consists of components with inter-active relations Tourism territorysystem was defined in the Fig 5 8

Fig 5.8: Tourism territory system

Legend:

I: Environment with tourism needs

II: Tourism territory system

: Relations and information exchange between the tourism territory systemand the environment

: Relations and inter-action between the tourism territory system and othersystems

5.4.1.5 Sustainable tourism

Tourism is an activity that has grown by around 25 per cent in the past 20 years It nowaccounts for around 10 per cent of the world’s economic activity and is one of the maingenerators of employment However, it also has major impacts on the natural and socialenvironments and on the well-being and culture of host populations Tourism can play asignificant role in sustainable development Thus, sustainable tourism is the aim pursued bymany countries in the world

According to UNEP and UNWTO, sustainable tourism takes full account of its current andfuture economic, social and environmental impacts and addressing the needs of visitors, theindustry, the environment and host communities The goals of sustainable tourism are(UNDP-UNWTO, 2005):

1) Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element intourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping toconserve natural resources and biodiversity

2) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built andliving cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-culturalunderstanding and tolerance

3) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits toall stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing topoverty alleviation

5.4.2 Tourism and environmental impacts

Since the tourism resources are also natural and social resources, their exploration causesimpacts to both nature and social environment Different type of tourism has different effects

eco Awareness raising in environmental protection is a result of tourism activities thatenable people to get in touch with nature The intrinsic value of nature and theenvironment is recognized and there will be a shift in tourists’ behavior to protect theenvironment It is also necessary to combine with sustainable tourism orientation andpromotion of green production and consumption

- Tourism development can contribute to the protection and sustainable use ofresources Special forests and primitive forests have been protected as national parks

or nature-protected areas The effectiveness of wildlife protection affects the number

of tourists In many regions all over the world, after the establishment of nationalparks and nature-protected areas, the population of endangered species has beenincreased

- Promotion of tourism activities in an area can minimize harmful activities to theenvironment done by the local community to earn a living For instance, 60 percent

of the employed people in Maya biosphere protection area had been illegal woodsmugglers and hunters Local people can depend on the income from tourismactivities and they stop hunting and destroying the forest

b Negative impacts

Negative impacts mainly are environmental pollution, pressure to natural resources and thedestruction of eco-systems

- Environmental pollution:

• Air pollution and noise: is caused by the construction of tourism area,

transportation of tourists and operation of the tourism area to serve tourists.Exhaust gas from machines, transportation means and fuel burning are the mainsource of air pollution Noise is caused by transportation means and someentertainment equipment such as radio, karaoke Noise does not only affectpeople but also wild animals

• Water pollution is often found in the tourism construction area Besides, the

operation of hotels discharges a large amount of wastewater According to

UNWTO, average wastewater generated by a tourist is about 100 liter per day.Tourists who travel by water ways also cause water pollution by throwing wasteinto the water Transportation means via water ways can discharge fuel into thesea or rivers.

• Solid waste is a difficult problem caused by tourism activities Tourists have

brought many artificial materials to the most remote areas Plastic bags, bottlesand camping materials are found in the tourism areas Average amount of solidwaste generated by a tourist is approximately 0.67 kg per day Proper solid wastecollection and treatment is costly but necessary to ensure that the environment iswell protected

• Pressure to natural resources: The development of tourism will increase the

pressure to limited natural resources To satisfy the need of many tourists,natural resources have been over-exploited

• Water resource has become scarcer in certain places all over the world The

availability of clean water is a major social and economic concern of manycountries There are about a billion people all over the world drinking unsafewater Tourism activities post more pressure to water resource Clean waterscarcity is a constraint for tourism development in small islands and coastalzones where there is limited fresh water Many tourism works require a large amount of water such as hotels, swimming pools and golf courses Improper use

of water for tourism activities causes water shortage in local agriculturalproduction and domestic purposes

• Tourism affects land use by the construction of tourism works and infrastructure Without appropriate planning, the increasing land use for

tourism means the decreasing in agricultural land The establishment of tourismareas at coastal zone can cause erosion and land degradation

• Biodiversity is very important for eco-tourism Tourists are attracted by the

diverse in eco-systems and species The development of tourism in an area canmake degradation in biodiversity especially when plants and animals are used toserve the need of tourists Results of this loss include decrease in tourismattractiveness, malfunction of eco-systems, in-balance of species, decrease ineco-system productivity, instability and lower defence of the eco-systemstowards natural disasters such as floods, draughts, storms and climate change.Tourists using the same trail over and over again trample the vegetation and soil,eventually causing damage that can lead to loss of biodiversity and otherimpacts Such damage can be even more extensive when visitors frequently strayoff established trails

