Raising Awareness and Encouraging Local Communities to Actively Participate in Tourism Activities:

for them but also help them give up jobs that negatively affect their previous ecological environment such as hunting animals, illegal logging and forest products exploitation, burning forests for farming...

As presented above, the model of tourism management apparatus in Phong Nha-Ke Bang is not suitable. Currently, most tourism activities in PN-KB take place outside the territory of the National Park and in the areas not under the management of the National Park. Meanwhile, the management apparatus here does not have the participation of local authorities and related sectors. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly establish a Tourism Management Board in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Tourism with members representing relevant levels, sectors, localities with National Parks and the National Park Management Board. The Tourism Management Board can be headed by a Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to be able to manage the members of the Management Board and related units. The Standing Deputy Head of the Management Board is a full-time officer, held by a leader of the PN-KB National Park Management Board or the Department of Trade and Tourism. The Management Board members include representatives of the National Park Management Board, Bo Trach District, Son Trach, Tan Trach, Thuong Trach, Phuc Trach districts, the Department of Culture and Information, the Provincial Monuments and Scenic Areas Management Board, the Department of Trade and Tourism, the Border Guard, the Forest Rangers, the Ethnic and Mountainous Areas Committee and a number of related units. The Phong Nha-Ke Bang Tourism Area Management Board has the function of managing planning and investment development; managing service business activities; protecting tourism resources, ensuring environmental sanitation, social order and safety; coordinating with the National Park Management Board and localities in the region to create conditions for the reasonable exploitation and use of tourism resources; implementing other relevant legal provisions.

Organizational and management solutions at PH-KB need to focus on the following contents:

- Building an environmental standards system within the standards system

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management of tourism business activities. ¸ Apply ISO standards to manage tourism business activities in relation to the environment.

- Develop management regulations on sustainable use of tourism resources, at the same time develop a mechanism to preserve heritage values and protect the environment, and maintain ecology in the National Park.

- Develop a Community-based Environmental Management Regulation with the commitment of the community, local authorities, the National Park Management Board and local environmental management agencies.

- Increase investment in research and application of new technologies in management and provision of information on tourism environmental resources such as geographic information technology (GIS) and remote sensing technology.

- Develop policies to encourage communities and governments

Local authorities and communities must participate in the management of tourism activities. These are the people who directly benefit from tourism activities, but they are also the ones who have to bear the negative impacts caused by tourism. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage local authorities and communities to actively participate in tourism activities, right from the planning stage, planning management, monitoring implementation, and assessing the impact of tourism on other activities.

- Propose measures to resolve the remaining conflicts regarding economic benefits of tourism between administrative levels (especially the People's Committees of communes and wards in the buffer zone and core zone), the National Park Management Board; between local communities and organizations, businesses, and individuals operating tourism and service activities in Phong Nha-Ke Bang.

3.2.2. Group of solutions for sustainable tourism development in terms of culture and society:

3.2.2.1. Raise awareness and encourage local communities to actively participate in tourism activities:

Community participation in tourism development is very important in developing sustainable tourism. For a long time, as a mountainous area with rugged terrain and difficult transportation, Phong Nha-Ke Bang was almost isolated from neighboring areas. Therefore, the general level of education and awareness of tourism, especially sustainable tourism in particular, of the local community here is still very low. Before attracting the participation of local communities in tourism activities, raising awareness for the community in Phong Nha-Ke Bang is extremely important, especially for ethnic minorities living in the core of the National Park. Some solutions that need to be focused on include:

- Integrate community awareness raising about tourism development into programs and projects such as the regional economic-social development program.

buffer zone, core zone, poverty reduction program, sustainable tourism development project for the poor, projects of non-governmental organizations in the area... Coordinate with mass media to promote legal education, improve people's knowledge, and enhance understanding of sustainable tourism development for local residents.

- Encourage and provide material support for raising awareness of tourism, especially sustainable tourism; raise awareness of local communities and tourists in protecting, restoring and developing tourism resources. Support facilities, arrange full-time and part-time staff and staff networks to serve the education program and improve the knowledge of the community; at the same time, have policies to reward individuals and groups participating in this program.

- Encourage entrepreneurs and businesses operating in tourism and services in the area to invest in training programs to raise awareness of local communities about sustainable tourism development, provide training in tourism knowledge and services for tourists; at the same time, train and employ local workers in tourism activities, including management.

- Encourage local communities to actively participate in activities

tourism activities; in efforts to protect, restore and develop tourism resources; participate in maintaining environmental hygiene in tourist areas and entertainment areas in their residential areas. In addition to directly participating in tourism activities such as transporting tourists, tour guides, food services, photography

Souvenirs and other necessary services must guide and encourage local people to provide goods and services such as providing food and produce souvenirs to serve tourists.

3.2.2.2. Preserving and developing the cultural values of ethnic minorities in Phong Nha-Ke Bang region:

In addition to the solution to stabilize and improve the economic life of ethnic minorities in the core zone as well as the buffer zone of the National Park, the preservation and development of the cultural values of ethnic minorities in PN-KB is extremely necessary. It is necessary to invest funds to research, investigate, collect and preserve the tangible and intangible cultural values of ethnic minorities here. Develop policies to encourage villages, clans, village elders and village chiefs to make positive contributions to the work of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values. On the other hand, it is necessary to propagate and educate ethnic minorities to eliminate backward customs; the notion that land, forests and animals are their own property left by their ancestors.

