Evaluating the economic benefit of mangrove restoration in light of climate events in de gi lagoon, binh dinh province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NHA TRANG UNIVERSITY TO THI BICH LOI EVALUATING THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF MANGROVE RESTORATION IN LIGHT OF CLIMATE EVENTS IN DE GI LAGOON BINH DINH PR

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NHA TRANG UNIVERSITY

TO THI BICH LOI

EVALUATING THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF MANGROVE RESTORATION IN LIGHT OF CLIMATE EVENTS IN DE GI

LAGOON BINH DINH PROVINCE

MASTER THESIS

KHANH HOA – 2018

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NHA TRANG UNIVERSITY

TO THI BICH LOI

EVALUATING THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF MANGROVE RESTORATION IN LIGHT OF CLIMATE EVENTS IN DE GI

LAGOON BINH DINH PROVINCE

MASTER THESIS

Management and Climate Change Code

Topic Allocation Decision

Decision on establishing the

Committee

Defense Date

Supervisors:

1 Professor: Margrethe Aanesen

2 Professor: Kim Anh Nguyen Thi

Chairman of the Committee

Faculty of Graduate Studies

KHANH HOA – 2018

i

UNDERTAKING

I state that this thesis entitled “Evaluating the economic benefit of mangrove

restoration in light of climate events in De Gi Lagoon, Binh Dinh Province” is my

own work Up to this date the work has not been presented elsewhere for assessment

Khanh Hoa, 14 th June 2018

Author

To Thi Bich Loi

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To Professor Margrethe Aanesen (Tromso University) and Professor Kim Anh Nguyen (Nha Trang University), I would like to express my deepest appreciation for your supporting my research, for your dedication, patience, motivation and immense knowledge Your guidance was essential in assisting me in completing my study in a timely manner I am fortunate to have you all as my supervisors

I also would like to acknowledge and thank the following individuals and institutes for the valuable contributions made to my study:

- Nha Trang University and University of Tromso for giving me the opportunity to study the Norhed Master’s Program in Marine-based Ecosystem Management and Climate Change

- The Faculty of Graduate Studies of Nha Trang University for helping and giving me the best conditions to finish my thesis

- The provincial government of Binh Dinh Province, especially government officials of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Natural Resource and Environment and People’s Committee of Phu My and Phu Cat District for helping me, providing valuable information and necessary data for my study

Finally, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my family and friends for supporting me spiritually throughout the period of writing this thesis

Author

To Thi Bich Loi

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNDERTAKING i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF SYMBOL v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF TABLE viii

ABSTRACT ix

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Objectives of the study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Ecosystem goods and services 5

2.2 Methods of valuation of ecosystem goods and services 5

2.3 Reasons for valuation of ecosystem goods and services 8

2.4 Goods and services provided by mangrove forests 8

2.5 Loss of mangrove forests and restoration programs 9

2.6 Previous studies on mangrove forests valuation 11

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 13

3.1 Research approaches 13

3.2 Study area 13

3.3 Data collection 15

3.3.1 Primary data 15

3.2.2 Secondary data 16

3.3 Methods to achieve the objectives 16

3.4 Sample size 17

3.5 Data analysis 17

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4.1 Results 19

4.1.1 Socio-economic information on the respondents 19

4.1.2 Benefits provided by mangrove forests in De Gi Lagoon 21

4.1.3 Determination of the economic benefit of mangrove forest restoration in De Gi Lagoon 22

4.1.4 Perception on mangrove restoration’s role in increasing the benefits to the community members 26

4.1.5 Respondents’ opinion on mangrove restoration being a good strategy for climate change mitigation and adaptation 28

4.2 Discussion 30

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATIONS 32

5.1 Conclusion 32

5.2 Recommendations 33

REFERENCES 35 APPENDICES

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACCCRN Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network

BV Bequest value

CVM Contingent valuation method

DMV Deliberative monetary valuation

DUV Direct use value

EV Economic value

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GEF Global Environmental Facility

ISET – I Institute for Social and Environmental Transition - International

IUV Indirect use value

MEA Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

MFF Mangrove for the future

MP Market price

NGOs Non-government Organization

NUV Non-use value

OUV Option use value

SP Stated preference

TEV Total economic value

UNEP United Nations Environmental Program

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Total economic value of ecosystem goods and services 7

Figure 2.2: Mangrove coverage in hectares between 1943 and 2008 in Viet Nam 10

Figure 3.1: Map of Binh Dinh Province 14

Figure 3.2: Map of De Gi Lagoon 15

Figure 4.1: Gender of the respondents 19

Figure 4.2: Educational level of the respondents 20

Figure 4.3: Employment status of the respondents 20

Figure 4.4: Distribution of respondents by annual income, measured in 1,000 VND 21

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Restoration and protection of mangrove forests project in Binh Dinh

Province from 2006 to 2016 3 Table 2.1: Ecological functions and goods and services provided by mangrove forests 9 Table 2.3: Summary Of The Various Mangrove Restoration Intervention Programs In

Vietnam 11 Table 4.1: Distribution of the respondents by commune 19 Table 4.2: Benefits provided by mangrove forests in De Gi Lagoon expressed as

percentages of the total respondents 21 Table 4.3: Respondent's opinion on restoration of mangrove forests in De Gi Lagoon 23 Table 4.4: Reasons for restoration of mangrove forests in De Gi Lagoon 24 Table 4.5: Respondent’s willingness to participate in the mangrove forest restoration

program in De Gi Lagoon 25 Table 4.6: Distribution of WTP of the respondents, measured in 1,000 VND 25 Table 4.7: Respondent's perception of how mangrove restoration will increase the

benefit they may receive 27 Table 4.8: Respondent's perception of benefit that will be increased by the mangrove

restoration program 28 Table 4.9: Respondent's opinion on mangrove restoration being a good strategy for

climate change mitigation and adaptation 29 Table 4.10: Respondent's opinion about the ways mangrove restoration would be a

good strategy for climate change mitigation and adaptation 29

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ABSTRACT

Mangrove forests are recognized to be one of the most important ecosystems in coastal areas, providing a variety of products and essential services to coastal communities Mangrove forests play a vital role in socio-economic development, and in mitigating impacts of climate change Despite this, mangrove forests are under threat The expansion of economic activities such as aquaculture, salt extraction and urban development are observed by experts to be major causes of mangrove deforestation and degradation Viet Nam has already lost huge areas of mangrove forests, with the observed decrease of more than 58.7%; from 408,500 hectares in 1943 to 168,688 hectares in 2013

This study investigates the economic benefit of a mangrove restoration program, in particular a program in De Gi Lagoon, Binh Dinh Province of Viet Nam Economic benefit of mangrove restoration of 50 ha of wetlands in De Gi Lagoon was analyzed based on 150 questionnaires completed by local households The questionnaire encompassed a Contingent Valuation question, asking the respondents about willingness to pay for mangrove forest restoration It was found that mangrove forests provide important benefits to the local communities surrounding De Gi Lagoon, including aquaculture, fisheries, prevention of erosion, storm protection and habitat for wildlife and bird species The economic benefit of mangrove restoration in De Gi Lagoon was calculated to be 21,736,900 VND per ha per year In the context of climate change, with an increase in frequency of tornadoes and other climate hazards,

it is argued that mangrove restoration generates appreciable amounts of benefits for the local communities, and that it would be a good strategy for climate mitigation and adaptation

Based on the results in this thesis, we strongly recommend that the Vietnamese government should come up with a program to increase the awareness of local community members about functions of mangrove forests Moreover, there is a willingness to pay for the restoration program and therefore it should be implemented

in De Gi Lagoon

Keywords: Mangrove forests, restoration, economic benefit, climate change.

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Southeast Asia is the region, which encompasses more mangrove forests than any other area globally According to Honculada- Primavera et al (2000), this region has more than 41.5% of mangrove forests, which is equivalent to 7.5 million hectares of the global total of 18 million hectares (Honculada-Primavera, 2000) Mangroves provide a number of valuable ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being and they cover all four categories of services including provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural Mangrove forests have high biodiversity and productivity, which is important when it comes to coastal economic development and protection from climate change related impacts A report by the Union of World Natural Conservation and Environment Program show that during the Tsunami in 2004, a number of villages in Thailand and India located behind vast mangrove forests cover were almost intact as the wave energy had been reduced by between 50% and 90%, so damages were very low (Nguyen Tuan, 2012) This result had proved that mangrove forests can protect communities against climate impacts Brander et al (2012) calculated the mean value of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia to be 4,185 US$/ha/year (Brander et al., 2012) This value of mangrove forests is due to an increased awareness of the importance of mangrove forest ecosystems and their biodiversity to human welfare Despite this, loss of mangrove forests continues on a large scale Nearly half of the total area of mangrove forests in the world has been lost over the past decades, with the largest decline in Asia (Malik, Fensholt, & Mertz, 2015) This loss has negatively impacted on the benefits the people get from the mangrove forest ecosystems Therefore, the economic value of mangrove forests is likely to decline due to reduced propagation and increased human exploitation

Viet Nam had about 408,500 ha of mangrove forests in the 1940s of which 250,000 ha were mainly distributed in the Southern part (Người lao động, 2014) Mangrove forests are considered as an important resource playing a vital role in the socio-economic development of Viet Nam and in mitigating impacts of climate change in the country, especially along the coast However, they are observed to be declining both as consequences of climate change and human activities Large areas of mangrove forests

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are being degraded with a decrease of more than 58.7%; from 408,500 hectares in

1943 to 168,688 hectares in 2013, implying an average loss of over 3 thousand hectares per year (Đất việt, 2012) Especially, in the Ganh Hao area of Bac Lieu Province, about 7,000 ha mangroves have been lost during a 27-year period (from

1964 to 1991) due to erosion with an average loss of approximately 259ha/ year (Viet Nam Environment Protection Agency, 2005) Moreover, over 200,000 ha of mangrove forest have been destroyed in the past two decades for the purpose of shrimp farming (Viet Nam Environment Protection Agency, 2005) This loss has caused extremely negative effects to the environment such as erosion, salinity intrusion and reduction of biodiversity, which in turn has led to an increase in the vulnerability of local communities to climate impacts (Lê Anh Tuấn & Maria Lourdes T Munarriz, 2016) For instance, in Ca Mau Province after one year of conversion of mangrove forest into shrimp ponds, approximately 20 zoobenthos species were lost while bird species in Bac Lieu and Dam Doi colonies migrated to other areas In Thai Binh Province, the conversion of 2,500 ha mangrove forests to shrimp ponds has caused a lot of damages

to the environment such as erosion, soil acidification, loss of habitat for bird species,

in addition local communities have experienced difficulty in maintaining their livelihood and some poor fishermen have lost their sources of livelihoods (Viet Nam Environment Protection Agency, 2005)

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, there has been efforts to restore mangrove forests from 1975 (MFF Viet Nam, 2015) The mangrove restoration efforts have been supplemented by the World Bank and NGOs resulting in nearly 20,000 hectares being re-planted from 1991 to 2007, with an expected additional 100,000 hectares between 2011 and 2017 (Lê Anh Tuấn & Maria Lourdes T Munarriz, 2016)

In Binh Dinh Province, mangrove forests are estimated to occupy 177 ha and are distributed in two lagoons called Thi Nai and De Gi Mangrove forests in Binh Dinh Province are valuable ecosystems for environmental protection and disaster prevention

as well as playing an important role in providing sources of income for households, especially poor households The loss of mangrove forests in Binh Dinh Province has taken place over the past 15-20 years due to the previous government policies that encouraged conversion to aquaculture ponds for export oriented production and rapid

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urbanization (Tuyen & Stephen, 2017) This loss has caused a lot of negative impacts

on local communities in terms of sustaining livelihoods, food security and adaptation

to climate change impacts

Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province was selected to participate in ACCCRN cities program for the City Resilience Strategy with the project entitled “Ecosystem Service for Climate Resilience in Quy Nhon City” The project recognized the risk of the expansion of aquaculture into vulnerable low-lying areas The mangrove reforestation will have significant contribution to sustain local livelihoods and adaptation to climate impacts This project had started to restore mangrove forests in the wetlands of Thi Nai and De Gi Lagoon in Binh Dinh Province from 2006 with a total area of mangrove forests which has been replanted being 103.21 ha (Table 1.1)

Table 1.1: Restoration and protection of mangrove forests project in Binh Dinh

Province from 2006 to 2016

(ha)

