PARTICOLORED FLYING SQUIRREL HYLOPETES ALBONIGER PHOTO CREDIT: NGUYEN TRUONG SON REPORT ON ZONATION FOR BIODIVERSITY INVENTORIES IN QUANG NAM SAOLA NATURE RESERVE IN QUANG NAM PROVINCE Disclaimer: This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID.) The contents of report are the sole responsibility of ECODIT/WWF-Vietnam as a sub-contractor and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. MAP OF FOREST COVER TYPES IN QUANG NAM PROVINCE TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLE 1 LIST OF FIGURES 2 LIST OF ACRONYMS 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 I. INTRODUCTION 5 1.1. OVERVIEW 5 1.2. SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES 6 II. AIM AND OBJECTIVES 6 III. ACTIVITIES 6 IV. METHODOLOGY 7 4.1 DATA AND MAPS REQUIRED FOR THE CONSERVATION ZONATION 7 4.2 DESK STUDY 7 4.3. METHODS TO APPLY IN PRODUCING MAP OF PROPOSED EXTENSION OF QUANG NAM SAOLA NR AND ZONING 7 4.4. CREATE LAYERS FOR SPECIES, OCCUPANCY, THREATS, FOREST COVER FOR ZONATION 8 V. RESULTS AND FIDINGS 11 5.1. PRODUCE MAP OF PROPOSED EXTENSION AREA FOR QUANG NAM SAOLA NR AND ZONING 11 5.2. THE FOREST COVER ANALYSIS AND FOREST INTEGRITY 13 5.3. CREATE LAYERS FOR SPECIES, OCCUPANCY, THREATS FOR ZONATION 14 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 18 6.1. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 18 6.1.1. PROTENTIAL EXPANSION AREAS FOR QUANG NAM SAOLA NATURE RESERVE 18 6.1.2. BIODIVERSITY VALUES AND KEY AND IMPORTANT SPECIES 19 6.1.3. THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY 19 6.2 KEY RECOMMENDATIONS 19 REFERENCES 21 ANNEX 22 LIST OF TABLE Table 1 - Maps And Related Data 7 Table 2 - List Of Sentinel 2 Image Bands Used For QNSLNR 9 Table 3 - Forest And Land Use Types Harmonized To Calculate Under The Circular 34 10 Table 4 - Area And Proportion Of Functional Zones In Qn Saola NR 12 Table 5 - Areas Of Forest Cover Types For QNSLNR In 2018 13 Table 6 - The Biodiversity Value And Key And Important Species For QNSLNR 15 Table 7 - Areas And Proportion Of Main Threats For Qn SLNR In 2018 17 USAID ZONATION FOR BIODIVERSITY INVENTORIES IN QUANG NAM SAOLA NATURE RESERVE IN QUANG NAM PROVINCE | 1 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 - Flow chard of the operation for identification of Protected Area zones sytem 8 Figure 2 - Methodology framework for forest cover analysis of QNSLNR in Quang Nam Province 9 Figure 3 - Map of proposed extension for the QNSLNR and zonning 13 Figure 4 - Map of forest cover and non-forest types for the QNSLNR 14 Figure 5 - Biodiversity value and key and important species map of the QNSLNR 16 Figure 6 - Map of main threats for the QNSLNR 18 USAID ZONATION FOR BIODIVERSITY INVENTORIES IN QUANG NAM SAOLA NATURE RESERVE IN QUANG NAM PROVINCE | 2 LIST OF ACRONYMS CA Central Annamites CPC Commune People’s Committee DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development DPC District People’s Committee DONRE Department of Natural Resource and Environment ERZ Ecological restoration sub-zone FPD Forest Protection Department HCVF High Conservation Value Forest MONRE Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment NR Nature Reserve NTFP Non-timber forest products PAs Protected Areas PPC Provincial People’s Committee QNSLNR Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve SAZ Service-administrative sub-zone SPZ Strictly protected sub-zone USAID U.S Agency for International Development WWF World Wildlife Fund USAID ZONATION FOR BIODIVERSITY INVENTORIES IN QUANG NAM SAOLA NATURE RESERVE IN QUANG NAM PROVINCE | 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This zonation report is prepared for biodiversity inventories in Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve (QNSLNR). The objective of this report is to conduct assessments which lead to proposed revisions of zonation within the existing and proposed protected area network of Quang Nam Province. Thematic maps of species, occupancy/wildlife habitat, threats and forest cover are overlayed into one layer in order to identify the zoning system map for QNSLNR. All these map layers were created in Shapefile format by using type of coordinate systems VN2000. GIS and remote sensing techniques were used to identify the lacation of the QN SLNR management zones. After proposed extension of a part of nine compartments of 1; 2, 16; 17; 26; 25; 18; 39 and 41, the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve has a protential expansion area of 18,447.55 ha, an increase of 2991.09 ha in comparison with total current area of NR. The zonation recommendation map for the core zone contains of two functional sub-zones: strictly-protected sub-zones (15,197.40 ha), and ecological restoration sub-zones (3,280.01 ha). The NR’s buffer zone covers 6 communes and one town (A Nong, Bhalee and A Vuong communes in Dong Giang district, Ta Lu, Song Con and A Ting commune and Prao town in Dong Giang district of Quang Nam province). The strictly-protected sub-zones occupy in both rich forest and medium forest. The ecological restoration sub-zones occupies in two forest cover types (the poor forest, regrowth forest) and