Thus, efforts are being made to subtly integrate local livelihood activities into tourism in order to empower ethnic culture, to promote gender equity and to alleviate poverty in the buf
Trang 1Local Population
The PNKB NP Region can easily be referred to as a melting pot of ethnicities The Chut (including sub-groups of Sach, May, Ruc, Arem and Ma Lieng) as well as the Bru-Van Kieu (including sub-groups of Van Kieu, Khua, Ma Cong and Tri) live in the area
Although the influence of the Kinh people cannot be denied, in particular within communities which re-settled along Road 12 and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, many
of these ethnic minorities still maintain their own customs and traditions
Today, more than 65,000 people live in more than
150 villages in the buffer zone of the PNKB NP The Park is currently developing alternative livelihood systems for locals who once depended or still depend
on the Park’s natural resources This will enable the people to earn a decent living without jeopardising conservation efforts in the Region
Tourism is one of the greatest income drivers in the Region, but little of this money reaches those who need it the most Thus, efforts are being made to subtly integrate local livelihood activities into tourism
in order to empower ethnic culture, to promote gender equity and to alleviate poverty in the buffer zone Foremost, activities include community-based tourism as well as handicraft developments in the northern Minh Hoa District
Challenges
• Seasonality and visits of short duration
• Visit pressure on few tourism sites
• Gap in expectations and experiences of domestic and international visitors
• Rapid growth without appropriate management structures in place
• Awareness raising for nature conservation
• Capacity building of local tourism actors
• Networking and stakeholder collaboration, specifically between the private and the public sector
• Keeping adverse effects of tourism on ethnic minority groups at a minimum level
• Climate change and its adverse effects
Sustainable Tourism
The project ‘Nature Conservation and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park Region’ is supported by GIZ, KfW and local government and takes on these challenges through participative methods, includ-ing the integration of local livelihood activities into tourism, institutional strengthening of local tour-ism actors, development of a sustainable financing scheme for the National Park, setting up cave man-agement guidelines and product development
Nature Conservation
Although much of the area was damaged during the American War, today almost all of the PNKB
NP is covered by primary forest The Park and the surrounding area is home to more than 500 vertebrate animals and to more than 2500 vascular plant species, of which around 240 animals and
110 plants respectively are listed in the Red Book
of Vietnam The Park is also the richest location for primates in Indochina
The PNKB NP and its magnificent cave system clearly display a vast wealth of irreplaceable wonders within Given the Park’s difficult terrain and dense forests, scientists are certain that many more caves and unique flora and fauna are yet to be discovered
Raising awareness for the environment in tourism
is not merely the responsibility of the government, media, NGOs or businesses Every individual visiting PNKB accepts the responsibility to protect it not only for oneself, but indeed for those who live off and with it, as well as for future visitors who want to experience the Region in the same state it is in today
Certain behavioral codes might seem self-evident, but we would like to remind you to neither remove anything from the Park, nor to harm it in any other
way Conservation begins with oneself!
Sustainable Tourism
Trang 2Development in Tourism
What is the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park
(PNKB NP) Region all about? How has tourism been
developing and what are challenges for its future
development? Who is involved in tourism in the
Region? How does tourism connect to nature, nature
conservation and to the local population? What is my
role as a visitor? And what does an institution like the
German Agency for International Development have
to do with tourism?
Tourism is often considered as the can-do-it-all
alternative for socio-economic development, and
even though there is some truth behind this, tourism
also creates additional challenges arising from rapid
development, the influx of visitors and the use of
natural resources This information leaflet aims to
briefly present these complex issues with reference
to the PNKB NP Region The inter-linkages between
tourism, nature conservation and local population(s)
in the PNKB Region are explained and some of the
challenges for sustainable tourism development are
highlighted
But why should this be of interest?
It is vital to be aware of our fragile environment and
how mankind and the environment depend on each
other Although it may not be immediately visible or
experienced directly, all (in)actions have an impact on
the environment
Phong Nha – Ke Bang
The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (PNKB NP)
is located around 200 km north of Hue in the Central Vietnam Province of Quang Binh and covers approximately 86.000 ha (+ an extension area of 31.000 ha) In July 2003, PNKB received worldwide acclaim when it was added the UNESCO Natural World Heritage list, acknowledging its universal importance as an outstanding example representing major stages of the Earth’s history, and significant geological processes and features Today, the Park is not only known for its limestone grottoes and caves, but also for its lush forests, covering around 96% of the Park’s area, and for its rich biodiversity
Besides Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam, PNKB thus represents one of only two destinations in Vietnam that have been granted a Natural World Heritage Site (WHS) title
The PNKB NP, combined with the Hin Nam No National Protected Area in bordering Lao, forms one of the largest tropical karst areas in the world
Sustainable Tourism
From 1920 onwards, the PNKB NP Region was promoted as a tourist destination that was ranked second in Indochina Nowadays, visitor numbers have increased considerably from a couple of ten thousands in the early 2000’s up to nearly 400,000 per year
Sustainable Tourism is meant to carefully balance socio-economic and environmental aspects for development in order to secure the long-term integrity of nature and those who live off and with
it Yet, along with related concepts like eco- and responsible tourism, the term has lost appeal and meaning with increasingly economically-driven tourist developments in many destinations
PNKB with its fast-growing tourism is no different, but the destination is still in its early stages of development and the future activities need to carefully consider the sensitivity of the natural environment and the cultural heritage of the local people in order to not compromise the WHS status
Future developments need to consider the natural environment, but also those local, provincial, national and international, private and public actors involved in tourism in PNKB Through strengthening those ties, sustainable practices can be shared and further promoted
Phong Nha - Ke Bang Region Project No.9 Quang Trung, Dong Hoi Quang Binh, Vietnam
T +84 52 3843179 F +84 52 3850941
E office.pn-kb@giz.de
I www.giz.de/viet-nam www.pnkb-quangbinh.org.vn Responsible: Jens Kallabinski Editors:
Anna Hübner Truong Si Hong Chau
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes
(Marcel Proust, 1871-1922)