Sustainable livelihoods and forest reserves acase study of the cotu people in bhalee commune, tay giang district, quang nam province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS, HO CHI MINH CITY FULBRIGHT ECONOMICS TEACHING PROGRAM --- HOANG THI PHUONG TRINH SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND FOREST RESERVE

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS, HO CHI MINH CITY

FULBRIGHT ECONOMICS TEACHING PROGRAM

-

HOANG THI PHUONG TRINH

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND FOREST RESERVES:

A CASE STUDY OF THE COTU PEOPLE IN BHALEE

COMMUNE, TAY GIANG DISTRICT,

QUANG NAM PROVINCE

MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY THESIS

HO CHI MINH CITY - 2015

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS, HO CHI MINH CITY

FULBRIGHT ECONOMICS TEACHING PROGRAM

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

HOANG THI PHUONG TRINH

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND FOREST RESERVES:

A CASE STUDY OF THE COTU PEOPLE IN BHALEE

COMMUNE, TAY GIANG DISTRICT,

QUANG NAM PROVINCE

Major: Public Policy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly, I would like to express my cordial gratitude to all people in three villages of Bhalee Commune, Tay Giang District, Quang Nam Province This study would not have its final shape without them This study is dedicated to all those highlanders, especially Mr Bling Con,

Mr Alang Man, and Mrs Bling Thị Buoi, all management and administrative officials of Bhalee kindergarten, whose affectionate hospitality supported me throughout my three weeks

of field research at very critical situations

I am also thankful to the management board and staff of Sao Nature Reserve, especially Mr

Ha Phuoc Phu, and Mr Dang Ba Loc for their valuable information, support and comments throughout the study

I give my special thanks to Mrs Tran Thi Hong Thu, who facilitated all relationships with every person at the research site and supported my accommodation during my stay She is also the person on whom I relied for whatever issue and question that I had I am deeply grateful to her valuable help

I am always grateful to my study supervisor Dr Rainer Assé whose continuous guidance, valuable suggestions, and diligent encouragement from beginning to end of my study are main reasons behind its successful completion

I would like to thank all teachers and faculties in Fulbright Economics Teaching Program, who helped a lot in knowledge and experience as well as smoothing the conditions for my accomplishment of my study

My family members, especially my father, deserve my acknowledgement, at most, for their incessant support and encouragement

Finally yet importantly, I express my gratitude to everyone who supported me directly and indirectly throughout my study

Hoang Thi Phuong Trinh

ABSTRACT

This study, based on the DFID sustainable livelihoods framework, analyzes vulnerability contexts, identifies strengths and weaknesses of livelihood assets, and advantages and disadvantages in the access to livelihood capitals of the Cotu people in Bhalee, Tay Giang, Quang Nam upon the establishment of Saola Nature Reserve (SNR) The study finds that four out of five capitals including human, natural, physical, financial capital are remarkably poor among the Cotu while they have rather good social capital However, access to only one capital is not enough to cover for lack of the other four capitals That is why people there are still very poor Besides, since SNR establishment, almost all activities relating to forest are prohibited Local people are no longer allowed to farm on some lands that they used to farm before There are a number of policies, programs, and projects supporting livelihoods of local people However, it seems that such support cannot cover for all their losses and are not appropriate with their cultural practices Besides, jobs are not readily available at the research sites as this is a remote area with low productivity Furthermore, activities of improving livelihoods for local people have not been focused Low education with no other skills than simple and non-modern agricultural skills leaves local people no alternatives As a result, the vulnerability contexts together with current policies make people’s lives more difficult and they have few choices other than doing illegal jobs relating to the forest Therefore, in addition

to suggestions including diversification of crops and livestock, transforming the structure of crop selections and livestock, increasing the support of cows, and pigs, the study also recommends continuing current favorable policies, programs, and projects and relaxing the strict conversation policies so that these policies are more suitable for current cultural features Besides, in order to combine using nature resources together with protecting forest products, it

is suggested that a model of forest co-management between local and conservation authorities with local people be created in the buffer areas of SNR

Key words: livelihoods, ethnic minority, forest protection

CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

CONTENTS iv

ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF CHARTS vii

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF APPENDICES viii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Policy Context 1

1.2 Purposes and questions of the study 2

1.3 Subject and scope of the study 3

1.4 The structure of the study 3

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND IMPERICAL STUDIES 5

2.1 Framework of the study 5

2.2 Empirical studies 8

CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH LOCATION 10

3.1 Natural conditions 10

3.2 Demographic characteristics 11

3.3 Social-economic status 11

CHAPTER 4 DESIGN OF THE STUDY 13

4.1 Research process 13

4.2 Data Collection Techniques 14

4.2.1 Primary data and sample selection 14

4.2.2 Secondary data 15

4.3 Data processing tools 15

4.4 Interpretation of findings 15

CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH RESULTS 17

5.1 HHs livelihoods assets 17

5.1.1 Human capital 17

5.1.2 Natural capital 24

5.1.3 Physical capital 25

5.1.4 Financial capital 27

5.1.5 Social capital 30

5.2 Some findings of semi-structured interviews 32

CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION 35

6.1 Discussion on livelihood assets 35

6.2 Current policies and impacts 36

6.2.1 Current policies 36

6.2.2 Impacts of SNR’s policy 38

6.3 Vulnerability Context 42

6.4 Response to vulnerability context 44

6.5 Households’ expectation of policy support 44

CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 46

7.1 Conclusion 46

7.2 Recommendations 47

7.3 Limitation 48

ABBREVIATIONS

DFID Department for International Development

VBFSP Vietnam Bank for Social Policies

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 5.1 Average household headcount and main labor 18

