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Research on developing ecotourism associated with biodiversity conservation in Cat Ba National Park - Hai Phong - 2

LIST OF TABLES

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Table 2.1. Current population and labor status of communes in 2019 63

Table 3. 1. Spatial data sources 49

Table 3. 2. Factors and criteria used in the analysis of suitability for DLST 52

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Table 3. 3. Scale of importance of factors 57

Table 3. 4. Level of community participation 58

Research on developing ecotourism associated with biodiversity conservation in Cat Ba National Park - Hai Phong - 2

Table 4. 1. Current status of tourism infrastructure of Cat Ba National Park 83

Table 4. 2. Current status of Cat Ba National Park forests in 2020 95

Table 4. 3. Composition of forest animal species recorded in Cat Ba archipelago Biosphere Reserve98 Table 4. 4. Area statistics according to visibility 115

Table 4. 5. Statistics of area according to current forest status 117

Table 4.6. Area statistics by biodiversity conservation level 119

Table 4.7. Area statistics according to the level of diversity of rare and precious species 121

Table 4.8. Area statistics according to slope 123

Table 4.9. Area statistics by height 125

Table 4. 10. Statistics of area according to accessibility to roads... 127 Table 4. 11. Statistics of area according to accessibility to cultural sites... 129 Table 4. 12. Statistics of area according to accessibility to surface water sources 131 Table 4. 13. Indicator parameters 133

Table 4. 14. Results of assessing the potential of ecotourism in Cat Ba National Park 134

Table 4.15. Sociological profile of interviewees 136

Table 4. 16. Community awareness of the benefits of ecotourism 141

Table 4. 17. Community awareness of the benefits of ecotourism 148

Table 4.18. Summary of weights of the system of solutions to promote DLST activities ..160


LIST OF IMAGES

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Figure 1.1. Model of sustainable tourism principles and values ​​22

Figure 3. 1. Diagram of steps to determine suitable areas for eco-tourism development…..55 Figure 4. 1. Ngu Lam Peak 70

Figure 4. 2. MT 70 Education Line

Figure 4. 3. Visit RNM 71

Figure 4. 4. Frog Pond 71

Figure 4. 5. Viet Hai fishing village 73

Figure 4. 6. Military Hospital Cave 73

Figure 4. 7. Trung Cave Page 74

Figure 4. 8. Botanical Garden 75

Figure 4.9.Bird and animal observation route 75

Figure 4.10. Map of some ecotourism routes in Cat Ba National Park 76

Figure 4. 11. Thien Long Cave 78

Figure 4. 12. Lan Ha Bay - Van Boi 78 tourist route

Figure 4. 13. Pineapple Island 79

Figure 4. 14. Bright Cave - Van Ta 79

Figure 4.15. Tra Bau fishing village 80

Figure 4. 16. Golden Fruit Cave 80

Figure 4.17. Nam Cat Island 81

Figure 4.18. Organizational structure and management of ecotourism activities of Cat Ba National Park 85

Figure 4. 19. Functions and tasks of the Center for Education and Training 86

Figure 4.20. Composition of tourists participating in tour 88

Figure 4. 21. Chart of tourists' length of stay at Cat Ba National Park. 88 Figure 4. 22. Chart of statistics of the number of visitors to both the forest and sea routes of Cat Ba National Park. 89

Figure 4.23. Statistical chart of the number of visitors to the forest route in the central area of ​​Cat Ba National Park 90

Figure 4.24. Statistical chart of number of visitors 90

Figure 4.25. Statistical chart of reasons why tourists choose to travel to Cat Ba National Park and the routes and tourist attractions of Cat Ba National Park that tourists are interested in 91

Figure 4.26. Chart of the time tourists want to visit Cat Ba National Park 92

Figure 4.27. Current status map of Cat Ba National Park forest status 97

Figure 4. 28. Distribution map of rare and precious animal species of Cat Ba National Park. 105 Figure 4. 29. Distribution map of rare and precious plant species of Cat Ba National Park.. 107 Figure 4. 30. Image of Cat Ba langur at Cat Ba National Park 109

Figure 4.31. Image of the mountain goat species at Cat Ba National Park 109

Figure 4. 32. Image of Golden Monkey at Cat Ba National Park 110

Figure 4.33. Image of species 111

Figure 4. 34. Image of the Cat Ba Gecko at Cat Ba National Park..111 Figure 4. 35. Image of the Cat Ba Gecko at Cat Ba National Park 113

