Assessing the current status, potential and proposing orientation for ecotourism development in the Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir area, Bac Tra My district

In short, when developing sustainable tourism in the true sense of the word at Song Tranh hydropower reservoir, it will ensure sustainability in all three aspects of socio-economics and environment. These three factors have a mutual influence, the sustainability of one factor has a decisive influence on the sustainability of the other factors.

4.1.3. Limitations and disadvantages in developing ecotourism at Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir

Surrounding Song Tranh Hydroelectric Lake is a special ecosystem including forest ecosystem and river, waterfall, beautiful natural landscape with diverse and rich flora and fauna, but up to now there has been no investment from individuals and organizations to build an ecotourism area, so currently if ecotourism is developed here, there may be some difficulties as follows:

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- Environmental protection has not yet received the attention of the community and local people, so the ecological environment is still greatly affected, especially in the surrounding areas where the population is concentrated.

- Tourism infrastructure is still poor, almost non-existent to serve eco-tourism.

- Other infrastructures such as healthcare, electricity, water, communications, and post offices are still poor and outdated, unable to meet the requirements of tourism in particular and socio-economic development in general.

- There are no studies or surveys to find specific products and interesting eco-tourism models to develop tourism, so there are no documents or products to introduce, propagate and widely promote.

- The results of biodiversity surveys are too old and inaccurate for the present time. There are no accurate survey results on the distribution of flora and fauna in the research area.

- Lack of qualified human resources and tourism expertise is one of the basic difficulties in developing tourism here.

- The tourist routes have not been planned with specific orientation, so tourism development at Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir only stops at developing "spot" tourism.

In particular, a problem is being encountered in the development of ecotourism in

Song Tranh Hydroelectric Reservoir is attracting public attention because of the earthquake and loud explosion in the Song Tranh Hydroelectric Reservoir area.

Table 3.7. Statistics of the number of earthquakes occurring at Song Tranh Hydropower Plant from 2011-2012

Earthquake occurrence time Magn.

Earthquake number M

Year Month

1 2011 11 02 matches 3,4

2 2012 3 01 matches 3.1

4.2

3 2012 9 03 games 4.0

3.0

(Source from Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology)

According to the report on the results of the 9/2012 earthquake survey in the Song Tranh Hai hydropower area by the Institute of Geophysics, Institute of Geology under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, it was concluded that:

- The recent earthquakes in the Bac Tra My area have been reaffirmed as induced earthquakes related to the water storage of the Song Tranh 2 hydropower reservoir.

- The maximum shaking zones of the largest earthquakes that have occurred recently in the Bac Tra My area did not exceed level 6 (MSK64 earthquake scale - 12-level scale) and extended in the northwest - southeast direction, including the hydroelectric dam area.

- It is forecasted that in the coming time, in the Bac Tra My area and neighboring areas, stimulated earthquakes will continue to occur, possibly even stronger, but it is unlikely to exceed the assessed maximum earthquake value of M=5.5 on the Richter scale.

However, earthquakes continue to occur with loud explosions, causing panic among local people and also a major limitation and risk in the development of eco-tourism at Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir in promoting and attracting tourists to this place.

There are also other difficulties in developing eco-tourism such as:

+ Lack of knowledge about DLST.

+ Lack of training activities for service staff in the tourism industry.

+ Difficulty in environmental protection due to the country's poor circumstances.

+ Lack of financial resources to improve the quality of tourism infrastructure.

Above are all the difficulties that will be encountered when developing ecotourism here. Therefore, in order to have a suitable and highly effective orientation for ecotourism development in Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir in terms of economy, society and environment, we need to have reasonable solutions to overcome the above difficulties.

4.1.4. Environmental impact assessment and related issues

Ecotourism at Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir, when put into operation, may have negative impacts on the economic, social and cultural life of people in the project area. Tourism is not only a purely economic phenomenon but also includes political, cultural, social and environmental aspects. Therefore, related factors need to be considered and evaluated such as:

- Affect population density.

- Causes fluctuations in the cost of living.

- Impact on daily routine.

- Conflict between economic sectors.

- Wasteful due to the seasonality of this activity.

- Risk of infection from sources of contamination (waste) and food hygiene and safety.

- Changes in social ethics.

- Impact on wildlife.

- Tourism projects can degrade forests, which are habitats for wildlife.

- Destroying the natural landscape.

4.1.5. Solutions to minimize environmental impacts and related issues in developing ecotourism at Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir

4.1.5.1. Environmental protection work

Develop documents, policies and mechanisms in the field of environmental pollution control in tourism; encourage activities to reduce environmental pollution, collect, transport, treat, recycle, reuse waste and restore the environment; mechanisms to publicize information on pollution and pollution treatment to the community; policies on tax and fee collection for waste types; regulations requiring tourism businesses and establishments to commit to environmental protection with competent authorities; regularly investigate and count sources of waste from tourism activities in the area; regulations on

Plan and develop a system for collecting and treating waste from tourism activities.

