Research Collection Report Improving livelihoods through market assessment and sustainable development of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in two selected villages in the northern uplands of Vietnam Author(s): Hilfiker, Karin Publication Date: 2005 Permanent Link: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-004999400 Rights / License: In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted This page was generated automatically upon download from the ETH Zurich Research Collection. For more information please consult the Terms of use. ETH Library Zurich, 28 February 2005 Internship report Improving livelihoods through market assessment and sustainable development of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in two selected villages in the northern uplands of Vietnam. Karin Hilfiker Dipl. Forest Engineer ETH Zurich, Switzerland January 2004 – February 2005 Author: Karin Hilfiker, Dipl. Forest Engineer ETH Zurich, Switzerland Assistant cum interpreter: Nguyen Trung Thong, Forester Xuan Mai University, Vietnam Internship tutor: Ruedi Lüthi, Technical Advisor of Extension and Training Support Project (ETSP) in Hanoi, Vietnam Scientific support: Dr. phil. Claudia Zingerli, Chair of Forest Policy and Forest Economics, Department of Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Dr. sc. nat. Jean-Pierre Sorg, Chair of Silviculture, Department of Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Implementation and funding: HELVETAS Switzerland, Zurich mandated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Berne Helvetas Vietnam – Swiss Association for International Cooperation ETSP – Extension and Training Support Project for Forestry and Agriculture in the Uplands 218 Doi Can Street, GPO Box 81, Hanoi, Vietnam; phone: +84 4 832 98 33, fax: +84 4 832 98 34 e-mail: [email protected] web site ETSP: http://www.etsp.org.vn, web site Helvetas Vietnam: http://www.helvetas.org.vn i Table of contents Summary.................................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements................................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 1.1 Study background ......................................................................................................1 1.2 Objectives...................................................................................................................1 1.3 The role of NTFPs in household economy strategies ................................................2 2 Material and Methods.........................................................................................................4 2.1 Study site....................................................................................................................4 2.2 Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)...........................................................................8 2.3 Species identification................................................................................................10 2.4 Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA).................................................................................10 2.5 Data analysis............................................................................................................12 3 Results .............................................................................................................................14 3.1 Socio economic importance of NTFPs in Ngo Luong commune..............................14 3.2 Case studies of selected NTFPs..............................................................................19 A Case study of bamboo shoots of Dendrocalamus asper..........................................19 BA Case study of bamboo culms of Dendrocalamus asper for paper making...............37 BB Case study of bamboo culms of Bambusa textilis and Bambusa blumeana for handicraft and construction ......................................................................................47 BC Case study of bamboo shoots of Indosasa angustata for comb-making..................58 C Case study of bamboo sheaths of Indosasa angustata for hat making....................67 D Case study of ornamental orchids like Aerides odorata ...........................................77 EA Case study of the medicinal plant species: Drynaria fortunei...................................89 EB Case study of the medicinal plant species: Nervilia fordii ......................................102 EC Case study of the medicinal plant species: Anoectochilus setaceus .....................110 4 General discussion.........................................................................................................116 4.1 Social aspects ........................................................................................................116 4.2 Household economy...............................................................................................116 4.3 Resource management..........................................................................................120 4.4 Legal regulations....................................................................................................120 5 Conclusion and recommendations.................................................................................122 5.1 ‘Useful and less promising’ NTFPs for livelihood improvement of poorer households. ...............................................................................................................................122 5.2 NTFP-relevant factors at commune, district, provincial and national level.............124 5.3 Recommendations .................................................................................................125 Bibliography ...........................................................................................................................129 Annex.....................................................................................................................................135 ii List of Tables Table 1: General information about the research site................................................................................5 Table 2: Forest classification in Ngo Luong commune ..............................................................................6 Table 3: Wealth class criteria developed by participants in Ngo Luong commune ...................................8 Table 4: Criteria for the preference matrix to short-list the five economically most valuable NTFPs in both studied villages.........................................................................................................................10 Table 5: Procedure to select economically valuable NTFPs ...................................................................11 Table 6: Reasons for excluding short-listed NTFPs at the study site for market analysis.......................11 Table 7: Reasons for adding NTFPs for market analysis ........................................................................11 Table 8: The nine short-listed NTFPs for market analysis.......................................................................12 Table 9: Relationship between wealth classes and NTFP dependency in both studied villages ............14 Table 10: Overview of NTFP cash income in 2003 differentiated between location and wealth class....15 Table 11: Overview of the ten most important NTFPs as well as the five economically most valuable NTFPs for the participants in the two studied villages .....................................................................17 Table A 1: Characteristics of market actors.............................................................................................22 Table A 2: Methods of water and salt water storage at the forest gate and market places.....................24 Table A 3: Methods of shoot drying and locally added value applied at different places ........................25 Table A 4: Favourite shoot commodity ....................................................................................................25 Table A 5: Information on different substitutes for bamboo species used as food products ...................26 Table A 6: General overview of the selling price at different places in 2004 ...........................................27 Table A 7: Market situation for dry shoots at different places..................................................................27 Table A 8: Average benefit of boiled shoots for stakeholders at different market levels.........................28 Table A 9: Average benefit of dry shoots with different water ratios........................................................29 Table A 10: Indications of the legal situation on bamboo shoot exploitation and trade...........................32 Table A 11: Legal application from the point of view of the forest protection authority ...........................32 Table BA 1: Characteristics of market actors...........................................................................................39 Table BA 2: Indications to the legal situation about bamboo culm exploitation.......................................44 Table BB 1: Characteristics of market actors...........................................................................................49 Table BB 2: Quality characteristics of Bambusa blumeana culms ..........................................................51