Figure 4. 36. Image of the Northern Tree Frog at Cat Ba National Park 113

Figure 4.37. Map of tourist attractions in Cat Ba National Park 116

Figure 4. 38. Map assessing the current forest status suitability in Cat Ba National Park.118 Figure 4. 39. Map of protection level in Cat Ba National Park 120

Figure 4.40. Map of the diversity of rare and endangered species 122

Figure 4.41. Map of the suitability of slopes for development 124

Figure 4. 42. Elevation map suitable for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park 126 Figure 4. 43. Road accessibility map 128

Figure 4.44. Map of accessibility to cultural sites 130

Figure 4. 45. Map of surface water accessibility in Cat Ba National Park 132 Figure 4. 46. Map of ecotourism potential in Cat Ba National Park 135

Figure 4.47. Level of community participation in local ecotourism development 138

Figure 4. 48. Diagram of community tourism service provision activities... 140 Figure 4. 49. Barriers to people participating in ecotourism 146

Figure 4.50. Chart of changes in the level of natural resource use by people after participating in ecotourism activities at Cat Ba National Park. 150


INFORMATION PAGE ON NEW CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE THESIS

I. General information:

- Thesis title: Research on ecotourism development associated with biodiversity conservation in Cat Ba National Park - Hai Phong".

- Name of training institution: Forestry University

- PhD student:

+ Full name: Le Thi Ngan

+ Degree: Master

+ PhD training course: K25

+ Major: Forest resource management

+ Code: 9620211

II. New contributions of the thesis:

The first new point of the thesis is the first use of the combination of GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods to evaluate potential areas suitable for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park based on natural resources, human resources and cultural resources.

The thesis also identified important results on the level of participation, factors hindering and promoting community participation as well as community awareness and attitudes towards ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation in Cat Ba National Park.

The thesis has proposed a number of priority solutions for ecotourism development associated with biodiversity conservation in Cat Ba National Park based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. This system of solutions is the basis for Cat Ba National Park to consider implementing ecotourism development associated with biodiversity conservation in the trend of financial autonomy of national parks and protected areas in Vietnam in the coming time.

Graduate Student Guidance Team


Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Linh Associate Professor, Dr. Dong Thanh Hai Le Thi Ngan


INTRODUCTION

1. Necessity of the Topic

The Law on Tourism No. 09/2017/QH14 dated June 19, 2017 of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam defined Ecotourism as “a type of tourism based on nature, associated with local cultural identity, with the participation of the local community, combined with education on environmental protection”. Up to now, there are many definitions of ecotourism used by different organizations, in general, all of which aim at 3 main goals including social equity, economic development and environmental integrity (TIES, 2015). Ecotourism is a branch of sustainable tourism. Ecotourism is considered an effective tool for sustainable development, which is the main reason why developing countries are now actively embracing ecotourism and incorporating it into their economic development and conservation strategies (Kiper, 2013).

Vietnam is ranked 16th among the countries with the highest biodiversity in the world and is one of the 10 richest centers of biodiversity in the world (MONRE, 2015). However, biodiversity in Vietnam has been and is being degraded due to excessive human activities such as habitat destruction, hunting, and illegal animal trade. To conserve biodiversity, the Vietnamese Government has proposed many solutions, in which the establishment of national parks/protected areas is the key solution. According to Decision 1976/QD-TTg in 2014 approving the National Special-use Forest System Planning to 2020, with a vision to 2030 issued by the Prime Minister, 167 special-use forests have been established nationwide with a total area of ​​2,303,961 hectares (accounting for 14.19% of the land area planned for forestry), including 33 national parks, 57 nature reserves, 14 species and habitat conservation areas and 54 landscape protection areas. These are places that conserve biodiversity, typical ecosystems, rare and endangered species and have great potential for developing ecotourism, one of the main and competitive tourism products of Vietnam.