Mobilize capital from target programs, projects of non-governmental organizations, and funding sources to research and preserve cultural values.

tangible cultural values such as: Villages, hamlets (types of settlements and forms of villages and hamlets); houses (earthen houses of the Ruc, Sach, May people; stilt houses of the Khua, Ma Coong, Tri people); clothing; jewelry; production tools and household utensils; food, drinks, smoking (poi rice, tapioca flour, doak wine, cigarettes). In addition to tangible cultural values, research and conservation of intangible cultural values will contribute to enriching the cultural identity of ethnic minorities here; as a basis for developing village tourism and cultural tourism of ethnic minorities. Intangible cultural heritages that need to be focused on conservation are: Folklore (all kinds of folk tales, myths, fables, folk songs, folk musical instruments); Religion and belief (forms of belief and worship); Customs of ethnic groups (funerals, childbirth, medical treatment, asking for glue, building houses); Customary laws (penalties, penalties). In addition, it is necessary to study indigenous knowledge including experience, understanding, and customs of ethnic groups in

Here are some information about upland rice cultivation methods, medical treatment experience, livestock farming techniques, weaving techniques, and biodiversity conservation experience (for example,

For the Arem people, they never fish in the streams before and during the spawning season). The restoration of traditional festivals of the ethnic groups in

Here to attract tourists need to be focused (like the Drum Beating Ceremony, Buffalo Stabbing Ceremony, Hole Filling Ceremony, New Rice Ceremony are still preserved).

3.2.2.3. Urgently establish a tourist city:

Along with the strong development of Tourism in recent times in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, x+ Son Trach (and possibly x+ Phuc Trach) has met all the requirements.

conditions according to the Law on Tourism to become a tourist city. This is a place with a World Heritage Site; infrastructure and technical facilities for tourism have been invested in and built; there is a labor structure suitable for the requirements of tourism development and in recent years, tourism has a very important position in the local economic structure and income from tourism is the main source of income for the locality.

Currently. Therefore, it is urgent to establish Phong Nha Tourist Urban Area in Son Trach area and possibly expand to Phuc Trach area in the near future.

The establishment of Phong Nha Tourist City will have a very positive impact.

to the development of sustainable tourism in Phong Nha-Ke Bang in the following aspects:

- Raising awareness of local authorities and people as well as businesses in tourism development in general and sustainable tourism development in particular.

- Take advantage of support from central and local budgets in investing in infrastructure construction, poverty reduction projects, and projects to raise awareness and knowledge about tourism development for the community.

local.

- Have conditions on organizational structure, tools and means for urban management according to the provisions of law.

- Meet the diverse needs of tourists when visiting Phong Nha-Ke Bang (have conditions to build entertainment areas, upgrade postal and telecommunications systems, electricity and clean water supply systems, commercial center systems, supermarkets...).

- Reduce pressure on Phong Nha-Ke Bang World Heritage Site. Because most of the areas of Son Trach and Phuc Trach are outside the boundaries of the National Park, tourism services such as food, accommodation, and entertainment here will be able to meet the needs of visitors and avoid pressure on the National Park.

3.2.3. Group of solutions for sustainable tourism development in terms of resources and environment :

3.2.3.1. Preserving the values of World Natural Heritage:

Preserving the values of the PN-KB World Heritage Site is both urgent and

has a long-term fundamental nature and needs to be implemented synchronously and comprehensively on a large scale. This solution proposes a number of main conservation and management programs for PN-KB as follows:

- Parallel conservation of Phong Nha-Ke Bang and Hin Nam No (Lao PDR): Phong Nha-Ke Bang and Hin Nam No are two nature reserves that share a border between Quang Binh (Vietnam) and Khammouane (Laos). The parallel conservation program aims to address the transboundary nature of conservation efforts in the Northern Truong Son region, which includes southeastern Laos and central Vietnam. In addition to establishing an ecological, socio-economic monitoring system and helping local communities apply sustainable forest resource use practices, the program should promote cross-border cooperation between Hin Nam No Biodiversity Conservation Area and PNKB NP and between relevant agencies; and develop a unified parallel conservation program. The main contents of this Program are coordinated management, cross-border cooperation, effective parallel conservation, monitoring of ecosystems and socio-economics, and capacity building for the two protected areas.

- Protecting biodiversity in PN-KB : Biodiversity is a great value of the PN-KB World Heritage Site. The forest in PN-KB is a limestone mountain forest with many rare and precious woods such as Agarwood, Rosewood, and Striped Ebony which have high economic value, so indiscriminate exploitation is taking place seriously. PN-KB forest is also home to many rare animals, while hunting rare animals for commercial purposes is leading to the risk of extinction of some species and biodiversity degradation. The goal of this program is to propose effective measures and implementation to protect the global biodiversity of the World Heritage Site. The specific tasks of the program include:

+ Biodiversity inventory, including research on taxonomy, genetics and ecology to compile statistics on species, populations and ecosystems, with a focus on special ecosystems and species of important scientific and economic significance.

+ Monitor the evolution of populations (distribution and abundance), important ecosystems (composition, structure and function) and the impact of humans and tourism activities on them.

+ Research on the socio-economic aspects of biodiversity such as indigenous knowledge systems, investigate and determine the scientific basis for sustainable development of biological resources, build buffer zones and improve the lives of communities.

local community

+ Establish information management network, build data bank about

biodiversity scientifically. The results on biodiversity must be

statistics on species composition, distribution, reserves, habitat, living relationships...

+ Biodiversity training includes training of management staff and educating the community about biodiversity knowledge to raise awareness and protection awareness of the community.

3.2.3.2. Preservation, restoration and development of tourism resources:

As a World Heritage Site, solutions to preserve, restore and develop tourism resources in PN-KB must be given top priority. Sustainable Tourism Development

requires the management, conservation, restoration and development of all forms of resources.

so that we can meet economic, social, environmental and aesthetic needs while maintaining our national cultural identity, biological diversity, basic ecological processes and systems that ensure life for present and future generations.

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