Density (tree/ha) Period

1 Phuoc Hoa and Phuoc Son Communes,

2 My Chanh Commune, Phu My District 20,00 3.300 2010 – 2012

3 My Chanh Commune, Phu My District 2,00 3.300 2011-2013

4 My Chanh Commune, Phu My District 4,30 3.300 2011-2013

5 Phuoc Thuan Commune, Tuy Phuoc

6 Phuoc Thuan Commune, Tuy Phuoc

7 Phuoc Thuan and Phuoc Son Commune,

8 Nhon Binh Ward, Quy Nhon City 5,0 3.300 2013-2015

9 Nhon Binh and Dong Da Ward, Quy

Source: Adapted from Con Chim Marine Sanctuary (2016)

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The site of this study is the De Gi Lagoon, the second largest lagoon in Binh Dinh Province De Gi is one of the most diverse lagoons, and has favorable conditions for economic development The total area of De Gi Lagoon is 1,580 ha, which up to 1975 included over 100 ha of mangrove forests After 1975 mangrove forests in De Gi Lagoon have experienced a significant decline and the mangrove area remaining in the lagoon is currently 57.28 ha (Nguyễn Xuân Hòa, Phạm Thị Lan, & Nguyễn Xuân Trường, 2010; Sở Tài Nguyên và Môi Trường Bình Định, 2016)

1.2 Objectives of the study

The main objective of this research is to determine the economic benefits the communities around De Gi Lagoon generate from the mangrove forests and further to determine local inhabitants willingness to pay to restore the mangrove forests in the face of impeding impacts from climate change

Specifically, the following objectives have been addressed:

1 To identify economic benefit the local communities gain from mangrove forests;

2 To derive the local inhabitants willingness to pay to restore mangrove forests;

3 To determine whether the local community members understand that climate impact mitigation measures, like mangrove restoration, may increase their economic benefit

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Ecosystem goods and services

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) report defines ecosystem services as

“the benefits people obtain from ecosystems” (MEA, 2005), therefore, they contribute

to the total economic value of the planet (Costanza et al., 1997) According to the MEA report, the natural biodiversity in ecosystems has made available four categories

of goods and services, namely: (1) provisioning services which include food, water, raw materials, genetic resources, medicinal resources and ornamental resources; (2) regulating services which include air quality regulation, climate regulation, moderation

of extreme events, regulation of water flows, waste treatment, erosion prevention, maintenance of soil fertility, pollination and biological control; (3) supporting services which include maintenance of life cycles of migratory species and maintenance of genetic biodiversity; (4) cultural services which include aesthetic information, opportunities for recreation and tourism, inspiration for culture, art and design, spiritual experience and information for cognitive development (Fisher et al., 2010) For the entire biosphere, the value is estimated to be in the range of USD 16 – 54 trillion per year, with an average of USD 33 trillion per year (Costanza et al., 1997) which is more than the total global GDP

2.2 Methods of valuation of ecosystem goods and services

The approach widely used for identification and valuation of ecosystem services is the Total Economic Value framework (TEV) The TEV framework identifies two types of value for the various categories of ecosystem services, namely: (1) use values which include: (a) direct use value: consumptive or non-consumptive; (b) indirect use values and (c) option values; (2) non-use values which include: (a) existence values and (b) bequest values (Kirkpatrick, 2011) Individual values for each separate category of ecosystem services may be determined using two broad methods namely: (1) direct revealed preferences(market valuation) approach; this approach comprises: (a) market price based, (b) cost based (i.e net factor income, replacement cost and avoided cost) and (c) production function based; (d) travel cost and (e) hedonic pricing; (2) stated preference approach which comprises: (a) contingent valuation, (b) choice modeling

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Figure 2.1: Total economic value of ecosystem goods and services

Source:Compiled by the student for this study and (Barbier et al., 1997)

According to Koundouri and Nunes (2009), the TEV as depicted in the conceptual framework in Figure 2.1 above, can be determined by using the following expression below due to Koundouri and Nunes (2009) (Koundouri & Nunes, 2009):

TEV = UV + NUV = (DUV + IUV +OUV) + (BV + EV)

Where: TEV: Total economic value

UV: Use value

NUV: Non-use value

DUV: Direct use value

IUV: Indirect use value

OUV: Option use value

BV: Bequest value

EV: Existence value

For the monetization of direct use values (DUV) and indirect use value, methods like market prices, avoided cost, travel cost method are often applied, Whilst for Option

