Interaction between local people and natural forest resources in dai dinh commune tam dao district vinh phuc province

Determining the relationship between local people and natural forest resources is important, therefore, I chose the topic about: “INTERACTION BETWEEN LOCAL PEOPLE AND NATURAL FOREST RESO

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY

Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management

Student: Nguyen Minh Chau Student ID: 1453091265

Class: K59A Natural Resources Management Course: 2014 - 2018

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

Supervisor: Asso.,Prof., Dr Do Anh Tuan

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to express the profound gratitude to Assoc Prof Do Anh Tuan,

my advisor, for his academic guidance, advice, and encouragement throughout the study Many thanks are also given to:

Leaders and staffs of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vinh Phuc province as well as People's Committee of Dai Dinh commune for their supports and dedicated help in during I conduct this thesis and in the field

Lastly, I would like to thanks my family: my mother always support to me and my friends who helped me in my research

TABLE OF CONTENDS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

TABLE OF CONTENDS ii

LIST OF TABLES iv

LIST OF FIGURES v

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 3

2.1 Buffer zone management 3

2.2 Buffer zone and livelihood development in Vietnam 6

CHAPTER III STUDY SITE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC FEATURES 9

3.1 Study Site 9

3.2 Natural features 11

3.2.1 Topographical conditions 11

3.2.2 Land 11

3.2.3 Climate and hydrology 12

3.3 Socio-economic features 13

CHAPTER IV GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND METHODS 16

4.1 Goal 16

4.2 Objectives 16

4.3 Methodology 16

4.3.1 Secondary data collection 16

4.3.2 Household interviews 16

4.3.3 Key information interview 17

5.1 Characteristics of the natural forest resources in Dai Dinh commune 19

5.1.1 The area and distribution of natural forest resources 19

5.1.2 Forest land status in Dai Dinh commune, Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province 20

5.1.3: Area of forest and forest land by administrative unit in Dai Dinh commune, Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province 21

5.1.4 Plant species composition 23

5.1.5 Forest cover 24

5.2 Socio-economic characteristics of the sampled households in Dai Dinh commne 25

5.2.1 Population, ethnic composition, education and occupation 25

5.2.2 Economic conditions of sample households 27

5.3 Forest resources and forest land uses of local people and their dependency on forest resources 28

5.3.1 Forest resources and forest land use activities of local communities 28

5.3.2 Dependency of Local people on the Forest Resources 33

5.4 Recommendations for natural forest resources management in Dai Dinh commune35 5.4.1 Integrated agroforestry model 35

5.4.2 Creating sustainable livelihood for local people 36

CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 38

6.1 Conclusions 38

6.2 Recommendations 38 REFERENCES

Appendix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3 1: Classification of land by elevation and slope of Dai Dinh commune 11

Table 3 2: Land use in Dai Dinh commune 12

Table 3 3: Population and labor in Dai Dinh Commune 14

Table 4 1: Sample size of Selected Sample Households 17

Table 5 1: The area of forest in Dai Dinh commune 19

Table 5 2: The forest land status in Dai Dinh commune 21

Table 5 3: Area of forest land types by the administrative unit in Dai Dinh commune 22

Table 5 4: List of composition of vascular plants of Tam Dao national park in Dai Dinh commune 23

Table 5 5: List of thirteen families has the largest number of Tam Dao National Park in Dai Dinh commune 24

Table 5 6: Distribution of population aged 6 years and above by level of literacy and sex 26

Table 5 7: Percentage distribution of population aged 18 years and above by main jobs of sample households 27

Table 5 8: Welfare ranking of sample household in Dai Dinh 28

Table 5 9: List of the medicinal plants in sample households 30

Table 5 10: Sample household income from collecting medicinal plants 31

Table 5 11: Forest resources use activities in Dai Dinh commune 32

Table 5 12: Average total income and average income from natural forest resources of group household per month in Dai Dinh commune 33

Table 5 13: Household income from forest resources use in period of 2013 – 2018 34

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3 1: Map of study area 10

Figure 5 1: Distribution of natural forest resources in Dai Dinh commune 20

Figure 5 2: Type of forest by origin 22

Figure 5 3: Type of forest by purpose of using forest 22

Figure 5 4: Forest cover at Dai Dinh commune in 2005 - 2017 25

Figure 5 5: The results of welfare ranking of sample household in Dai Dinh 28

Figure 5 6: The results of sample household income from collecting medicinal plants in Dai Dinh commune 31

