Vietnam Tropical Forest and Biodiversity Assessment
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VIETNAM TROPICAL FOREST AND BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT Last Revised September 23, 2013 This document was prepared by Sun Mountain International and The Cadmus Group, Inc. within the GEMS contract for review by the United States Agency for International Development VIETNAM TROPICAL FOREST AND BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT US Foreign Assistance Act, Section 118/119 Report August, 2013 Prepared by: Sun Mountain International and the Cadmus Group, Inc. Report Authors: Joao S. de Queiroz, Daniel Griswold, Nguyen Duc Tu and Patrick Hall Prepared under: The Global Environmental Management Support Project (GEMS), Award Number AID-OAA-M-11-00021. The Cadmus Group, Inc., prime contractor (www.cadmusgroup.com). Sun Mountain International, principal partner (www.smtn.org). Contact: Scott Solberg - Sun Mountain International Quiteño Libre E15-108 y Flores Jijón Sector Bellavista, Quito, Ecuador Telephone: 593-22-922-625; 593-999-936-656; Fax: 224-3999 Email: [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report has been prepared by Sun Mountain International and the Cadmus Group, Inc., in collaboration with staff from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Vietnam. In particular we would like to thank Jake Brunner, Director of IUCN Vietnam, and Le Thi Thanh Thuy, our trusted translator and guide, for her enthusiastic and professional support during our field work and report preparation. We would like to thank all of the experts who so generously took the time to meet with us and share their ideas. We hope this report does justice to the many wonderful and innovative ideas for positive change that we heard throughout our fieldwork. We would especially like to thank the staff and leadership of USAID/Vietnam and the Regional Development Mission for Asia for their support and commitment to the assessment, which have been vital to its success. A special thank you to Alex Zvinakis for being available nights and weekends and for providing insightful suggestions and guidance, always ready to fully support the assessment. Cover Photos Top Photo: Rice paddies bordering the Huong Tich Limestone Mountains in the Red River Delta. Middle Left Photo: a fishing boat in Halong Bay. (Credit: Daniel Griswold). Middle Center Photo: Ethnic Minority Dao women near Sapa. Bottom Photo: Rice paddies near Sapa. (Credit: Joao S. de Queiroz). Middle Right Photo: a clam farmer’s shack in a large tidal mudflat within Xuan Thuy National Park. (Credit: Patrick Hall). Report Maps The maps included in this report were custom-prepared by Daniel Mahr at The Cadmus Group in June 2013 using Esri ArcGIS 10.1 software. When possible, publicly available GIS datasets were chosen to enable reproducibility while global-scale datasets were chosen to allow for intercomparison. These datasets include Global Administrative Areas province boundaries, World Wildlife Fund Terrestrial Ecoregions, United States Geological Survey HydroSHEDS topography, European Space Agency GLOBCover land cover, and WorldClim precipitation. Demographic data came from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam. All datasets were downloaded and subset to the region around Vietnam. Minimal processing was conducted on the data. GADM province boundaries were updated to reflect the 2008 merger of Hà Tây into Hà Nôi. Similarly, GSO province-level statistics from Hà Tây from before 2008 were added to Hà Nôi. In addition, GLOBCover classes were grouped to clarify and simplify visualization. The final data were visualized to show as much detail as possible on a national scale, assuming a 4-inch by 8-inch printed map. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... VII 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 2 COUNTRY PROFILE ............................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 LOCATION, POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUBDIVISION ....................................................................................... 3 2.2 TOPOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.3 SOILS .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 2.4 CLIMATE ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 2.5 HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES ........................................................................................................................ 6 2.6 VIETNAM ECOREGIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.7 CLIMATE CHANGE ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 2.8 LAND USE AND VEGETATION COVER ............................................................................................................................ 8 3 THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................ 11 3.1 POPULATION ................................................................................................................................................................... 11 4 POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 13 4.1 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND AGREEMENTS ................................................................................................. 13 4.2 STRATEGIES, ACTION PLANS ......................................................................................................................................... 14 4.2.1 Biodiversity Action Plans .................................................................................................................................................. 14 4.3 LAWS, REGULATIONS, DECREES AND OTHER REGULATORY INSTRUMENTS ............................................................... 15 5 INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR MANDATES .................................................................................... 19 5.1 DECENTRALIZATION ...................................................................................................................................................... 22 5.2 HUMAN RESOURCES....................................................................................................................................................... 23 5.3 FINANCING OF BIODIVERSITY AND FOREST CONSERVATION .................................................................................... 23 5.4 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 33 5.5 GENDER CONSIDERATIONS........................................................................................................................................... 33 5.6 RAMIFICATIONS OF LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS ................................................................................ 34 6 THE STATUS AND ECOLOGICAL TRENDS OF TROPICAL FORESTS AND BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................................................................ 36 6.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF VIETNAM TO GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY ........................................................................................ 36 6.1.1 Vietnam as a repository of globally important biodiversity .................................................................................... 36 6.1.2 Vietnam as a key player in the regional and global loss of biodiversity ............................................................. 36 6.2 THREATENED AND ENDEMIC SPECIES ........................................................................................................................... 37 6.3 PROTECTED AREAS AND CONSERVATION LANDSCAPES ............................................................................................ 39 6.3.1 National Protected Area Management ....................................................................................................................... 41 6.3.2 Representativeness of Tropical Forests and Biodiversity in Vietnam’s Protected Areas ................................. 43 7 CAUSES OF FOREST DEGRADATION AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS ......................................... 44 7.1 PROXIMATE CAUSES ....................................................................................................................................................... 44 7.1.1 Deforestation and Land Use Change .......................................................................................................................... 44 7.1.2 Illegal Trade in Wildlife ................................................................................................................................................... 45 7.1.3 Illegal Logging 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