Chart 5.2 Job groups 21

Chart 5.3 Annual income and expense of both groups (Unit: VND) 28

Chart 5.4 Income proportion of poor and near-poor household group 29

Chart 5.5 Credit purposes 30

Chart 5.6 Sociopolitical participation 31

Chart 6.1 Households’ expectation for livelihood support 45

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Sustainable livelihoods framework of DFID, 1999 6

Figure 4.1 Research process 13

LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Demographic characteristics at 3 villages of the study 11

Table 3.2 Impact groups on forest 12

Table 4.1 Sample selection 14

Table 5.1 Indicators of household size and labor 17

Table 5.2 Education status of household members 19

Table 5.3 Regular sick rate 20

Table 5.4 Seasonal calendar 22

Table 5.5 Frequency of forest-related product exploitation 23

Table 5.6 Average land (hectares) 25

Table 5.7 Possession percentage of living facilities 26

Table 5.8 Credit sources 30

Table 6.1 All programs, projects supports developing buffer areas at SNR 40

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Map of Tay Giang District with location of Bhalee Commune 52

Appendix 2 Buffer areas of Bhalee Commune with SNR 53

Appendix 3 Map of SNR Quang Nam 54

Appendix 4 Legal basis of SNR’s establishment 54

Appendix 5 Current management decentralization at SNR Quang Nam 56

Appendix 6 New rural program of Tay Giang with scheme “9 yes, 5 no” 61

Appendix 7 HHs survey 63

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Policy Context

Tay Giang, a high-mountainous district of Quang Nam Province, was established based on the separation of Hien district into Dong Giang district (The Eastern River) and Tay Giang district (The Western River) under Decree No 73/2003/NĐ-CP of the Vietnam Government dated 20.06.2003 Tay Giang lies in the northwest of Quang Nam Province, 190 kilometers from Tam Ky city in the northwest and 125 kilometers from Da Nang city on the west The total area of the district is 902.97 km2, with population of 17,541 people, 3,884 households (HHs) with the percentage of poverty and near poverty up to 58.26%, per capita income of about 12.2 million dong Tay Giang, the district with the crucial importance of political, security and defense of the province and also of the nation, is the homeland of eight ethnic minorities with long cultural and historical tradition, especially the cultural specialties of the Cotu with 16,052 people, accounting for 92% of Tay Giang population and about 35% of Cotu population in Quang Nam (Statistical Department of Tay Giang, 2014)

Bhalee commune, one of 10 communes in Tay Giang, is located next to the Saola Nature Reserve (SNR) The total area of Bhalee is 7,111.8 ha There are 556 HHs living there with a total population of 2,603 people Among them, poor and near-poor HHs account for nearly 57% The Cotu there live mostly dependent on natural resources relating to the forest (Statistical Department of Tay Giang, 2014)

Since the establishment of SNR in July 2012 under Decree 2265/QĐ-UBND of the People’s Committee of Quang Nam, the Cotu people’s livelihoods have changed, especially those who live in the buffer zone of the reserve The new regulations of SNR, which are based on Decision 186/2006/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister dated 14.08.2006, prohibit local people from clearing forestlands for cultivation, trapping, snaring, and exploiting forest-related products Only shrunken forests, young forests (protection forests) and production forests are available for local people to manage Moreover, they are allowed to cultivate in production

forest but the exploitation of forest products in young forests is limited These new rules, more

or less, affect the livelihoods of local people and the traditional spirit of co-forest living of local people The Cotu plant rice, maize, and cassava - just enough for daily necessities; while collection of forest-related products help them cover other expenses Forest-related policy does not only have influence on the Cotu’s livelihoods but also makes a large number of male workers redundant as their main role of forest-related activities has changed

Therefore, long-term and stable life as well as sustainable livelihoods combining forest protection for the local Cotu are urgent and are the main objectives of local government as well as conservation authorities Once people’s livelihoods improve and change in a sustainable manner, together with enhanced awareness of forest protection, the task of development and conservation will not be an issue Hence, upon SNR’s existence, there have been many policies such as policy of payment for forest environmental service under Decree 99/2011/NĐ-CP, policy of investment and development for Special Use Forest (SUF) under Decision 24/2012/QĐ-TTg, policy of SUF management under Decree 117/2010/NĐ-CP, Decision 186/2006/QĐ-TTg, Circular 20/2012/TT-UBND, etc., which target protecting SNR together with improving the targeted-area’s livelihoods Nevertheless, the facts are that poverty, new employment, and the local people exploiting forest-related products are still main challenges for local and conservation authorities Therefore, it is necessary to have an overall assessment of the buffer livelihoods, their vulnerability situations and impacts of SNR

on their livelihoods

1.2 Purposes and questions of the study

The very first purpose of the study is focused on learning, analyzing the vulnerability context, livelihood situation, particularly identifying strengths and weaknesses of livelihood assets such as human, social, natural, physical, and financial capital Then the study analyzes the advantages and disadvantages in the process of livelihood capital access, the combination of these resources to make livelihood strategies; livelihood outcomes of the Cotu people in Bhalee, Tay Giang, Quang Nam