bare land ( grass land, and shrub). According to the results of Sentinel image classification, it was was found that 98.65% of the total natural area is under forest cover types and 1.35% is under under non-forest types. The detailed analysis of the forest cover indicated that seven forest categories are identified and classified: evergreen broadleaf - rich forest (25.44%), evergreen broadleaf - medium forest (54.48%), evergreen broadleaf - poor forest (13.53%), and evergreen broadleaf – regrowth (5.20%). Twelve high conservation value species of animal and bird are selected as representative to develop key and important species layer map: 1) the Saola; 2) large antlered muntjac; 3) Truong Son muntjac, 3) Annamite striped rabbit; 4) Red-shanked Douc Langur; 5) Stump-tailed macaque; 6) Northern pig-tailed macaque; 7) Serow; 8) Spotted linsang; 9) Annam; 10) crested argus; 11) Austen Brown Hornbill; 12) Indochinese Wren Babbler. The distribution, presence and habitats of all these species are associated with forest cover types. The high conservation value species are located in the rich and medium forests belonging to strictly protected sub-zone (SPZ). Five threats are identified to develop threat layer map: 1) Illegal logging , 2) wildlife hunting and trapping, 3) exploitation of NTFPs, 4) Forest encroachment, and 5) livestock grazing. In relation to zonation, the illegal logging and wildlife hunting had impacted on a large area, even can occur entire areas of the QNSLNR. However, number of threats and scope of its impacts are associated with distribution and occupacy of the animal species and the forest cover types. USAID ZONATION FOR BIODIVERSITY INVENTORIES IN QUANG NAM SAOLA NATURE RESERVE IN QUANG NAM PROVINCE | 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1.1. OVERVIEW WWF is implementing a comprehensive programme of conservation activities in the Central Vietnam- Southern Laos landscape. This is part of the Greater Annamites priority ecoregion, containing many significant populations of globally threatened and flagship species. WWF aims to protect and restore these species and their habitats and a large part of this work involves strengthening the management of key PAs. The Green Annamites project is funded by USAID and implemented through ECODIT. It supports Vietnam’s transition to climate-smart, low emissions, and resilient development that protects people, landscapes, and biodiversity in the Central Annamites, with a focus on Quang Nam and Thua Thie Hue provinces. The Central Annamites (CA) is one of the largest continuous natural forest areas in continental Asia and houses important PAs in Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue provinces. It is home to many endemic species including the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), large antlered muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis), Truong Son muntjac (Muntiacus truongsonensis), Owston’s civet (Chrotogale owstoni), crested argus (Rheinardia ocellata), and Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi); as well as other species of high conservation value: gibbon (Nomascus annamensis), red and grey shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix spp.) and several pheasants (Lophura spp). Most information available to management boards stems from rapid wildlife and habitat assessments conducted prior to the preparation of an investment plan for establishment of these nature reserves, which produce lists of species, but often include no quantitative data on species abundance or distribution, making it difficult to set management priorities. Under the Green Annamites project, WWF will contribute to establishing a baseline for biodiversity monitoring systems in identified PAs. This will include creation of species lists, abundance estimates of key species and threat analysis data in the landscape that will provide input into management planning and zoning of target PAs. This data will serve as a basis for upgrading, expanding and establishing new PAs in the landscape and facilitating sustainable management. The objectives of a biodiversity inventory in PAs in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces under the Green Annamites project are: 1. Data collection for biodiversity baseline data in five PAs (Bac Hai Van, Hue Saola NR and Phong Dien NR in Thua Thien Hue Province; QN Saola NR and Song Thanh NR in Quang Nam Province); 2. Establish a biodiversity monitoring system database and design the complex biodiversity monitoring for each PA based on the current system if any; 3. Forest cover assessments to determine forest fragmentation and forest integrity; 4. Re-zoning and zoning of PAs to propose new PA standards; 5. Management recommendations for key protected and proposed PAs in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces; and 6. Conduct training needs assessment and provide training to rangers and PA staff. The QN SLNR was established on July 13th, 2012. It can be found at the center of Central Annamites some 180 km northeast of Tam Ky city, and considered one of the centers of global biodiversity (WWF Global, 2000).