TOTAL ECOMOMIC VALUE (TEV)

DIRECT USE VALUE (DUV)

OPTION USE VALUE (OUV)

2.3 Reasons for valuation of ecosystem goods and services

Ecosystem services are valued for several purposes, among which are: awareness raising and advocacy; influencing decision making and policy; calculating damages for compensation; creating sustainable financing by identifying extractable revenues for environmental management (Mumby et al., 2014) Mumby et al (2014) in their report did not include the value assessment of damages incurred by climate change and economic benefit from a restoration program on ecosystems particularly on mangrove forests

2.4 Goods and services provided by mangrove forests

Mangrove forests are valuable for the benefits they provide According to Salem and Mercer (2012), these goods and services are vital for many communities’ well-being (Salem & Mercer, 2012) Kirkpatrick (2011) mentioned that mangroves are among the most productive ecosystems in the world (Kirkpatrick, 2011) Table 2.1 gives an indication of the ecological functions and the goods and services provided by mangrove forests

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Table 2.1: Ecological functions and goods and services provided by mangrove forests

Flood, flow control and wave dissipation - Flood protection

Storm buffering, sediment retention and

erosion buffering

- Storm protection

Water quality maintenance, nutrient

cycling

- Improved water quality

Habitat and nursery for commercially

important plant and animal species

- Habitat for commercial species of fish and plants

Biodiversity - Appreciation of species existence Carbon sequestration - Reduced global warming

Natural environment - Recreation, tourism, existence,

bequest and option value

Sources: Compiled by the student for this study with information from (Kirkpatrick, 2011; Salem & Mercer, 2012)

2.5 Loss of mangrove forests and restoration programs

Amongst the many causes of mangrove forests losses are the influxes of harmful sediment from urban development and industrial activities which are potentially harmful to mangrove forests and in some cases exacerbated acidification of mangrove wetlands have caused the death of the mangroves (Thomas et al., 2017) Thomas et al (2017) further show that aquaculture, specifically shrimp farming, and agriculture are the greatest drivers of mangrove deforestation in Southeast Asia with agriculture dominating the destruction (Thomas et al., 2017) Another notable report on mangrove losses by Valiala et al (2001) state that mangrove forests are amongst the most used and exploited ecosystems in most of the countries in which they exist Losses of mangrove forests have both anthropogenic and natural impacts More than 35% of the mangrove forest areas have been lost over the past two decades with the majority of loss and degradation occurring in Southeast Asia This figure is as high as 50% in some countries such as India, Philippines and Viet Nam (Valiela, Bowen, & York, 2001) Figure 2.2 shows the losses of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia between

2000 and 2012 Nearly 100,000 ha, corresponding to 2.12% of mangrove forests were

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removed between 2010 and 2012 (Richards & Friess, 2016) with Myanmar experiencing the largest loss of 5.53% of the total loss during this period

Table 2.2: Losses of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia

Country Total mangrove in 2000,

ha

Mangrove area loss, ha

Percentage mangrove lost 2000 – 2012, %

Source: (Richards & Friess, 2016)

In Viet Nam, over 80% of mangrove forests have been lost since the 1950s due to spraying of defoliating chemicals during the war and the rapid expansion of aquaculture during the early 1980s (Coast, 2011) Coast (2011) also noted that mangrove restoration has been ongoing since 1991, however the decline was reversed only from 2001 (Coast, 2011) The changes in area of mangrove forests in Viet Nam from 1943 to 2008 are shown in figure 2.1

Figure 2.2: Mangrove coverage in hectares between 1943 and 2008 in Viet Nam

Source: Adopted from (Coast, 2011)

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All these losses have undermined the benefits provided by mangrove forest to societies This is evidenced by a report by Buckingham and Hanson (2015) which stated that a mangrove restoration program in Kien Thuy District, covering a stretch of

100 km, have reduced the wave height of typhoon Damrey from 4m to 0.5m in 2005 This provides a good example of the benefits of the mangrove restoration program (Buckingham, Hanson, & Org, 2015) Table 2.3 shows the various mangrove restoration programs in Viet Nam undertaken by various organizations including the Vietnamese government between 2004 and 2017

