Thí điểm phương pháp quản lý rừng đa mục đích tỉnh lâm đồng en

Further improvement of forest management plans is therefore requested and the project is going to engage in the development of five-year forest management plans for six selected FMUs for

Mid-Term Evaluation Report

Project on Piloting an Approach to Multiple-Use Forest Management

Lam Dong Province

May 2009

Project Management Unit

5E Tran Hung Dao Street

Ward 10, Da Lat city

Lam Dong province

Tel.: 063 3577246

Björn Wode Forestry Consultant Wode.bjoern@gmail.com

List of Annexes

Annex 1: Terms of Reference

Annex 2: Mission Itinerary

Annex 3: Documents Reviewed

Annex 4: Proposed format for Training material

Annex 5: General Operational plan for the whole Period of the Project

Glossary of Acronyms

Degradation

Explanation of technical terms

Multiple-use Forest Management

The attempt to manage a forested area in a way that reconciles biodiversity conservation, environmental protection, and production objectives with poverty reduction for poor, forest-dependent communities

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programmes, alternatively named Payment for Environmental Services programmes, promote the conservation of natural resources in the marketplace PES programs provide incentives for the private sector to incorporate sustainable practices into production and resource management

PES programs are voluntary and mutually beneficial contracts between consumers of ecosystem services and the suppliers of these services The party supplying the environmental services holds the property rights over an environmental good that provides a flow of benefits to the demanding party in return for compensation

Cover photo: Stakeholder meeting at Ta Nung commune with participation

from FMG member and Protection Forest Management Board Lam Vien

The review team visited all project beneficiary groups including i) Forest Management Groups at village level, ii) six Forest Management Units representing organisational bodies of all three forest use types in Vietnam, and iii) representatives of the provincial working group under DARD Lam Dong within a period of six days During field visits intensive interviews with project beneficiaries and reviews of developed project materials were conducted

Preliminary mission findings were presented at provincial level on the 11th of May and during a final workshop in Hanoi with participation of a wider audience from TFF and donor representatives on the 29th of May Received comments have been incorporated into the final mission report at hand

of March 2007 until 2010, with a total project budget of 926,092 EURO

The Overall Objective of the project is to maximize the contribution of Vietnam’s three forest management categories to reducing poverty, providing environmental services, sustaining biodiversity values, and supporting national economic development

The Purpose of the project is to pilot and define necessary parameters for the establishment and replication of a multiple-use approach to forest management that reconciles biodiversity conservation, environmental protection, and production objectives with poverty reduction for poor, forest-dependent communities Project interventions are intended to put in place a basis for planning and regulations consistent with the multiple forest sector objectives of SUFs, WPFs, and production forests

The project furthermore pilots collaborative management schemes to involve forest dependent population into sustainable forest utilisation and protection as contribution to one main objective of the national forestry strategy of Vietnam

Project impact

Overall project impact is evaluated consistent towards the achievement of the project purpose and directly contributing to provincial forest policy development and strategic planning with major project concepts already applied by relevant departments

Project implementation is making satisfactory progress with major outputs as defined in the logframe expected to be achieved by end of the project period

Project reporting procedures on finance and activity level are up to standard and are seen as a crucial precondition to effectively implement a project with such a complex activity schedule Consultant outputs are available in bi-lingual form and are signed by the head of the consultancy package, the Chief Technical Advisor and the Project Management Unit

The project has gained the support and trust of provincial decision-makers and the provincial working group is providing an excellent forum to disseminate project activities

at a provincial and regional level

The project timing in the context of forest development in Lam Dong province is considered excellent with numerous provincial activities coincide with project activities, e.g forest valuation for land allocation/leasing schemes, provincial action plan for biodiversity conservation as well as planning for PES implementation

Provincial departments are pro-actively incorporating project outcomes into provincial programs and policies, thus ensuring that project outcomes will become integrated components of provincial forest management planning Thus, institutionalising of project concepts seems feasible for some concepts (e.g forest valuation) given the current demand during new provincial planning and financing schemes New funding options under provincial and national programs/projects are furthermore providing very promising tools to be explored in view of sustaining tangible benefits for local communities as project areas are clearly earmarked in provincial PES schemes

The project is embarking on a comprehensive capacity building scheme for FMU and provincial beneficiaries with numerous surveys and training activities conducted by project consultants responsible for a specific consultancy package

In general, the level of understanding, interest in, and application of training results widely differs between beneficiary groups at FMU and provincial level Provincial beneficiaries state a clear interest in project activities and already apply training outcomes into strategic planning and policy development while FMU beneficiaries still show a rather passive attitude mainly limited to participation in training exercises only A reason for this might be that some training aspects (forest zonation, forest valuation) are actually not part of the legal mandate nor professional working areas of most FMU members but are conducted by provincial service providers under state funding A widened scope of capacity building should therefore be continued including service providers from outside the current project beneficiaries

Six Forest Management Groups (FMG) are operational and effectively using a Revolving Credit Fund established by the project However, FMGs still remain with a solely focus

on forest protection and their sustainability rely on external funding form ongoing forest protection contracts under 661 program schemes Further projects efforts are therefore required to promote a shift in their involvement from passive contract receivers to active forest managers by developing sustainable collaborative management regimes In this context it needs to be mentioned that so far no agreement on a concept for collaborative management has been reached This is seen as of major concern as this output forms the basis to generate short-term tangible benefits for the local population and need to be speed-up by the project by all means

The revolving credit fund is effectively used by FMG members and interviewed users proposed only minor adjustments for further improvement It has to be noted that despite being described in the project design, the fund volume is not sufficient to provide substantial impacts to improve livelihood of local people but is understood as a contribution to achieve a synergistic effect with other socio-economic development schemes only It is further understood that income opportunities from unregulated forest utilisation are by far exceeding the finance provided through the RCF

At present, eligibility for funding is restricted to FMG members whereas villagers with highest levels of forest dependency, lowest forest protection awareness and most likely unsustainable forest utilization patterns are currently not eligible, limiting a major objective of the RCF namely to reduce pressure on forest resources through alternative income sources During the second and subsequent funding cycles priority will therefore

be given to community members with highest levels of forest dependency, poverty rate, unavailability of arable land and limited sources of alternative income

The project has conducted detailed surveys and obtained large databases which however have not yet been fully utilised during analysis, planning and field implementation A strong focus for the remaining project period is therefore defined by analysing and integrating developed data into project interventions and ultimately into legal planning documents Strongest focus should be given to simple and feasible benefit sharing regulations for NTFP utilisation by local people with minimised reporting, approval and monitoring procedures which can otherwise not be sustained after project termination

Forest management plans for six FMUs have been completed as outcome under consultancy package no.1, however are evaluated as not satisfactory to be utilised as legal planning basis by a FMU FMU plans are currently developed parallel to existing legal planning documents of the respective FMUs and have therefore no legal status based on which activities could be planned, funded and finally implemented This is seen

as a major concern as FMU plans are the main tool to ensure an integration of project outcomes into administrative procedures and subsequently the institutionalisation of the approach itself Further improvement of forest management plans is therefore requested and the project is going to engage in the development of five-year forest management plans for six selected FMUs for the planning period 2010-2015 to be approved at provincial level

Remaining project period

For the coming project period, a clear focus should be given on detailed reflection of implementation results and achieved impacts for a continuous improvement of newly tested concepts At present project implementation revealed to be rather mechanical and target oriented which is to some extend understandable due to enormous amount of activities described in the logframe

The mission therefore emphasises main expected outcomes of the project under the i) establishment of well-implemented and documented models in the field, ii) the development of comprehensive, standardised material with distinct formats for training and technical guidelines and iii) continuous contribution to provincial policy development

by piloting new funding mechanisms

Furthermore did interviews reveal that the holistic concept of multiple-use forest approach with all involved and interlinked activities is not yet understood by all project beneficiaries Interviews revealed that project interventions remain as fragmented outputs and have not yet been aggregated into a sustainable product Due to the current minimalist project structure with only four positions, a comprehensive coaching of project beneficiaries is however not considered feasible and it is therefore proposed to seek for

additional funding from TFF for an additional full-time technical advisor at the project management unit to ensure continuous coaching of FMUs and FMGs after and between training courses and to encourage and guide FMUs to apply project concepts in their daily work

Due to an extended inception phase of the project with prolonged time requirements for tendering, project implementation could not yet initiate all proposed models in the fields Furthermore do recent policy changes, new financing mechanisms and provincial projects provide further options for sustainable funding mechanisms that were not considered in the original project design, however are considered as crucial options to

be tested in view of sustainability of project models

It is therefore proposed to seek for a six months extension, until September 2009 to guarantee a sound and sustainable development of project models under new financing schemes and to embark on the preparation of five-year management plans for Six FMUs representing management of three different types of forests to be approved by PPC Lam Dong

22nd March 2007 to 22nd March 2010, with a total project budget of 926,092 EURO

The Overall Objective of the project is defined as to maximize the contribution of

Vietnam’s three forest management categories towards poverty reduction, provision of environmental services, sustaining biodiversity values, and supporting national economic development

The project is structured along four main outputs:

1 Capacity of Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Forest Department, and selected FMUs, Districts and Communes in multiple-use forest planning and management, forest valuation, and collaborative forest management increased;

2 Multiple-use management piloted at selected Forest Management Units (FMUs) in Lam Dong Province;

3 Mechanisms for enhanced community participation in planning, development, management and benefit sharing established at selected Special-use Forests (SUFs), Watershed Protection Forests (WPFs) and Production forests;

4 Best practice models of multiple-use forest management documented and disseminated, to encourage replication of the approach

The Project Purpose is to pilot and define necessary parameters for the establishment

and replication of a multiple-use approach to forest management that reconciles biodiversity conservation, environmental protection, and production objectives with poverty reduction for poor, forest-dependent communities

Project interventions are intended to put in place a basis for planning and regulations

consistent with the multiple forest sector objectives of SUFs, WPFs, and production forests The new legislative framework for the forest sector provided by the 2004 Forest Protection and Development Law, presents an opportunity to pilot innovative, community-based approaches to forest stewardship to be piloted by the project

Implementing and executing agencies are Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and Bi-Doup-Nui Ba National Park, respectively

This mission was designed to embark on a mid-term evaluation of the project implementation status and project impacts and to derive at recommendations for the remaining project period The mission was fielded for a period of 10 days during which stakeholder meetings at village, commune and provincial level have been conducted For detailed information about the Terms of Reference please refer to Annex 1 The mission itinerary is provided in Annex 2

For a list of documents reviewed during the period of the assignment kindly refer to Annex 3

The mid-term evaluation will focus on following activities:

• Monitoring the progress of implementing of the project compared with plans approved; evaluating the implementation of the overall objective, purpose and results of implementing activities of the project through indices presented in logframe of the project

• Evaluating the results of the project implementation The project mid-term evaluation will be carried out based on five following criteria:

• Evaluating the impact of the project: Evaluating influences of the project on

changes in economy, society and environment of localities and the FMUs in project area This evaluation will be based on indices achieved in logframe for overall objective of the project.;

• Evaluating effectiveness of the project: Effectiveness of the project will be

evaluated based on analysis and assessment of purpose and outputs of the project Through collecting data for indices of implementing purpose and outputs

of the project presented in the project logframe, effectiveness of implementation

of the project will be evaluated objectively and precisely;

• Evaluating efficiency of the project implementation: Efficiency of the project

will be evaluated through achievement of outputs and activities of the project The sources of capital invested for activities of the project to obtain desiring

outputs will be analysed to examine effectiveness of the project;

• Evaluating relevance of the project: Assessment of relevance of the project is

to answer the question: to what extend does the project overall object and purpose meet the demands and priorities of target groups of the project? These

groups are expected to be beneficiaries from the project

• Evaluating sustainability of the project: So as to assess sustainability of the

project, it is necessary to evaluate and estimate ability of maintenance and replication of outputs and purpose and overall objective of the project after the project has completed

• Recommend measures, added activities and extending time of project (if necessary) for achievement of purpose and outputs proposed of the project

• Review technical and financial reports carried out by the PMU;

• Interview (directly or by questionnaires) beneficiaries of the project, including staff

of Lam Dong DARD and the FMUs in the project area, authorities of districts, communes and local communities in the project area;

• Organise workshops with six Forest Management Groups to collect information

on implementing the Revolved Credit Fund of the project, the roles of the fund in improving the livelihood for local people and contributing to increasing the effectiveness of forest protection and management in relative hamlets;

• Examine resulting documents of the project and evaluating the outputs of the project through these documents;

• Analyse the reports on socio-economic implementation and implementation of tasks in the year 2008 of relative districts, communes, the FMUs and Lam Dong DARD;

• Analyse satellite images to assess the changes in forest resources in the project area; Comparing data in forest resources of the project area after one year of implementing the project;

• Carry out field surveys in two relative FMUs to evaluate impacts and effectiveness of implementing the activities of the project

is sound and the activities are clearly stated with attached Indicators and Verifiers

The logframe is currently revised and integrated into a project monitoring system under consultancy package no 6 and modifications described in a draft version1 in Vietnamese only

The ambitious project design is detailing a total of 22 activities under four outputs This large amount of activities and intended linkages towards a holistic approach of multiple-use forest management is evaluated as still being too complex for most involved stakeholders Interviews and field visits revealed that project interventions remain fragmented pieces and have not yet been combined into a sustainable product Most project participants were not able to present a logical sequence of all project activities but were only able to recall individual events

A major challenge of the project remains therefore with bringing together all these aspects into vital models with an attached practical guideline for independent replication after project termination

• Six Forest Management Units (FMUs) representing managerial bodies for the three distinct forest types (special-use, protection and production forest)

• District authorities of Lac Duong, Don Duong, and Da Lat city, with their respective communes Project counterparts are People's Committees and agro-forestry extension staff

• Forest-dependent communities living within, and in the vicinity, of the above six FMUs

Selection of beneficiaries is evaluated supportive to the project purpose with increasing attention to be paid at provincial level during the remaining project period in view of institutionalising of developed concepts

1 Duong Tien Duc (June 2008): Draft monitoring, lessons learnt and experiences from Project on piloting an approach to multiple-use forest management in Lam Dong province

4 2 P r o j e c t I m p l e m e n t a t i o n R e s u l t s

4 2 1 P r o j e c t O u t p u t 1

Out Put 1: Capacity of Lam Dong DARD and Forest Department and selected FMUs,

districts and communes in multiple-use forest planning and management, forest

valuation, and collaborative management increased

Activity 1: Conduct a participatory assessment of gaps in technical capacities to plan

and manage forest of high conservation value

A comprehensive training needs assessment for all project FMUs has been conducted for six skill areas and documented in September 2008 (Mahood, Hung, Me) However, training implementation started already prior to the training need assessment and was mainly based on the project design, thus limiting the effectiveness of this exercise to some extend

Activity 2: Carry out training to fill technical gaps in forest planning and

management for relevant Lam Dong DARD, Forest Department, Forest Protection Department, FMU personnel and some other provincial institutions directly involved

in forest management and planning

Capacity building conducted by the project focussed on forest inventory, identification

of flora and fauna, GIS application, and zonation of multiple-use forest zones and has resulted in increased awareness and improved capacities

FMU members are able to recall main training outcomes, however do not yet gained

a general overview over the entire project concept and cannot recall a logical sequence of implementation steps and how specific activities are interrelated This is understandable during the ongoing implementation stage, however following the sequence of training courses participants should be developed towards an overall understanding of all involved steps towards the multiple-use forest management

As revealed in one training report some training aspects have been evaluated as not satisfactory, however no adjustments in the training material are visible to the consultant which could lead to an improved implementation during subsequent courses It is obvious that consultancy documents are not adjusted based on the implementation results but only based on the expertise of the provincial working group prior to the implementation However, during this stage of methodology development a constant refinement of the concept and accompanied documents before and after implementation should be supported by the project

Training activities should be followed-up by continuous coaching of a project technician during real work However, the current project structure does not comprise such a position (see chapter 4.2.5) Consequently, training is conducted by external consultants as a one-time exercise only, questioning the sustainability of the developed technical/managerial capacities at FMU and FMG level

Activity 3: Carry out training on forest valuation for relevant Lam Dong DARD, Forest

Department, Forest Protection Department, FMUs personnel and some other provincial institutions directly involved in forest management and planning

Training on forest valuation has been conducted and results documented in a training document2, a guideline on forest valuation in Vietnam3 and minutes of meetings of training implementation

2 Phuong, Que, Hong (July 2008): Training document on forest valuation

3

FMU members were able to recall the main training objective, however could in most cases not clearly explain the relevance of it when applying it in their current working environment

The forest valuation guideline is describing a number of variables (increment, mean average stand height…) that are i) not available in Vietnam and ii) have not been used in the forest valuation training model Furthermore, some criteria should be reviewed regarding their scientific plausibility (e.g soil erosion mainly depends on the slope, however no slope estimate is applied in the calculation)

Of outmost importance, options for applying forest valuation in the specific context of

a FMU should be further explored and tested (e.g forest valuation could be used to calculate the economic loss from forest violation and patrolling and could be used as basis for sustainable FMG compensation schemes) to ensure that gained knowledge

is used and maintained

During a meeting with provincial representatives a strong interest in forest valuation was articulated and project training outcomes have already been integrated into provincial forest policy development and applied during valuation of forests earmarked for allocation to organisations and individuals4

Future training support should therefore be clearly linked to develop technical skills required to design provincial plans and programs, thus requiring a close coordination with the provincial working group

The project should therefore coordinate further training efforts in view of supporting ongoing provincial programs/action plans and by this ensure that project procedures become an integrated part of the legal environment

Activity 4: Conduct training on collaborative management approaches in forest

management for relevant Lam Dong DARD, Forest Dept., District, Commune, and FMU staff

No agreement on the concept for collaborative management has been reached so far The first draft of the national consultant team5 has been discussed during a provincial meeting and is still under revision As perceived by the mission, the proposed concept is misinterpreting the overall project goal and is proposing conventional procedures of “community forestry” as already applied in many ODA projects in Vietnam such as the TFF funded Community Forestry Pilot Program (TFF

GA 014/06) or the provincial project with seven CFM models established in Lam Dong province Forest allocation (red book certificates) to local communities forms the core of the proposed concept which, under the current legal system of Vietnam,

is only applicable for areas classified as production forest The project design however does not foresee forest allocation to local communities and is not equipped with sufficient budget facilitate forest allocation procedures in six pilot villages Following results of the re-classification of three types of forest in Lam Dong province (Decision 450/QD-UBND, dated 19th February 2008) production forest accounts for only 26% of the total project area Consequently, involvement of local people in the project context is only feasible in form of management agreements and benefit sharing arrangements between the land use certificate holder (FMU) and the local communities Land ownership in this case clearly remains with the certificate holder which means the FMU only

The joint stock seed company could serve as an example as it has independently conducted a scheme for collaborative management in which households are

4 A total of 45.000 ha of forest in Lam Dong province are earmarked to be leased out to 320 organisations and individuals

5 Vu Ngoc Long, Le Buu Thach (May 2008): Training material on Approaches on Collaborative Forest

Management

assigned 5-7 ha of forest land inside the FMU (gaps of bare land or open forest) for underplanting with fodder species for pig raising The company further proposed to provide labour to local people after termination of 661 funding schemes

Activity 5: Conduct training to Lam Dong DARD, Forest Dept., and FMU staff, and in

particular local Forestry Management Groups, on monitoring and data interpretation

to aid planning and management

Training on monitoring forest of high conservation value has been conducted and well documented6 The document is providing clear guidance on survey techniques, reporting formats and indicators structures along five high conversation values

