ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION: A CASE STUDY OF CAT TIEN NATIONAL PARK IN VIETNAM By THUY NGOC NGUYEN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 1 © 2007 Thuy Ngoc Nguyen 2 To my parents 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dissertation acknowledgments, such as this one, usually enumerate the people and institutions that made contributions to producing the final output. Quite frequently, the first ones mentioned are the most important for the author and for the work. I do not feel a need to be different from the traditional dissertation acknowledgement, except that the last one I mention here is, for me, the most important. I am truly grateful to the following for taking part in the completion of this small piece of academic work. The people in three communes of Dang Ha, Doan Ket, Thong Nhat of Bu Dang District, Binh Phuoc Province, for their cooperation and patience during the interviews; my advisor, Dr. Janaki R R Alavalapati, for his guidance and instructions that pushed me to finish this research at the appropriate time, the members of my committee, Dr. Mark A. Brennan, Dr. Brijesh Thapa, Dr. Clyde Kiker, and Dr. Marianne Schmink, for their constructive comments during the defense; the good people in my home institution, especially Dr. Luu Trong Hieu, former Director of International Programs, Nong Lam University, for encouraging me to pursue the doctoral program at the University of Florida and Mr. Michael Holsinger, former Vietnam Program Manager, IFAS International Programs, University of Florida for introducing me to the interdisciplinary ecology program. I want to acknowlegde my parents-in-law who came to Gainesville to help take care of our children, which allowed me to work full time on my dissertation in the final writing period. My appreciation can not be fully expressed in words. Finally, to my wife, Nga Trinh, for her presence, graciousness, and love which motivated me to finish my dissertation on time. My beloved daughters, Viet-Phi and Viet-Mi, served as my inspiration while writing this dissertation. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................8 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................10 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................13 Statement of Problem .............................................................................................................16 Study Objectives.....................................................................................................................18 Significance of the Study........................................................................................................19 Dissertation Organization .......................................................................................................20 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK..........................................................................................21 Theory of Public Goods..........................................................................................................21 The Free Rider Problem ..................................................................................................22 Solutions to Positive and Negative Apathy.....................................................................25 Trust and Collective Action for Common Management ........................................................28 Commons Management as an Assurance Problem .........................................................28 Establishing Trust through Verbal and Face-to-Face Communication ...........................29 Feedback through Everyday Social Interaction...............................................................31 Social Capital and Natural Resources Conservation ..............................................................32 Social Capital...................................................................................................................32 Social Capital and Natural Resource Conservation.........................................................35 Household Characteristics and Social Capital.................................................................36 3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE STUDY SITE ................................................38 National Parks in the World ...................................................................................................38 Bufferzones.............................................................................................................................39 National Parks in Vietnam: An Overview..............................................................................40 Political Context ..............................................................................................................40 The Profiles of National Parks ........................................................................................42 National Park and Bufferzone .........................................................................................42 The Study Site: The Cat Tien National Park ..........................................................................43 Forest Protection and Rural Development (FPRD) project.............................................47 The Commune Profiles....................................................................................................49 The Thong Nhat Commune......................................................................................49 The Dang Ha Commune...........................................................................................51 5 The Doan Ket Commune..........................................................................................52 Ethnographical Sketch of Population Living in the Three Study Communes.................54 Stieng ethnic.............................................................................................................54 Tay, Nung, Hoa, Muong, Man, Dao, Cao Lan, San Diu ethnic minorities..............55 Kinh people ..............................................................................................................56 Indigenous Ethnic Groups in Transition..........................................................................57 Changes in community structure..............................................................................57 Indigenous knowledge system .................................................................................57 Changing characteristics of family, household and community ..............................57 Commune’s people committee.................................................................................60 Summary.................................................................................................................................61 4 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................62 Conceptual Framework...........................................................................................................62 Unit of Analysis......................................................................................................................64 Sampling Methods..................................................................................................................64 Survey Instrument/Questionnaire Development and Research ..............................................65 Survey Pre-test........................................................................................................................66 Administration of the Survey..................................................................................................67 Concepts and Variables ..........................................................................................................67 Community Group/Social Organization Membership.....................................................68 Involvement in Community Activities ............................................................................68 Perception of the Community..........................................................................................68 Participation in Conservation-Related Activities of the Forest Protection and Rural Development Project....................................................................................................69 Conservation Attitudes ....................................................................................................70 Perceptions about biodiversity conservation............................................................70 Issues/ problems associated with biodiversity conservation ....................................71 Impacts of conservation activities ............................................................................71 Control Variables/Demographics ....................................................................................71