B. Community Forest Resources and History of Forest Management in the Western Highlands of Quang Binh Province

Survey results in communities in the North of Quang Binh province show that the history of forest management in the past was quite complicated. Most of the previously assigned forest areas were under the management of the People's Committees of communes. When implementing community forests, they were assigned to the communities. However, in some communities such as La Trong 1-2, a part of the forest area was previously assigned to the village or in Thanh Liem 1 and Thanh Liem 2 villages, some of the forest areas were previously assigned to households. When implementing community forests, the people agreed to return the forest to implement community forests because the reason was that the previously assigned forest areas were not actually known to the families about the area and location of the assigned forest. In this area, it was also noted that some communities were assigned forests from areas previously assigned to the Protection Forest Management Board (PFMB) of Tuyen Hoa district such as Cao, Ke and Chuoi villages.

Meanwhile, the research on the history of forest management by communities in the western region of Quang Binh province shows that most of the forest area was previously managed by the People's Committee of the commune. In this area, in the case of Ca Roong 2 village, the forest area was previously managed by the village itself in the form of sacred forest and water mo forest. This area also has many communities with rich and very rich forest areas, the forest area assigned is relatively large and located deep in the core zone of Phong Nha National Park.

- Ke Bang.

Table 3.2.b. Forest resources allocated to communities and history of forest management in the highlands of western Quang Binh province

STT

Village

Year of delivery

Forest type

Main forest status

History of community forest management

Carrot 1

2014

RSX

Bamboo forest

Before 2014, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Carrot 2

2013

RSX

Bamboo forest

Previously managed by the village community

hug

2013

RSX

Poor forest

Before 2013, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Version 51

2014

RSX

Rich forest

Before 2014, managed by the Commune People's Committee

You

2016

RSX

Medium forest

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Vibration Slot

2014

RSX

Rich forest

Before 2014 by the People's Committee of the commune

Maybe you are interested!

STT

Village

Year of delivery

Forest type

Main forest status

History of community forest management

manage

Cooc

2016

RSX

Rich forest

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Cu Ton

2016

RSX

Poor forest

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Cham Pu

2014

RSX

Rich forest

Before 2014, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Top

2016

RSX

Forest restoration

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Version 61

2016

RSX

Poor forest

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Red Flag

2014

RSX

Rich forest

Before 2014, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Village 8

2016

RSX

Poor forest

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Village 9

2016

RSX

Poor forest

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Village 10

2016

RSX

Poor forest

Before 2016, managed by the Commune People's Committee

(Source: Survey data, 2017)

Surveying communities in the southern region of Quang Binh province shows that forests were allocated from 2012 to 2016 with forest status mainly poor or poor forests in recovery (accounting for 70% of villages). Surveying the history of forest management in these areas shows that part of the area was previously managed by the Commune People's Committee, part of the forest area previously managed by the Ba Ren Forest Protection Management Board was recovered by the Provincial People's Committee and allocated to the communities for management.

Table 3.2.c. Forest resources allocated to communities and history of forest management in the southern mountainous region of Quang Binh province

STT

Village

Year of delivery

Forest type

Main forest status

History of community forest management

Ancient Town

2012

RSX

Rich forest

Before 2012, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Iron

2013

RSX

Rich forest

Before 2013, managed by the Commune People's Committee

Sand Creek

2014

RSX

Medium forest

Before 2014, it was managed by the People's Committee of the commune and the Ba Ren Forest Protection Management Board.

Zhongshan

2014

RSX

Medium forest

Before 2014, it was managed by Ba Ren Forest Management Board.

Long Son

2014

RSX

Medium forest

Before 2014, it was managed by Ba Ren Forest Management Board.

Cloud Slope

2016

RSX

Medium forest

Before 2014, it was managed by Ba Ren Forest Management Board.

Po Loang

2016

RSX

Medium forest

Before 2014, it was managed by Ba Ren Forest Management Board.

Din Din

2016

RSX

Medium forest

Before 2014, it was managed by Ba Ren Forest Management Board.

(Source: Survey data, 2017)

Comments: The study shows that the forests allocated to communities for management are quite diverse in origin. Most of them were previously managed by the Commune People's Committees, a small part was cut from the Forest Enterprises and Forest Protection Management Boards to hand over to the communities according to the Decisions of the Provincial People's Committee; a part was previously allocated land under other programs. Some areas were previously sacred forests and water-retaining forests of the communities, now the State recognizes the land use rights.

The survey results also show that in some places such as Thanh Liem 1, Thanh Liem 2, La Trong 1-2 villages, households that were previously allocated land found that household-based management was not effective, so they voluntarily returned the land to participate in community forest management by village. This shows that people's awareness has changed positively. Partly because the previous land allocation process did not involve participation, people received land and forest in the form of only receiving on paper and forest land.

assigned to households in the form of evenly distributed by furrows and ditches. This result was also given by Dam Trong Tuan (2012) when evaluating the effectiveness of the previous land allocation process, stating that the scale of the area assigned to households was from 0.5-1.5 ha, distributed from the foot of the hill to the top; The boundaries between households were demarcated by small wooden markers and were not clearly marked, so they were not sustainable.

Through a survey of community forest management models in the research area, it was found that the communities participating in forest management are mainly communities residing in remote areas; production is mainly self-sufficient; ethnic minorities account for a high proportion of the population; Some communities still maintain many of their ethnic customs and practices; the lives of community members are close-knit and have not been much affected by the market mechanism. At the same time, the role of village elders and village chiefs also plays an important role in organizing and directing community work.

Overall rating:

The communities managing community forests are mainly ethnic minorities, 36/38 communities are poor villages. There are 14 communities with a poverty rate of 100%, only 1 community has a low poverty rate of 16%. This shows that financial capacity or mobilization for community forest management is very difficult. The average forest area/household of the communities is 3.5 ha/household, the highest is 28.3 ha/household and the lowest is 0.2 ha/household. The forests assigned to the communities are mainly poor forests or poor forests that are recovering.

3.2. CURRENT STATUS OF COMMUNITY FOREST RESOURCES

3.2.1. Area scale and volume of forest allocation lots in villages

In community-based forest management research, we must understand the ecological and human characteristics of the community to determine appropriate solutions for them in the process of community forest management. The thesis has conducted case studies in 3 villages, the research sites include: Co Trang village, Ca Roong 2 village and Phu Minh village as presented in the research site selection method. The following are some social characteristics of the 3 research sites

Co Trang village is one of 21 villages of Truong Son commune, Quang Ninh district, Quang Binh province, a particularly difficult commune. Co Trang village has the advantage of being located at the Rao Trang river junction, located to the northwest of Truong Son commune, 2 km from the commune center, 65 km west of Dong Hoi city. In 1953, due to fierce war, a part of Van Kieu people living in Cam Lo district, Quang Tri province migrated north to live in Lam Thuy commune, Le Thuy district. In 1960, the whole village continued to migrate to Rao Tru, Ngan Thuy commune. In 1967, they migrated to Da Chat area, Truong Son commune. In 1970, they migrated to the Rao Trang river junction and settled down until now, the form

forming Ban Co Trang [26]. Ban Co Trang has 71 households with 310 people, all of whom are Van Kieu ethnic people. The total number of main workers is 141 people, of which 72 are male and 69 are female. The main workers are traditional agricultural production, the main farming method is to grow one crop of rice, corn, beans and raise livestock; farmer labor is still quite common in the village.

Ca Roong 2 village is located in the center of Thuong Trach commune, about 80 km from the center of Bo Trach district. To the north it borders Tan Trach commune, to the south it borders But village, to the east it borders Niu village, to the west it borders Ca Roong 1 village. The history of the formation of Ca Roong 2 village is closely linked to the history of the Ma Coong people in Quang Binh; The Ma Coong people in Quang Binh are a part of the Bru Ma Coong ethnic group that migrated from Laos [26], a local group of the Bru-Van Kieu ethnic group. According to Ma Coong village elders, their ancestors were not in this area before, but a few days' walk away, which could be the area of Highway 9 (Quang Tri) close to the border with Laos or the area across the border in today's Sanavakhet province. During the migration process, the main place of residence was Ca Roong village in Thuong Trach commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province today. The Ma Coong people's living habits are to establish villages and find land for cultivation along streams, on both sides of ravines and low mountain slopes. The whole village has 27 households with 104 people, 54 men accounting for 52%, 50 women accounting for 48%. The total number of workers is 60 people, of which: men: 31 people, women: 29 people. The main labor force is agricultural production, manual farming methods, mainly growing upland rice, corn, cassava, and raising livestock.

Phu Minh village is more than 6 km northwest of the center of Thuong Hoa commune, Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh province, located on both sides of the Ho Chi Minh road, the East branch. Phu Minh village was established in 1985, when there were 7 households of the Sach, Ruc and Arem ethnic groups living there. At that time, the people had not yet received universal primary education, so their educational level was very low. Moreover, their living habits were backward and poor, mainly shifting cultivation and slash-and-burn farming. Their lives mainly depended on the forest. From 2002 to 2008, 4 other households immigrated and the number of households was 11 with 50 people. From 2008 to 2010, due to the natural population increase and the people in the village reaching the age of marriage, they were separated, and at this time the number of households increased to 27 with 122 people. Since the beginning of 2012, due to the immigration of a number of Kinh households living in neighboring villages to the village with support from the state, up to now the whole village has 33 households with 132 people [26].

Researching the records of forest allocation to the community in 3 research villages, the results are presented in the following summary table:

Table 3.3. Area and volume of forest allocated to communities in the study villages

Status

Ancient Version		Phu Minh Village		Ca Roong Village 2
Area (ha)	Reserves (m 3 )	Area (ha)	Reserves (m 3 )	Area (ha)	Reserves (m 3 )
Total	207,152	32,602	803,868	101,872	174,715	9,742
I. Forested land	175.93		704,453		119.49
1. Natural forest	175.93		704,453	101,872	119.49
- Rich forest	90,974	22,932	29,256	7,384	32,815	8,550
- Medium forest	38,152	6,477	420,216	72,644	2,631	486
- Poor forest	46,804	3,193	254,981	21,844	11,523	706
- CCTL Forest					17,679
- Bamboo Forest					54,842
2. Planted forests
II. Land without forest	31,222		99,415		55,225
1. Bare land, grass					24,137
2. Bare land and bushes	0.608		1,656		26,194
3. Vacant land with scattered trees	30,614		97,759		4,894

(Source: Forest allocation records of villages, 2017)

Through the data in Table 3.3., it can be seen that in Co Trang village, the forested land area is 175.93 ha, accounting for 84.9% of the assigned land area, the non-forested land area is 31,222 ha, accounting for 15.1% of the assigned land area. Similarly, in Phu Minh, the forested land area accounts for 87.6% of the assigned land area, the remaining 12.4% of the land is non-forested. In Ca Roong 2 village, the forested land area is 119.49 ha, accounting for 68.4% and 31.6% of the non-forested land area. Thus, it can be seen that in the villages assigned to forests, the forested land area accounts for a relatively large proportion. In addition, the natural forest area with reserves in the villages assigned to forests also accounts for a large proportion. In which, Phu Minh village has the largest allocated forest reserve with 101,872 m 3 , this is also the village with the largest forest area. The village has

The largest area of rich forest is Co Trang village with 90,974 ha of rich forest, accounting for 43.9% of the village's assigned forest area, with a reserve of 22,932 m 3, accounting for 70.3% of the total assigned forest reserve (32,602 m 3 ). Ca Roong 2 village has an assigned forest area of 174,715 ha with a forest reserve of 9,742 m 3 , the lowest of the 3 villages. However, this is also an area with a relatively large area of bamboo and reed forests (54,842 ha), which is one of the characteristics of forest resources in this area.

Table 3.4. Community forest resource reserves classified by status and quality level

Unit: m3

Status	Reserves index	Total reserves	Classified by quality
Status	Reserves index	Total reserves	A	B	C
Ancient Town	Total		32,602	15,980	11,388	5.234
	Rich	Total	22,932	11,580	7,793	3,559
	Rich	BQ/ha	252	127	86	39
	Medium	Total	6,477	3,602	2,195	680
	Medium	BQ/ha	170	94	58	18
	Poor	Total	3,193	798	1,400	995
	Poor	BQ/ha	68	17	30	21
Phu Minh	Total		101,872	50,573	33,478	17,821
	Rich	Total	7,384	4,061	2,585	738
	Rich	BQ/ha	252	139	88	25
	Medium	Total	72,644	37,776	23,246	11,622
	Medium	BQ/ha	173	90	55	28
	Poor	Total	21,844	8,736	7,647	5,461
	Poor	BQ/ha	86	34	30	22
Carrot 2	Total		9,742	4,176	4,980	586
	Rich	Total	8,550	3,978	4.101	471
	Rich	BQ/ha	261	121	125	14
	Medium	Total	486	198	209	78
	Medium	BQ/ha	185	75	80	30
	Poor	Total	706	-	670	37
	Poor	BQ/ha	61	-	58	3

(Source: Forest allocation records of villages, 2017)

The results of Table 3.4. show that the total forest reserve assigned to Co Trang village is 32,602 m 3 , of which: Average reserve by forest status: Rich forest: 252 m 3 /ha, Average forest: 170 m 3 /ha and Poor forest: 68 m 3 /ha. Forest reserve by quality: Quality A: 15,980 m 3 , accounting for 49.0%, Quality B: 11,388 m 3 , accounting for 34.9%, Quality C: 5,234 m 3 , accounting for 16.1% of total forest reserve.

Research results in Phu Minh village show that the total reserve is 101,872 m 3 , of which: Rich forest: 252 m 3 /ha, average forest: 173 m 3 /ha, poor forest: 86 m 3 /ha. Reserves

Forest classified by quality: Quality A: 50,573 m3 , accounting for 49.6%, quality B: 33,477 m3 , accounting for 32.9% and quality C: 17,822 m3 , accounting for 17.5% of total forest reserves.

The results at Ca Roong 2 village show that the total forest reserve is 9,741.6 m 3 . Average reserve by forest status: Rich forest: 260.5 m 3 / ha, average forest: 184.6 m 3 / ha and poor forest: 61.3 m 3 / ha. Forest reserve by quality: Quality A: 4176.2 m 3 , accounting for 42.9%, quality B: 4979.7 m 3 , accounting for 51.1% and quality C: 586 m 3 , accounting for 6.0% of total forest reserve.

Through the above data, it can be seen that the average reserve according to the quality of the rich forest and average forest in the villages tends to decrease from good quality level (level A) to bad quality level (level C), which is consistent with the natural law for the rich forest state with little or low impact, so the forest quality is still guaranteed. For the poor forest state, the distribution of reserves according to quality is not clear and does not follow the law, which reflects that the forest has been strongly impacted and the level of competition and quality elimination between quality levels is still taking place.

3.2.2. Silvicultural characteristics of community forest status

3.2.2.1. Characteristics of community forest status in Co Trang village

a) Natural timber forests

+ Rich forest: Rich forest 90,974 ha accounts for 51.71% of natural forest area. Including lots: a2 plot 2; lots a1, c1, d2, g1, h1, i2 plot 3, sub-area 348; lots b1, b4 plot 1 sub-area 349. The number of sample plots for measuring the rich state is 29 plots equivalent to 1.44% of the area. Rich forest is mainly distributed at the top of the storm, there is no traffic, the terrain is complex so the forest is less affected. Forest vegetation is quite rich, the main species composition includes: Leo heo, Tau mat, Chua, Nang, Truong, Goi,...; Some typical indicators of rich forest: Density of the timber layer: 477 trees/ha. Average height: 15.2 m. Average diameter: 25.7 cm. Average reserve: 254 m 3 /ha . Canopy cover: 0.6 - 0.7. Total cross-sectional area/ha (  G/ha): 27.9 m 2 .

The community forest area has 9 plots of rich forest status, the fluctuation in reserves of this status is relatively large. The plot with the highest average reserve: 351 m 3 /ha; the plot with the lowest average reserve: 223.74 m 3 /ha.

+ Medium forest: Medium forest is 38,152 ha, accounting for 21.69% of the natural forest area. The number of sample plots for measurement of the average state is 11 plots equivalent to 1.59% of the area. This is a lightly impacted forest or a forest after exhaustion with a relatively long recovery time. Distributed mainly on the slopes and peaks of the storm. Main dominant tree species composition: Tau, Vang, Tram, Ngát, Nang, Bồ lời, Gáo, Dẻ, Trường, Lèo heo, Chân chim, Trâm, etc. Some typical indicators of the medium forest: Density of the timber layer: 417 trees/ha. Average height: 11.8 m. Average diameter: 23.3 cm. Reserve