In addition to the above measures, it is necessary to pay attention to raising community awareness and socializing environmental protection work, which must be carried out regularly, continuously, resolutely and long-term. Raising community responsibility for protecting resources and the environment through propaganda and education for the community to understand that the purpose of protecting environmental resources is to protect the living environment of the community. Wherever there are tourism resources, a green - clean - beautiful environment, there can be tourists, jobs and income for local people.

4.1.5.2 Political security, social order and safety work

- Ensure good security in the district, strengthen cooperation and connection between localities in the district, especially border communes; between the tourism sector and related sectors, especially with the police and army to ensure safety for tourists, contributing to maintaining order and social security in the locality.

- Strengthen cooperation with neighboring districts and communes to create favorable conditions for tourism development to contribute to improving the quality of tourism products.

- Assign the district police to manage the population, household registration, and number of foreign tourists visiting the district, as well as foreign tourist organizations coming to the district. In addition, strengthen the inspection of tourist registration at accommodation establishments in the area to promptly detect subjects and situations related to security and order in the area.

- Strengthen the prevention of social evils such as prostitution, drugs, and theft in the area.

4.1.6. Proposed orientation for ecotourism development of Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir

The orientation for developing ecotourism in Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir in the coming time needs to focus on exploiting the potential strengths in developing ecotourism, while overcoming the limitations to gradually develop this type of service to meet the needs of domestic and foreign tourists. To do that, it is necessary to implement the following issues:

a. Construction, development and training:

Provide professional training on ecotourism for tourism staff. Establish a specialized department to carry out the tasks of organizing, guiding, introducing and implementing ecotourism activities on Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir and the buffer zone communes. Establish an environmental education and ecotourism center to train and improve

improve the level of understanding of the people as well as the capacity of ecotourism staff

b. Investment in infrastructure construction : The current guesthouse can only accommodate a limited number of guests, the interior equipment system is still poor, so it needs to be renovated and supplemented. In addition, it is possible to build some more eco-lodges in the administrative service area to meet the accommodation needs of tourists.

c. Develop a plan to develop eco-tourism for Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir : this is a necessary activity, and at the same time, there must be connections and links in the tourism network, becoming a destination for travel companies organizing tourism in the region and neighboring areas.

d. Orientation on tourism promotion

Tourism promotion plays a decisive role in the success of tourism development strategy, especially in the context of fierce competition in the current market, besides the earthquake at Song Tranh Hydropower Plant is still happening, affecting the number of visitors; therefore, it is necessary to build a comprehensive promotion strategy to convince and attract tourists to visit. The promotion of tourism here will be carried out as follows:

- Create brochures, posters, VCDs, etc. to introduce and promote the potential of special products and eco-tourism of Song Tranh Hydropower Lake...

- Build and put online, a separate website for the Song Tranh Hydropower Lake eco-tourism area. Currently, the form of promotion via the internet is the most popular and most interested. Therefore, eco-tourism destinations and eco-tourism investors need to set up their own websites for promotion and marketing. The website needs to have information, images, eco-tourism potential, tourism services, and specialty dishes to promote to tourists. On the other hand, put the eco-tourism image of the region on the website of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, to promote and introduce to domestic and foreign tourists with articles and images of eco-tourism of the region.

- Cooperate with Vietnam Television to promote and advertise using images of films, photos, and magazines on Vietnam Television programs.

- Organize special tours with many forms of discounts, free initial services for promotion purposes.

4.1.7. Implementation solutions

In order to effectively and synchronously implement and exploit all the existing potential in the Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir area, the People's Committee of Bac Tra My district has developed a Project on developing eco-tourism at the Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir, submitted it to the People's Committee of Quang Nam province for approval; directed the departments and agencies of Bac Tra My district to coordinate and implement.

perform the following tasks:

- Department of Culture and Information - State management agency of tourism, is responsible for advising:

Establish a Steering Committee to implement the project to monitor and direct the project's contents; at the same time, assign specific responsibilities to each member associated with each specific content and program.

+ Monitor and urge units to implement, ensure progress and time as prescribed.

+ Organize conferences to promote and introduce the project.

- District Radio and Television Station:

+ Develop columns and topics to promote on the district radio and television system about the project's related contents.

+ Create documentary films to promote tourism types associated with the advantages and current tourism service conditions in the area.

- District Finance and Planning Department:

Responsible for synthesizing the budget built by agencies, units, and localities, advising the District People's Council to assign annual plans for units to implement.

