Investigating and evaluating the payment for forest environmental service in ba be district, bac kan province

Nguyễn Văn Hiểu Abstract: Payment for forest environmental services is a policy that creates a payment mechanism between users of PFES and PFES providers, to socialize the forest protect

LƯU VĂN HOÀNG

BACHELOR THESIS

INVESTIGATING AND EVALUATING THE PAYMENT FOR

BAC KAN PROVINCE

Student name : Lưu Văn Hoàng

Major: International Programs Office

Supervisor : MSc Nguyễn Văn Hiểu

DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT

Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry

Degree program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management

Student name Luu Van Hoang

Student ID DTN1354120136

Thesis title Investigating and evaluating the payment for forest

environmental service in Ba Be district, Bac Kan province Supervisor MSc Nguyễn Văn Hiểu

Abstract:

Payment for forest environmental services is a policy that creates a payment mechanism between users of PFES and PFES providers, to socialize the forest protection and promotion the economic value of forest environment in the context of wood resources of natural forests, have been depleted and the State budget capital investment in forest protection is very limited In recent years, PFES policy has brought about practical and important effects for soil protection, erosion control, sedimentation of lakes, rivers and streams; regulating the maintenance of clean water for production and social life; carbon absorb and storage, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; protect the natural landscape and preserve the biodiversity of forest ecosystems; provide spawning grounds, food sources and natural seedlings, and use water from forests for aquaculture It also contributes to the income of people living in the forest

Derived from above, the research: "Evaluation of payment for forest environment

services in Ba Be district" is very significant in the payment for forest environment services, contributing to acknowledge the details on payment for forest environmental services has been implemented in recent years in the Ba Be district

Number of pages 72

Date of submission 20/09/2017

Supervisor’s

signature

To complete this thesis, first of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to

my thesis supervisor: MSc Nguyễn Văn Hiểu He helpfully guided and helped me during the implementation process of my thesis

I would like to thank the Rector Board of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry that dedicated teaching, guiding and caring, create the facilitate in my process of study and research

I would like to send my thanks to the managers and staffs of Bac Kan Forest Protection and Development Fund have helped me during the process of investigating and collecting the data to complete my thesis

Despite many efforts, due to the limited time and the level of the subject, the inevitable shortcoming of the topic I hope to receive valuable comments from my teachers and friends to more complete

I also thank you to teacher, officers of Advance Education Programs office

Sincerely thank! Thai Nguyen, June 29, 2017

Student Luu Van Hoang

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: Forest types, current status, overall forest PES provides for units using PES

43

Table 4.2:Statistics on land area of Dong Phuc commune 45

Table 4.3:Forest types, current status, overall forest PES provides for units using PES 50

Table 4.4: Payments for forest environmental services in 2016 for non-forest owners 51

Table 4.5: Payments for forest environmental services in 2016 for owners are individual household 52

Table 4.6: Summary of forest land use status of Ba Be district 53

Table 4.7: Revenue and total income from forest protection of Ba Be farmers 54

Table 4.8:Amount of payment for forest owner are state and non-state 60

Table 4.9: Amount of payment for forest owner are community and individual 60

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1: The administrative map of Ba Be district 26 Figure 4.1: The payment for forest ecosystem services map in Ba Be district – Bac Kan province 2017 41 Figure 4.2: The payment for forest ecosystem service map in Dong Phuc commune, Ba

Be district, Bac Kan province 44 Figure 4.3: The payment for forest ecosystem service map in My Phuong commune,

Ba Be district, Bac Kan province 47 Figure 4.4: The payment for forest ecosystem service map in Quang Khe commune,

Ba Be district, Bac Kan province 48

RUPES : Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services

RES : Receive environmental services

MONRE : Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

IFAD : International Fund for Agricultural Development

IUCN : International Union for Conservation of Nature and

Natural Resources

RCFE : Center for Research on Forest Ecology and

Environment

CLD : Certificate of land use right

ICRAF : International Council for Research in Agroforestry

IDDRI : Institute for Sustainable Development and

International Relations

TABLE OF CONTENT

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1.Research rational 1

1.2.Research’s objective 4

1.3.Research questions and hypotheses 5

1.4.Definition 5

PART II: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1.Legal foundations 6