Table 5.3: Impacts caused by tourist trampling

(UNDP-UNWTO, 2005)Trampling impacts on vegetation Trampling impacts on soil

Breakage and bruising of stems Loss of organic matter

Reduced plant vigor Reduction in soil macro porosity

Reduced regeneration Decrease in air and water permeability

Loss of ground cover Increase in run off

Breakage and bruising of stems Accelerated erosion

- Changes in landscape

Construction and expansion of tourism areas change the natural landscape of a place Building

a hotel in the forest requires wood clearing The appearance of many resorts at coastal zonesgoes hand in hand with the disappearance of the mangrove system New architecture oftourism constructions can cause disharmony with the surroundings

- Contribution to global environmental problems

Since tourism is closely linked with the transportation of people from one place to another,tourists are accounted for about 50 percent of total of passengers and the transportation oftourists has caused 2.5 percent of total CO2emission It is well-known that traveling by airplanes is partly responsible for ozone depletion and climate change Among all transportationmeans, air planes generate the largest amount of green house gases (GHGs) Research resultsshow that a transatlantic return flight emits nearly half of the CO2 emissions produced by allother sources (lighting, heating, car, etc.) consumed by an average person yearly Number oftourists which is predicted to reach 1.6 billion in 2020 will have considerable effect on globalwarming

- Invasion of alien species is one of most dangerous threat to loss of biodiversity

Alien species do not have the native origin When they are brought to the new environment,many of them die because they cannot adapt However, some of them can spread widely anddestroy the eco-balance of the local system At that point, they become invasive alien species.Their invasion is rather difficult to control Tourists and service suppliers may bring theinvasive alien species such as insects, plants and diseases

The impacts caused by those species may vary but can be categorized into 4 groups:

o Competition to the native species in terms of foods and habitats

o Predators to other native species

o Environmental degradation and destruction

o Infection of parasites and diseases

5.3.2.2 Impacts to social environment

a Positive impacts

- Economic benefits: Tourism creates income, job and foreign tourism can bring foreigncurrency flow to the local areas This helps increase the living quality of local communities.Tourism activities also initiate the other economic sectors like construction, service, foodsupply, arts and handicraft to develop Tourism can help poverty alleviation in the remoteareas

- Conservation of historical and cultural heritage: Financial gains from tourism activitiessupport the conservation of historical and cultural heritage in developing countries where

there is very limited fund for this purpose Tourism contributes considerably in preservationand restoration of architecture heritage, traditional arts, culture, handicrafts, costumes and lifestyles Museums, theatres and traditional cultural activities are benefited financially fromtourism as well Moreover, through tourism act ivies, the self-esteem of a nation can beboosted.

- Cultural exchange between tourists and the local people can bring understanding of differentcultures and co-operation opportunities

- Tourism helps bring peace to the world: Through tourism, people can get goodunderstanding of each other and prejudices between nations can be eliminated At the firstGlobal Summit on Peace through Tourism, about 450 delegations from all over the world including 22 Chief Executive Officers of major travel industry corporations, 14 Ministers ofTourism, senior officials from governments, UN Agencies, the World Bank and leadingeducators, thinkers and policy makers had approved the Amman Declaration It is affirmedthat tourism is a world peaceful industry The declaration contributes to a peaceful culture viatourism and supports tourism for basic human right activities and respects for the difference inpeople and cultures

“….recognize that travel and tourism is a worldwide social and cultural phenomenon,engaging people of all nations as hosts and guests, and as such is one of humanity’s trulyglobal activities.…

….and that travel and tourism is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries,creating one in eleven jobs, contributing to international and regional economic growth,bridging disparities between developed and developing countries, and bringing prosperitywhich fosters peace…

…and that peace is an essential precondition for travel and tourism and all aspects of humangrowth and development…

…and the development of tourism as a global vehicle for promoting understanding, trust andgoodwill among peoples of the world requires an appropriate political and economicframework” (******, 2000)

Some principles developed in the Amman Declaration such as follow:

- That community livelihood should be enhanced and local cohesion encouraged andthat all peoples and communities should be recognized as being manifestations of aheritage