The second purpose of the study is to evaluate impacts of current policies, especially related policies on the perspective of livelihood Then, incorporating with other poverty reduction researches, programs and projects, the very last goal of the study is to propose solutions for sustainable livelihoods combining forest reserve in order to help improve livelihoods, and a sustainable way out of poverty for the Cotu at the research sites

forest-In order to obtain these three objectives, the study concentrates on answering the following questions:

(1) What are the main livelihoods and vulnerability context of the Cotu at Bhalee commune, Tay Giang district, Quang Nam province?

(2) How are the current policies, especially forest-related policies affecting livelihoods of the Cotu at the research area?

(3) What are the livelihood strategies for the Cotu to help them out of poverty, through improving living standards combined with protecting forest resources?

1.3 Subject and scope of the study

Subject of the study: livelihood assets of the Cotu in Bhalee, Tay Giang, Quang Nam in relation to vulnerable context together with policies, institution; livelihood strategies; livelihood outcomes

Scope of the study: the research is conducted in three villages lying in the buffer zone of Saola Nature Reserve

1.4 The structure of the study

The study consists of seven chapters Chapter 1 introduces the research context and problem, and then indicates objectives and questions of the study together with subjects and scope of the study Chapter 2 discusses analysis framework and some empirical studies, which are the background and basis for the study Chapter 3 gives information about the research location, including natural and social-economic conditions Chapter 4 presents design of the study

including sample selection, data collection with data processing and analysis Chapter 5 shows findings and fieldwork results Chapter 6 contains discussion about current policies influencing on the people’s livelihoods Finally yet importantly, chapter 7 sums up the research with conclusions and recommendations

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND IMPERICAL STUDIES

2.1 Framework of the study

The study applies sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF) of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) Human being, in order to exist and develop, it is obvious to work to meet physical and spiritual needs Firstly, there are the basic demands such as eating, dressing, and sheltering Then, it upgrades to further demands The process of laboring to find ways to earn a living, that calls livelihoods According to DFID: “A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base.”

It is inevitable that livelihoods themselves cannot describe thoroughly relationships interacting with them In other words, livelihoods do not stand-alone but operate under influences of other factors from surrounding environment Therefore, it is necessary to study livelihoods in a framework of relationships Interactions and their results are livelihoods framework

The framework is a tool to fulfill understanding about livelihoods, especially livelihoods of the poor in relationship with a number of influencing factors The SLF represents main factors affecting livelihoods and typical relationship among these factors (DFID, 1999)

Figure 2-1 Sustainable livelihoods framework of DFID, 1999

Source: DFID, 1999

The framework considers human activities within the context of vulnerability In this context, the poor have access to certain assets through current social, organizational, and institutional environments These environments affect human livelihoods in achieving livelihood outcomes consistent with livelihood objectives of the poor (DFID, 1999)

Vulnerability context forms the external environment in which people live and survive

Livelihoods and availability of assets are basically affected by trends as well as shocks and seasonality which humans have limited ability to control The trends can be innovation in technology, changes in materials, etc The shocks can be shocks in health, natural calamity, epidemic, etc The seasonality can be in agricultural product price, job opportunities, etc Factors making up the vulnerability context are considerably important as these have direct influence on assets status and people’s choices in the process of creating livelihood outcomes

TRANSFORMING STRUCTURES &

PROCESSES

Levels of government

STRUCTURES

Private sector Laws, policies,

culture, institutions

PROCESSES

Social Human Natural

Financial Physical

Influence

& Access

- More income

- Increased well-being

- Reduced vulnerability

- Improved food security

- More sustainable use of natural resource base

LIVELIHOOD OUTCOMES

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS FRAMEWORK

Livelihood assets: The framework points out five fundamental assets making up livelihoods,

these five form the pentagon of assets The pentagon shape displays differences in access to these assets Different combinations of assets create various livelihood outcomes based on two primary relationships between these five assets that are sequencing and substitution relationships The pentagon is the core value in the SLF (DFID, 1999)

Human capital: Human beings, with skills, knowledge, competence, labor capability and

potential, health to work Human capital is the prerequisite element to make use of the other four resources

Natural capital: Natural capital is a storage of natural resources, which is necessary resource

for livelihoods

Physical capital: Physical capital is infrastructure and goods to support livelihoods

Financial capital: Financial capital includes savings and credit It is expressed in the form of

common banknotes, coins, or other types of assets with different value This kind of capital is

an intermediary transaction among other kinds of capital

Social capital: Social capitals are social resources, which people use to pursue livelihood

objectives They include social relationships in order to have cooperation among different groups to transform natural capital into physical capital

Transforming structures and processes in the SLF are institutions, organizations, policies

and laws shaping livelihoods (M Kollmair and St Gamper, 2002) Structures and processes cover all levels, from households to international arena, from private sector to public sector Institutions, policies at every level are specified through law and regulations This institutional environment defines access, transition rights between livelihood assets and return rate of all livelihood strategies

Livelihood strategies are range of combination and arrangement and choices households use

to achieve their livelihood goals (Ellis, 2000) Depending on their properties, the impact of institutional environment and vulnerable context people choose the most appropriate

livelihood strategies for the best livelihood outcomes Three groups of primary livelihood strategies are expanding agriculture, diversifying livelihoods and migration People can combine livelihood strategies, subjecting to context, to create the best results

Livelihood outcomes are outputs that households achieve from combining livelihood assets to

implement livelihood strategies Those results are more income, better well-being, vulnerability reduction, food security improvement, or more sustainable use of natural resources

Asian Development Bank (2005) carried out research and implemented a number of projects building sustainable livelihood models for ethnic minorities in Vietnam According to ADB reports, ethnic minorities are easily affected by development (cultivation land confiscated for development purposes) As a result, together with social and economic growth, authorities at all levels should issue fair policies so that ethnic minorities are able to take part in progression opportunities Besides, the government should create conditions so that they can benefit from development

Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong (2012) with a study “Livelihoods of the Ede: A case study of Eabar commune, Buon Don District, Daklak province” applies the SLF of DFID and shows that Ede households have differences in five livelihood assets between the poor, near-poor and wealthier groups The wealthiest group, compared to the poor and the near poor, possess most

of advantages of the five assets The biggest challenge of all livelihood capitals in this case study is the limited human capital with low education, lack of skill Then, the next obstacles are natural and financial resources, which directly affect improving process of livelihoods for the Ede, especially for the poor

Nguyen Xuan Vinh (2014) researching “Livelihood policy combining natural resource reserve – A case study of Cape village, Dat Mui Commune, Ngoc Hien District, Ca Mau province” concludes that the majority of households do not have many significant livelihood assets except for elementary labor force lacking technological knowledge, low-power production equipment, low diversity and incapable of financial access Households are under high risk of illness, high dependent-labor rate, extreme weather, competitiveness in fisheries, natural resource depletion, and climate change like increasing sea level, landslides, epidemics, and dependent on traders In that context, RAMSAR convention and forest-protection policy turn out to be shocks making many residents lose their livelihoods

Douglas C Macmillan and Quoc Anh Nguyen (2013) with research “Factors influencing the illegal harvest of wildlife by trapping and snaring among the Cotu ethnic group in Vietnam” focused on two villages of the Cotu living in the boundary of SNR The study found out that

“trapping is widespread and motivated by financial gain and non-pecuniary benefits such as social esteem and enjoyment, rather than by poverty per se Trappers’ awareness of wildlife protection law was low and animals were killed indiscriminately in traps and snares designed

to catch a wide range of animal species With demand for wildlife and wildlife products expected to increase, they believe that new approaches will be required to protect threatened species in Vietnamese protected areas.”

In conclusion, various empirical studies point out those ethnic minorities in Vietnam should have priority in development policy These groups, due to historical circumstances, live under specific and underdeveloped conditions Therefore, they suffer the disadvantages that development leaves behind As a result, the government, definitely, should play a role in improving equality by protecting the poor, especially the ethnic minorities through sustainable poverty-reduction programs and creating sustainable livelihoods

CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH LOCATION

3.1 Natural conditions

Bhalee commune is located in the northwest of Tay Giang district, 14 kilometers from the district center Bhalee has a total area of 7,111.8 ha, with a population of 2,510 people; most of them are the Cotu Bhalee has eight villages, among them, there are three villages located in the buffer of the SNR, which are A tep 1, A tep 2 and Ta lang Location of Bhalee commune and three buffer villages are showed in Appendix 1, 2

SNR was established by the People’s Committee of Quang Nam under Decision No 2265/QĐ-UBND on 13.07.2012 The reserve is located in the north-west of the province, on the administrative territory of four communes: Bhalee, A Vuong (Tay Giang district), Ta Lu and Song Kon (Dong Giang district) This is a low mountainous area of about 600 – 1,440 m height above sea level SNR Quang Nam is also a place of many other rare species Due to special features of topographic and biodiversity richness, this area became a target for logging, hunting, trapping and exploiting non-timber resources by local people and outsiders as well Besides, forest encroachment for cultivation and other pressures are so serious that forest resources are damaged severely, biodiversity is threatened severely Map of SNR is shown in Appendix 3

SNR belongs to Special Use Forest (SUF) system of Vietnam, including 30 national parks and

69 nature reserves SUF of Vietnam is under control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, General Department of Forestry, Department of Forest Protection However, there are six national parks that are under this management level Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Provincial Forest Protection Department directly manage the other parks The People’s Committee of Quang Nam made the decision to establish SNR and delegate FPD to directly manage it (Saola Nature Reserve Quang Nam, 2013)

SNR was established based on some legal basis as specified in Appendix 4 The decentralized management structure is shown in Appendix 5

3.2.Demographic characteristics

Table 3-1 Demographic characteristics at 3 villages of the study

Ord Village Population No of

HHs

Poor HHs (%)

Near-poor HHs (%)

Total of Poor & Near-poor HHs (%)

4 Average 56.14% 7.02% 63.16%

Source: Result of investigation and review for poor and near-poor HHs, Bhalee commune 2014

Three villages in the study have remarkably high poor and near-poor proportion The average poor and near-poor percentage is 63.16% - higher than the average percentage of total Bhalee (57%) and of total Tay Giang (53%).1

People in these three villages live in clusters, along Ho Chi Minh high way Labor force makes

up approximately 55% of the population and male labor accounts for more than a half This labor force is abundant for production activities but individuals in this labor force are untrained Therefore, this kind of labor has the latent risk of illegal exploitation once they have

no other options for income jobs

3.3 Social-economic status

Agriculture and forestry are main economic sectors at this research site They account for more than 95% of all sectors (Statistical Department of Tay Giang, 2014) Other activities just make a small proportion Due to steep slope terrain, cultivation land is limited Therefore, productivity is rather low and products are merely enough for household basic need Besides, together with long-time practices of exploiting fisheries from streams, rarely do the Cotu build ponds to raise fish Doing business and services, which are important fields showing the

1

The above proportion follows the new poor and near-poor standard, in accordance with Decision 09/2011/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister on

30 th Jan, 2011 (Poor: average income from 400,000 vnđ/ person/ month and below; near-poor: average income from 401,000 – 520,000 vnđ/ person/ month; both are new standard for rural areas)

development of a community and consumption bridges for other sectors are not developed and not popular among the Cotu

For agriculture, the Cotu mainly produce upland rice, cassava, ginger, some variety of vegetables for daily use

For forestry, the Cotu at the buffer area of the SNR often affects forest-related resources with four main impact groups: hunting, trapping, snaring animals; logging; overusing NTFPs; forest clearance for cultivation

Table 3-2 Impact groups on forest

Ord Impact Group Details

1 Hunting, trapping, snaring

Local people exploit đót, song, rattan, ba kích (Morinda cochinchinensis DC.), and honey These products are main income

4 Forest clearance for cultivation Local people lack of cultivation land, left no choice so

they encroach forestlands for agriculture activities

Source: consolidation through group discussion

Forest-related activities of the Cotu influence forest resources and are often, diverse, and contain regional cultural specialties and practices of this ethnic minority living in Truong Son Mountain All activities cater for daily life and mostly depend on forest resources, such as logging for house building, trapping, snaring for daily food, and reclaiming forestlands for agricultural production All of these are part of typical human ecology once the Cotu are able

to know sustainable exploitation of natural resources

However, these activities experience major changes when exploitation of natural resources is not only for basic need but also for selling to increase income That is why the Cotu people overexploit resources

CHAPTER 4 DESIGN OF THE STUDY

4.1 Research process

After determining the research context, I set up research objectives and research questions Based on this, I chose data sample together with ways of collecting primary and secondary

data After consolidating all necessary data, I used the SLF for analysis and thesis writing

Figure 4-1 Research process

4.2 Data Collection Techniques

4.2.1 Primary data and sample selection

Primary data are collected through household surveys, focused group discussions and structured interviews

semi-Household surveys are implemented with a sample of HHs The sample selection technique is purposive sampling The sample selection process first begins with the village heads They have a list of all HHs in the villages with the number of poor and near-poor households Based

on this list, I choose randomly 35 (20%) out of 171 HHs in three villages The sample is chosen as follows:

Table 4-1 Sample selection

Villages A tep 1 A tep 2 Ta lang Total

Total of sample for each village 11 10 14 35

Additionally, primary data are collected through group discussions with a group of male laborers, who are dramatically affected by the new rules of SNR Discussion concentrates on their jobs before and after the establishment of SNR, their working calendar, their intention for future jobs, and their expectations

The semi-structured interviews are conducted with leaders of the commune, with rangers, and SNR leaders to have some insights in pros and cons of SNR together with some recommendations on the aspects of people livelihoods

4.2.2 Secondary data

Secondary data on social-economic situation; current policies, programs, etc are obtained from reports from a range of levels such as from the People’s Committee of Tay Giang district, the People’s Committee of Bhalee commune, statistics yearbook of Tay Giang district and some other relating departments In addition, I also refer to some previous studies

4.3 Data processing tools

The study applies qualitative methods based on the SLF approach to learn about Cotu livelihoods before and after establishment of SNR, and to compare aspects of livelihood assets between two groups (poor and near-poor group vs non-poor group) Collected data are aggregated using Microsoft Excel After that, data are reported in tables, graphs, and diagrams

in the study Then, the study uses descriptive statistics and comparative statistics to analyze the livelihoods status, livelihoods strategies and livelihoods outcomes of HHs

Descriptive statistics are used to have an overall view of the research site, livelihoods reality

of HHs through 5 livelihoods assets, advantages and disadvantages of HHs in the process of access to these 5 capitals

Comparative statistics are applied to have deep and profound insights in the differences among poor, near-poor and non-poor HHs on aspect of access to livelihoods resources

Qualitative analysis is helpful for analyzing issues about impacts of SNR on the Cotu’s livelihoods, as well as facilitators vs barriers in access to capitals

4.4 Interpretation of findings

The study have its general analysis of current status of five livelihood capitals of the Cotu at the research site through the description and comparison of data from household surveys, group discussions and semi-structured interviews In addition, the household surveys provide information about vulnerability context, local people’s response to vulnerability context and their expectation of assistance from the authorities Furthermore, semi-structured interviews help the study to have deep insights in advantages as well as difficulties of SNR management,

in sustainable exploitation of NTFPs, in thinking and reaction of villagers to new regulations, and in general development plan of the district

Besides, by analyzing connections, implication and relationships between the findings and policies related to local people’s livelihoods as well as policies of SNR affecting local people’s livelihoods, the study have its final conclusion and recommendations to the sustainable livelihoods and forest protection of the Cotu living in the buffer areas of SNR As

a result, local people can gradually get out of poverty together with protect forest resources sustainably

CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH RESULTS

5.1 HHs livelihoods assets

5.1.1 Human capital

5.1.1.1 Household size and labor

About household size, there are differences between two groups Average headcount of group

1 (G1: poor and near-poor group) outweigh group 2 (G2: non-poor group) by approximately one head Besides, one main laborer of G1 has to shoulder 1.9 dependents while one head per household just bears a burden of 1.6 dependents in G2 The number of headcount and dependent burden are two elements, which makes HHs in G1 poorer (See Table 5.1 and Chart 5.1)

Another important point is that the young generation in both groups is considerably high (above 80%), especially group of younger than 19 years old This is an important force for the future development Therefore, in order to have a strong background for sustainable development, education should be focused and enhanced for this young generation

Table 5-1 Indicators of household size and labor

Indicator Poor + Near-poor HHs Non-poor HHs

It can be seen clearly in analysis of age groups Group of primary laborer of households 50) is the same between the two groups However, the percentage of young dependent less than 19 years old of G1 is much more than G2 (55% for G1 compared with 41% for G2) Although the proportion of other dependent groups (51-65 years old and more than 65 years old) of G2 is higher than that of G1, most of elder people in these groups have monthly salaries, as they are veterans of the Vietnam War

(19-Chart 5.1 Average household headcount and main labor

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

5.1.1.2 Education and Health

Education

The data shows that education level of G2 is remarkably higher than G1 as 35% people of G2 have high-school level and above while there is just 12% people of G1, who reach high school Furthermore, the rate of literacy of G2 is twice than G1 Moreover, dropout proportion

in G1 is double in comparison with that in G2 However, dropout proportion in both groups is still high, especially in G1 (20%) There seems to be cultural issues or misunderstandings regarding the importance of education so that the children here do not focus enough on schooling Their parents, with low education and unawareness of the importance of education, accept the fact that their children are bad in studying and allow them to quit schooling without advising and persuading their children to continue studying Parents think simply that their

5.65

4.83

1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00

-Poor + Near-poor HHs

Non-poor HHs

Average HHs headcount and labor

Average headcount Main labor

children will work as they do, that is ok There is just one reported case of dropping school because of health problems

Table 5-2 Education status of household members

Education Status Poor + Near-poor HHs Non-poor HHs

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

However, in the general picture, we can see that the education level of the Cotu at the research site is significantly low with elementary and secondary level accounting for more than a half and no cases beyond high school graduation It is because of low awareness and knowledge of the Cotu and because investment for education in Tay Giang is still limited Low education level is an important factor of livelihood sustainability Low education also brings about inefficient economic activities and deters the poor from absorbing knowledge about new technology on cultivation and animal husbandry

In addition, laborers except for municipal officers, laborers working overseas mostly (92% interviewed) have been trained to breed cows, buffalos, ducks, chickens, goats However, approximately 80% of respondents indicate that they have not adapted any trained knowledge

to raise their own livestock, since they do not have enough capital to buy animal feed, and buy

iron sheets to build housing for them, buy B40 steel wire to fence around Agricultural cultivation knowledge is adopted from generation to generation without any official training skills

In the current labor and employment situation, support from local government for the people

to have jobs has been implemented However, according to household surveys, just 2.33% of respondents enjoyed this help In addition, all of respondents are export labors

Health

Health status of the Cotu at the research site is quite good Just 7% to 10% have health issues Health is not a problem for the poor here

Table 5-3 Regular sick rate

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

5.1.1.3 Jobs

At the research sites, agriculture and forestry are main jobs and account for 91% of labor while civil servants and officials just make up just 7% who are teachers and municipal officials

Chart 5.2 Job groups

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

Agriculture and Forestry

Most of Cotu households work in agriculture and forestry In agriculture, they produce upland rice, and cassava These types of food are just enough for household consumption In order to have extra foods and incomes, these households, traditionally and usually, exploit timber and NTFPs

Table 5.4 gives information about working periods and free time of the residents, and the main kinds of forest products they exploit regularly Through semi-structured interviews with village patriarchs and focused group discussion, the local people summarize the seasonal calendar from time to time The seasonal calendar not only shows the coincidence between production time of rice, upland rice, cassava and the weather but it also presents the periods of other activities like trapping, and gathering forest products In the previous, the Cotu always considered the forest as an endless stock for their life Now, with new regulations, particularly the establishment of SNR, they are not allowed to exploit freely anymore This makes people living dependently on the forest face with lots of difficulties in their livelihood process

91%

2%

Agriculture, Forestry Non-Agri (Employee) Civil servant, official

Table 5-4 Seasonal calendar

Lunar month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Cassava Harvesting Planting

Rice Sowing Harvesting Sowing Harvesting

Upland rice Clearing Sowing Harvesting

Firewood All year round

Rattan All year round, especially before Tet in order to purchase for Tet shopping

Wild pepper Collecting

Wild banana All year round

Fungi All year round, especially from May to August

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

Forest-related products are considered livelihood sources for the Cotu generally and specially

in this buffer area The exploitation of forest-related products is a daily and popular activity of the buffer community According to the survey, 100% of households working in agriculture have this kind of activity Essential products are timber, animals (wild pigs, muntjacs, squirrels, weasels, civets, porcupines, bamboo rats, pangolins, fish, frogs, snails), and NTFPs including fire wood, honey, rattan, đót, wild peppers, fungi, wild bananas, bamboo shoots, wild vegetables, ginseng (ba kích), and medicinal plants

Logging is strictly prohibited, but some of local people still break the rules due to the need for cash income, and for traditional house construction Currently, the majority of illegal logging households are non-poor households who have relationships with municipal officials and commercial traders They still log, as there is a real high demand for timber from outsiders Moreover, only wealthier households have expensive and modern machine and equipment to log big timber trees Except for commercial purposes, residents there also log for building houses Households should have applied for logging permission from commune authority and

Forest Police Unit (FPU) However, they indicate that the procedure is so complicated and such a waste of time that they do not follow the rules Besides, it is widely acknowledged that logging for house construction purposes once being caught will not entail punishment

NTFPs are often used and play a very important role for the Cotu’s livelihoods due to cash income, food, crop protection, habit and enjoyment, and tradition (MacMillan and Nguyen, 2013) But after the establishment of SNR, trapping, snaring, gathering NTFPs are no longer permitted Although there are a number of illegal cases that Cotu men still trap, and snare animals but rarely frequency since most of their traps are removed by regular forest guards They are also prohibited exploiting other NTFPs in SNR but they still ignore the rules, because they have no other jobs One man interviewed in A tép 2 village said that his main job was going to the forest Currently, the state does not allow them to do that They have nothing

to do but to wander around their houses or work with their wives on the milpa Table 5.5 presents information on the significant reduction in frequency of exploitation by households of forest-related products

Table 5-5 Frequency of forest-related product exploitation

Forest Products

No

of HHs

No of

No of

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

Non-agriculture

Non-agriculture, especially hired labor is another livelihood activity of the residents This kind

of job is popular in HHs with young newlywed couples, as they have no land for agriculture and they just graduate from high or secondary school Therefore, they have to work for others

to have income This kind of job cannot create regular income, as there are not many tasks for them to do all year round That is why households with this kind of job are poor HHs

Civil servants, officials

This is a stable job In addition, households having members working this type of job are poor HHs Furthermore, with high income, they do not have demand for forest-related activities

non-5.1.2 Natural capital

Land is the most important natural resource of people All households in three villages are resettled in new premises According to resettlement policy in Tay Giang, each household is granted 180-m2 resident land Nearly 85% of interviewed households claimed that resettlement

in new premises is better for security, village tradition, neighborhood, but they no longer have gardens to plant vegetables, and fruits Instead, they have to plant all of these kinds of foodstuff on land in “zuông” Among respondents, 72% of respondents said that they had a kind of barn on their milpa The Cotu call it “zuông” where they store all kinds of agricultural products They also keep all of their precious things in “zuông”

Table 5.6 displays information about agricultural production land Agricultural production land in three villages has been registered with red books thanks to help of a NGO project There are a number of cultivation lands located in SNR and they are not registered and are not allowed to be cultivated anymore That explains why production lands of people there are reduced considerably

Agricultural production land is also divided into groups of food crops (rice, cassava, corn, ginger, vegetables, and fruit) and industrial plants (rubber trees, acacia, other timbers)

From the Table 5.6, we can see that poor, near-poor and non-poor HHs are affected by the establishment of SNR in terms of agricultural production land Non-poor HHs suffer worse in absolute numbers, but both groups share nearly the same loss in relative figures However, since main jobs of the poor are in agriculture, they suffer much more than the non-poor