FMU members reported that monitoring will be applied as regular procedures by assigned technicians as part of their regular job description, thus not requiring any additional financing However, the process of how this data will be integrated into current planning procedures was not yet clearly stated

Activity 6: Provide basic equipment for forest fire control to each of the FMUs, and

for surveying and monitoring to Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park

Project financing is not designed nor sufficient to fully equip a respective FMU, but only to support some, supporting funds based on their demand Consultations of all stakeholders have been conducted and technical specifications of equipment defined accordingly

Fire fighting equipment has been delivered to all FMUs including trucks equipped with water tanks and state of the art water pumps Furthermore, GPS hand receiver, laptops and camera equipment for monitoring of forest changes have been purchased and delivered according to schedule

FMUs have been trained in the use and as revealed in the case of the Da Nhim Protection Forest Management Board the truck is frequently used for patrolling

It was reported that the specifications of required equipment have been defined during joint meetings with involved stakeholders However, FMU representatives frequently mentioned difficulties to sustain expenses for operation and maintenance (in one case no FMU staff has the required driving licence to transport a fire fighting crew and consequently the truck has not been used so far) On the other hand one office has found an independent solution and deducted required finance from office running costs from state budget Furthermore, it remains to be seen whether in an extreme sloppy terrain like Lam Dong the provided truck can really access remote areas for timely forest fighting

In general, FMU participation still appears to be rather passive and always waiting for the next project input and not pro-actively working with the so far gained results

4 2 2 P r o j e c t O u t p u t 2

Out Put 2: Multiple-use management piloted at selected FMUs (comprising special use

forest, watershed protection forest and production forest) in Lam Dong Province

Activity 7: Establish a provincial multi-agency working group to guide piloting of the

multiple-use approach to forest management

A provincial working group has been established by provincial Decision SNN, dated 13th October 2008 and remains operational The working group is

741/QD-6

consisting of 17 members from various forestry-related Departments, institutions and organisations

The working group has proven extremely effective in involving provincial makers right from the beginning into methodology development by the project, thus directly linking pilot models in the field with policy development in Lam Dong province

policy-A clear outcome of this approach is seen in the integration of the forest valuation procedures as trained by the project in provincial planning procedures under PES and forest allocation schemes Furthermore, the multiple-use concept has been incorporated into the action plan on biodiversity conservation in Lam Dong province, which as a consequence is not limiting the scope of biodiversity conservation to special-use forest only but to all three forest types in Lam Dong province

Activity 8: With provincial working group, develop a set of criteria to evaluate the

status of selected FMUs and prioritize them for implementation of the multiple-use forest management approach

A set of criteria for the identification of HVCF sites and resulting forest zonation has been developed during a two-day workshop7 and approved by the PMU in March

2009 A total of 17 criteria structured along five main high conservation values are detailed to be applied during forest zonation exercises in six FMUs Criteria are providing relevant and easy to assess features and have been integrated into a detailed training material8 and training conducted in March 2009

Activity 9: Assess present FMU plans and management documents and produce a

SWOT analysis of these and their status for implementation

As part of consultancy package no 1 the assessment of six FMU plans and management documents has been conducted and documented in Nov 20089 The analysis is providing a general overview on related policies and planning documents and provides some recommendations for project interventions as result of the SWOT analysis Recommendations however remain at a rather general level with only limited guidance for concrete project interventions and very limited information on the process of the assessment itself which however would be of importance for the development of lessons learnt during the final stage of the project documentation

Activity 10: Conduct forest surveys to identify and prioritize high conservation value

forests in the six selected FMUs

Based on preliminary results as developed under Activity 13, a BirdLife consultant is currently fielded in Lam Dong and is conducting forest surveys to prepare a final GIS database for six involved FMUs The project has purchased SPOT 5 satellite images with a resolution of 2,5m to support this activity However, images have not yet been interpreted and no ground-truthing being conducted to develop a comprehensive GIS database, thus limiting the effective use during surveys and zoning exercises It has

to be mentioned, that based on the project design a too small budget was allocated

to purchase images in Vietnam

Activity 11: Conduct a demonstrative and comprehensive forest valuation exercise

within the project area

Following the forest valuation training three models comprising the three different forest functions in Vietnam (special-use, protection and production forest) have been developed with participation of FMU representatives Results are documented in a comprehensive report10 which provides very clear and structured guidance through the process The document is providing, with scientific accuracy, all required information and secondary data for an independent replication

The document however is limited to the calculation process and provides limited analysis on the results of each model and how it links to the real work of a respective forest manager This knowledge is considered most crucial to ensure that valuation will in the future become an institutionalized procedure of FMUs concerned Interviews with FMU representatives confirmed this knowledge gap with people being able to recall the main valuation procedure however could not explain how it relates to their daily working routine

Activity 12: Define multiple-use zonation within FMUs and management prescriptions

for each zone

This activity was conducted as part of the consultancy package no 1 and mainly involved stakeholder consultations (FMU and FMG) and desk work as preparatory step for the detailed field mapping exercise under Activity 10 Preliminary result maps have been produced and are available as hardcopy attached to the planning documents as developed under activity 13

Activity 13: Agree with stakeholder FMUs on defined multiple-use forest zoning plans

for their own territories, and incorporate agreed regimes into FMU planning and management documents

The project has developed a FMU planning and management document11

comprising general descriptions for each FMU The document has been approved by the head of the consultancy package, the project CTA and the Project Management Unit in November 2008

The document is structured along six main topics as mentioned below under which however only required additional plans are listed to be developed in the future:

• Zoning for forest utilisation as conducted by the project

• Plans for conservation/utilisation

• Building the plan for NTFP utilisation

• Establishing plan for ecotourism development

• Building the plans for agro-forestry development

• Participation of local communities in zones of utilisation

Despite the concept of High Value Conservation forest being introduced during the forest valuation exercise no reference to this important project concept could be found in the documented plans

Attached to the document a very vague time schedule for implementation during the entire project period is provided which however is not linked to the structure of the project logframe The document is therefore lacking main characteristics of a comprehensive plan with a detailed technical procedures, timing, quantifiable units for achievements of activities, responsibilities and proposed funding attached

FMU plans are currently developed parallel to existing legal planning documents of the respective FMUs (five-year management and annual business plan) and have therefore no legal status based on which activities could be planned, funded and finally implemented

Interviews with FMU members further confirmed that the plan has not been considered during any FMU work so far and that no follow-up after the completion of the consultancy package is intended As revealed during interviews, the planning document is understood as the product of the consultant only and it is questionable whether FMU members were sufficiently involved in the plan development as they did not develop any sense of ownership over the outcome

The project is therefore strongly recommended to revise the current document as these plans are forming a key tool of integrating project concepts into real working routine of a respective FMU as a major project goal

Options for integrating project activities into legal five-year planning procedures are limited due to the fact that the next planning period will coincide with the project end

in 2010 Project support could therefore only focus on plan preparation without being able to facilitate subsequent plan implementation

Attached to the planning document the project has facilitated, apart from existing administrative forest maps (forest status and three types of forest result map), the development of two GIS based databases:

• Firstly, following the outcome of the multi-use forest management concept four major forest use zones have been defined and delineated:

a.) Conservation zone for rare and endangered flora and fauna

so far which however is detailed in the project proposal (page 16 “….endorsed by Lam Dong DARD and District authorities”) as main outcome of this activity

It is therefore proposed to focus project support on the improvement of the existing planning documents as mentioned above and to facilitate the development of coming five-year plans for three project FMUs12 (each representing a respective forest type)

in close cooperation with the provincial working group aiming at a legal approval in view of the institutionalization of project concepts

Five-year FMU management plans are normally contracted out to specialised service providers with sufficient budget provided by the province FMUs are not having the legal mandate to develop their own five-year plans Institutionalising the project concept therefore mainly depends on involving provincial service providers into the methodology development of the project concept Training courses should therefore pay special attention to involving FMU members and service providers

12 As discussed during the provincial meeting on the 11th of May, the provincial working group will support the project in selecting the FMUs and will provide support during appraisal and approval procedures It was agreed that approval would only be required at provincial level through PPC with an

acknowledgment by MARD However, no legal approval from national level is required nor intended

Development of the three above mentioned five-year plans should therefore further involve provincial service providers to ensure a legal planning outcome in view of reaching a provincial approval and at the same time focusing training efforts on key personnel for an independent replication of the approach after project termination

It has been noted that GIS application is based on ArcGIS software package which is the most sophisticated and scientific tool on the market, however no FMU or district level authority in Vietnam is applying this software GIS mapping should instead be based on commonly used software packages like MapInfo The simple spatial analysis as required for the project concept can effectively be conducted by use of MapInfo and by this minimising costs for training and purchases of expensive software licenses for which the project budget has not been designed

In this context it has to be mentioned that no softcopy of the mapping information has been handed over to the FMU so far, which of course limits any chances of project results being integrated into routine procedures of a respective FMU

Activity 14: As a result from pilot FMU field activities, consolidate all variables,

strategies, and working mechanisms into an FMU Multiple-use Forest Management model

This activity has not yet been initiated as it is depending on the completion of preparatory steps with are still ongoing

4 2 3 P r o j e c t O u t p u t 3

Output 3: Mechanisms for enhanced community participation in planning, development,

management and benefit sharing established at selected WPFs and SFEs, and possibilities for collaborative planning, management and benefit sharing explored at selected SUFs

Activity 15: Assess opportunities and constraints for participation of local communities

in planning and management of FMUs, and define possible co-management

As detailed under Activity 4, the concept for collaborative management is still under revision causing an undesirable delay of all subsequent activities under consultancy package No 4, especially the provision of tangible benefits for local people as a key component of the overall project purpose The project is therefore requested to speed up this process by all means possible

Activity 16: Establish community based forest management groups at relevant

villages

Forest Management Groups have been established in each one village per FMU Each FMG consists of twenty members out of which ten are holding positions at commune or village level Main selection criteria of FMG members was the ongoing participation in forest protection contracts under the national 661 program13 Under this scheme households are assigned responsible for the protection of a specific forest area and in return receive a compensation of 100.000 VND/ha/year This financing scheme is limited for a period of 5 years per respective forest block only FMGs are established based on a specific agreement supported by the project and approved by respective Commune People Committees in April 2008

FMG members throughout all visited villages revealed a high awareness for their responsibility under forest protection and in most cases could furthermore explain the importance of environmental services from a stable forest coverage

13

FMG members stated that forest violation has significantly be reduced since the funding from 661 was received and that effective protection is ensured up to now under the additional support from the project

However, as stated in the project proposal “…FMG will comprise households sharing

a common interest in management of forest resources for sustainable harvest and conservation“ and that FMG with interest in NTFP will be „ likely comprised of mostly women“ Up to date however, FMGs are solely involved in forest protection measures and the only female participant is one representative from the women union and therefore do the current project activities not yet reveal a significant difference from conventional 661 forest protection schemes

It is understood that due to the ongoing preparation under Activity 18 NTFP utilisation has not yet been detailed and tested, thus limiting options for active involvement of women and FMGs members in active forest management The project should therefore speed up the testing and implementation of NTFP management models to ensure that sufficient experiences can be gained before the termination of the project

The project has provided equipment and uniforms to FMGs through the respective FMUs which only in one case (Ta Nung commune, village 2 and 6) has not yet reached the members

FMGs further raise awareness on the importance of forest protection among their community members and in the case of village Suoi thong A FMG conduct regular additional meetings among members On average an individual FMG members spends 4 days/month patrolling in the forest with additional time during high peak of dry season

Farmers stated that without financial support from 661 schemes effective patrolling could not be continued In the case of Da Ron commune joint stock and foreign owned companies are hiring local people for daily labour (40.000 VND/day) Future payment options after termination of 661 funding (the program will terminate by end

of 2010) therefore have to be explored and based on local opportunity costs as mentioned above The most promising option would be a direct linkage to Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes which are going to be piloted in Lam Dong province An approval of the PES project for Lam Dong has been signed by the province during the period of this assignment based on Decision 380/2008/QD-TTG, dated 10th April 2008 The project clearly specifies several project locations to be included in the PES pilot scheme with an expected funding of 200.000-270.000 VND/ha/year Within the national park an area of 1.800 ha are already earmarked for PES out of which 1000ha will be assigned to communities and 800ha to the national park management board

As a further incentive for FMG members the project is providing revolving credit funds (RCF) of 10.000 Euro per village Priority is given to FMG members which can borrow up to 10 Mio VND14 for a period of one year

During interviews farmers highly appreciated the project funding mechanism however they also stated that due to the funding limits it cannot provide a significant contribution to livelihood improvement despite being evaluated as a major impact in the original project design

The revolving credit fund is effectively used in all FMGs with in some cases nearly the entire fund volume being currently used by community members

14 Only in the case of Da Ron commune, villagers agreed to increase the maximum amount to 15 mio VND per person as they perceived 10 Mio VND as too little for substantial investment

FMU members could clearly explain issues under fund management and procedures for village members to get information on fund status, availability and its utilisation to avoid misuse by the communal staff assigned for fund management and bookkeeping

Current limitations of the funding scheme as articulated by FMG members comprise:

• The current funding period of one year is too short to gain sufficient benefits from agricultural production and in the case of Lat commune borrowers are forced to find alternative funding (in the worst case from private money lenders with interest rates of up to 30%) to bridge the time gap until revenues from harvested crops will be available It was therefore proposed to extend the funding period up to a maximum of 2-3 years depending on a plenary village decision

• Funding volume per person is considered too low to provide a basis for substantial investment (it was mentioned that funding is not even sufficient to purchase a single mature cow) It was proposed to allow a more flexible regulation and to lift up the maximum fund volume per person to up to 15 Mio VND to be defined through majority vote during plenary village meetings

During the first revolving cycle (one year), eligibility for receiving RCF is limited to

FMG members to provide additional incentives for FMG members and to ensure responsible fund utilisation in view of developing good examples for other community members It was stated that this was partly demanded by FMG members

However, by applying this system community members with highest levels of forest dependency, lowest forest protection awareness and most likely unsustainable forest utilization patterns are currently excluded from funding through the RCF Therefore, limiting a major objective of the RCF namely to reduce pressure on forest resources through alternative income sources

It should be noted that most buffer zone development projects and integrated conservation and development projects in Vietnam failed to develop clear linkages between rural development interventions and conservation benefits It is therefore of outmost importance to review current selection criteria for funding in view of closely linking pressure on forest resources (forest dependency, poverty and lack of alternative income sources) to eligibility of funding By this funding is directly contributing to conservation objectives of the project and is at the same time ensuring a targeted pro-poor financing

It is therefore strongly recommended to timely facilitate plenary village meetings and

to discuss on adjusted criteria for fund eligibility for the second and subsequent

revolving cycles Main criteria should be based on forest dependency, poverty rate,

unavailability of arable land and lack of alternative income sources

In the case of Da Ron commune, people have lost forest area with mosaic like patches of traditional and stable agricultural fields to a company developing a tourist site Apart from the loss of agricultural income the payment under 661 schemes is further adjusted to the reduced total forest area As the community is not holding any legal land use certificates (so-called red books) only marginal compensation from the state is expected

However, forest protection activities from the community in the past and in the future are crucial to ensure the tourist value of the site (especially fire protection measures) thus providing clear benefits for both the community in terms of watershed protection and for the company

As discussed with the community, it is proposed that the project will facilitate a dialogue between the company, the local authority and the community to discuss on options for collaborative management and benefit sharing with the community

It is understood that the project does not have the legal power to impose any compensation or financing from a private entity like a tourist company but to simply facilitate a dialogue which would be impossible to be achieved by a community alone

A collaborative management could be furthermore a very effective public relation tool for a tourist company which could be used for advertisement as a form of charity by the company provided to poor communities

Activity 17: Define and develop mechanisms for enhanced community management of

forests, where applicable, and facilitate the signing and implementation of the collaborative management

The project’s strategic orientation towards collaborative management is still under discussion (see Activity 5) and therefore is delaying the implementation under this activity However, this output is seen as of critical importance and does no tolerate any further delays

Activity 18: Conduct surveys and feasibility studies inside WPFs and SFEs on specific

NTFPs to estimate sustainable harvests, enrichment planting possibilities, and to establish protocols for sustainable

A comprehensive forest survey for selected Forest Units (Tieu Khu) has been conducted for all six FMUs in cooperation with the local communities to identify abundance, distribution and potential use of available NTFP products

Results are presented in form of a digital GIS database defining major NTFPs by location abundance and species A hardcopy of mapping results is available at all FMUs Furthermore, a scientific documentation of the inventory results is provided15

with additional details on the potential use under medicinal, food or ornamental purposes

However, apart from data collection no further analysis on NTFP management, sustainable utilization rates or propagation procedures is provided in the report Furthermore, the level of detailed obtained during the forest survey is not reflected in the analysis and consequently data collection procedures could be simplified to relevant and required data only to reduce survey costs in view of limited administrative budget sources for a continuation after a termination of the project Noteworthy, local communities revealed to have very limited knowledge on NTFPs only and mainly relied on the external consultant during species identification

Currently exploited NTFPs are mainly limited to a range of orchids, Thysanoleana

agrostis, bamboo and a few rattan species only FMU technicians further mentioned

options to propagate the medical plant Ampelopsis cantoniensis Planch

As a clear project impact of increased awareness on forest protection, local people in

Da Ron commune mentioned that their utilisation patterns have already become more sustainable and that previously seed collection from trees included the felling of the tree however today only the fruits are picked by applying strict protection to the mother tree

Available NTFPs ,which are not listed as rare or endangered, have at present only limited market value and are not expected to provide a substantial contribution to the livelihood of local people Based on interviews will several project stakeholders, benefits from NTFP management are expected to be rather modest and would

15 Chien (August 2008): Report on assessment of current status of distribution of main NTFP

mainly serve local communities Previous trials on chestnut tree propagation conducted by the joint stock seed company have failed to yield any results FMUs further articulated only minor interest in any active NTFP propagation or utilization as part of their regular forest management activities

It was stated that only if imposed by provincial authorities NTFP activities would be detailed in the five-year management or annual business plan to be submitted to DARD for legal approval

Monitoring of NTFP utilization should not be based on quantities per period or per person (as proposed in the NTFP report) but solely on a description of technical sound harvesting techniques (e.g only harvest mature rattan cane with a minimum length of 5 m; cane to be cut at least 15cm above the ground base) which can minimize the impact of utilization and immediately be applied in the field Such monitoring regulations would then be integrated in collaborative management regulations (see Activity 17)

Utilization from naturally regenerated NTFP is typically conducted in an opportunistic manner in small quantities on a daily basis Any efforts to monitor these utilization patterns will be too time consuming and will by far outweigh the obtained benefits Field monitoring would be conducted as joint exercise between the FMG and local forest rangers with administrative support during reporting and sanctioning of violation cases from Commune People Committee

Furthermore, research on sustainable harvest levels and inventory procedures for NTFP utilization is a lengthy process and would most likely exceed the period of project support

on NTFP propagation and expected economic benefits is assessed as very limited among ethnic Kinh and other local ethnicities alike

Prior to the training course, the economic viability of each NTFP product should therefore be analyzed during a comprehensive market survey The survey should furthermore evaluate possibilities for added value through pre-processing and branding of products endemic to the region

