THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY NGUYEN THI THU HANG PROPOSE SOLUTIONS TO INTEGRATE REDUCING EMISSION FROM DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION (REDD+) IN THE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF FORESTS IN NA RI DISTRICT - BAC KAN PROVINCE BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode : Full-time Major : Environmental Science and Management Faculty : International Training and Development Center Batch : 2010-2015 Thai Nguyen, 15/ 01/2015 n Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program : Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student name : Nguyen Thi Thu Hang Student ID : DTN1053110070 Thesis Title : Propose Solutions to Integrate Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in the Protection and Development of Forests in Na Ri District - Bac Kan Province Supervisor : Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha ABSTRACT Price sensitivity of forest conservation can turn into a very efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that is why efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and reduce forest degradation (REDD+) has been integrated to enhance forest carbon stocks available. Bac Kan conditions suitable for building distribution of benefits systems under REDD+ because of large areas of degraded forest and if regeneration, it can quickly absorb carbon, and soil conservation water. Bac Kan province is considered as the potential to implement REED+.
The research was carried out in Na Ri district of Bac Kan province. Through the results achieved from data collection, actual survey and data analyzing, this research points out that the total forest area of Na Ri is about 74,700 ha accounted for 88% of total area of district, it has the potential to sell carbon credits. The coverage is high but the quality still low due to mostly of forest area is plantation forest. The impacts and main causes of forest degradation are also mentioned here.
Due to forest degradation, people’s life and ecological i n environment are at risk, they have to face to natural disaster, climate change and worse ecological environment. The main causes of this situation are: the income of local people is still low and unstable; the management is weak. From those, I propose some solutions to integrate REDD+ in the protection and development of forest here such as: planning, technical, administrative, economic and propaganda measures by using SFM as overall framework and continuing strengthened the protection and management of forest in Na Ri. These results can help communities realize more clearly the serious impact of forest degradation and loss of forest, also for the people to understand the main causes leading to undesirable changes in climate.
And understand their part of the responsibility for preventing, responding to and mitigating the effects of climate change. To themselves every individual, every organization in the community to build their self-consciousness in the prevention, mitigation and coping with the consequences of deforestation and forest degradation brought. To minimize, the significant loss of life and property as a result of climate change in the coming years. Especially for those individuals, the region, the region suffered a direct result of it, the need to enhance vigilance and construction measures to minimize the damage.
Keywords : REDD+, forest degradation, solutions, integrate, protection Number of pages : 50 Date of : January 15, 2015 Submission ii n ACKNOWLEDGMENT To accomplish this thesis, I would like to thank the teachers in Centre of International Training and Development, as well as the teachers in the Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry have dedicated teaching and communicated to me the valuable knowledge during study time in the university. I beg to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha, she was devoted to guide, and help me in the process of implementing this projects and writing graduation reports. Finally, with deep gratitude, I sincerely send to my family and friends who helped me a lot mentally and physically to complete the academic program and graduation reports.
In the process of implementing thesis, by my experience and knowledge are limited so inevitable errors and defects. I look forward to the participation feedback from teachers and students to my thesis to be more complete and can be widely applied in practice. I sincerely thank you! Thai Nguyen, January 15, 2015 Student Nguyen Thi Thu Hang iii n TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT. iii LIST OF FIGURES.
v LIST OF TABLES. v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Research questions and hypotheses. Sustainable development and Sustainable forest management.
Overview of REDD+. Characteristics of Bac Kan province and Na Ri district. Current status of forest in Na Ri district in the period of 2009-2014. Impacts and main causes of forest degradation.
Proposing Solutions to Integrate REDD+ in the Protection and Development of Forests in Na Ri District. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION. 49 iv n LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 2.1: Barbier’s integrated approach to sustainable development 7 Figure 2.2: Administrative map of Na Ri District 18 Figure 4.1: Graph of the forest area proportion by districts in total forest area 28 of Bac Kan province Figure 4.2: Synthesis of forest cover in Na Ri District 29 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: The variation in forest area Vietnam during 1943-2012 2 Table 2.1: Variation of forest resources Bac Kan period 1999-2012 14 Table 2.2: Land use situation in Bac Kan 15 Table 2.3: Area of forest and non-forested land by 3 types of forest in Bac Kan 15 Table 4.1: Land Use situation in Na Ri District 26 Table 4.2: Forest area by function of Na Ri District 28 Table 4.3: Summary the current situation of forest land allocation as a result 31 of the review in Na Ri District Table 4.4: Area of forest land by the state of Na Ri district 32 v n LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CPC Commune People's Committee DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development FPD Forest Protection Department GHGs Greenhouse Gases MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development NP National Park NR Nature Reserve PCI Provincial Competitiveness Index REDD+ Reducing Emission from Deforestation and. Forest Degradation SFM Sustainable Forest Management SUF Special use forest UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UN-REDD REDD+ program of United Nations WCED World Commission on Environment and Development vi n PART I.