Ecotourism plays an important role in the activities of national parks/protected areas because it generates a significant source of income to support biodiversity conservation and local community development (García-Herrera, 2016). However, ecotourism in national parks/protected areas in Vietnam has not yet developed commensurate with its potential. The main reason for the limitation of ecotourism development is the lack of cooperation between the government and different sectors in the development of ecotourism policies and plans. The tourism industry is related to many sectors, so close cooperation between stakeholders is needed for its development (García-Herrera, 2016). In addition, the development of ecotourism has not yet had a unified operating mechanism in the national park/protected area system and has only been concentrated in a few national parks such as Cat Ba, Cat Tien, Ba Vi, Tam Dao, Bach Ma... Tourism products are not yet diverse, especially typical products such as wildlife viewing are organized by very few national parks/protected areas. The issue of planning tourist routes and areas suitable for ecotourism development is also not systematic. More importantly, the connection between ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation and the participation of local communities is still limited in national parks/protected areas in Vietnam.

The relationship between ecotourism development, biodiversity conservation and local participation has been discussed in many previous studies. Holmes (2013) suggests that local people can be a direct threat to protected areas when they do not cooperate with protected area management or participate in conservation initiatives and ecotourism activities. A deeper understanding of local people’s attitudes and perceptions as well as the factors that promote and hinder their participation will be an important basis for developing appropriate strategies to attract widespread local support for biodiversity conservation and ecotourism management (Holmes, 2013).

As a national park established in 1986, home to the most important island ecosystem in Vietnam, Cat Ba National Park plays an important role in the work of


biodiversity conservation, natural resource conservation, in addition, this place also has great significance for the ecological environment protection of Hai Phong city and is a place with great potential for ecotourism development. Cat Ba National Park is associated with Ha Long Bay complex - a world natural heritage with many unique natural landscapes, many amazing caves, beautiful and poetic beaches; diverse and rich ecosystems with hundreds of rare species of animals and plants, long-standing indigenous culture attracting tourists when visiting and experiencing the Park.

Implementing the policy of ecotourism development, Cat Ba National Park is one of 07 national parks that are implementing joint ventures and partnerships to organize ecotourism activities. Revenue from organizing ecotourism activities has initially contributed to the development of the Park. However, like other national parks/reserves in Vietnam, the implementation of ecotourism activities here is still facing many obstacles in terms of policy mechanisms, master plans, and participating parties... Up to now, Cat Ba National Park has not yet had an approved ecotourism development project. To develop ecotourism sustainably, the National Park needs a specific project and comprehensive solutions. One of those solutions is to develop ecotourism associated with biodiversity conservation.

The scientific basis for developing ecotourism associated with biodiversity conservation is first to clarify the potential of biodiversity for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park . According to previous studies (Hoang Van Cau, 2017; Hoang Van Phuc, 2016), the ecotourism routes and points here have only exploited the potential of biodiversity in the areas surrounding the National Park Center. Moreover, the typical ecotourism types that attract tourists to the National Park such as watching wildlife (Cat Ba langur, Son Duong, Cat Ba gecko...) have not been exploited. The second question is to clearly identify the potential areas for ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park. The number of routes currently being exploited in the National Park seems to be disproportionate to the potential of the Park. Therefore, it is necessary to have a comprehensive assessment based on criteria of natural characteristics, socio-economic population.


and culture of adaptive zones, which is the scientific basis for planning ecotourism zones of the National Park. The third question is how to attract the participation of local communities in ecotourism activities of the National Park? Up to now, the participation of local communities and these activities of the people are only spontaneous, there is no mechanism for participation, so the participation of local communities is still limited. Research on the current status of participation, factors promoting and hindering participation as well as the attitudes and perceptions of the community towards ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation is essential for proposing policies to attract community participation. Once the biodiversity potential for ecotourism development, potential areas for ecotourism development and factors promoting and hindering community participation as well as their awareness and attitudes towards ecotourism development have been clarified, it will be a scientific basis for the National Park and planners to develop policies and plans for sustainable ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park.

2. Research objectives

General Objective

Providing scientific and practical basis for the orientation of ecotourism development associated with biodiversity conservation for sustainable development of Cat Ba National Park, Hai Phong.

Specific goals

- Assess the current status of ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park;

- Identify potential ecotourism areas in Cat Ba National Park;

- Assess the level of participation, attitude and awareness of the community towards ecotourism development in Cat Ba National Park;

- Propose solutions for developing eco-tourism associated with biodiversity conservation.

3. New contributions of the Thesis

The first new point of the thesis is the first use of the combination of GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods to evaluate potential areas.

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