- That human differences be respected and cultural diversity celebrated, as a precioushuman asset and that peaceful relationships among all people be promoted andnurtured through sustainable tourism

- That historical monuments and land-marks be protected and where necessary restoredand rehabilitated and made accessible to everyone as valuable assets for humanityand legacies for future generations

- That the preservation and wise use of the environment, and ecological balance, areessential to the future of tourism, and that ancient wisdoms of Indigenous Peoplesand care for the Earth be acknowledged and respected

- That the global reach of the tourist industry be utilized in promoting “dialogues onpeace” and in bridging the have and have-not societies of the various regions of theworld.

b Negative impacts

- Commercialization of the local values: Tourism can make local cultural characteristicsbecome goods The need of tourists for arts, entertainment and souvenirs can changethe local humanity values Holy objects and places by being in the market have losttheir spiritual value

- Loss of local cultural character: To meet the variety needs of tourists, local productsand services are adjusted Large adjustment will cause the loss of local character.Merging with alien culture also cause the fading of local culture

- Differences in cultures: Since tourism is linked with the tourist transportation frommany regions, it is common for the differences in cultures, religions, races, etc.Those differences can be over the social and cultural carrying capacity of the localcommunities Local people can show ignorance or protest against tourists.Misunderstanding and conflicts can occur between the guests (tourists) and the hosts(local people) The differences in cultures can be observed by:

• Differences in income: Some tourists have a very high income and can pay a lot of

money for entertainment while the local people work very hard and earn very littlemoney For example, in tourism areas of Jamaica, Indonesia or Brazil, localpeople with annual average income of 1 200 to 3000 US dollars meet and servetourists who have annual average income of 80 000 US dollars

• Differences in values and behaviors: Some tourists have eccentric consumption

and life styles and some do not know or respect the local customs and morality.The repetition of these behaviors results in the inhospitality of local peopletowards tourists Besides, they can cause the confusion in the way local peopleview their values and traditions

• Loss of masterpieces is caused by destruction, stealing and smuggling Tourists

can be the one who pay very high prices for those masterpieces

• Conflicts in the use of limited resources between tourism and other local economic sectors On one hand, tourism development demands increasing of

resources and can cause the elimination of resources for other economic activities

On the other hand, resource exploration for other economic sectors can destroythe landscape, pollute the environment and eventually affect tourism negatively.For example, land use for agriculture in a place will be decrease because of theconstruction of tourism areas Local people who depend on agriculture will beaffected and they have to shift their way to earn living to tourism activities

• Depravation of morality and social safety: It has been observed that tourism

development and urbanization and crime rates increase parallelly High incometourists attract number of thieves Another problem brought by tourism is child

labour since children are easily taken orders and cheaply paid It is accounted thatthere is about 15 percent of total 13 to 19 million children working in tourism.Tourism also can be the reason for the wide spreading of prostitution

5.4.3 Tourism routes and areas in Ba Vi District, Hanoi

5.4.3.1 Ba Vi National Park

Ba Vi National Forest was established on January 16th 1991 Since December 18th 1991, itwas renamed Ba Vi National Park Currently, the total area of 10782 hectares of this nationalpark lies in the administrative areas of Hanoi, the capital city and Hoa Binh province

Ba Vi National Park attracts Hanoians looking for a weekend escape from the city The parkhas several rare and endangered plants in its protected forest, and its mammals include twospecies of rare ‘flying’ squirrel Human encroachment on the area has made the chances ofseeing any of these pretty rare According to the investigation results in 2008, Ba Vi NationalPark has 1201 species of vascular plants There are 5 significant species of Ercaceae and 6species of Theacae and 19 species Fagaceae which is more than the numbers in Cuc PhuongNational Park There are about 342 species of vertebrate fauna in Ba Vi National Park

Ba Vi National Park is divided into three functional areas: Strict Conservation, EcologicalRestoration and Administrative Services In Ba Vi National Park, there have several mountswith more than 1000 meter height such as: Vua Mount (1296 m), Tan Vien Mount (1277 m),Ngoc Hoa Mount (1131 m), Vien Nam Mount (1081m) and Hang Hum mount (776 m) andGia De (714 m) Ba Vi mountain reef has large slope with the average slope about 250meters

The weather of Ba Vi is dominated by monsoon The average annual temperature in theregion is 23,40oC which can be ideal for holidays