Activity 20: Formalize forest management links between village FMGs, FMU

management boards, and District and Commune relevant

The project’s strategic orientation towards collaborative management under consultancy package no 4 is still under discussion (see Activity 5) and therefore is delaying project progress under this activity as well

4 2 4 P r o j e c t O u t p u t 4

Out Put 4: Best practices models of multiple-use forest management documented and

disseminated, to encourage replication of the approach

Activity 21: Define and establish a system to review multiple-use forest management

activities, and to determine and assess the impact of changes in planning and management of FMUs

A comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system16 has been drafted and discussed during a provincial workshop

Being designed as a project monitoring system it is structured along the logframe of the project and is defining clear assignments and reporting cycles Attached questionnaires facilitate a standardized monitoring outcome to ease data analysis and evaluation Main responsibilities for supervision of data collection, aggregation and analysis are proposed to remain with the consultant for the project period

A first implementation has been conducted by end of 2008 and data collection based

on standardized questionnaires completed without any major difficulties encountered FMU and communal representatives are able to recall the monitoring survey and were able to independently complete all tasks (questionnaires)

Time requirements to complete the questionnaires have been reported with two hours at communal level and up to one full day at FMU level Monitoring cycles are proposed for once a month at commune, quarterly monitoring a FMU level and an annual monitoring at provincial level

The proposed M&E concept is providing crucial information for the context of a project during methodology development and piloting with explicit maintenance of the data by a specialized consultant However, in view of a replication of the approach within existing administrative structures, the project should try to simplify procedures

to a minimum and screen existing reporting procedures of the administration to avoid unproductive overlaps It is recommended to further apply the second monitoring cycle by assigning clear tasks for data collection, aggregation and evaluation to the existing administration and to limit the consultants’ input to coaching in order to assess available capacities especially during data analysis and evaluation as well as

to derive at reliable time and cost norms

Availability of clear cost norms and accompanied time expenditures are crucial preconditions for an institutionalizing of project procedures in order to sustain the concept after project termination

Apart from periodical M&E based on questionnaires, regular open discussion as conducted during this mission should be facilitated between FMU, FMG and project staff in order to maintain a high awareness and to timely receive feedback on the implementation status

Activity 22: Document lessons learned and prepare case studies and best practice

guidelines for dissemination through policy briefs, workshops, and contribution to national dialogue on forest management

The project will embark on this activity as a major focus during the second half of

2009 and the remaining three project months in 2010

16 Duong Tien Duc (June 2008): Draft monitoring, lessons learnt and experiences from Project on piloting an approach to multiple-use forest management in Lam Dong province

4 2 5 C r o s s - c u t t i n g i s s u e s

Project structure

The minimalist project structure with only four positions (Director, Vice-Director, Coordinator and administrative staff) is just providing sufficient resources to deal with strategic decision-making, logistics and the complex reporting procedures of the project Field implementation and methodology development is contracted out to external short-term consultants which are interacting with the four project target groups during the period of their assignment only

However, no structures are available during periods between or after an consultancy input to further support and coach a target group in applying the newly gained knowledge in their daily work At present, main training/consultancy outputs (documents, plans, maps) are stored at the respective FMU, however not applied yet

It is therefore proposed to add an additional full-time position of a technical advisor (based in Da Lat) to the existing project structure to ensure that gained capacities/awareness and tangible products are effectively applied and not only stored until requested by a subsequent consultancy

Timeframe of the project

The project has defined very ambitious goals to be achieved during the project life span including social, economic and environmental goals The project aims at institutionalising methodologies and approving planning outcomes by legal authorities until the end of the project

However, as revealed during several ODA projects on technical cooperation, institutionalising is a lengthy procedure and in the case of forest land allocation in Vietnam has nearly required 10 years on constant testing and refinement by several ODA projects

The project goal to achieve legal approval and integration of project outcomes into administrative planning procedures is therefore a very challenging task and is not expected to be realised for all project outputs by the end of 2010

The project timeframe is however considered sufficient to complete the development of envisioned models within all FMU and FMGs

Training approach

No distinct formats for training and attached technical guidelines have been produced by most consultants

The available training material is focussing on technical descriptions only with limited or

no information on the way how this information will be communicated/transferred to the trainees Therefore any subsequent replication relies on the availability (time and funding) of the same consultants and is therefore not considered a sustainable approach

The main objective of a comprehensive training material is to provide sufficient guidance for the trainer on the target group, timing, logistics, required material and most important the applied training techniques (presentation, group work, role play, brainstorming ) By this, training can be implemented by different persons with a similar standard, quality and comparable outcome, thus forming a crucial foundation for an effective replication of any approach Furthermore, clear information on timing and required material allows for

effective budgeting and planning as a main preconditions for procedures to be considered during administrative planning

It is therefore recommended that current material will be reformatted and standardised during the final documentation phase of the project to derive at a comprehensive package for effective replication of the approach beyond the projects lifespan An example for a training format which is widely used in Vietnam is provided in the Annex 4 Furthermore, despite being described in the project proposal, no trainer pool based on ToT training courses has been developed The only general capacity building session found is relating to PRA approaches and has been presented in form of a lecture only without real interaction of the trainees

As a common challenge encountered in many projects frequent changes of trainees between training courses and even within a single training course have been reported (one training participant even retired), thus limiting efforts on a systematic capacity development FMUs should be therefore requested to clearly assign members to be trained and to ensure their availability during subsequent project training events

4 3 B u d g e t , E x p e n d i t u r e a n d T i m e f r a m e

The project’s financial management arrangements (for budgeting and expenditure controls) are in full compliance with government and project regulations Currently applied management allow for effective recording and tracing of activity related expenditures against allocated budget

Financial auditing has been conducted recently and results documented17 in a comprehensive report confirming the effectiveness of the projects’ financial management

Fund resources have been effectively used in the previous two years Due to economic use of contract funds, planned outputs could be completed with reduced budget required and this amount can still be utilised for financing additional project activities

Budget expenditures increased from 2% in 2007 to 57% in 2008 with major expenditures for fire equipment and monitoring tools for six FMUs

Expenditures for 2009 are allocated with 35% with remaining 5% for the last three project months in 2010

For a detailed description of the operational plan for the whole period of the project kindly refer to Annex 5

Due to an extended inception phase of the project with prolonged time requirements for tendering (until March 2008), implementation has been delayed in the beginning and up

to now project implementation could not yet initiate all proposed models in the fields Furthermore do recent policy changes (Resolution 30a/2008/NQ-CP), new financing mechanisms (PES) and provincial projects provide further options for sustainable funding mechanisms that were not considered in the original project design, however are considered as crucial options to be tested in view of sustainability of project models Following discussions with the project management board, a project extension for a further six months period is therefore proposed to embark on a sound and sustainable development of project models under new financing schemes and to embark on preparation of five-year management plans for Six FMUs representing management of three different types of forests to be approved by PPC Lam Dong

17 Ernst & Long company (15.05.2009) Report on financial auditing of the project on piloting approaches to multiple-use forest management Lam Dong province

Required additional funding would solely comprise running project costs estimated at a total of 24.000 Euro without any additional requirements for equipment etc

4 4 P r o j e c t R e p o r t i n g a n d M o n i t o r i n g

The project has a good reputation of keeping up to standard reporting and monitoring procedures which is seen as a crucial precondition especially for a project with such a highly complex activity schedule

All consultant documents have to pass the provincial working groups acknowledgment and are finally signed by the head of the consultancy package, the Chief Technical Advisor and the Project Management Unit and are produced in bi-lingual form

Attached to the documents minutes of meetings/training evaluation results are attached for reference However, reports are currently more understood as administrative procedures only and are not yet effectively applied for a refinement or adjustment of project methodologies in view of final documentation of methodologies for dissemination

at the end of the project

5 C O N C L U S I O N

The project is embarking on a very challenging concept which in Vietnam and the entire region is not yet applied or even tested at larger scale The concept is envisioning a radical shift from current forest function classification systems with a singular management objective per forest type, following the current Vietnamese forest function classification system, towards a multiple-use forest management defining zones of different management objectives within each of the three forest types of Vietnam

The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to the implementation of the national forest strategy through replicable concepts as contribution to national policy development

This chapter is intended to summaries main conclusions of the mid-term review mission structured along five main criteria as described below:

Impact of the project

The project design and expected impacts are evaluated as very ambitious in terms of its envisioned spill-over effects at regional and national level We have to be aware that the project scale of implementation in the field is limited to six FMUs with attached each one FMG only Piloting is furthermore conducted in a limited socio-ecological range in proximity to the provincial centre

Experiences from other projects have proven institutionalising to be a lengthily and often rather unpredictable process with in the case of procedures for forest allocation in Vietnam took up to ten years time with involvement of numerous ODA projects

However, as reflected during a provincial workshop, institutionalisation within the given project period is expected to be feasible for selected project concepts (e.g forest valuation, HVCF concept) given the current demand during new provincial planning and financing schemes with 45.000ha of forest earmarked to be leased to organisations and individuals

For further project methodologies the mission emphasises main expected outcomes under the i) establishment of well-implemented and documented models in the field, ii) the development of comprehensive, standardised material with distinct formats for training and technical guidelines and iii) continuous contribution to provincial policy development

A further immediate project impact is seen in the widened scope of the provincial action plan for biodiversity conversation considering the scale of application for all three types

of forests thus including production forests as well

The project has furthermore gained the support and trust of provincial decision-makers and the provincial working group is providing an excellent forum to disseminate project activities at a regional level through participation in the Central Highland Forestry Network18

not yet fully realised by all project stakeholders and will require further awareness raising

at all involved administrative levels

Consequently, level of understanding, interest in, and pro-active application of training results widely differs between beneficiary groups at FMU and provincial level Provincial beneficiaries state a clear interest in project activities and already applied training outcomes into strategic planning and policy development while FMU beneficiaries still revealed a rather passive attitude mainly limited to participation in training exercises only