2.2.Theoretical foundations 6

2.2.1.Definition of forest 6

2.2.2.Forest classification in Vietnam 8

2.2.3.The concept of payment for forest environment service (PFES) 9

2.3.Practical basis 15

2.3.1.Research situation in the world 15

2.3.2.Research situation in Vietnam 16

PAST III: CONTENTS AND METHODS 18

3.1.Materials 18

3.1.1.Object and domain of the research 18

3.1.2.Research period 18

3.2.Research content 18

3.3.Methods 19

3.3.1.Methods of analysis and theoretical synthesis 19

3.3.2.Collect information and data on research subjects 20

3.3.3.Analytical methods of data processing 20

3.3.4.Inheritance method 21

PART IV: RESULTS 22

4.1.Natural, economic and social conditions of Ba Be district 22

4.1.1.Natural condition 22

4.1.2.Socio-economic development 27

4.2.The objects and the area to pay for forest environmental services 32

4.3.Evaluation of payments for forest environment services in Ba Be district 34

4.4.Evaluation of payment for forest environmental services on each forest type 42 4.5.Revenue and total income from forest protection of farmer households in Ba Be 46

4.6.General observe the application of policy on payment for forest environment services in Ba Be district 47

4.7.Assessment of PFES policies on the people of Ba Be district 54

4.7.1.General evaluation of the district 54

4.7.2.Feedback from local people 55

PAST V: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 57

5.1.Discussion 57

5.2.Conclusion 59

REFERENCES 61

PART I INTRODUCTION

1.1.Research rational

Payment for forest environmental services (PFES) is the supply and payment relationship between the providers and users of forest environmental services For more than a decade, the attention and funding from international organizations have enabled the testing of several different PFES mechanisms, especially in the fields of river basin protection and carbon reduction Excluding China - the state managed, in other countries in Asia, these problems are solved in the form of community projects which are small scale and fragmentation (Young, Oran R et al, 2003)

The developments of PFES in developing countries usually follow by the priority decisions based on a fair system Some countries suppose that PFES is a marketable tool for ensuring environmental services such as carbon emissions reduction, river basin protection, and biodiversity conservation The central focus of plans and projects

in these countries is to promote market efficiency However, the rigid application of this approach in developing countries may increase the risk of livelihood to the poor people

In Vietnam, during the last two decades, the forestry sector in Vietnam has been changed in policy and practice The forest concentration management model with the central purpose is resources exploitation have been changed into the forestry socialization model, focusing on environmental protection, social development and the promotion of local forestry enterprises These changes reflect the response of the forestry sectors to forest resource degradation and the inefficiency of centralized forest management systems Since the early 1990 's, through the program 327 and 5 million

ha of forest (program 661) deployment by the Ministry of agriculture and rural, there are large number of of households and individual who are contracted forest or allocated forest, protection land, afforestation and long term management With the high level of participation of the society in afforestation and forest protection, the forest coverage increased from 28,2% in 1995 to 36,7% in 2004 The program (661) is evaluated that have contributed to reduce the poverty and improve livelihoods for about a million people in Vietnam

However, the cost for forest conservation activities is a financial burden for the Government In these programs, although the result of improving forest environmental services benefits many people and businesses upstream and downstream, the funding for conservation and social development is mainly funded by the state budget For sustainable forest conservation and development, the government publishes a decision 380/QĐ-TTg in April 2008 - The pilot policy of payment for forest environmental services to provide the basis for developing a legal framework of PFES on national scale This policy clearly define the benefit, jurisdiction and obligations of those who are paid and pay for forest environmental services Creating a sustainable economic basis for forest protection and development, environmental and ecosystem protection, improving the quality of delivery services, especially ensuring water for electricity, water production and tourism business

Decree No.99/2010/ND-CP dated 24/9/2010 (hereinafter referred to as Decree 99), the Government's policy on payment for forest environmental services (PFES) began implementation of 01/01/2011

This is a policy creates a payment service mechanism between users of forest environmental services and those who provide forest environmental services, to socialize the forest protection and promotion of the economic value of forest environment, in the context that natural forest resources are exhausted and the state budget for forest protection is very limited In recent years, PFES policy has bring about practical and important effects for forest protection, increasing income for people living in the forest zone, contributing to the supply of water for clean water production, natural landscapes for tourism, environmental protection and response to climate change

Decree No.99/2010/ND-CP issued on 24 September 2010, (referred to as Decree 99) on Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) has been implemented by the government in Bac Kan province in recent years

1) Mobilizing social resources for forest protection and improve the economic value

of the forest environment by establishing service and payment relationships between the supplier and the user of forest environmental services

2) Using the income from PFES to increase income for households participating in forest protection to provide PFES, improving the effectiveness of forest protection 3) Create a new financing mechanism for the forestry sector by using non-state budget funds for forest protection

Implement policy on payment for forest environmental services, Bac Kan has established the Protection and Development Fund of the provincial forest To fund operated effectively, the province chose staffs quality, capability and responsibility to participate in Rector Board, Supervisory Board, construction and strict implementation

of the charter, operating regulations Assign the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to assume the prime responsibility for promulgating and guiding the implementation of the policy on payment for forest environment services

The Fund Management Board has done a good job of propagandizing, guiding and proactively providing opinions to help the provincial People's Committee and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issue appropriate guidelines, use revenues to promptly serve the protection and development of forests As a result, the provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund paid for environmental services to four state forest owners, 40 non-forest owners are assigned forest management responsibility by the state, 7.206 forest owners are households, individuals, village communities in the province with a total paid area of over 80.000ha with a total amount of over 13,6billion(VND) The payment is not only timely, but also contributes

to job creation, hunger eradication, poverty reduction and livelihood improvement contributing to the province's forest coverage to 71% by 2015, bringing Bac Kan became one of the provinces with the highest forest coverage nationwide(B.V.Catacutan, 2014)

-Practical significance: Research and evaluate the environmental services description in Ba Be district, then find out the appropriate solutions to solve the difficulties in order to improve the effectiveness of environmental service payments

PART II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.Legal foundations

− Pursuant to the Government's Decree No.99/2010/ND-CP of September 24,

2010 on the policy on payment for forest environment services

− Decree 147/2016/ND-CP amending Decree 99/2010/ND-CP on payment for environmental services

− Circular No.34/2009/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 10, 2009 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development stipulates the criteria for identifying and classifying forests

− Circular No.80/2011/TT-BNNPTNT Guiding the method of determining payments for environmental services

− Joint Circular No.62/2012/TTLTBNNPTNT-BTC Guiding the mechanism for management of use of payment for forest environment services

2.2.Theoretical foundations

2.2.1.Definition of forest

According to FAO, forest is defined as land with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10% and the area of more than 0.5ha The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 meters at maturity in situ Forests consist of two cases that create closed and expanded forests where previously trees have grown on different levels and the floor contains a large proportion of the ground, whereas the later is characterized by a continuous vegetation cover in which the cover

of the tree exceeds 10 percent Furthermore, underforest reffers to the young natural

stands and all plantations established for forestry purposes, which have yet to reach a

cover density of 10 percent or tree height of 5 meters

On September 24, 2010, the Vietnamese Government issued Decree No.99/2010/ND-CP to provide completed definitions and relevent concepts about forests as following:

Forest environment consists components of the forest ecosystem such as plants, animals, microorganisms, water, soil, air, natural landscapes, and has values on serving the needs of people and society, which is called the value in use of forest environment In addition, forest features numeric functions on land protection, water source regulation, watershed protection, coastal protection, natural disaster prevention, biodiversity, absorption and carbon storage, tourism, residence and reproduction of the species, timber and other forest products

Forest environmental services provide value for the use of the forest environment

to meet the needs of society and the lives of the people, including the types of services:

+ Protect soil, limit erosion and sedimentation of lakebed, river bed, stream bed

+ Regulate and maintain water resources for production and social life

+ Forest carbon sequestration and preservation, reduction of greenhouse gas

emissions by measures to prevent degradation, reduction of forest area and sustainable forest development

+ Protect the natural landscape and preserve biodiversity of ecosystems for tourism

+ Service provided breeding grounds, food supply and natural breeding, use of water resources from the forests for aquaculture

− In 1930, Morozov came up with the notion that forests are a whole, interconnected, that occupy a certain amount of space on the ground and at the surface Forests occupy most of the Earth's surface and are part of the geographic landscape (Shaw, & Oldfield, 2007)

− In 1952, M.E Forests are part of the geographic landscape, which includes a whole of trees, shrubs, plants, animals and microorganisms During their development they have a biological and affective relationship with each other and with external circumstances

− In 1974, I.S The forest shows that forests are the complex formation of nature, the basic part of the Earth's biosphere

− The role of forest: the forest is an ecosystem that forest biomes dominant role

in the interactive relationship between organisms with the environment The forest has

a very important role in lives of humans and the environment: Provide a source of timber, air conditioning, produce oxygen, water, animals and plants and residential holding rare genetic resources protection, prevent wind, protection of soil erosion, protect human health life…

2.2.2 Forest classification in Vietnam

Under the Law on Protection and Development of Forest of the National Assembly (Forest Law No 29/2004/QH11), forests, based on the main use purpose, can

be classified into:

1) Protection forest: Protection forests are used mainly to protect water sources and land, prevent erosion and desertification, restrict natural calamities and regulate climate, thus contributing to environmental protection Protection forest may include headwater protection forests, wind- shielding and sand-shielding protection forests, protection forests for tide shielding and sea encroachment prevention and protection forests for environmental protection Protection forests are presumably planted on protection forest land

2) Special-use forest: Special-use forests, which are used mainly for conservation of nature, specimens of the national forest ecosystems and forest biological gene sources, for scientific research, protection of historical and cultural relics as well as landscapes, in service of recreation and tourism in combination with protection, contributing to environmental protection Special-use forest may include national parks, natural conservation zones, landscape protection areas, and scientific research and experiment forests Special-use forests are presumably planted on special-use forest land

3) Production forest: Production forests are used mainly for production and trading of timber and non-timber forest products in combination with protection, contributing

to environmental protection Production forests are planted on production forest land

In addition, Article 3.1 of the Forest Law provides that forests include planted forest and natural forest, in which, natural forest is forest which already existed and which is not grown or planted by human being, and planted forest, by contrast, is forest which is planted by human being(noble et al, 2000)

2.2.3.The concept of payment for forest environmental services (PFES)

According to Mayran and Paquin (2004), the basic idea of payment for forest environmental service to create incentives for individuals and communities to protect environmental sevices by compensating them for the costs incurred in managing and providing those services PFES consists of five key elements: voluntary transactions, a well-defined environmental service, at least one buyer of that service and one supplier

of that service and conditionality (the buyer makes payments only if the survice supplier continuously secures the provision of that service) In simplicity, PFES is a commitment

to enter a voluntary agreement with a legally binding contract at where buyers pay money for forest and ecosystem protection services identified by money or support for one or more sellers The seller whereas is responsible for ensuring and developing mentioned forest and ecosystem protection services in order to enlarge and optimize the benefits of forest development (Westerink, Buizer & Ramos, 2008)

In Vietnam, the goals of PFES program are to improve forest quality and quantity, increase the forestry sectors contribution to the national economy, reduce the state’s financial burden for forest protection and management, and improve social well-being

 The role of payment for forest environmental services :

+ First, PFES provides a stable annual source of funding dedicated to forest protection and management, it will help to reduce the annual expenditure of the state budget for forestry investment

+ Second, PFES help to expand the area of forest protected Mobilize and create more opportunities for households, household groups and communities to participate

in forest protection, management programs and policies This policy has helped to supplement income for households involved in forest protection

+ Third, generate new revenue streams, support extra operating costs for state forest owners, such as management boards of special-use forests, protected forests or forestry companies in the context of state budget support for forest protection are facing many difficulties

 Forms of payment for environmental services of forests

• Direct payment:

+ Direct payments are those using forest environmental services that pay

directly to the forest environmental services provider

+ Direct payments are applied where the user of forest environment services has the capacity and conditions, to make direct payments to the environmental service provider without the intermediary organization Direct payments are made on the basis of a voluntary agreement between the user and the forest environment service provider in accordance with the provisions of this Decree, in which the payment rate

is not lower than that prescribed by the State for the same type of forest environmental services

• Indirect payments:

Indirect payments are those who use forest environment services to pay the forest environmental services providers entrusted through the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund or the provincial Forest Protection, the provincial-level People's Committees shall decide on the replacement of the tasks of provincial-level forest protection and development funds

Indirect payments apply in cases where the user of forest environment services is not able and able to pay directly to the forest environmental services, provider through the intermediary organization Indirect payments have the intervention and support of the State, the price of forest environmental services provided by the State

 Specify 5 types of PFES:

a) Land protection, erosion control and sedimentation of lakes, river beds and stream beds

b) Regulation and maintenance of water resources for production and social life c) Carbon capture and storage of forests, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

by measures to prevent degradation, reduction of forest area and sustainable forest development

d) Protect the natural landscape and preserve biodiversity of forest ecosystems for tourism services

e) Providing spawning grounds, feed sources and wild seed, using water from forests for aquaculture

 Regulation principles payments

a) PFES is money from organizations and individuals in the society that use and benefit from PFES have to pay

b) Paying on PFES by cash through direct and indirect payment

c) PFES payments through the Forest Protection and Development Fund (FPDF) are the funds of the PFES entrusted by the PFES have to pay to PFES owners PFES is not a state budget and the FPDF is under the mandate of the PFES

d) PES is a factor in the cost of products using PFES and does not replace royalties or other payables in accordance with the law Enterprises can take an account

of PFES into the cost of production and will represent those who use their products to pay for forest protection and development expenditures PFES are not taxes, fees and charges

e) To ensure publicity, democracy, objectivity and justice PFES payment process from where the payment to Forest Protection and Development Fund, to forest owners and forest contractors households must be public, there is a discussion to reach consensus, in accordance with the specific conditions of the locality and ensure fairness in pay

 Specify the payers and rates

a) Hydropower generation facilities must pay for land protection services, limit erosion and sedimentation of lakes and streambeds, to regulate and maintain water resources for hydropower generation

b) The production facilities and supply of clean water should pay for services of regulating and maintaining water sources for drinking water production

c) The industrial production facilities that use water directly from the water source to pay services of regulating and maintaining water sources for production

d) Organizations and individuals doing business in tourism services who benefit from forest environment services must pay for the services of natural landscape protection and conservation of biodiversity in the forest ecosystem service of tourism services

e) The object must pay for service and storage of carbon absorbed by forests, service provided breeding grounds, food supply and natural breeding, use of water resources from the forests for aquaculture

 Formula and calculation of payments for forest environmental services

- Amounts paid to forest owners are determined as follows:

The average level of payments per hectare of forest is defined as the total amount of money collected from the payers of forest environmental services, in the basin at the time of inspection by the agency, confirmation as a basis for payment for forest environmental services

The forest area managed and used by the forest environmental service users are the area allocated, leased or contracted for forest protection stable and long-term forest at the time declaration of payment

Coefficient K is the coefficient for adjusting the level of payments for forest environmental services, it depends on the type of forest (protection forest, special use forest, production forest), forest status (rich, medium, poor forest, regenerated forest) The origin of forest formation (natural forest, plantation forest) When applying this formula to the calculation of environmental services values of Ba Be district, this

Total amount paid to

the person paying for

forest environmental

services in the year

(VND)

Average level of payment for 1

ha of forest (VND/ha)

Forest area covered

by the person paying for forest environmental services management and

0,9 Dx20S

In which:

- P: is the average payment per hectare in VND/ha

- D: is the average annual electricity output of Na Hang and Ta Lang hydropower plants (KWh/year)

- S: is the total area in the Nang River basin (ha)

- 0.9 is the rate of direct use payments for forest protection as defined Then we apply the calculation of the amount paid to the district, calculated according to the formula below:

C = PxA

In which:

- C is the amount paid for each pilot district (VND)

- P is the average payment per hectare of forest (VND/ha)

- A is the area of the district had been paid (ha)

Then, we will consider and calculate the adjustment coefficient of K to suit the forest type and function of the forest and suitable for each district in Ba Be district

2.3.Practical basis

2.3.1.Research situation in the world

Although PFES is a new concept in thinking and practice conservation of nearly decade ago However, it has quickly become popular in some countries The development of PFES has been increasingly widespread and in some countries, PFES has been institutionalized in legal documents Currently, the PFES has emerged as a policy solution to encourage and share the benefits of the community and society

Developed countries in Latin America have used the earliest PFES models In Europe, some governments have paid much attention to investing and implementing many PFES schemes and models,(Wunder, 2005) In Australia has been legally responsible for carbon emissions since 1998, allowing investors to register their ownership of carbon sequestration PFES has also been developed and piloted in Asia such as Indonesia, the Philippines, China, India, Nepal and Vietnam In particular, Indonesia and the Philippines have many PFES case studies on watershed management

2.3.2.Research situation in Vietnam

Report "Three Year Implementation of Forest Environmental Services Payment Policy in Vietnam (2011-2014)",(Law, (2011) This report is an independent consultative report, conducted by international and national experts To provide the Directorate of Forestry and Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund (VNFF) with comments and assessments from the experts perspective on the 3-year process, and the content that needs to adjust PFES policy to serve the preliminary review of 3

Agriculture and Rural Development,(Winrock International, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and SNV partners, 2015)

Report on "Payments for forest environmental services in Vietnam From policy

to reality",(Pham, Thu Thuy, et al.2013) This research provides policymakers with detailed assessments and analysis of the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of PFES

in the implementation process from 2008 to date Experts focus on three aspects of PFES, including: (1) the establishment of legal bases (legal and organizational structures); (2) benefit sharing mechanisms (Distribution of payments and participation of stakeholders); and (3) monitoring and evaluation (monitoring of environmental services, contracts, cash flow and social impact from PFES),(Pham Thu Thuy at al, 2013)

Report on "Payment for forest environmental services in Bac Kan province" This technical report is the result of the implementation the package of consultancy service No 19TV: "Assessment of capability and design of payment for environmental services in Bac Kan",(Pham Thu Thuy et al 2013) Promoting opportunities for environmental improvement The overall objective of the project is to alleviate poverty

in a sustainable and equitable way, improving livelihoods of the rural poor in Bac Kan

by promoting land and forest management The findings include assessing and developing methods for determining the value of forests in a number of areas such as regulating water resources, carbon accumulation, landscape beauty The environment

of the forest is calculated in money Based on this, a specific scheme for payment for forest environment services for each forest type of the three districts of the 3PAD project area, including Pac Nam, Ba Be and Na Ri,(Hoang Minh Ha at al, 2011)

In Vietnam, the development and implementation of pilot policies of payment for environmental services will be an important driving force, a fundamental change in the perception and responsibility of the society for the protection of forests Creating jobs, contributing to poverty alleviation for mountainous people and reducing natural disasters caused by deforestation