Research rationale Vietnam’s tropical forests are important both for environmental services and values and for forest products. However, Vietnam’s forest heritage has been severely undermined by forest loss and degradation. The annual loss of natural forests in Vietnam is around 100,000 ha (MARD, 2000). This loss has a wide range of social, economic, and environmental impacts.
These problems include the so-called downstream impacts – those felt in the lowlands, whose environmental health (for example water and soil) depends so much on the ecological processes of the highlands (GoV, 2005). The area of forest land in our country in 2012 was 13.9 million hectares, accounting for 40.7% of land natural (Ha, 2007). Forest area was increasing during many last decades but natural forest area was continuing decrease that leads to forest degradation/environmental degradation. Furthermore, in recent years, due to the many reasons, subjective forests of our country have been severely reduced in quality of forests.
It is also a reason of increasing green house gases emission. The decline of forest resources first expresses and clarifies through the decline in the area. Previously most of Vietnam country covered by forest, but only about a century, heavily degraded forest. In colonial times, many large tracts of land in the South have been cleared to grow coffee, rubber, tea and some other crops.
By the mid-twentieth century, almost the jungles of the Red River Delta, a large part of the Mekong Delta with forests on the coastal lowlands have been cleared for cultivation and building villages. At this point the remaining forest 1 n covers of 43% of natural land. Thirty years of war followed by a period in which Vietnam's forests were shrinking rapidly. More than 80 million liters of herbicides and 13 million tons of bombs with over 25 million hole bombs, incendiary bombs, along with the giant bulldozers destroyed more than 2 million hectares of tropical forest types (FPD, 2012).
Table 1: The variation in forest area Vietnam during 1945-2012 Unit: million ha Year 1945 1976 1985 1995 2005 2009 2010 2011 2012 Type of forest Total area of 14.9 forest Natural Forest 14.7 Source: Forest Protection Department, 2014 Although forest cover has increased quickly in the last ten years, in general this has only occurred in production forest land as a result of natural regeneration after shifting cultivation, or of plantation establishment on bare-hill land (de Jong et al. The quality of such regeneration forest is very low (GoV, 2005). Moreover, the old growth natural forests, which account for only 6% of the total forest area of Vietnam and are reserved as conservation forests, are still threatened, and continue to be lost through illegal logging (Ha, 2007). The protection and special use forest categories are located in the most environmentally vulnerable places, where this loss would lead to serious threats to ecological systems such as loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and loss of 2 n catchment values.
The maintenance and restoration of upland forests are critical to these functions, but have not yet been realized. Thus, the uplands of Vietnam remain in a situation of continuing forest loss, of a degrading environment, and of poverty. Bac Kan province was chosen as one of six pilot provinces participated cooperation Programme of the United Nations on "Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, sustainable management of forest resources, conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in Vietnam”. And Na Ri was also chosen as one of 3 pilot districts to implement REDD+ program.
Therefore, we need to find the causes and solutions for forest protection. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is a mechanism being designed to provide financial rewards to forest owners and users. Under the mechanisms, countries will measure and monitor the emissions of CO2 resulting from deforestation and degradation within their borders. Derived from the pressing issues above, entitled “Propose solutions to integrate Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in the protection and development of forests in Na Ri district - Bac Kan province” to define the causes of forest degradation then propose solutions to integrate REDD+ in the protection and development of forests in Na Ri District of Bac Kan province.
The result of this study could be useful to local managers and policy makers to make decision how to integrate REED+ in the forest protection and development plan as long-term strategy toward sustainable forest management. Research’s Objectives The study aims to determine the causes of forest degradation then propose solutions to integrate REDD+ in the protection and development of forests in Na Ri District of Bac Kan province. Research questions and hypotheses Specifically, the research finds out answer for the following questions: - What is the current status of forest management and forest protection in Na Ri district of Bac Kan province? - What are the impacts and causes of forest degradation? - How to integrate REDD+ in the protection and development of forest in Na Ri District of Bac Kan province? Research Contents - Current status of forest management and forest protection in Na Ri district - Impacts and causes of forest degradation - Proposed solutions to integrate REED+ in Na Ri district of Bac Kan province 1. Limitations Bac Kan was chosen as 1 of 6 pilot provinces participated in the Program of the United Nations (UN-REDD) and Na Ri was also chosen as 1 of 3 pilot districts here to implement REDD+ program because with the large area of forest land, Na Ri is considered as the hot spots of Bac Kan Province on forest protection and development, so it has the potential to sell carbon credits from forests to increase household income for local communities.