Figure 5 7: Frequency of visit of sample households to harvest the forest products 33

Figure 5 8: Percentage of average total income and average income from natural forest resources of group household per month in Dai Dinh commune 34

Figure 5 9: Percentage of household income from forest resources use in period of 2013 – 2018 35

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

It has long been a matter of preserving biodiversity, the quality of ecosystems and the landscapes, rich fauna and flora of many national parks degraded by the pressure of the people living outside Therefore, national parks have been of interest More importantly, the construction of a buffer zone, creating an additional protection belt for the national park to exclude outside influences has been set in many countries around the world, including Vietnam In Vietnam, many national parks and protected areas have been built, but most of them are often intermingled with residential areas and under heavy pressure from the outside The buffer zone is designed to address these constraints, to improve the living standard of local communities such as creating more jobs so that they can relieve pressure on conservation and education, encourage them to actively participate in conservation

Tam Dao National park is a protected area zone of Vietnam, located in the Tam Dao

mountain range, a large mountain range over 80 km long, 10 - 15 km wide, along with the direction of Northwest - Southeast The national park spreads over 3 provinces of Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen and Tuyen Quang, about 75 km north to Hanoi Tam Dao National Park has an area of 34,995 ha, geographic coordinates 21 ° 21' - 21 ° 42 ' North latitude, 105 ° 23' - 105 ° 44' East longitude The national park has currently 26,163 ha of forest, which is mainly natural forest, covering over 70% of the total area Tam Dao National park has 1,282 plant species belonging to 660 genera of 179 vascular plant families, including sub-tropical species There are 42 endemic species and 64 rare species Moreover, the national park also has 163 animal species belonging to 158 families of 39 orders There are 239 species of birds, 64 species of mammal with valuable specie, 39 endemic species Natural resources in Tam Dao National Park play a vital role in ensuring ecosystem balance and biodiversity conservation

depend on forests, cultivating and exploiting natural resources to sustain and develop the economy

Tam Dao National Park is considered to be highly diverse However, due to pressure of population, management is still difficult Hunting and cutting plants are main reasons causing the loss of species in the National park In addition, the development of tourism has ruined the natural beauty and environmental degradation of Tam Dao National park To solve this problem, the buffer zone was created That helps review interaction of Tam Dao National Park development to the creation of sustainable livelihoods for the people living in the buffer zone which is of importance, in terms of total the results are not only to assess the role but also to draw lessons in creating sustainable livelihoods for the people This will provide more effective management approaches of Tam Dao National Park and buffer zones in the future

In Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province, there are seven communes belonging to buffer zone (Tam Dao town and 6 communes including Dao Tru, Dai Dinh, Tam Quan, Ho Son, Hop Chau and Minh Quang)

Dai Dinh is a mountainous commune located in the buffer zone of Tam Dao district Due

to the geographical conditions of the hills and mountains, the livelihoods of people in Dai Dinh commune depend mainly on forests and forest land which can provide people with food, medicinal plants, firewood, water and livestock grazing areas and so on Determining the relationship between local people and natural forest resources is important, therefore, I chose the topic about: “INTERACTION BETWEEN LOCAL PEOPLE AND NATURAL FOREST RESOURCES IN DAI DINH COMMUNE, TAM DAO DISTRICT, VINH PHUC PROVINCE” with the purpose of evaluating the interaction of people with the buffer zone and proposing recommendations for sustainable forest management and livelihood development of local people

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Buffer zone management

Buffer zones are created to enhance the protection of a specific conservation area, often peripheral to it According to IUCN (1999) “Buffer zones are clearly demarcated, forested or non-forested areas that are outside the boundary of the nature reserve and managed to enhance the conservation of the nature reserve and buffer zone, and it bring many benefits to people living around the nature reserve " Within the buffer zones, resources used may be legally or customarily restricted, often to a lesser degree than in the adjacent protected area so as to form

a transition zone A buffer zone can also be designated as a protected area and be assigned an IUCN Management Categories depending on the conservation objectives

The technique of surrounding a protected area with other protected and non-protected areas allows for the creation of a gradient of protection around the core site Buffer zones are therefore an important part of conservation strategies for a wide variety of sites of biodiversity importance, in particular, for World Heritage sites and Man and the Biosphere Reserves Furthermore, buffer zones have been suggested as a particularly suitable practice for climate change mitigation, as they may facilitate the shifting of populations from reserves to adjacent lands according to the climatic needs of species The term "buffer zone" gained international prominence through UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programmer in 1971 UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Reserves were often designed in concentric zones, with a central core area surrounded by a buffer zone and then by a transition zone Several buffer zone definitions have been proposed emphasizing either conservation or both conservation and development objectives One of the most commonly cited definitions of buffer zones is: “an area peripheral to a national park or equivalent reserve, where restrictions are placed upon

A variety of spatial patterns and arrangements for buffer zones exist, all following the principles, but applied under completely different conditions (ecological, political, economic, and so on) Hence, a wide diversity can be observed in the criteria for their creation and management There are five aspects commonly considered in their creation

- Size: determined based on factors such as the objectives for creation of buffer zone, availability of land, traditional land use systems, threats and opportunities

- Ecology: buffer zones vary depending on their focus on the landscape, habitat and/or species conservation, each of which demands a different approach for their creation

- Economy: this involves appraisals such as cost-benefit analysis, time frame and discount rate, to assess economic viability of establishing a buffer zone

- Legislation: several international treaties and conventions (e.g Convention on Biological Diversity, World Heritage Convention) and national level guidelines for protected areas (e.g Nepal) recommend creation of buffer zones

- Social and institutional: creation of buffer zones also involves consideration of issues such as traditional rights of local communities, type of development activities to minimize negative impacts of conservation, local organizations to manage buffer zones and land tenure

There are various approaches in buffer zone management depending on the type and objectives of the conservation area for which they are created For instance, activities in the buffer zones around some protected areas or World Heritage sites are recommended to be regulated so as to protect the core zone In UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserves, socio-economic development of local communities plays a crucial role A buffer zone can also be managed as an area for research to develop approaches for sustainable use of resources, for ecosystem restoration, education and training, as well as carefully designed tourism and recreation activities The degree of legal protection to buffer zone varies significantly In most of cases where the buffer zones are outside the protected area, they fall under the

institutional control and jurisdiction of authorities other than those responsible for management of the protected area

The buffer zone was created to enhance the protection of a protected area When buffer zones are designated as protected areas, they will be legally protected in their own right When buffer zones are not also protected areas, they may not have any legal protection, although this varies with the objective for which they were established A few countries (e.g Nepal, Ghana) have developed policies and legal instruments facilitating development and implementation of buffer zone approaches The World Heritage Convention requires that any modification in the buffer zone area, subsequent to inscription of a property on the World Heritage List, should be approved by the World Heritage Committee Moreover, buffer zones may not be sites of active biodiversity conservation, but their establishment provides an additional layer of protection to existing areas of biodiversity importance, and they are often fundamental to achieve conservation of those areas About socio-cultural values, buffer zones can be important areas for traditional practices, cultural values, rights and involvement of local/indigenous communities in protection, use and management around protected areas For example, among different approaches of buffer zone creation, social buffer zones use the culture and sense of identity of indigenous or other population groups, and local organizations, to form a barrier, control and monitoring system between a conservation area and its surroundings

In Venezuela (Paraiso National Park) and Niger (Air-Tenere Nature Reserve) the National Committee has proposed community development programs in the buffer zone, such as education development, using new farming practices for local communities and developing new economic activities to enhance the buffer zone as well as reducing the impact of local people on the core zone

to humans The value of wood products traded on the world market annually amounts to $ 36,000 million The world consumption of firewood and charcoal is up to 1,800 million m³

In addition, the forest provides non-timber products including food, herbs, plastics, fibers, animal feed and other essential products

2.2 Buffer zone and livelihood development in Vietnam

In Vietnam, forests and forestland occupy three-fourths of Vietnam's natural area, which is home to more than two thirds of the country's population and 75% of the country's population depends on agriculture and forests as vital livelihood Increasing population causes great pressure on forest resources

Vietnam established its first National Park, Cuc Phuong, in 1962 Since then a total of 11 National Parks, 52 Nature Reserves, 16 Wildlife Protection Sites and 22 Historic/Culture/Environment Sites have been established, covering a total area of approximate 2.3 million ha Many of these reserves were established over village lands where people were living In some cases, people were moved from within the reserve boundary to the periphery After 1975, new economic zones were established throughout the country, and many of these are on the margins of protected areas Many new settlers were brought to these zones, thus increasing substantially the existing populations In virtually all cases, dense populations of people are living on the margins of the reserves Most local people see protected areas something imposed by the government and brings them little if any benefits Many, either by tradition or through economic necessity, use various wood and non-wood resources from the reserves for both subsistence and market benefits, with the result that most reserves are continuing to degrade, sometimes very rapidly The government has found that legal protection is insufficient to guarantee actual protection, and even fairly strong enforcement has relatively little effect Consequently, there has been growing interest in Vietnam in using buffer zones on the periphery of protected areas to take the pressure off their sources inside the reserves Several donor-supported buffer zone projects have been gaining

valuable experience during the past few years, and several larger projects are in an advanced planning stage Particularly, project 327, a major program to support forest development, began in 1992 These projects support activities related to planting on open land, coastal sandy land and in special-use forests, protection forests and production forests The goal is to reduce poverty and support resettlement, and support is also provided to promote livestock, cash crops and industrial crops Besides, the investment project with grants is also a project to support the buffer zone In particular, international investment in protected areas is a larger buffer zone investment than investment in the core zone For example, the project was invested by the EU in Pu Mat Nature Reserve is 17.5 million Euros (23 million USD), of which the investment in the buffer zone is 16.4 million Euros, the investment for the core zone is 1.1 million Euros

According to D.A Gilmour and Nguyen Van San (1999) most of the buffer zones are populated, such as Ba Vi National Park (42,000 people), Bach Ma National Park (62,000 people), Cat Tien National Park (162000 people), Cuc Phuong National Park (50000 people) Therefore, there are many difficulties in management As mentioned above, it is now widely recognized that buffer zones are areas of land immediately outside the boundary of protected areas In all three of the case studies National Park staff and District and Commune officials acknowledged the existence of a buffer zone In some cases, the boundary was coincident with the boundary of the communes adjacent to the national park, while in other cases the boundary bisected the commune and followed roads This was claimed by commune officials

to have created some difficulties in providing equity in the allocation of development activities from different sources At Cat Tien, the boundary of the National Park has been redefined on paper, but there was confusion among some residents about whether they lived inside or outside the national park This uncertainty prevented the allocation of red books and

ground rather difficult, and consequently complicates management State Forest Enterprises occupy land on the boundary of most of the Parks, and there is often uncertainty as to which part of their land is considered to be in the buffer zone At Bach Ma, some of the State Forest Enterprises are considered to be wholly within the buffer zone, while the buffer zone boundary bisects others

In Vietnam, forests play an important role for local people In addition to supplying forest land, it also provides them with energy, food, medicine as well as building materials or housewares Natural forest resources make a significant contribution to people's incomes, it helps them to become richer by providing source of products and materials, adding inputs to agriculture and preserving biomass In general, people depend on natural forest resources for two main aspects The first is income dependency, which is related to total income and income from the sale of forest products The second is livelihood dependency, which is the kind of forest products used daily Thus, natural forest resources are one of the income sources and livelihoods of local people in mountainous areas

CHAPTER III STUDY SITE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC FEATURES

3.1 Study Site

Dai Dinh commune is located in the northwest of Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province Dai Dinh commune in coordination of 21°27’43’’ North latitude, 105°34’57’’East longitude Dai Dinh commune has a total natural area of 3455.1 ha Of which the forest area is 2244.8

ha The commune is about 75 km northwest to Hanoi

 The East borders on core zone of Tam Dao National park

 The West borders on Dong Tinh commune, Tam Duong district

 The South borders on Hoang Hoa commune in Tam Duong district and Tam Quan commune in Tam Dao district

 The North borders on Dao Tru commune and Bo Ly commune

Dai Dinh Commune has many relics, especially Truc Lam - Tay Thien Monastery which stretches in the north-west direction of Tam Dao Mountain in Dai Dinh Commune with the height from 250 m to 3000 m above sea level The commune has provincial road No.302 running through facilitating economic, cultural and social exchange

Figure 3 1: Map of study area

Area (ha)

Percent (%)

Slope ()

Area (ha)

Percent (%)

(Source: Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tam Dao district, 2017)

Dai Dinh is a commune of Tam Dao district, located on the northwestern part of the Tam

Dao Range Dai Dinh commune has complex diversified terrain because of both highland and mountainous areas The terrain of the commune is divided into 3 different zones In particular, the terrain is mainly under 100 m (1426 ha), accounting for 41.29% Height from 100 m – 300

m are the low mountain range accounting for 36.86%, the rest is higher than 300 m Moreover, the terrain of Dai Dinh commune has a slope of over 15° (56.6%) The areas of Dai Dinh commune stretches along the north-south-east direction, each area with its own natural conditions and distinct economic resources Especially, the hilly terrain is favorable for the protection of natural forest resources

3.2.2 Land

With the mountainous terrain, Dai Dinh commune has main feralit soil, which is a favorable condition, to develop forest plantation and industrial trees

Table 3 2: Land use in Dai Dinh commune

(Source: Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tam Dao district, 2017)

In the total area of 3455.1 ha of natural area in Dai Dinh commune, agricultural land occupies 14.03% of the total natural area The area of agricultural land in Tam Dao district is estimated to be 484.9 ha The forest land of the commune is 2244.8 ha, accounting for 64.97%

of the total natural area Through the current status of land use, we see that the economic development of the commune heavily depends on agriculture and forestry Due to topographic features, forest land has the highest proportion This is a good condition for reserving and supplying water for the activities of the commune as well as of ethnic minority people in the high terrain areas where the irrigation system cannot provide enough water

3.2.3 Climate and hydrology

Climate

Dai Dinh commune is located in the monsoon humid tropical climate Climate is divided into two distinct seasons: rainy season and dry season The rainy season is mainly concentrated in December and January, and the dry season is from June to July Due to the influence of the northeast monsoon and southeast monsoon, there is a difference in mean temperature between seasons of 13°C The southeast monsoon from March to October, and the northeast monsoon from November to December

 Average annual temperature: 21°C - 23°C

 The highest annual average temperature: 28°C

 The lowest annual average temperature: 15°C

 Average annual rainfall: 1567 mm/year

 The highest annual rainfall: 2157 mm

 The lowest annual rainfall: 1060 mm

 Average water evaporation: 982 mm/year

 Average annual humidity: 84%

 The highest humidity: 83%

 The lowest humidity: 67%

Hydrology

Hydrological system of Dai Dinh commune is mainly of Pho Day River and small streams

at the downhill of the mountains in Tam Dao district Surface water is mainly streams, ponds and lakes These reservoirs have good water quality, which provides water for Tam Dao district as well as Dai Dinh commune Besides, underground water system surveyed in drilled wells shows good water quality, abundant water source, ensuring to provide drinking water to local people in Dai Dinh commune

3.3 Socio-economic features

Population

Dai Dinh commune covers an area of 3455.1 ha, which is divided into 15 villages, the

population in 2017 is 9436 people, and the population density is 273 people/km²

Table 3 3: Population and labor in Dai Dinh Commune

(Sources: People’s Committee Office of Dai Dinh Commune, 2017)

Ethnic and religious

There are many ethnic groups living such as Muong, Kinh, Dao, Thai The commune has two main religions: Christianity and Buddhism

Socio-economic condition

Dai Dinh commune has an average economic growth rate of 14% - 15%/year, average food per capita was 350 kg/person/year and average income per capita was 11.2 million VND/person/year The economic structure has changed markedly The commune has potentialities, advantages in terms of tourism, spirituality, belief and ecology Tourism is becoming more and more important in the economic structure accounting for 24% of the total income 42% of them are agriculture - forestry - fisheries and 24% is industry – construction The value of agricultural production in Dai Dinh commune was 70.7 billion VND, the value

of industrial production and transportation reached 40.657 billion VND In addition, the total revenue from tourism activities was 60 billion VND

In education field, with local funding and government support, Dai Dinh Commune has built five new schools (2 nursery schools, 2 primary schools, 1 secondary school), the total

number of students is more than 3065 In particular, the commune has 2 national standard

schools

Moreover, the commune has built health clinics to ensure health care for local people The rate of poor households decreases from 1% to 1.2% per year The electricity network has been upgraded and the basic road system has been upgraded to facilitate the exchange of socio-economic development as well as tourism development

CHAPTER IV GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

4.1 Goal

The goal of this study is to analyze interactions between local people and natural forests resources in the study area in order to propose recommendations for sustainable forest management and local people livelihood development

4.2 Objectives

 To review of natural forest resources in Dai Dinh Commune, Tam Dao District, Vinh Phuc Province

 To analyze socio-economic characteristics of the sampled households

 To analyze forest resource use of local people and their dependence on the resources

 To purpose recommendations on harmonize the livelihood development and the forest resources protection

4.3 Methodology

4.3.1 Secondary data collection

Secondary data collection was gathered from various sources such as: statistic reports, maps, official government records, documents etc at different levels relating to some following information parameters:

• Policies on resource management in reserve

• Geo-biological information of Tam Dao national park

• Socioeconomic data of the study area

4.3.2 Household interviews

Household interviews on socio-economic characteristics of people and their forest resources In this study, we interviewed members of households The purpose of this is to find

some information on each household's income, livelihood, employment, land, household

members, exploitation and use of natural forest resources

Sample selection was adopted in selecting the sample households Firstly, from each selected hamlet, interviewed 30 households and households with different economic conditions, all households were classified into 3 welfare groups

(Households group I: well-off, households group II: medium, households group III: poor) Finally, at every selected household, a random person, not a child, was chosen to be as interviewee These people were asked to answer interview about his or her family socioeconomic situation and their activities related to forest resource uses

Table 4 1: Sample size of selected sample households Household Groups Sample

4.3.3 Key information interview

Key information through interviews to rangers and village leader Firstly, we interviewed 3

- 5 rangers in Tam Dao National park about natural forest resources for the purpose of understanding the current status of natural forest resources, the protection and management of the forest, the impacts of local people on each area of natural forest resources, and the protection measures Secondly, interviewing village leader is the first step when arriving to

local communities And then, using open question to interview and build up questionnaire to interview local people who live in the areas as well as the information on exploitation and products harvesting from the natural forest resources Managerial staffs, who representatives

of local government are also the interviewees in this study

4.3.4 Analysis data method

 Using GIS to build map of study area

 Analyzing data and drawing graph with Microsoft Excel 2007

 Analysis of data such as area, percentage of results in research topic

 Drawing column charts, line charts, pie charts to show results of the research topic

CHAPTER V RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

5.1 Characteristics of the natural forest resources in Dai Dinh commune

5.1.1 The area and distribution of natural forest resources

It is mainly natural forest and plantation forest In Dai Dinh commune, the total area of

forest is 2244.8 ha, accounting for 64.97% of the total area in commune Therefore, the area

of the commune is mainly mountainous Moreover, total area of natural forest in the buffer of Tam Dao National park in Dai Dinh commune is 1500.1 ha, accounting for 4.3% of the total natural in the Dai Dinh commune

Table 5 1: The area of forest in Dai Dinh commune

(ha)

Percent (%)

Figure 5 1: Distribution of natural forest resources in Dai Dinh commune

5.1.2 Forest land status in Dai Dinh commune, Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province

Dai Dinh commune covers an area of 3455.1 ha, of which 2244.8 ha are forest lands This

is valuable vegetation, it helps protect environment and landscape as well as preserve Tam Dao National park ecosystem Land without forest is 1210.3 ha (mainly agriculture, non-agricultural land and unused land)

Table 5 2: The forest land status in Dai Dinh commune

No Purpose of using forest Sum (ha) Percent

(Source: Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Vinh Phuc province, 2017) The forest area of the commune is allocated to various management components, with the purpose of allocating land and forests in association with protection and development to reduce the degradation of forest areas, to transfer to the regeneration stage, and to improve the use of forest and forest land

5.1.3: Area of forest and forest land by administrative unit in Dai Dinh commune, Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province

Dai Dinh commune is mainly forest land divided into different using purposes, detail forest land area by administrative unit in commune as following table:

Table 5 3: Area of forest land types by the administrative unit in Dai Dinh commune

(ha)

Percent (%)

(Source: Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Vinh Phuc province, 2017)

Figure 5 2: Type of forest by origin Figure 5 3: Type of forest by purpose of

using forest

Natural forest

Plantation forest Other

Special use forest Protected forest Production forest Other

Natural forest in Dai Dinh commune is mainly 66.82% of total forest area and plantation forest occupies only 30.66% of the total forest area Besides, Forest land is divided into 3 different using purposes, of which the special-use forest is the highest, accounting for 91.58%

of the total forest area It means that most of the forested area in Dai Dinh commune is special-use forest, which is mainly used for environmental and social diversity protection

5.1.4 Plant species composition

Dai Dinh commune is located in boundary of Tam Dao National park Plant species composition of Tam Dao National park in Dai Dinh commune is abundant and diversity In

particular, Magnoliophyta accounts for the highest percentage (92.38%) See table 5.4

Table 5 4: List of composition of vascular plants of Tam Dao national park in Dai Dinh

commune

(%) Scientific Name Vietnamese Name

proportion of families is Euphorbiaceae (17.90%), Orchidaceae (12.97%), Poaceae (10.07%) and Asteraceae (9.87%)

Table 5 5: List of thirteen families has the largest number of Tam Dao National Park in

Dai Dinh commune

(%) Scientific Name Vietnamese Name