Table 5-6 Average land (hectares)

Before the

establishment of SNR

Current

Interviewed households with current houses imply that this kind of house is not firm for long time and it just maintains about 8-10 years due to rotten wood Most of them wish to have

modern houses All of the interviewed households replied that they have not had any kind of documents for their houses like red books

5.1.3.2 Means of production

Means of production are one of the essential supports for livelihoods All interviewed households have only simple and poor production tools like axes, sickles, hoes, shovels, knives, baskets (gùi), bush-hooks, and sowers In each village, there is only one household possessing a mechanical thresher With such non-modern and non-mechanized production tools, hardly can the Cotu create and maintain sustainable livelihoods

5.1.3.3 Living facilities

Living facilities are considered important physical assets This kind of capital is shown in Table 5.7 Only three main kinds of living facilities are displayed as these three are popular at the research sites

Although there is a difference between G1 and G2 in the possession percentage of living facilities, a large number of HHs have motorbikes, TVs and cellphones These facilities partially support production and daily life, and partially satisfy entertainment demand In addition, these create advantages for people to access to social, economic information, market price, weather, etc

Table 5-7 Possession percentage of living facilities

Kinds of living facility Poor + Near poor HHs Non-poor HHs Total

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

However, the result also tells another story that generally, household facilities are considerably poor These assets just meet basic need In overall development of the society, physical life of the Cotu gradually improved but this physical resource has not created a firm foundation for setting up sustainable livelihoods

5.1.3.4 Infrastructure

Local infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and water systems is rather convenient and favorable At the research site, together with resettlement on new premises, school, health service base, gươl (village cultural and traditional house) are built respectively Besides, thanks to support from government programs including 135, 30a, and NGO project as well as residents’ contribution, inter-village and internal village roads have been constructed This caters for travel and transport demand and facilitates livelihood activities Most of the residents here are happy with current infrastructure However, as commerce and trading activities are not popular and not currently practiced by local people, there is not any market

5.1.4 Financial capital

Income

This is an important capital in investment in livelihood activities to generate income Financial resources are mainly created by manual labor from agricultural and forest-related activities Only a few of study respondents are public servants and officials Currently, local people have extra income from rubber planting, but the plantations are just at the early stage and not harvested yet Therefore, local people are still in difficult conditions Furthermore, residents there count on wildlife resources, so the establishment of SNR and strict management of forest resources make their livelihoods even more difficult

Chart 5.3 shows household annual income and expense There is a significant difference in incomes of the two groups Non-poor HHs have high income, as they are mostly civil servants and officials Tay Giang is a district at a frontier area, so there are many favorable policies for officials working there Besides, non-poor HHs have members who are veterans from Vietnam War and have compensations In addition, non-poor HHs are HHs, which have activities relating to illegal logging so they have high income While poor and near-poor HHs just work

in agriculture and forestry which make for low income

Chart 5.3 Annual income and expense of both groups (Unit: million VND)

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

Among poor and non-poor HHs, I also make an income proportion before and after the establishment of SNR to specify the impact of SNR on these groups’ incomes

Chart 5.4 shows clearly the impact of SNR on income proportion of poor and non-poor HHs Before the establishment of SNR, forest-related products made up nearly 70% of income, whereas after that, this kind of income source accounts for just 20% income Moreover, after the establishment of SNR, it can be seen that there are two main income sources from forest protection and rubber and acacia planting Among income source, income from rubber and acacia planting occupies up to 35% However, there are about 51% interviewed households planting these kinds of trees and 68% households participating in forest protection groups The figures below suggest that the Cotu community still depends on natural and forest resources and significant economic changes just come mostly from structural changes in plant varieties and promoting forest protection contracts

Chart 5.4 Income proportion of poor and near-poor household group

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

Credit

The survey identifies nearly 75% of the Cotu HHs at research sites having loans They may borrow from many sources like Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBFSP), Agribank, women’s group, farmers’ association, relatives, friends and neighbors The Cotu people there can have access to credit from VBFSP (46%), and Agribank (37%), (see Table 5.8) Residents there can access credit easily as this is a poor location so the government facilitates credit a lot Besides, there is enthusiastic support from sociopolitical organizations (women’s group, farmers’ association) through guaranteeing for the poor to borrow and instructing loan procedures for them

Cultivation Breeding Forest-related

products

Rubber planting

Forest protection

Project activities

Table 5-8 Credit sources

Vietnam Bank for Social Policies 46%

Relatives, friends, neighbours 17%

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

The credit purpose is mostly for building houses (60%) In addition, there is small proportion for buying cows (17%), for children to attend school far from home (14%), health care (6%), and setting up grocery (3%), (see chart 5.5)

Chart 5.5 Credit purposes

Source: Aggregated data from HHs survey

5.1.5 Social capital

With characteristics of traditional village community, the Cotu live within close community ties, have almost similar livelihood activities, share and help each other whenever someone has difficult tribulations Currently, strict management of SNR creates negative impacts on

Building houses 60%

Buying cows 17%

Children schooling 14%

Health care 6%

Setting up grocery 3%

Credit purposes