- District Justice Department:

Based on assigned functions, tasks and powers to perform the function of appraising the legal basis of documents and projects of agencies and localities in the district to advise the leaders of the People's Committee to approve in accordance with the correct order and procedures.

- People's Committees of communes and towns:

Coordinate with agencies, departments and branches to do a good job of state management of tourism in the locality. Create favorable conditions for organizations and individuals to participate in investing in tourism development in the locality.

- Proposal for the Front and associations and unions:

Focus on propaganda and mobilization of cadres and people to respond and participate in implementing the project's contents.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Conclusion

- Bac Tra My is a mountainous district of Quang Nam province, long known as the land of "high mountains and jade cinnamon" with majestic, pristine mountains and unique cultural features of ethnic minorities, creating a vivid and colorful cultural picture, contributing to enriching the cultural identity of the district. A precious traditional symbol of ethnic minorities in Bac Tra My district, besides the outstanding Song Tranh 2 hydropower project (including: reservoir, dam body and factory), built on the upstream of Song Tranh in the territory of 8 communes of Nam and Bac Tra My districts; of which 04 communes belong to Bac Tra My district: Tra Doc, Tra Bui, Tra Giac, Tra Tan. The completed hydropower project has a basin area of: 1,100km2; the lake surface area corresponding to normal water level is: 21.52km2, contributing to promoting tourism in recent times. In addition, there are also some natural attractions in the surrounding areas such as: Ba No Waterfall (village 8, Tra Bui commune), Ho Nai (Tra Tan), O O Waterfall (Tra Giang)...

Currently, the organization has raised nearly 100 fish cages of various kinds on the lake.

This is a strength to integrate tourism development on the lake.

However, in recent years, although tourism development in the area has received attention, there has not been proper investment and there have been no clear directions and goals. Therefore, tourism exploitation is still fragmented and has only stopped at the spontaneous visit of delegations to the relic sites in the Nuoc Oa relic complex, and eco-tourism has not been given attention and developed.

Ecotourism is a developing trend all over the world that many countries pay special attention to, especially countries with great ecological and humanistic potential, of which Vietnam is one of the countries with great cultural and humanistic potential. Therefore, the development of ecotourism in our country in general and in Song Tranh hydroelectric lake in particular is completely consistent with the current development trend.

- On the other hand, Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir is one of the places with the potential to develop ecotourism located in Bac Tra My district along with other scenic spots with many beautiful natural landscapes but most of them are still wild, not officially surveyed, counted, invested in tourism exploitation. However, besides the strengths, there are still many weaknesses such as the unstable population situation. People's lives are not guaranteed, so people's dependence on forests is still high. The situation of exploiting and catching wild animals and plants is still common. Not only that, ecotourism here has not developed because there is no investment, scale

proper planning and promotion, not really investing heavily in developing ecotourism.

In short, Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir has great potential for ecotourism, so it is necessary to have a promotion program to attract investment projects for ecotourism development here. Investing in the construction and development of ecotourism in Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir is a correct strategy and is facing great advantages and opportunities, but also facing certain difficulties and challenges. Therefore, when investing in the construction of an ecotourism area here, it is necessary to carefully consider the investment, construction and development process to ensure harmony between the economic benefits brought by tourism in a sustainable manner associated with forest management and protection for today's and future generations. Therefore, when investing in the construction and development of tourism here, it is extremely necessary to make development forecasts, investment needs, development orientations as well as related policies and solutions, and there must be close coordination between agencies, departments and the community. Only then can we minimize the negative impacts caused by the shortcomings in investment, construction and tourism development activities. Aiming to maximize the potential of eco-tourism of Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir, bringing practical economic benefits to contribute to the conservation of forest resources in particular and socio-economic development in general. Enhancing the role and responsibility of forest management and protection among the people, putting people in the central position in forest management and protection associated with economic and environmental benefits.

Once again, we need to reaffirm that: The organization of ecotourism exploitation in Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir is consistent with the goals and orientations of the state in the current development of the tourism industry. The completion of this topic initially gives us a relatively comprehensive picture of the current development of ecotourism in Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir. With the results achieved in the topic, we can use this topic as a basis from which to build projects for developing ecotourism in particular, tourism in general as well as tourism business plans here, and at the same time as a basis for proposing further in-depth studies.

2. Existence

- During the research process, due to difficult terrain, limited resources and time, field surveys were limited. Only a few locations were surveyed, so the assessment of ecotourism potential was still lacking.

- During the data investigation process, because the data information was obtained from many different agencies, the information was not consistent.

- Ecotourism is a fairly new issue in Vietnam. And even newer in Forestry, so when implementing the topic, it is inevitable that there will be shortcomings.

- The issue of investing in developing ecotourism at Song Tranh Hydropower Reservoir still has the following problems: