Environmental effects of tourism on cuc phuong national park

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM FORESTRY UNIVERSITY STUDENT THESIS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON CUC PHUONG NATIONAL PARK Major: Natural Resources Managemen

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

VIETNAM FORESTRY UNIVERSITY

STUDENT THESIS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON

CUC PHUONG NATIONAL PARK Major: Natural Resources Management (Advanced Curriculum)

Code: D850101

Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management

Student: Tran Van Duy Student ID:1054060948

Class: K55 Natural Resources Management Course: 2010 – 2014

Advanced Education Program Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Hoang Van Sam

Hanoi, November 2014

Abstract

Cuc Phuong National Park is one of Ninh Binh's leading tourist destinations because

of the rich biodiversity it sustains and its scenic beauty Tourism is one of the biggest challenges in National Park, as tourists have both positive and negative impacts on the landscape and local communities Tourism has stimulated the development of a variety of facilities and infrastructure, such as roads, hotels, restaurants and shops in the park Despite its positive socio-economic impacts, the industry is also associated with negative environmental impacts in the area such as the destruction of the area's ecology through noise pollution, over carrying capacity and poor waste management The negative impacts of tourism development can gradually destroy natural resources on which it depends

This paper described the research progress in tourism impacts on the environment in the context of Cuc Phuong National Park through a review of the literature in this field Specifically, research on tourism impacts on environmental quality assessment, tourism carrying capacity, and other issues are addressed by basing on the concept of sustainability

Acknowledgements

This journey would not have been possible without the support of my family, professors and friends I am extremely thankful to my supervisors, Associate Professor Dr Hoang Van Sam and Professor Dr Lee MacDonald, for their supports and excellent supervision I also thank all of the Vietnam Forestry University and Colorado States University professors Each professor brought a piece of their knowledge and experience, and

I am very grateful to them and promise to use this knowledge in daily work

Thanks to my family for their understanding and patience during my study I am especially grateful to my mother and my brother, who supported me emotionally and financially I know that you always believe in me and want the best for me in my future endeavors

Table of Contents

Abstract

Acknowledgements

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 3

3 METHODS 3

3.1 Selection of case Study 3

3.2 Data Collection 4

3.3 Analysis 7

4 RESULTS 7

4.1 Tourist attraction 8

4.2 Resource consumption 10

4.3 Visitor impacts of tourism on Cuc Phuong National Park 12

4.4 Visit characteristics 18

5 RECOMMENDATION 20

6 CONCLUSION 21

7 REFERENCES 22

1 INTRODUCTION

Tourism is now an economic pillar for a large number of developing economies and Vietnam is no exception Vietnam has advantages as an international tourism destination through its central geographical location in Southeast Asia and its appeal to tourists throughout entire year The number of international tourist arrivals to Vietnam increased from 2,330,800 in 2001 to 6,847,678 in 2012 (Minister of Culture and Tourism Vietnam, 2012).The tourism industry has great potential to generate foreign exchange earnings and employment, promote societal development, improve local economy and reduce poverty

(Source: Cuc Phuong National Park)

Established in 1962, Cuc Phuong National Park is the first and the largest national park of Vietnam It lies along the borders of three provinces of North Vietnam including Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa, with 140 kilometers South of Hanoi (Figure1) Cuc Phuong National Park is surrounded by several limestone cliffs, the highest being May Bac, meaning

"silver cloud," about 656m high Ninh Binh people claim that Cuc Phuong National Park one

of the most important biodiversity sites in Vietnam There are an estimated 2,000 different species of flora and the 450 species fauna account for 38% of the national fauna The vegetation cover is classified into three types The flora is quite a treasure with a wide variety

of 1,944 species, 908 genuses and 229 families Especially it is enjoyable to touch the

thousand-year-old Terminalia myriocarpa and Dracontomelum Duperranum or Dancorra

Edulis trees, 50-70m high This natural reserve contains 2,000 vegetative species Orchid

flowers are particularly abundant with 50 species, some of which blossom and have aroma all year around The fauna is diversified represented by 71 animal species, 319 bird species, 33 reptile species, and 16 amphibian species A large area, for half-natural breeding, is reserved for research and raising wild animals which include the deer, golden monkey, langur, flying squirrel, draco Cuc Phuong National Park is also the home to hundreds of beautiful and strange birds and butterflies

Cuc Phuong National Park has a multitude of grottoes, including Thang Khuyet, Con Moong, Pho Ma, and Nguoi Xua, etc, thanks to the limestone terrain Besides visiting the park, visitors joining tours in Vietnam also pay a visit to the caves, waterfalls and streams in the forest or stop over at a Muong ethnic's village

Because Cuc Phuong National Park is one of the most visited National Parks in northern Vietnam, investigating tourism management within the park provides insight into potential development of ecotourism activity in the park

Managed in an appropriate way, tourism can be an important driver for local and regional development, as well as an incentive for nature conservation Well implemented tourism management can provide an opportunity for tourists to connect with nature, realize the value

of conservation and increase supports for preservation of these valuable areas Tourism can increase jobs and incomes for local people, improve their living standards, establish and improve infrastructure around neighboring communities, and provide opportunities for local employees to improve and learn new skills (Eagles et al 2002) Tourism can also increase

financial support for conservation (Bushell and Eagles, 2007) If tourism is not appropriately planned, the development of tourism can cause significant problems for national parks due to adverse impacts of visitor activities Although many national parks have implemented various types of visitor management strategies, visitor impacts have remained a critical issue for the ecological sensitivity of the park because of high number of users, diverse use types, concentration of visitor activities at a few locations It is difficult to support the two major goals of a national park, conservation and ecotourism, simultaneously

Tourism management in protected areas represents a challenge for protected area managers, as well as for governments, institutions, tourism entrepreneurs and important stakeholders that benefits from and can influence the development of these areas Balancing the growth in tourism demand and at the same time protecting the natural environment is an important issue that national park managers must address

2 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The main purposes of the research are:

 To identify the positive and negative impact of tourism on environment

 To determine the direct impact of tourist activities in the respective tourism areas

 To examine and raise the perception of environmental impacts of tourism within Cuc Phuong National Park

 To gather and disseminate relevant information, as well as identify gaps in that information

3 METHODS

3.1 Selection of case Study

Numerous National Parks in Northern Vietnam were taken into consideration as the potential study site for this research Cuc Phuong National Park was selected for three primary reasons:

 Cuc Phuong National park is one of the most visited parks in Vietnam and therefore, has high level of visitors per year compare with the rest of parks in the country

 It is one of the main attractive national parks in Northern region, and especially in Ninh Binh province

 Because it experiences a high volume of visitors and expected to grow, it serves as an opportune case study to investigate tourism management and how impacts of tourism are controlled and monitored

3.2 Data Collection

Primary and secondary data were used when gathering information about the case study area The methodology of the research was based on 1) interviews with visitors and tour operators in Cuc Phuong National Park and personal observations 2) For conducting the interviews, several questionnaires were developed for each one of the actors and adapted according to the information needed in different stages of the research Tourists in Cuc Phuong National Park were selected randomly throughout the summer period to complete the survey As each participant complete the survey, the next visitor approached and asked to participate in the research Only one person per party was surveyed, if they were busy then one person per group of friends or family was interviewed The on-site interview was conducted during 22nd July to 29th July, 2014 during weekdays and weekends

Secondary information from different sources has been reviewed to re-write the theoretical background of the research and primary data has been collected using interview method to analyze the current situation of tourism environmental impact in the case study area

Overall, the thesis is conducted with a qualitative approach work which includes interview and literature review mainly focused on environmental impacts of tourism and sustainable tourism development in the study area

INFORMED CONSENT

My name is Duy Tran I am a graduate student at Vietnam Forestry University This survey

is part of a study on the environmental impacts of tourism in Cuc Phuong National Park The purpose of this questionnaire is to solicit your impressions of and opinion about visitor related activities in the park This survey consists of questions about your recreation activities during this visit, your observations of environmental impacts in the park, your attitude toward the natural environment, and other relevant questions about visitor and park management issues The questions should take between 15 and 30 minutes Your participation is absolutely voluntary, and you are free to not answer any question(s) you are not comfortable with during the interview We hope that the results of this study will provide important information to develop appropriate strategies for sustainable tourism management

in Cuc Phuong National Park

Date: Time:

1 Is this trip your first visit to Phuong National Park? Yes/ No

2 How many times have you visited Cuc Phuong National Park before? time (s)

3 How many days total did you spend in the park during those trips? days

4 When will you be leaving this Park?

5 Is Cuc Phuong National Park your primary destination for this trip? Yes/ No

If no, what is your primary destination?

6 How many other people, if any, are you currently traveling with? people

7 How many are under 18 years old? children

8 Where are you from? _

9 What transportation method(s) have you used to come to the park?

10 What activities did you participate in while on this visit to the Park?

a boat trip in Van Long nature reserve

b cycling through villages, rice fields and forest

c nature walk, visit endangered primate rescue center

d visit 1000 year old tree

e wildlife night-spotting, bird watching

a) Very Unsatisfied b) Unsatisfied c) Satisfied d) Very Satisfied

14 Would you visit the Park again in the future? Yes / No

15 What year were you born in? _

16 What is the highest level of education you have completed?

a) Less than elementary school

b) Elementary School

c) Secondary School

d) College Degree

e) Graduate or Professional Degree

Gender of respondent: Male / Female

That is all Thank you for your time Have a good stay

3.3 Analysis

Data analysis of the surveys is primarily qualitative The findings are synthesized and organized in accordance with the research questions In order to facilitate the understanding of these issues, figures will be developed on the basis of findings In regard to the park, focus was placed on needs, impactions, opportunities and how the park is working with tourism management

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

During the past ten years (2003-2013), more than 830.000 people have visited the Cuc Phuong National Park, from both domestic as well as foreign travelers (CNP, 2013) These visitors have benefits for economy of Vietnam and foreign trade In 1995 the park hosted approximately 23 thousand visitors In 2010 the total visits numbered approximately 84 thousand Although visitor numbers have declined in recent years because of global economic crisis, CPNP remains one of the most visited parks, and the visitor numbers in 2013 is 74,740 people

Fig 2: Historical series of total visitors to Cuc Phuong National Park from 2003 to 2013 (Cuc Phuong National Park 2014)

Table 1: Historical series of 2 different types of visitor to CPN from 2003 to 2013 (Cuc

Phuong National Park, 2014)

 Trekking in the primary forest:

As hiking is one of the main activities done in the NP, it is no surprise that certain hiking routes are very popular Hiking opportunities abound in the park and visitors could spend days trekking though the forest Popular trails will lead visitors to several ancient trees and caves of prehistoric man and Muong villages Overnight treks and camping trips are also possible

 Endangered primate rescue center and Turtle Conservation Center:

Cuc Phuong’s Endangered Primate Rescue Center was established in 1993 and is a project of Frankfurt Zoological Society The Center currently houses about 150 individuals of

include Delacour’s langur (Trachypithecus delacouri), Hatinh (Trachypithecus laotum

hatinhensis), Black langur (Trachypithecus laotum ebenus), Lao langur (Trachypithecus laotum laotum), Cat Ba langur (Trachypithecus poliocephalus poliocephalus), and Grey-

shanked Douc langur (Pygathrix cinerea)

In 1998, Fauna and Flora International (FFI) established the Turtle Conservation Center as part of a larger conservation initiative focused on Cuc Phuong National Park In

2001, management of the project was transferred to the national park Today, the TCC

remains the flagship for efforts to protect tortoise and freshwater turtles in Vietnam

Figure 3: Some tourist attraction places in Cuc Phuong National park

 Wildlife Night-spotting:

The park organizes night-spotting trips into the primary forest These tours offer opportunities to see the more elusive mammal species of the park including the Black Giant Squirrel, the Indian Flying Squirrel, Samba Deer, Loris and several small carnivores

 Bird watching:

Cuc Phuong is home to a wealth of beautiful tropical birds, many of them endemic to Vietnam and Indochina Some of the 308 species of rare birds that you might encounter are