Table 2.3: Summary Of The Various Mangrove Restoration Intervention

Programs In Vietnam

Program

Organizations Spearheading

Ha

Amount Vnd Input

Various projects in Viet Nam

Not specified

More than VND150 Billion

Not specified

More than VND 2.4 Trillion

Not specified

Not specified 2004 – 2010

Sources:Compliled by students for this report based on the data from (MFF Viet Nam, 2015; MONRE, 2004; Tuyen & Stephen, 2017)

2.6 Previous studies on mangrove forests valuation

Many researchers have studied mangrove ecosystem services and their values in various regions globally (Tuan, Kuenzer, Minh, Moder, & Oppelt, 2012; Bui Duc, Nguyen Van, & Tran Huu, 2013; Macintosh, D.J., Mahindapala, & R., 2012; Viet Nam National University (VNU), 2015) Costanza et al (1997) had also carried out

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studies on mangroves, and in one of their reports, they estimated the total economic value of mangroves to be more than USD 900,000 per km2 (Costanza et al., 1997) Thomas et al (2017) in their study conclude that mangroves are capable of generating revenues of up to USD 1,648 per year The estimate for annual market value of capture fisheries, which are supported by mangrove forests, are in the range of USD 750 to USD 16,750 per hectare (Thomas et al., 2017) Malik et al (2015) in their study reported that the TEV of the mangroves in Takalar District, South Sulawesi in Indonesia was in the range USD 4,000 to USD 8,000 per ha per year whereas aquaculture had the net benefit of USD 3,000 per ha per year (Malik et al., 2015) In Viet Nam, many researchers have studied the benefit of mangrove wetlands Nguyen (2015) carried out a research in Ca Mau Province and found that the total net benefit of mangroves was USD 1,692.50 per hectare per year (Nguyen, 2015) To our knowledge, the present work is the first study on the economic benefits of mangrove restoration program in De Gi Lagoon

in De Gi Lagoon, Binh Dinh Province

The study was conducted in three steps; including preparation, data collection and data analysis First, a preliminary survey was conducted to pave the way to the construction

of the data collection tools During this step, the questionnaire was developed The questionnaire included five parts: socio-economic information background, climate change, ecology and biodiversity in De Gi Lagoon, benefits from mangrove forest and their biodiversity, and mangrove restoration valuation Second, the questionnaire was pre-tested by 20 respondents in five communes surrounding De Gi Lagoon, before the final questionnaire was administered Third, data collection was conducted by interviewing 150 households in each of the five communes Finally, the data collected was processed and analyzed by the use of Microsoft Excel software

3.2 Study area

Figure 3.1 is a map of Binh Dinh Province This province is located in the south central part, which is one of the coastal provinces of Viet Nam It has a long coastline spanning 134 km and population of more than 1,489.7 thousand people Binh Dinh is located in the tropical climate region (Cổng thông tin điện tử Bình Định, 2017) According to the climate office of Binh Dinh Province, the annual average temperature

is 26.9oC with the highest temperatures between 29 and 30oC in the dry season and the lowest temperature is in the range 23-24oC in the rainy season During the rainy season, which starts from September to December, there are about 2 – 3 storms per year The amount of rainfall is about 2,600 mm to 3,000 mm per year Due to the storms and large amount of rainfall, there is usually flooding in Binh Dinh (Đài khí tượng thủy văn Nam Trung Bộ, 2017)

In the last decade Binh Dinh Province had been affected by many natural hazards such

as coastal storms, floods and drought These emerging changes in climate have threatened the local people with an increase in frequency and intensity

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Figure 3.1: Map of Binh Dinh Province

Source: Adapted from climate office of Binh Dinh Province (2017)

The specific area of this study was in De Gi Lagoon, Binh Dinh Province Figure 3.2 is the map of De Gi Lagoon De Gi Lagoon is a low-lying area which is a flood and storm prone area in Binh Dinh Province This is one of the biggest brackish water lagoons located on the boundary of My Thanh, My Chanh and My Cat Communes of Phu My District and also forms the boundary with Cat Minh and Cat Khanh Communes of Phu Cat Districts, Binh Dinh Province(Ngai, Tuan, Long, Tuyen, & Hong, 2015) The total area of De Gi Lagoon is 1580ha, which has diverse fishery resources as well as a favorable condition for aquaculture De Gi Lagoon has an estimated area of mangrove forests of over 57 ha, which is spread along Giang River and mixed with aquaculture farms