This might be explained by the fact that some training topics, e.g forest valuation, forest zonation and management plan elaboration are actually not part of the legal mandate nor professional working areas of most FMU members In Vietnam, five-year management plan development, harvesting quota and forest zonation are activities conducted by legal service providers working under the authorisation of Provincial Departments FMUs are not requested nor permitted to independently prepare legal five-year management plans or mapping information19

Forest Management Groups are remaining with a solely protection focus and not yet justifying its project terminology because of lack of an active involvement in forest utilisation This is due to the fact that options for NTFP propagation, utilisation and marketing have not yet been explored by the project but will become a major focus during the remaining project period In this context the delayed development of collaborative management concepts under consultancy package no 4 has to be mentioned as a main hindrance and has to be further pushed by the project FMGs are currently sustained through national 661 program funding with is going to terminate by

2010 Alternative sources of labour compensation for FMG members therefore are to be identified to sustain the project concept Financing sources are mainly expected under provincial PES schemes, REDD funding schemes and under national resolution 30a20 Monitoring and reflection on implementation results for a continuous improvement of newly tested concepts is still considered as rather weak and is partially explained by the lack of a full-time technical advisor under the current PMU structure Capacity building of target groups cannot be sustainable if training courses are isolated events without a continuous coaching after and between training courses In this context the project support should try to shift from a rather target oriented towards a more impact oriented implementation

Forest management plans for six FMUs have been completed as outcome under consultancy package no.1, however do not satisfy required standards and content of a comprehensive planning document to be applicable for a FMU This is seen as a major concern as FMU plans are the main tool to ensure an integration of project outcomes into administrative procedures and subsequently the institutionalising of the approach itself The outcome under this consultancy package therefore requires further significant improvement before it can be applied as an effective tool to combine fragmented project activities towards a final multiple-use forest management concept

In this context, the project will focus its efforts on six selected FMUs to support planning procedures for the period 2010-2015 for which a provincial approval has to be reached Provincial representatives already committed themselves to provide required administrative support to facilitate this exercise and a provincial approval is therefore evaluated as realistic within the remaining project period

Efficiency

The project has timely conducted comprehensive methodology development and field surveys which are in most cases more than sufficient to embark on the analysis and refinement towards standardised procedures and packages to be handed over to authorities for independent replication after project termination

The project is expected to reach main outputs by the end of the project period in terms of development of multiple-use forest management models and to document lessons learnt

in comprehensive packages for replication after project termination

An extreme strong point of the project is the transparent and accurate project management and documentation of implementation progress

Fund resources have been effectively used in the previous two years Due to economic use of contract funds, planned outputs could be completed with reduced budget required and this amount can still be utilised for financing additional project activities

Budget expenditures increased from 2% in 2007 to 57% in 2008 with major expenditures for fire equipment and monitoring tools for six FMUs Expenditures for 2009 are allocated with 35% with remaining 5% for the last three project months in 2010 It is therefore expected that the project will be able to efficiently use provided budget sources according to the overall operational plan for the whole period of the project

Due to the current minimalist project structure with only four positions, a comprehensive coaching of project beneficiaries is not considered feasible and would require an additional full-time technical advisor at the project management unit to ensure continuous coaching of FMUs and FMGs after and between training courses to encourage and guide them to apply project concepts in their daily work

Relevance

The overall project objective is considered a valuable contribution to national forest development in Vietnam considering the fact that based on recent forest reclassification results a total of around 7 Mio hectares of the national forest resource are classified as protection forest, however with no detailed management approach attached to it Current national orientations towards a new classification system of forests into two classes only (protective forest and non-protective forest), would further open additional options for applying the multiple-use forest management concept at a large scale

The project timing in the context of forest development in Lam Dong province is considered excellent with numerous provincial activities coincide with project activities, e.g forest valuation for land allocation/leasing schemes, provincial action plan for biodiversity conservation as well as planning for PES implementation involving all six project FMUs

Provincial representatives clearly articulated the need for further cooperation with the project to incorporate main concepts into above mentioned provincial programs and to ensure that project outcomes will become integrated components of provincial forest management planning

The project is further contributing to the national forestry sector 5-year plan of the logframe 2006-2010 under Objective 2.2 “Improve participatory sustainable natural resources management systems and to promote participatory multiple-use sustainable management of three types of forest, including various types of comanagement schemes

“with the national of at least 500,000 ha of forest to be brought under sustainable management with local communities

co-Current project implementation is therefore evaluated as consistent to the overall objective and project goal with implementation progress considered highly satisfactory in view of achieving main project targets

Sustainability

Long-term sustainability of project outcomes mainly depend on the institutionalisation of project concepts which is expected to be feasible for selected project concepts (e.g forest valuation with a provincial Decree currently under development)

Mid-term sustainability at FMU level mainly depends on integration of project concepts into five-year management plans which are to be approved at provincial level The project will embark on facilitating the development of three FMU plans for the planning period of 2010-2015 ensuring a mid-term sustainability of multi-use forest management models in the field

FMGs performance is at present relying on external funding sources under the 661 national program which are expected to terminate by 2010 Sustainability at village level therefore relies on access of alternative funding sources such as PES or REDD schemes A national UN REDD program for Vietnam is going to be signed within a fortnight and will embark on existing models as pilot area which offers a great opportunity to be tested during the remaining project period Furthermore does the provincial PES project already specified many of the current project areas as pilot sites which further adds to the sustainability of project models

Revolving credit funds as applied under project support are not sufficient to provide substantial impacts to improve livelihood of local people but are understood as a contribution to achieve a synergistic effect with other socio-economic development schemes only and income opportunities from unregulated forest utilisation are by far exceeding the finance provided through the RCF So far no financial sources from provincial/national budget could be identified for a large scale role-out of RCFs

The only known application of similar schemes is known under the ADB FLITCH project21, the largest forest sector project in Vietnam Thus, the sustainability of this approach after project termination remains still questionable

21

6 R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S

(1) Request TFF for 6-month extension of project period (until September 2010) and using the savings from the activities of the project, tendering and contingency to implement additional activities, as follows:

a Improve developed forest management planning documents for six FMUs which are key tools to ensure the integration of project outcomes into administrative procedures and subsequently the institutionalising of the approach itself This is implemented by supporting the 6 FMUS to establish coming five-year investment projects to six selected FMUs, in which multiple-use forest management approach will be integrated into these projects Six developed projects are to be approved at provincial level by DARD and to be developed in close cooperation with provincial service providers;

b Conduct additional training courses on Forest Valuation to strengthen the capacity for relevant staff in Lam Dong province;

c Conduct additional training courses to strengthen the capacity for relevant staff of Lam Dong DARD and 6 selected FMUs on applying GIS in monitoring the forests of high conservation value

(2) Request TFF to provide additional funding for the employment of a fulltime technician who is based in Da Lat and living in Lam Dong province His/her main functions would be to ensure continuous coaching of FMUs and FMGs after and between training courses and to encourage and guide FMUs in applying project concepts in their daily work

(3) Continue a close policy dialogue with provincial departments and continue capacity building for forest valuation and multiple-use forest management to be developed into an integrated part of strategic provincial forest development planning

(4) Reassess target groups of capacity building measures to ensure that training topics are corresponding with job descriptions and legal mandates of respective participants It is therefore strongly recommended to continuously invite service providers from outside the current project beneficiaries into capacity building measures

(5) Shift focus of involvement of local communities from passive contract receivers to active managers by developing sustainable collaborative management regimes Under this scheme strongest focus should be given to simple and feasible benefit sharing regulations with minimised reporting, approval and monitoring procedures which can otherwise not be sustained after project termination

(6) Explore options for alternative funding of FMGs under provincial programs and PES schemes as current FMGs are solely relying on 661program financing which will terminate latest by 2010 New funding mechanisms under REDD schemes are considered feasible given the recent financial agreement on a UN REDD program for Vietnam which will embark on existing models in Vietnam and is reported to be operational in a few months time

(7) Speed-up identification of tangible benefits for local communities through sustainable harvesting of NTFP products to ensure sufficient time for coaching under project support during the remaining project period

(8) Adjust regulations on fund utilisation and criteria for eligibility for funding to ensure a direct link between avoided unregulated forest utilisation and availability of alternative income sources

(9) Stronger focus on aggregation and analysis of obtained survey data which is currently still underutilised Refinement of guidelines and standardising formats for training material and technical guidelines in view of final documentation of lessons learnt for a replication of the project concept in other areas/ regions

(10) Due to gaps in the project budget design, contingencies have to be partly allocated

to finance additional activities as derived during the project implementation

(11) Assuming a satisfactory project result revealed during a final project evaluation, a second phase of the project would be proposed to follow a shift from field-based models to policy advice and technical support during strategic level planning and monitoring of multiple-use forest management to ensure that piloted concepts will become integrated parts of the provincial planning and budgeting environment

2 Location of the project: Six Forest Management Units in Lam Dong Province

Organization name:

Department of Agriculture and Rural

Development, Lam Dong Province

Address:

14 Hung Vuong Road

Da Lat, Lam Dong

Contact person: Le Van Minh Position in organization: Vice Director Email: ldnnptnts@hcm.vnn.vn and Tel: (063) 821 072 / Mobile:

Fax: (063) 828 630

4 Grant request:

Total TFF grant requested

€ 926,092 Co-funding details: Amount:

5 Institutional arrangements (provide names and give contact details in annex)

Implementing organization(s): Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Lam Dong Province

Executing Agency (if different): MARD

Other participating institution(s): BirdLife International in Indochina, and other Vietnamese research institutions

such as the Forestry Science Institute

For full organisational chart, see Annex 5

6 Priorities to be addressed:

The project addresses the sustainable management of forests, in particular forests of high conservation value to achieve: a) protection of the environment,

b) improved livelihoods of people in forest dependent areas, and

c) enhanced contribution of forestry to the national economy

The Overall Objective of the project is consistent, therefore, with that of the existing National Forest Development Strategy and the Forest Sector Support Programme (FSSP) The project will directly address three of the four specific objectives of the Trust Fund for Forests (TFF), by: (i) aligning Official Development Assistance (ODA) support closely with priorities identified in the FSSP framework; (ii) improving poverty targeting of ODA support to the forest sector; and (iii) supporting a transition towards a sector-wide approach to ODA support in the forest sector

The project also seeks to address two TFF priorities: (i) strengthening systems of forest governance and management in a systematic and sector-wide way; and (ii) addressing pro-poor and sustainable approaches to forest management at the policy level and piloting at implementation level Furthermore, the project promotes decentralized decision-making, as it relates to forest management, and focuses on a priority geographical area – the Central Highlands

7 Brief description:

The Overall Objective of the project is to maximize the contribution of Vietnam’s three forest management categories to reducing poverty, providing environmental services, sustaining biodiversity values, and supporting national economic development The project has four main outputs:

1 Capacity of Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and Forest Department, and selected FMUs, Districts and Communes in multiple-use forest planning and management, forest valuation, and collaborative management increased;

2 Multiple-use management piloted at selected Forest Management Units (FMUs) in Lam Dong Province;

3 Mechanisms for enhanced community participation in planning, development, management and benefit sharing

established at selected Special-use Forests (SUFs), Watershed Protection Forests (WPFs) and production forests ; and

4 Best practice models of multiple-use forest management documented and disseminated, to encourage replication of the approach

8 Project Background

Project Context

In Vietnam, remaining natural forests are subject to logging, conversion to forest plantations and clearance for permanent and shifting agriculture Although a comprehensive system of protected areas has being proposed within the Management Strategy for a Protected Area System in Vietnam to 2010, recent reviews have shown that the coverage of the nation's biodiversity within the system is incomplete Moreover, a large number of protected areas have been heavily degraded, to the point of reducing their biodiversity value significantly As recognized, this situation requires immediate, innovative, and sustained action by the government to ensure that areas of greatest international conservation importance are conserved, and that the resources of those engaged

in natural resources management are utilized to best possible effect The Vietnam Conservation Fund is the latest response to this need by the Forest Sector Support Programme (FSSP) Partnership This need is made more urgent because forests in Vietnam have been shown to support high levels of endemic biodiversity, particularly in flora and fauna Much of Vietnam’s important biodiversity, including the majority of the population

of a number of highly threatened species (MoNRE et al 2005), occurs outside special-use forest and watershed protection forest managed for biodiversity conservation A recent analysis of the Dong Nai Conservation Landscape specifically demonstrated that many important areas for biodiversity conservation in Lam Dong Province are outside special-use forest (Pilgrim et al 2006) Conservation of this biodiversity through protected areas alone is thus unlikely to be successful, however, as there is an increasing body of evidence indicating that biodiversity conservation can only adequately achieved by considering land-use in the wider landscape

Most of the permanent forest estate in Vietnam is classified as either Watershed Protection Forest (WPF) or Production Forest (much of which is managed by State Forest Enterprises - SFEs) At present, however, there are no specific provisions under Vietnam's Forest Protection and Development Law to promote the conservation

of biodiversity outside of Special-use Forests (SUFs), elsewhere in the national forest estate There is both a compelling scientific, economic, and moral case for attempting to conserve biodiversity outside protected areas, through the identification of forests of high conservation value within this extensive and permanent forest estate

In many cases, there is no land-use conflict between SUFs and WPFs, and less than may be imagined with respect to SFEs This approach is already recognized in other ASEAN countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, where securing “germplasm reserves” within Production Forests is seen as a prerequisite for forest regeneration Another compelling argument for piloting multiple-use forest management within different forest categories is that, under certain conditions, specific areas within WPFs and SUFs may be suitable for low-level sustainable use by human communities living in and around these areas Uses such as fuelwood extraction, non-timber forest products collection or, even, cutting of timber for household use, if closely managed and monitored, can make important contributions to the livelihoods of poor, forest-dependent communities, while remaining consistent with the management objectives of WPFs and SUFs It should be noted, however, that such sustainable use is not likely to be compatible, and is indeed not allowable by law, within core zones of special-use forest, but only within the administrative and the ecological rehabilitation zones of special-use forest (See Decree 23/ND-CP) Such a multiple-use approach has been possible since introduction of Prime Ministerial Decision 178/2001/QD-TTg, but has not been successfully implemented to date2 It is now more important than ever with introduction of Decision No 186/2006/QD-TTg of August 14, 2006, promulgating regulations on forest management Article 20 of this Decision grants PPCs (or MARD for centrally-managed national parks) the powers to ‘approve designs of, and permit the rational use of natural resources in, [the ecological restoration zones of] special-use forests…’ This could enable management boards to develop co- management arrangements and plans and have these approved by PPCs (or MARD for centrally-managed national parks) as long as these arrangements comply with legal requirements set-out in 2004 Furthermore, Article 32 permits sustainable use of non-timber forest products throughout watershed protection forests

2

Ngo Dinh Tho (2005) Policy on Benefit Sharing from Forest Resources and Consideration of Issues Forest Department, MARD, Hanoi

Piloting an Approach to Multiple-use Forest Management, Page 2

over the use and management of natural resources or other assets’ has been tested in many places globally A review conducted by the MOSAIC project on co-management options around the world, and how they could be applied at Song Thanh Nature Reserve , concluded that “co-management can only succeed if both local people and the management authorities are willing to participate in the process and where there is room for negotiation, and where participants are willing to share responsibilities to achieve a common goal”3 In Asia, there are already apparently successful models, such as the distribution to buffer zone communities of a portion of tourism revenue from Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal, or joint patrolling by communities and the forest agency to protect forest resources in northern Thailand3,4 Within Vietnam, perhaps the most advanced experiences come from the MOSAIC project in Quang Nam, where there has been success in involving communities in forest protection, and integrating this with official programs, although results have been mixed and various issues remain5,6 Other pilots are ongoing, such as the Darwin-funded project ‘Sustainable Use of Plant Resources of Tam Dao National Park’ and piloting of co-management at Xuan Lac in the buffer zone of Ba

Be National Park, Bac Can Province None of these projects to date have had the benefit of new government legislation that allows more direct involvement of communities in forest unit management; thus providing a real opportunity in Lam Dong

Some of the most important work to date on conserving biodiversity within production forests has been carried out in Indonesia, often linked with CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) A very useful recent review related to Indonesian Borneo lists management recommendations relating to roads and skid trails, hunting, and species-specific low-impact logging techniques7

Problem Situation

Vietnam’s forests hold some of the highest levels of biodiversity on the planet, and a national system of protected areas has been set up with the aim of protecting species of global importance and representative ecosystems within the country’s assortment of biomes Yet, with their typically small size, Vietnam's protected areas are not, by themselves, sufficient to maintain the diversity of the country's species, or to maintain vital ecosystem services provided by forests, such as catchment protection, soil erosion control and flood prevention Forests outside protected areas are increasingly subject to logging and conversion to perennial tree crops, permanent agriculture, or shifting cultivation Moreover, the national system of protected areas continues to suffer from a number of threats that diminish their biodiversity and ecosystem functions There is an immediate need, therefore, to develop and establish innovative approaches that will ensure that areas of greatest conservation importance outside the national system of protected areas receive the attention they deserve The legal framework in Vietnam provides opportunities to empower the poorest communities (who often belong

to ethnic minorities) in sustainable forest management practices These communities, who are often marginalized economically, frequently live in areas supporting the highest levels of biodiversity Yet, because of their economic situation and lack of alternative options, they are often forced to sustain their livelihoods though exploitation of forest resources, which can bring them into conflict with biodiversity conservation and sustainable

Huynh Van Thuong, Ha Thi Minh Thu and Long, B (undated) Community forest management and protection in Quang Nam Province, Viet Nam Unpublished report WWF, Hanoi

7

Meijaard, E., Sheil, D., Nasi, R., Augeri, D., Rosenbaum, B., Iskandar, D., Setyawati, T., Lammertink, M., Rachmatika,

I., Wong, A., Soehartono, T., Stanley, S and O'Brien, T (2005) Life after logging: Reconciling wildlife conservation and production forestry in Indonesian Borneo CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

sustainable extraction regimes There is a need, therefore, to engage rural communities in forest stewardship schemes that provide a means to stabilize their use of forest resources, thereby contributing to their own economic prosperity, while at the same time guaranteeing sustained provision of ecosystem products and services and conservation of biodiversity

This project will address the above issues, by piloting an approach to multiple-use forest management in Lam Dong Province, where activities will take place at pilot sites, representative of the three forest management categories in Vietnam, and representing among these categories a range of institutional management strategies The approach will be piloted in such manner that the capacities of local stakeholders will be built sufficiently to support replication of activities elsewhere in the province, and development of best practice models replicable at the national level

Project Intervention

The project interventions will put in place a basis for planning and regulations consistent with the multiple forest sector objectives of SUFs, WPFs, and production forests The new legislative framework for the forest sector provided by the 2004 Forest Protection and Development Law, presents an opportunity to pilot innovative, community-based approaches to forest stewardship Given the piloting nature of the project, implementation of field activities will require Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and Bi-Doup – Nui Ba National Park to be the implementing and executing agencies, respectively Among the international non-governmental conservation organizations in Vietnam, BirdLife International has a very strong, proven track- record in identifying conservation priorities The organization also has a long history of association with the project area, dating back to the early 1990s Moreover, in neighboring Dak Lak Province, BirdLife and Dak Lak DARD are currently implementing a medium-sized World Bank/GEF project at Chu Yang Sin National Park, which is contiguous with the forest landscape targeted by this proposed project

Linkage to TFF Priorities

The Overall Objective of the project is consistent with the National Forest Development Strategy, and the FSSP The project will directly address three of the four specific objectives of the Trust Fund for Forests (TFF) The project will help align Official Development Assistance (ODA) support more closely with the priorities identified in the FSSP framework This will be achieved by improving poverty-targeting of ODA support to the forest sector, and by advancing the transition towards a sector-wide approach to ODA support in the forest sector The project also seeks to address the following two TFF priorities:

(a) to strengthen systems of forest governance and management in a systematic and sector-wide way; and (b) to address pro-poor and sustainable approaches to forest management at policy level, and piloting at implementation level

These priorities will be addressed by developing a sector-wide approach to identifying and evaluating forests of high conservation value, and by piloting approaches to promoting collaborative management of forests at the provincial level, which can be scaled-up to a national level The project promotes decentralized decision-making related to forest management, and its focus is on a priority geographical area – the Central Highlands

9 Project Design

The Overall Objective of the project is to maximize the contribution of Vietnam’s three forest management categories to reducing poverty, providing environmental services, sustaining biodiversity values, and supporting national economic development The Purpose of the project is, therefore, to pilot and define necessary parameters for the establishment and replication of a multiple-use approach to forest management that

Piloting an Approach to Multiple-use Forest Management, Page 4

Project Results/Outputs

Project Benefit to Target Groups

The project has four target groups, who will be engaged in the piloting of multiple-use forest management and replication of approaches developed elsewhere in the province after pilot implementation (for full organisational chart, see Annex 5) The first target group corresponds to government authorities in charge of overseeing forestry-related activities in the province, and includes:

- Lam Dong DARD; and

- Lam Dong Forest Department, Forest Protection Department, and other functional departments within Lam Dong DARD

The second target group comprises selected Forest Management Units (FMUs) responsible for managing the forest estates (3 forest categories) in north-eastern Lam Dong province (also known as the 'Da Lat plateau') This target group comprises the following six institutions, as shown in Map 1:

- Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park

- Da Nhim Watershed Protection Forest

- Don Duong Police Watershed Protection Forest

- Don Duong State Forest Enterprise

- Lam Vien Landscape Protection Area

- Forest Seedling Enterprise of Central Highland Region

The third target group comprises the local authorities of Lac Duong, Don Duong, and Da Lat city, with their respective communes Targeted individuals will include People's Committee, forestry and agricultural extension staff in each of these districts and communes

The fourth and final target group comprises forest-dependent communities living within, and in the vicinity, of the above six FMUs As an example, a summary table of households in Lac Duong district and relevant economic, demographic and land-use statistics is presented below REFERENCE shows that the most poor and forest- dependent people in Lam Dong Province are (i) ethnic minorities, and (ii) women These will therefore be the priority for project engagement within this target group

Table 1 Lac Duong District Communes, Lands, and Household Status

Commune Area (ha) Total area of forest agricultural land Total area of households Total Ethnic minority households households Poor scarce crop lands Households with 661 contracts H'hold s with

proposed or decreed special-use forests in red)

Expected project benefits to the different target groups are described for each project output, below

Output 1 Capacity of Lam Dong DARD and Forest Department and selected FMUs, districts and

communes in multiple-use forest planning and management, forest valuation, and collaborative management increased

This first output of the project will directly benefit all project target groups, as it relates to building their capacities for planning and management for multiple-use of forest resources It will also provide technical skills in valuation of forest resources for other than just timber value, thus increasing their ability to manage forest resources by ‘looking beyond the trees’ This project output will also develop the capacity of field-level stakeholders to establish collaborative management approaches between FMUs and local communities for management of forest resources

The process of introducing and testing the multiple-use forest management approach will bring direct benefits to all target groups FMUs, in particular, will gain strengthened capacities to plan and manage forest resources under their stewardship, and to accommodate participation of local communities in planning, management, and protection of forests Lam Dong DARD and Forest Department will benefit, as technical capacities will be build

to replicate the multiple-use forest management approach elsewhere in the province Local District and Commune authorities will gain the skills and experience needed to promote and sustain the multiple-use approach after completion of the project, thereby sustaining benefits to local communities, and supporting these agencies' function of promoting socio-economic development and poverty alleviation in areas under their jurisdiction

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This second project output will put in place a basis for planning and management that is consistent with the attainment of multiple forest sector objectives at SUFs, WPFs and production forests It will include activities that support piloting of the multiple-use forest management at selected FMUs This output is expected to benefit all project target groups This approach is also expected to be replicable at the provincial and national levels, thus benefiting forest stakeholders beyond the project target groups

FMUs will benefit from this project output in a number of ways The multiple-use approach will ensure that forest resources are managed in a manner that maximizes sustainable output, while protecting the natural resource base For production forests and WPFs in particular, the multiple-use forest management approach prescribes zoning of forests according to set criteria, which define forest zones of high conservation value and prescribes appropriate management regimes for them The management regimes of other forest zones will emphasize allowable sustainable harvests, natural regeneration, and forest enrichment/assisted natural regeneration, to maintain forest quality and harvestable forest stands Model prescriptions for sustainable harvests will ensure long-term benefits from use of forest resources, while the participation of local people in forestry activities will minimize usage conflicts, and increase the number of human resources devoted to management and conservation of forest resources SUFs will benefit directly though the application of an objective zoning approach to the conservation of natural resources, and by mitigating pressures on the protected area arising from forest-dependent households These pressures will be mitigated by promotion of sustainable harvesting of forest products in prescribed areas in the buffer zone, the administrative zone and the rehabilitation zone (and areas of high conservation value) of SUFs The greatest benefit to the SUFs will come indirectly, through extension of biodiversity conservation measures throughout the wider forest landscape, beyond the SUF boundaries The multiple-use forest management approach will increase the extent of forest under effective conservation management, thereby enhancing the long-term conservation prospects of wildlife populations, particularly those of wide-ranging species that cannot persist in small, isolated blocks of forest Once established, the pilot models will benefit Lam Dong DARD and Forest Department They will enable the more effective use of provincial resources for forest protection and management in support of the objectives of the new National Forest Strategy to 2020 Improvement of the forest management system through measures that promote sustainability of harvests, protection of the forest resource base, and community involvement in forest management are three elements of the multiple-use forest management approach that are particularly compatible with the National Forest Strategy

Local communities will gain by being able to benefit from forest resource use in a legal and sustainable way Multiple-use forest management will improve their access to sustainable harvests of timber and non-timber forest products in specific zones of WPFs and SFEs New regulations (Decision No 186/2006/QD-TTg of August 14, 2006) permit use of resources in the rehabilitation zone within SUFs for ecotourism purposes which create income generating opportunities for local communities Experiences from this project could provide the basis for implementation of this Decision more widely

Output 3 Mechanisms for enhanced community participation in planning, development, management and

benefit sharing established at selected WPFs and SFEs, and possibilities for collaborative planning, management and benefit sharing explored at selected SUFs

The project will develop pilot mechanisms for enhanced community participation in the planning and management of SUFs, WPFs, and production forests, including possible collaborative management and benefit- sharing schemes This project output will be of most benefit to the local communities, as they will be able to legally share and profit from forests nearby their villages, although other project target groups will also benefit from this community involvement Established mechanisms for participation will increase the level of involvement of local communities, from passive providers of forestry-related labor and recipients of forest protection contracts, to active managers and stewards of forest resources The increased participation of local

from that of controlling illegal and unsustainable forest exploitation, to that of supporting the sustainable use of forest resources in permitted areas by establishing markets and other similar needs FMUs, particularly WPFs and SFEs, will benefit from local participation, through the improvements to the existing forest resource base that sustainable harvesting will bring, and by the resulting reduction of forest fires With a stake in maintaining forest conditions to retain sustainable harvests of forest products, local communities will have an incentive to control the incidence of damaging fires In addition, given that forest resources will no longer be an open- access resource, local people will have a greater incentive to control and reduce their harvests to sustainable levels This, in turn, will also be of benefit to biodiversity and ecosystems functions, thus supporting the conservation efforts of SUF managers

Output 4 Best practices models of multiple-use forest management documented and disseminated, to

encourage replication of the approach

This project output will be of greatest benefit to Lam Dong DARD and Forest Department The output will entail monitoring of the project’s multiple-use forest management approach, and, thereafter, documenting and disseminating lessons learned and best practice models, to encourage replication of the multiple-use forest management approach Pilots will only be of value if they are monitored continuously for innovations, constraints and opportunities It is this sort of monitoring that will provide the basis for documenting experiences with pilot activities and replicating the approach Lam Dong DARD plans to replicate successful project activities

at other FMUs in the province, and a prime stakeholder in replication of activities will be the Forest Department and the Forest Protection Department (both within Lam Dong DARD) A structured summary of best practice for multiple-use forest management will constitute a practical set of guidelines for subsequent replication of the approach Additionally, dissemination of guidelines documents and policy briefs, with descriptions of best practice models for forest planning, development, and management will constitute the basis for supporting replication of the approach at the national level

Description of Result/ Output Activities

Output 1 Capacity of all participating partners (including Lam Dong DARD and Forest Department, and selected FMUs, districts and communes) in multiple-use forest planning and management, forest valuation, and collaborative management increased

on results of the comparative analysis, each of the FMUs will compile a list of training priorities to increase their capabilities to support pilot modeling and subsequent implementation of the forest management approach The program of training will be tailored to the individual government agencies Some of the training activities will be conducted for all of the stakeholders, such as that to assess the location and status of forests of high conservation value, monitoring of forest changes, forest valuation, and collaborative management Other training will relate to single FMUs, such as the case of sustainable timber harvest measures relevant only to Don Duong SFE The project will facilitate preparation of individual training workplans, tailored to training needs for Lam Dong DARD, Forest Department, and individual FMUs Thereafter, these plans will be consolidated into a single workplan matrix for the project, showing training activities, seminars, workshops and study tours This workplan matrix will presented to the provincial working group for endorsement