PART III CONTENTS AND ME1THODS

3.1.Materials

3.1.1.Object and domain of the research

a) Subjects of research: Payment for forest environment services in Ba Be district b) The domain of the research: Ba Be district, Bac Kan province

Figure 3.1 : The administrative map of Ba Be district

3.1.2.Research period

From March 2017 to June 2017

3.2.Research content

− Assessment of Ba Be natural, socio-economic conditions

− Assess the current status of forest resources in PFES of Ba Be district

− Assessment process of implementing the policy on payment for environmental services of forests in Ba Be district

− Evaluate the results of the policy of payment for forest environment services in

Ba Be district

− A general assessment of payments for forest environmental services in Ba Be district to highlight achievements, advantages, and disadvantages, and remedies to improve the effectiveness of policy implementation

3.3.Methods

3.3.1.Methods of analysis and theoretical synthesis

Read, analyze and synthesize the decrees and circulars relating to payments for forest environmental services in Viet Nam:

− Decree No.99/2010/ND-CP dated 24 Sep,2010, of the Government on payment for

forest environment services

− Decree 147/2016/ND-CP amending Decree 99/2010/ND-CP on payment for

2010) published by the Forest Department "Financial management - accounting for

payment for forest environmental services",(Grieg-Gran at al 2005) published by the

General Department of Forestry in 2015 "Report on the evaluation of 3 years of

implementing the policy on payment for forest environment services in Viet Nam

(2011-2014)",(Loft, Lasse, et al.2017)

3.3.2.Collect information and data on research subjects

Consult with staff working for the Forest Protection and Development Fund in

Ba Be district, teachers in the forestry department and local forest rangers with PFES activities

- Collect data, documents related to the research area as:

+ Statistical data on geographical location, climate, people's living situation, socio-economic status, mineral resources, land use status, etc of Ba Be district

+ Data on forest and forest land resources in Ba Be district and PFES areas

- Data on payment for environmental services in Ba Be district include:

+ The number of households and units participated in forest protection

+ Area, forest types by households and other units assigned to protect forests + Number of units to pay for forest environmental services in 2015 and 2016 + The payment rate for all contracted per 1ha forest for forest protection

+ Amount of money collected from PFES in 2015 and expected to be collected

in 2016

3.3.3.Analytical methods of data processing

— After collecting data related to research, re-system the data

— Select the data related to the research:

+ The socio-economic conditions of Ba Be district

+ The status forest resources in payment for forest environment services includes production forests, protection forests and special-use forests

+ The process of deployment and implementation of the policy on payment for environmental services of forests

+ Data on the area of participation, type of forest, area of forest, number of participating households, number of participating units, and payments related to the policy of payment for forest environment services in Ba Be district

— Based on the data collection from the sources such as the Ba Be Provincial Forest

Protection and Development Fund, the internet, the process of interviewing people, etc as a basis to indicate the results of the economic, social and environmental

3.3.4.Inheritance method

Thesis selectively inherits the available research, both domestically and internationally A relatively large number of documents in many areas related to PFES Inheritance data from the collection department pay for forest environmental services of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Bac Kan province

PART IV RESULTS

4.1.Natural, economic and social conditions of Ba Be district

4.1.1.Natural condition

Ba Be district in the North West of Bac Kan province has a total natural area of 68,412 ha (equal to 14.1% of the natural area of Bac Kan province) Located in the geographical coordinates 22027 "to 22035" north latitude and 105044 "to 105058" longitude east of the administrative boundaries of the district as follows:

• The north borders Pac Nam district and Cao Bang province

• Southern border with Bach Thong district

• The East borders Ngan Son district

• The West borders on Cho Don District and Tuyen Quang province

The district has a relatively favorable geographic location for exchanging economic, cultural and social development with other districts in the province and neighboring provinces The district is also endowed with many beautiful landscapes, which are typical Ba Be Lake with great tourism potential However, the infrastructure, especially the slow development has limited the district's socio-economic development

* Terrain:

- The district is characterized by high mountainous terrain, strongly divided, with steep slopes, unevenly mountainous The average elevation is over 600m above sea

level, where the highest terrain is 1517m (Phia Bjooc Peak), tilted in the northeast and southwest, and can be divided into three main terrain types

+ Limestone terrain, distributed mainly in the Nam Mau, Quang Khe, Cao Tri and Hoang Tri communes with Limestone Mountains over 1000m high between the narrow hollows forming the wall standing cloak The elevation ranges from 600m - 1000m, the slope above 250 This is a high mountainous area with less favorable conditions for development of agricultural production

+ Mountainous terrain of the southern communes, the common height of 300 - 400m, the average slope of 20-400 but divided by the streams, traffic in the area very difficult, it is possible to develop forestry and agro-forestry This is an area with great potential for developing fruit trees in the district

+ The valley topography is distributed along rivers and streams between the high mountain ranges (central district) with an average height of 200m - 300m The area of about 1000ha is the topography of the rice fields of the communes in the district These types of topography However, make it difficult to develop commodity agriculture but are favorable conditions for the diversification of crops and livestock for ethnic minorities in the district

* Land:

- The total area of agricultural production in the district is about 5947.78 ha, accounting for 9.9% of the total natural area In which the annual crop land accounts for 84% of the total agricultural land

- Land for aquaculture: 135.94 ha

- Non-agricultural land is 2023 ha

- Unused land: The total area of unused land is about 13,167 ha, accounting for 19.3% of the total natural area of the district

The unused land area is mainly land for forestry (afforestation, zoning for regeneration of forests) The area of land with limited agricultural capacity, exploitation conditions is relatively difficult, and if included, it is mainly long-term industrial crops suitable for high mountains (shan tea, anise, cinnamon )

- The forest land of the whole district is 57693.63 ha

Natural forest is distributed in all communes in the district with indigenous species and many kinds of precious wood such as sliced, chewed Many temperate trees also grow on the peaks of the Phia bjooc Range The Ba Be National Park forest floor and the high mountainous area of the Phia Bjooc Range are high density natural forest remaining forest that is mainly low quality forest regeneration forest

* Climate:

Ba Be features monsoon tropical climate from April to October, cold season from November to March next year Also in the district every year appear 80-90 days blind,

35 to 37 days with drizzle, 40-45 days with thunderstorm and some frost

In general, Ba Be weather conditions are relatively favorable for the development

of agriculture and forestry towards the diversification of plants and animals However,

due to the high terrain of the district, the steep slopes, heavy rains in the summer months, frequent floods, flash floods and erosion, landslides along the rivers and slopes causing flooding in the downstream communes of Song Nang (Banh Trach, Cao Tri, Khang Ninh, Cao Thuong, Nam Mau) On the other hand, winter due to cold and dry weather causes severe drought especially in highland and Limestone Mountains

* Hydrography, rivers:

Ba Be has the main stream system as follows:

- The Cho Leng River (which flows into Ba Be Lake) originates from Phia Bjooc mountain range flowing in the southeast and northwest through Ba Be district in Dong Phuc, Quang Khe and Nam Mau communes After flowing into Ba Be Lake, Cho Leng River flows into the Nang River, this is the largest river basin in the district

- Nang River also originates from the southern part of Cao Bang Province (the main branch) and an auxiliary branch originating from the eastern part of Phia Bjooc Range

in the east-west direction, passing through Chu Huong, My Phuong, Ha Hieu commune and join the main branch in the commune passing Cho Ra town, Thuong Giao commune, Cao Tri commune, Khang Ninh commune, then get the water from Cho Leng River and flow into the Tuyen Quang province

- Ta Han Stream and Bo Lu Stream originate from the Phia Bjooc Range flowing into

Ba Be Lake

In addition, to the main rivers and streams in the district, there are hundreds of