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Figure 3.2: Map of De Gi Lagoon

Source: Adopted from (Ngai et al., 2015)

Face-to-face interviews were organized with government experts and community

leaders of the five communes surrounding De Gi Lagoon and the government officials

of Con Chim Marine Sanctuary This was to elicit their experiences and perception regarding the mangrove restoration program, local awareness about climate change and risks it poses to human life and activities Moreover, the benefits provided by mangrove forests to human beings, and the current use and management of mangrove forests in De Gi Lagoon, were also elicited This information was used to develop the questionnaire

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The questionnaire was designed to collect information on local community members

perception on mangrove restoration program, economic benefits local people obtain from mangrove forests, and local people’s willingness to pay for restoration of the mangrove forest

3.2.2 Secondary data

Secondary data relating to socio-economic characteristics of the population, disasters and damages, and about De Gi Lagoon, was collected from Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Binh Dinh Climate Coordination office and from communities surrounding De Gi Lagoon, Binh Dinh Province

3.3 Methods to achieve the objectives

The methods used to fulfill the three objectives of the study are as follows:

Objective 1: To identify economic benefit the local communities gain from mangrove

forests

Methods: Services provided by mangrove forests were identified using the Total

Economic Value (TEV) framework, which specifies ecosystem services and groups them into use value and non-use values

Objective 2: To derive the local inhabitants willingness to pay to restore mangrove

forests

Methods: In this study, the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used to

determine the local inhabitants willingness to pay to restore mangrove forests restoration

Objective 3: To determine whether the local community members understand that

climate impact mitigation measures, like mangrove restoration, may increase their economic benefit

Methods: The primary data was collected using questionnaires This objective was

determined by asking respondents to indicate their perception on whether mangrove restoration program would increase the benefit they receive and further respondents were asked to indicate which benefits would increase due to the mangrove restoration program In addition, direct survey questions were used to elicit the perception of the

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local community members on mangrove restoration being a good strategy for climate change mitigation and adaptation Moreover, respondents were asked to indicate the ways mangrove restoration would be a good strategy for climate change mitigation and adaptation

where: n = sample size

N = total number of households

e = margin of error

With a margin of error of 8% and total number of households equal to 13,230 (see appendix 3); the sample size should optimally be 154 respondents We were able to complete 150 questionnaires

3.5 Data analysis

The statistical software package Microsoft excel was used to analyze the quantitative data to determine the Average WTP, and process the demographic and other data quantitatively The results of this analysis enabled a conclusion regarding the economic benefit of mangrove restoration to be reached

The willingness to pay was estimated upon the indication of payments by the respondents In this study, the payments were distributed into the following payment intervals (1, 000 VND); 1 to 50; 50 to 100; 100 to 150; 150 to 200; 200 to 250; 250 to 300; 300 to 350; 350 to 400; 400 to 450; 450 to 500 and more than 500 For each of the intervals, the mid value was used as a proxy for the WTP for the respondent The average WTP was obtained by using the following expression:

Mean WTP = Σ(mid value of interval x Number of respondents in

interval)/Number of respondents

1 + Ne2

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The correlation coefficient was calculated using the formula below to determine two possible correlations; 1) the relationship between the perception that “mangrove restoration increases the benefits of local community members” and the WTP of the community members, and 2) the relationship between respondent’s opinion on

“mangrove restoration being a good strategy for climate change mitigation and adaptation” and their WTP

The formula for the correlation coefficient is (equation 3.2):

4.1.1 Socio-economic information on the respondents

The interview survey, including the valuation question was implemented among 150 households in the 3 communes My Chanh, My Cat, My Thanh of Phu My District and

2 communes called Cat Minh and Cat Khanh of Phu Cat District The distribution of the respondents is presented in table 4.1 below

Table 4.1: Distribution of the respondents by commune

Characteristics of the respondents:

Gender: The gender distribution among the survey respondents is shown in figure 4.1

with 25% female and 75% male During the process of data collection, the researcher tried to include more female respondents Unfortunately, due to documented gender issues in aquaculture, where females are less represented than males, we were not able

to achieve a balance between the genders

Figure 4.1: Gender of the respondents